New Playground Needs New Traffic Light

At the opening celebration of Sachkerah Woods, I mentioned to several people that there’s a new path leading into the park from Gates Place and Gun Hill Road – but no traffic light to make it safe to cross Gun Hill Road at Gates Place. One of the people I mentioned it to was Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz. The very next day, in the mail, I received a copy of a letter Jeff Dinowitz wrote to Bronx DOT Commissioner Constance Moran, asking for a study to determine the need for a traffic light at this intersection. I want to publicly thank


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Trouble in the Oval

Sunday, July 8 at Oval Park, around 7:30 p.m. (I wasn’t really looking at the time, just trying to enjoy the hot evening with my kids), a fight erupted right in front of the park’s bathroom building.   A group of Mexican men, who constantly sit above the tunnel by the stone wall waiting and watching for trouble, came down the nearby stairs and attacked another young man who did not provoke the attack in any way. He was hit with punches and chains and left bleeding.   He stumbled into the building for assistance, where we assume the police


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People’s History of Sachkerah Woods

The new playground in Van Cortlandt Park has its roots in the volunteer activities of Norwood resident Ora Holloway (pictured here building the Saturn Playground in 1996) and her neighbors.

See editorial.


Paradise Theater in Hands of Utopia

After several false starts, the historic Loew’s Paradise Theater has a new name and a new life under the administration of Utopia Studios, a company headed by developer Joe Gentile and his wife, the actress Cathy Moriarty-Gentile.

Neighborhood Notes

St. Brendan’s Flea MarketA flea market will be held in the yard at St. Brendan’s at Gun Hill Road and Bainbridge Avenue, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through mid-August. Computer Training at BCCBronx Community College’s displaced homemaker program is offering a basic/intermediate level Microsoft Word and Internet training at BCC, West 181st Street and University Avenue. Classes are free and scheduled to run from July 16 to Aug. 9 and Aug. 20 to Sept. 13 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 2 to 5 p.m. Students must be fluent in English, read at a fifth


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St. James Park House Finally Complete

Following a string of missteps, including five contractor defaults since 2003, the St. James Park House, including all the surrounding paths and garden beds, is finally completed and ready for inspection, Parks Department officials said.

Wall Street Meets 207th Street

The money was imaginary, but the lessons were real for the students at St. Brendan School who participated in the Stock Market Game this spring. The Norwood school had 65 teams of three competing with over 750 other teams in the region and boasted several teams who were at the top of their divisions.

Mini-Guggenheim at St. Philip Neri

On the last day of school at St. Philip Neri, art teacher Eveline Suarez happily paraded around the heavily-decorated hallways of her building and pointed out all the beautiful artwork her students had produced over the course of the year.

Out and About

In its final days of this summer’s annual outdoor performances, the New York Philharmonic comes to the Bronx’ Van Cortlandt Park on Monday, July 16 at 8 p.m. The concert includes “Le Corsaire Overture” by Berlioz, Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 6, Pathetique,” followed by a fireworks display. Enter the park on Broadway near 251st Street. For more information, call (212) 875-5709 or visit http://nyphil.org.