Financial Focus: 2018 Tax Season, a New Income Tax World

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

Do you own a home, condo, or coop? Do you pay job expenses or alimony? Do you have dependents? Guess what? You’re in income tax trouble! Welcome to income taxes 2018! Starting in January of 2019, taxpayers will learn the true effect of the 2017 tax reform bill. In my opinion it’s the good, the bad, the ugly, and the ugliest. The Good: Well, since January of 2018, you have received more money in your check. Yes I know it’s not that much (on average two percent) but still, if you make $50,000, you are going to receive by the

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By SHELBY DANIEL of WFUV

Amid War on Gangs, NYPD’s Controversial Database Draws Critics The Norwood News, WFUV radio, and BronxNet Television continue their five-part series on the impact of gangs in the Bronx. Following the killing of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz in the Belmont section of the Bronx, the NYPD quickly turned to its controversial gang database for help. Since 2012, 17,000 people believed to be or affiliated with gangs have been added using a variety of identification methods, including social media. In the investigation into Lesandro’s killing, 12 members tied to the Trinitarios gang were identified through the system and eventually arrested. The

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers! The Norwood News is out with its latest edition covering Bronx communities. With 20 pages of news, let’s get into the coverage! The front page focuses on the ensuring madness that was the Nov. 15 snowstorm. The roads became veritable traps as the city couldn’t quite clean up the streets. The Norwood News spoke with some frustrated residents while getting an explanation from city officials. The paper also has community reaction to sex allegations made against Bishop John Jenik. Supporters held a rally for Jenik, speaking up for the embattled bishop who was removed after a decades old sexual

Heating Assistance Applications for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) for older adults and low- and middle-income New Yorkers will be accepted by local departments of social services. Eligibility is based on income, household size and how the home is heated. Residents can apply online at https://on.ny.gov/2Fn062M and mail it to NYC DSS/HRA/HEAP, P.O. Box 1401, Church Street Station, New York, NY 10008. For more information, call (212) 331-3126. IDNYC Pop-Up Sign up for a free IDNYC card at the Community Board 7 office, 229A E. 204th St., weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed 1 to 2 p.m.) through

New Additions, and Some Greatest Hits, at NYBG Train Show (Picture)

By JOSEPH KONIG

An elevated train runs adjacent to Yankee Stadium. No, it is not the 4 train, but Thomas the Tank Engine chugging around a circular loop, situated above a wood-and-fungus recreation of the old Yankee Stadium. This surreal model of the west Bronx can be found at the New York Botanical Garden’s 27th Annual Holiday Train Show inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The show runs through Jan. 21, but the Norwood News was invited to a media preview on Nov. 13. Ranging from well-known landmarks and historic structures across the city to row houses in Washington Heights, over 150 buildings, bridges and

Report: Quarter of the Bronx Still Food Insecure

By JOSEPH KONIG

Ahead of Thanksgiving, a new report shows more than a quarter of the Bronx’s population live in food insecure households, down from 29 percent in a period from 2012-14, but still higher than pre-recession era levels. Bronx elected officials, activist and community leaders gathered the day before Thanksgiving at Part of the Solution Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry (POTS) on Webster Avenue to discuss the report by Hunger Free America and measures that can be taken to reduce food insecurity. “When you invest in families and you provide them with access to food, you can change their lives,” Councilwoman Vanessa

Editor’s Pick Holiday Tree Lighting Bronx Community Board 7 presents its annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. on the Mosholu Parkway Lawn at the intersection of Mosholu Parkway and Bainbridge Avenue. Featured will be caroling, hot apple cider, holiday cookies, goodie bags giveaway and local elected officials. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. Onstage Lehman College for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd., W., presents José Feliciano in Feliz Navided, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. (tickets: $50 to $65; $100/VIP which includes pre-concert reception at 6:30 p.m.; $10/to age 12); and Soweto Gospel Choir,

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers to describe their Thanksgiving, and what the holiday will likely look like. My perfect Thanksgiving would be spending it with my ex-wife, who left 30 years ago. She’s out in California. She’s a doctor out there and she left. That would be my perfect Thanksgiving. I will spend it this year with a few friends. I’m a picky eater, so only plain turkey, no trimmings. I just like the plain white meat and a jar of Gulden’s Mustard and I’m in business. Victor DeRosa Norwood What I’d really want, which is never going to happen,

Multiple Injuries in Midday Norwood Fire

By JONATHAN CUSTODIO and DAVID CRUZ

The Fire Department has confirmed a four-alarm fire at 3210 Hull Ave., a multi-family home by East 207th Street in the Norwood section of the Bronx next to PS 56. The fire comes just two days before Thanksgiving. Helicopters and roughly 200 firefighters are at the scene of the two-story building, where the fire was reported around 2:15 p.m. The blaze was reported as a three-alarm fire that eventually escalated to four alarms. “Fire quickly extended to adjacent buildings for a total of three buildings on fire,” said assistant fire chief John Hodgens. “We quickly transmitted additional alarms to get