Jean Hill Voted as Next Community Board 7 Chair

New CB7 Chair a Rising Leader (Web Picture)

By MARTIKA ORNELLA, JOSE GIRALT, and DAVID CRUZ

Jean Hill, a Community Board 7 member, was officially voted in as the new chair of CB7, humbly rising from her seat with a declaration to members: “[W]hen you come back in September you be ready to work.” “Everyone here has a job to do,” Hill told members at the latest general board meeting on June 19 at the New York Botanical Garden’s Ross Hall. “You know I can’t do this all by myself.” A round of applause soon followed, kick started by Ischia Bravo, CB7’s district manager. The two were seen sitting together. Hill fills out the term left

25K Crops Expected to Grow at DeWitt Clinton HS School Farm

By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS

DeWitt Clinton High School is now home to the largest student-operated hydroponic system in New York and is expected to produce 25,000 lbs. of vegetables and herbs annually. That is enough to feed all 2,200 students lunch daily, with over 300 lbs. a week left over for the community. Officials unveiled the futuristic farm on June 2. Whatever produce isn’t used for school lunches will be donated to food pantries and emergency food assistance, like Good Shepherd Services at the school or City Harvest. The students will also set up a small farm market at the school, selling produce and

Fordham Farmers Market Now Accepts Food Scraps

By SOPHIA EBANKS

A weekly farmers market hosted by GrowNYC opens today in Fordham Plaza and is interested in compiling your organic waste. On top of its array of fresh regional produce, the Fordham Plaza Greenmarket will also feature a food scrap collection for visitors to dump their food waste. The food scrap collection is an initiative organized by the nonprofit in partnership with the city Sanitation Department that started last year in Fordham Plaza, on East Fordham Road between Webster and Third Avenues. Nearly 2,000 pounds of vegetable scraps, stale bread, and coffee grounds were donated and later turned into compost for

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By ANGEL MINDANAO

After years of complaints from residents of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) problems such as lead poisoning in children, the city has agreed to provide $1.2 billion in capital funding over the course of five years and $200 million every year thereafter to improve conditions in public housing. Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) filed a legal complaint against the administration that houses a population of 400,000 after mismanagement of services led employees lying on inspection reports. According to

What to Expect from the Bike Share Program

By JOSE GIRALT

Officials from the city Department of Transportation (DOT) presented a slideshow to Community Board 7’s Traffic & Transportation Committee explaining how the new dockless bike share pilot program will work. Unlike the popular Citi Bike program that dominates Manhattan, the Bronx’s program will not include the bulky and space consuming docking stations. Instead, residents will use an app to unlock the bikes which will be parked on sidewalks. Bikes will be available throughout Community Board’s 5 and 6, with a small part of the southern-most section of CB7 included. Although the bikes will be only available in the designated areas,

By DAVID CRUZ

Fort Independence Playground will be the scene for a free music festival featuring six groups by several genres set to riff, twang, and showcase their stylings. The half dozen groups–Johnny 7, Los Hot Quesos, Filthy Rotten System, On Dope, Fort Indy, and Boogiedown Cajun Crew–are expected to perform at a concert on June 21 running 5 to 9 p.m. The concert is part of a massive one-day summer concert hosted by Make Music New York, a nonprofit that’ll spearhead more than 1000 concerts in one single day. The playground can be found on Sedgwick Avenue at West 238th Street. It’s

Local Debate Begins on Future of Specialized High School Test

By DAVID CRUZ

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s decision to delay discussion on whether to keep or reject the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) opens the door for a yearlong conversation. And at least two local legislators look to keep the test, with one requesting add-ons be included. Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz and state Senator Jamaal Bailey told the Norwood News that keeping the test is vital to the selection process of the city’s most prestigious schools. Dinowitz and Bailey both attended the Bronx High School of Science in Bedford Park, a highly sought-after specialized high school for placement. Questions over whether to outright

By PS/MS 95

When contemporary teachers decide to collaborate, they have a daunting task: to create and utilize curricula to make sure that each child has access to, that is an “entry point” or “stepping stone” into the learning, so that each child can be successful. Under the leadership of school principal Serge Marshall Davis, PS/MS 95, teachers at the Sheila Mencher School have taken up the challenge of collaboration with a mission: to provide enhanced opportunities for student learning. The challenge is motivated from the heart: the teachers’ sincere desire to improve the students’ deeper learning and by the mind: the intellectual

By DAVID CRUZ

Bad blood and jealousy ended with the death of one man and the arrest of another for his murder. Police said Dwayne Saunders, 37, of Queens, was fatally struck by two bullets as he ran for his life along East 209th Street and Perry Avenue on May 1. Detectives 52nd Precinct and Bronx Homicide Task Force arrested Tyrone Frank, 33, on June 7, more than a month after police distributed wanted fliers alleging he fatally shot Saunders. Police said the shooting was sparked when Frank ran into Saunders hanging out in a playground with Saunders’ current girlfriend and