Inquiring Photographer

By DAVID GREENE

With recent convictions of several guards at the Rikers Island prison, we asked readers their thoughts on the troubled prison and its suspected culture of corruption. I’ve been at Rikers before and it’s not a good place. I was held there for like two days and what I saw in those two days, it’s not good. And I feel like they need to stop all of it. Shut the whole thing down. They should move all the prisoners out and build up a whole new jail with a whole new staff, everything. They have female COs bringing in contraband to

Editor’s Pick Friends of Mosholu Parkland presents its 1st annual fall festival on Oct. 8 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Kossuth Playground, East Mosholu Parkway North between Jerome and Van Cortlandt avenues. Activities include a giant spider web obstacle, games, crafts and prizes, daffodil planting, and guitar by Steve Oates. All are welcome. Onstage The Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd., presents Rafael Hernandez Music Festival, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m., featuring music performed by various Latin artists. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46/57 or visit www.nypl.org. Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance (BAAD), 2474 Westchester Ave.,

Staffers with Councilman Andrew Cohen, representing Norwood, led a workshop session at the Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center on Participatory Budgeting, an initiative that empowers residents to offer input on how a portion of capital monies should be spent. The process on choosing a project can take months. Staffers helped civic-minded residents figure out what could work as a potential project. Photos by Miriam Quinones [URIS id=21876]

Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ

Hello fellow readers, The newest edition of the Norwood News is out with 20 pages of Bronx community news you can use. We begin with a familiar story: The Kingsbridge Armory. The latest in this poor, ongoing saga is the Kingsbridge National Ice Center’s attempt at wanting to purchase the enormous property from the City of New York. Read about those attempts by the developers attorneys who are using every legal maneuver in the book to grab a hold of the property. Here in Norwood, we feature a story on the District Manager of Community Board 7, Andrew Sandler, facing the possibility

By DAVID CRUZ

Emily Flores’ conviction is so strong she’s willing to take on injustices all on her own. So when she saw that her building management company initially stood ready to jack up her monthly parking bill 84 percent with not much notice or discussion, she mobilized…herself. “I gotta take the bull by the horns because I’m not having it,” Flores said. It took management some convincing to bring the rate down from its original monthly charge of $280, a fee Flores thought was just way too high for Norwood’s working class. It was a good thing then that the management company

The Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District celebrated its 15th Annual Fall Festival, attracting hundreds to the festivities that put a spotlight on some 200 stores open for business at the BID. HealthFirst was a major sponsor. All photos courtesy Jerome-Gun Hill BID [URIS id=21847]

Students Take ‘Commit to Graduate’ Pledge at DeWitt Clinton HS

By JALEESA BAULKMAN

DeWitt Clinton High School held its first annual “Commit to Graduate” event to increase student motivation by emphasizing the value of a high school diploma and the steps needed to complete their secondary studies, all in a major effort to reverse low graduation rates. “Every single day we make decisions,” Principal Santiago Taveras told his students at the pep rally-style announcement. “And when you make decisions, they have consequences.” During the campaign launch on Sept. 23, students spent the majority of their school day learning about graduation requirements, the college application process, and the importance of school attendance. “Commit to

Fire Escape Burglars A laptop and $20 in cash was stolen from a 30-year-old woman’s apartment on Sept. 20 at around 1 a.m. The NYPD is hoping the public helps identify two suspects captured on video and linked to the burglary. The suspects crept through the victim’s unlocked fire escape window by Briggs Avenue and East 196th Street, later fleeing from the same fire escape after lifting her items. Both individuals (pictured below) are male; the first male was last seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt, light colored pants and black sneakers. The second male was last seen wearing a dark

The premise is deceptively simple: If you were given $1 million of taxpayer money to build a project for the city, what would it be? With Participatory Budgeting, an initiative that’s become cornerstone to many New York City Council legislators, including Norwood Councilman Andrew Cohen, that wish could indeed come true. The initiative is once again under way, and council members want your help. But in the three years since it’s been instituted in the Norwood side of Cohen’s district, what’s really been lacking in PB is participants. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t exactly make