Inquiring Photographer: A Better State of the Bronx

With the State of the Borough address recently given, we asked readers what’s needed most in the Bronx. The Bronx needs more police and surveillance video in the area, and take care of all the drug issues going on around here right now. There are a lot of drugs out here and they don’t do anything about it. They rather harass a driver going five miles an hour over the speed limit than do what they’re supposed to be doing. William Rodriguez Bedford Park I think the Bronx needs more activities for children; maybe programs that can help them become

In honor of February’s Black History Month, an event held at Beso Lounge Feb. 18 discussed the African-American experience. “The Soul of a People 2016”, organized by Your Miracle Skin Grow, featured original slam poetry presentations and sample demonstrations held by the skin cream group and 320 Body Art. [URIS id=20323]

Showing Love to Norwood in Tax Season

Scores of local residents endured the biting sub-zero temperatures on Valentine’s Day, trudging to Jerome Avenue for some valuable help from Ridgewood Savings Bank, which partnered with two non-profit groups to host Free Tax Preparation Day. The bank provided their branch offices and Valentine’s Day treats for all: South Bronx non-profit Ariva supplied tax-preparation volunteers, trained with the assistance of New York Cares, another non-profit. In 2014, Ariva’s volunteers guided more than 7,000 low-income New Yorkers through the tax maze, helping them take advantage of available refunds and tax credits so they could repay debts, feed their families and put

By DAVID CRUZ

At the administrative office of Dr. Jose Wiley, one of Montefiore Health System’s newest interventional cardiologists, a snapshot of his professional life adorns the four walls. There’s the picture of him huddled with his fellow soldiers in the U.S. Army, where he spent 17 years as a reservist for that branch (he retired as a Lt. Col.), a recognition award declaring him an honorary citizen of the City of New Orleans following medical volunteer work, and the endless degrees that paved the way to his work as a career cardiologist. With a focus mostly on endovascular disease on peripheral arteries,

Editor’s Pick Have Your Voice Heard The public is invited to the 22nd annual Bronx Parks Speak Up held by the Bronx Coalition of Parks and Green Spaces, Feb. 20 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Lehman College’s faculty dining room in the Music Building, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W. Bronx residents will join elected officials and agency personnel to learn about government and non-government resources and participate in face-to-face discussions with city and local elected and appointed officials. Residents are encouraged for voice their opinions on neighborhood matters. For more information, visit www.bronxspeakup.org. Onstage Lehman College’s Center

By DAVID CRUZ

In a proposal that’s likely several years away from construction, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. unveiled his vision for more development by plating over existing open air rail yards peppered around the borough. The prospect of plating the yards served as the crux to his 10-page report on the promise three rail yards hold for mixed-use development. And while two yards in the Concourse and Riverdale sections of the Bronx would work as pragmatic sites, Diaz zeroed in on the Concourse Yard, a breathtaking industrial span in Bedford Park, as having “tremendous potential” for development built above the tracks. The

By DAVID CRUZ

In his yearly address highlighting accomplishments while pushing a heavy agenda, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s seventh State of the Borough speech addressed more city matters than in previous addresses, further underscoring his ambition to run for Mayor of New York. In the 44-minute speech, ripe with roughly 59 rounds of applause, Diaz took jabs at the city’s response to last year’s Legionnaire’s outbreak, its approach to its lofty rezoning plan, and made clear his support for charter schools, conflicting with the lukewarm take of Mayor Bill de Blasio. Issues relating to the borough, of course, took center stage in

Dear Loyal Readers, A brand new edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of local Bronx news you can use. We begin at the sprawling Concourse Yards in Bedford Park, where Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is proposing to build a platform to serve as the foundation for potential development. Find out what one professor of civil engineering has to say about the project and whether it’s even feasible. At Montefiore Medical Center, read the life story of Montefiore Health System’s newest cardiologist, and his circuitous route to the Norwood hospital. It’s a story you won’t want to miss.

By DAVID CRUZ

The Borough President is thinking green to save some green. Continuing an initiative he introduced in last year’s State of the Borough address, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will announce participants of a revolving loan program intended to upgrade buildings with more energy-efficient amenities as a way to keep maintenance costs down. In return, property owners will agreed to keep costs, and subsequently rents, down. Chestnut Holdings, one of the largest property managers in the Bronx, was picked by Diaz as the first to take advantage of the “Green Development Fund.” In an excerpt of his speech shared ahead of