Subway “Swiper” Busted at Bedford Pk. Station

PLAINCLOTHES COPS FROM the NYPD’s Transit Bureau nab Devin Scott, an alleged subway swiper. They say he used a MetroCard to illegally sell admission to the underground subway station at the Bedford Park station on Sept. 4. Locals have long griped over so-called swipers lurking near turnstiles, hoping to convinced hurried straphangers to pay them $2 or more to swipe their MetroCard to let them through. Oftentimes, the MTA crooks deliberately damage a MetroCard dispenser to force customers to a swiper. Photo by David Greene

Bronx Youth Heard: Bolstering Civic Engagement

By DAVID CRUZ

The latter part of the program is spent writing news stories students had developed, incorporating journalistic principles they learned.

After Fix, Smoother Strides on Bainbridge Ave.

By HAYDEE CAMACHO

After reports of numerous falls on the broken sidewalk in front of 2845 Bainbridge Ave., including one of an elderly woman who died there last year, Steven Bussell, vice president of the 52nd Precinct Community Council, was hitting brick walls in his attempts to get the sidewalk repaired. But a call to a local lawmaker kicked the project into gear. The sidewalk had been uprooted by two large trees in front of the property. “Half the people would walk in the street to walk around the trees,” said Bussell. A 42-year resident of the neighborhood, Bussell has been on the Five-Two

Endless summer days just didn’t quit at Williamsbridge Oval Park Aug. 28, thanks to a Summer Sports Jamboree sponsored by the parks department. The Norwood News snapped some photos of young people jumping, running and recreating at the neighborhood park. [powr-image-slider label=”1875957″]

Participatory Budgeting Sessions Begin Mid-September

By DAVID CRUZ

Imagine better amenities for your parks, schools, and streets. Now, imagine being empowered to pump $1 million for those improvements. It’s a mission Councilman Andrew Cohen is trying to achieve once again through participatory budgeting, a process where residents in a Council district decide where a certain portion of capital funds will go towards. Several meetings have now been arranged to hammer out some ideas. In Norwood, residents can gather at MMCC on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m., while Bedford Park locals can offer input at the Bedford Park Senior Center on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. to hash out

By DAVID CRUZ

At Bedford Park Congregational Church, members maintain one foot in the past, and the other in the future. The past: A historic, 124-year-old rustic church at the intersection of East 201st Street and Bainbridge Avenue, whose architecture representing a bygone era earned a landmark designation by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2000. “This is the way it was when I first got here,” said Annette Porter, president of the church’s Board of Trustees, looking back when she first began worshipping at the church twenty years ago. The future: Preserving the past. Such has been the case for

By DAVID CRUZ

The newest edition of the award-winning Norwood News is out with plenty of community news you can use. We begin in Bedford Park with yet another homeless shelter sneaking into the neighborhood, only there’s a twist: the tenants won the fight! Read up on suspicions by tenants and what conditions were like inside the building. Switching to lighthearted fare, with an article by salesperson/reporter extraordinaire Vivian Carter on results of the Norwood News survey we asked neighbors to take over the summer. We crunched the numbers and the results were pretty surprising. Definitely worth a read. Next, Jasmine Gomez takes a look at a

By CARMEN FARIÑA, Schools Chancellor

As Chancellor, I love talking to our students and parents at community meetings, forums, town halls and even in the grocery store–and I hear the same message time and again: every parent wants to see their child graduate and ready to conquer the world—and every child wants to follow their dreams and achieve. I took this job specifically to make success a reality for every child and every family across New York City.

2015 Back-to-School Guide

By NORWOOD NEWS

Bronx students are prepping to hit the books this year, and the Norwood News is your place for some compelling stories that can get you nice and ready for the new school year. Check out the list of stories below to get a snapshot of what lies ahead for the new school year. Enjoy the reading, and send thoughts to dcruz@norwoodnews.org: Op-Ed: Building Stronger Community Schools: Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina champions parent engagement as a way to bolster a student’s success. PS 94x: Better Preparing Students Through Key Initiatives: We begin in Norwood, at a neighborhood school that’s pushing