Firefighters Scorch City for Shortchanging Disability Coverage for New Recruits

By DAVID CRUZ Last week’s building fire at Jerome and Sedgwick avenues renewed calls from the FDNY to increase disability payments to new firefighters should they be injured on the job. The rallying cry from the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA), the union representing firefighters, was amplified by Bronx elected officials who have joined a fight to increase disability benefits to injured firefighters. Currently, firefighters hired after 2009 can only qualify for $10,000 in disability benefits, which ranks to $27 a day. Coverage went into effect after then Governor David Paterson vetoed a yearly bill that allows new firefighters to be covered as

By DAVID GREENE This week we asked readers to pick out where some of the borough’s most harrowing potholes can be found following a dismal winter. Personally, I think the worst potholes are in the Boston Road area in the South Bronx. It’s pretty bad especially in the winter time. The potholes can be treacherous. It’s gotten better, but still some areas are still really, really bad. I think most of it comes from all of the construction going on. It’s gotten a lot better, but there can still be some improvement. Dwayne Gittens Melrose

See the Photos: Patrons Take Part in Norwood’s Good Friday Processions

By JASMINE GOMEZ (Photos by JENNY SHARP) Despite a solemn rain, St. Brendan’s Church and The Shrine Church of St. Ann’s, both located in Norwood, hosted their yearly Good Friday procession, a reenactment of The Passion of Jesus Christ. This was also the final procession for St. Ann’s, which is set to merge with St. Brendan’s Church later this year.

Messier Reaffirms Commitment to Build KNIC Alongside Community

By HAYLEY CAMACHO Mark Messier, CEO of Kingsbridge National Ice Center, reassured the Kingsbridge and surrounding community that plans to develop a nine-rink, 5,000-seat arena at the Kingsbridge Armory will proceed despite nearly a year of delays.

Easter Egg Hunt Hops to Oval Park

By KIMBERLY JACOBS The excitement of spring continues in the Bronx with the Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District’s annual Spring Egg Hunt. On Saturday, April 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Williamsbridge Oval Park, 3225 Reservoir Oval East, a family fun day is planned with plenty of day long events for children to participate in.

Latest Edition Of The Norwood News Hits Stands, and Online

By DAVID CRUZ The Norwood News is out with 24 pages of community news you can use, happenings and other nuggets of information. What’s intriguing about this edition (just coincidence really) is it’s heavily park-related. Makes sense, given all the parks that Norwood has been afforded these days. We begin with a push to restore some infrastructure issues at Mosholu Parkway, with representatives from the local institutions urging the community for some momentum in getting elected officials to commit to restoring the parkway. Find out what went on at a March 25 community meeting. One of our more attractive features this edition

PS/MS 95 Intertwines Teacher Collaboration to Meet Common Core

School Briefs Under the leadership of Principal Serge Marshall Davis, teachers at The Sheila Mencher School in Van Cortlandt Village continually immerse themselves in professional planning to help students learn. Schools have changed enormously since parents of today sat in the classroom. Curriculum is fluid, a work in progress built element by element utilizing best practices to meet the standards of Common Core, rigid academic guidlines set forth by the U.S. Department of Education. Teachers work their magic with the support and ideas from their colleagues, and other school staff. Through collaborative efforts, teachers weave facts and concepts, interconnecting various

By DAVID CRUZ Where’s the Love, Mr. Mayor? Noticed these days that appearances from Mayor Bill de Blasio is next to nothing in the Bronx this year. Looking at the first quarter of 2015, Mayor de Blasio has made four appearances in the Bronx compared to 19 in Brooklyn and seven in Queens. Staten Island, heavily Republican, placed last with only one visit. Manhattan was discounted since it’s his home base, but if one were counting, there were about 50 appearances. Our guess. He has roots in Brooklyn, which he could no doubt need for another go at Mayor in

By DAVID CRUZ Community institutions, park advocates and neighbors are coming together with a shared goal in mind—pushing the de Blasio Administration to consider revitalizing Mosholu Parkway.