Tax Lien Sale Stopped for Homeowners, Emergency “PAUSE” Order Extended until October 4

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Friday, Sept. 4, the ongoing, apparent feud between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio was, once again, played out in public when the governor undercut plans by Mayor Bill de Blasio to re-schedule the City’s annual tax lien auction to Sept. 25. According to the Coalition for Affordable Homes, every year, homeowners who fall behind on their tax or water bills can find themselves subject to the City’s annual lien sale, a process through which the City sells outstanding tax and water debts, and the ability to collect them, to private investors. After the sale, the

By DAVID GREENE

Two men are recovering after two separate shootings that occurred within hours of each other in pre-Labor Day incidents reported in the 52nd precinct, in the Fordham Manor section of the Bronx. In the first incident, a police source reported that a 34-year-old man was shot twice “about the body,” at the corner of Briggs Avenue and East 194th Street. According to the source, the unidentified victim was reported wounded at the corner of Briggs Avenue and East 194th Street at 11:24 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6. The police source added that the victim was transported to

By SÍLE MOLONEY

To reduce mosquito activity and the risk of the West Nile virus, the City’s health department will conduct an adulticide treatment in the Bronx. Adulticide is an insecticide or agent used to kill adult insects. Trucks will spray pesticides in sections of the Bronx on Wednesday, Sept. 9, between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning, weather permitting. In case of bad weather or equipment malfunctions, application will be delayed until Thursday, Sept. 10. The health department said it will use very low concentrations of DeltaGard® and/or Anvil®. The agency also said that the risks of

By SÍLE MOLONEY

At the last hour, New York City’s executive budget restored $2.8 million to community composting for the financial year 2021. The City’s department of sanitation (DSNY) now has funding to reactivate all of the NYC Compost Project mid-scale, compost educational facilities, provide support to some small compost sites, and reopen some local food scrap drop-off sites throughout all five boroughs. The NYC Compost Project, created in 1993, works to rebuild NYC’s soils by providing New Yorkers with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities they need to produce and use compost locally. Meanwhile, GrowNYC Zero Waste Programs were created by

By DAVID GREENE

Fittingly, on Labor Day weekend, sixty-seven deli workers at 13 Foodtown Supermarkets across the New York metropolitan area are breathing a sigh of relief after the supermarket owner, PSK Supermarkets, hammered out a deal with union officials beyond the 11th hour deadline set by the union. Workers from two unions had been expected to walk off the job on Wednesday, Aug. 27, as reported previously by Norwood News. However, according to Noah Katz, the co-president of PSK, who spoke with Norwood News on Tuesday, Sept. 1, an agreement was finally reached. “We did get the contract completely resolved, so

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday, Sept. 4, an extension of the recent reform to Alternate Side Parking (ASP). Residential side streets with multiple ASP days will continue to be cleaned once per week for another two weeks, through September 19, 2020. In June, the Mayor and Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia unveiled the reform, the most dramatic change to ASP in decades. Amended rules pertain to residential “side streets” and not to commercial areas. Streets with multiple ASP days would be cleaned on the last day of the week, as posted on each street’s currently

By DAVID GREENE

The death of a transgender woman at Orchard Beach in July has been ruled an accidental drowning after an autopsy report was released last month. Police officials reported that at 6:09 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 31, officers from the 45th precinct in the Bronx discovered “an unconscious and unresponsive 23-year-old female in the sand” at the water’s edge at Orchard Beach. EMS pronounced the victim dead at the scene. The victim was later identified as a transgender woman who used the pronouns they/them/theirs. On Friday, Sept. 4, DCPI spokeswoman, Sergeant Jessica McRorie confirmed that the victim, known

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Sunday morning, Sept. 6, 2020 at approximately 00:27 a.m., police were alerted to a vehicle accident involving a motorcyclist at Exit 21 on the southbound Henry Hudson Parkway at West 249th Street. Upon arrival, officers observed a 55-year-old, unconscious man on the roadway with severe head trauma. EMS responded and pronounced the man deceased at 00:33 a.m. The NYPD Highway Unit’s Collision Investigation Squad also responded and began their investigation. Preliminary results of the investigation indicate that the motorcyclist sideswiped a vehicle traveling in the same direction and lost control of the bike, causing him to strike

By SÍLE MOLONEY

A further food and mask giveaway was held at Hull Avenue and 204th Street in Norwood on Sept. 3, 2020, as food insecurity continues to be a concern for many families across The Bronx. The event was promoted by the American Albanian Open Hand Association, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, State Sen. Jamaal Bailey, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, City Councilman Andrew Cohen, State Committee Leader Elect Sandra Pabon, and Male District Leader Elect Marcos Sierra. In addition to those listed on the event flyer as the event organizers and promoters, among those who joined to volunteer on the day at the event