News Briefs

Vaping-Related Death in Bx. A Bronx teen has died from a vaping-related illness, marking the first such death in the state, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, who has taken up the issue of vaping, announced the death at a news conference. “This vaping is a public health crisis. It is affecting our young people. It has been marketed to young people,” Cuomo told reporters. The teen was rushed to Montefiore Medical Center after he became ill, according to published reports. More than 100 people across the state have become ill from vaping, with 21 across the city. The teen

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s twentieth edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of interesting community news stories to read and share. We have 28 pages packed full of news from this corner of the Bronx, so let’s start with page one! Our top story focuses on an impending sewer rehabilitation project that’s expected to make commuting in Norwood even more problematic. The New York City Department of Design and Construction says the project on Bainbridge Avenue near East Gun Hill Road–an already tough intersection–will last upwards of a year. We ask folks living in Norwood what they thought

By JEROME GUN HILL BID

For the last 28 years, Dawn Param-Knight has been in the business of making people feel beautiful. She opened her salon, Perfect Pose Hair Design at 323 E. Gun Hill Rd. in 1992, shortly after arriving in New York City from Jamaica. Ever since then she has been hard at work, honing her craft to ensure that her customers feel more confident after they leave her chair. Param-Knight first became interested in doing hair when she was just nine years old. “I grew up as an only child. I had no one else to play with but my doll. So

SEE VIDEO: 14-Year-Old's Stabbing Linked to Trinitarios

By MICHAEL TURAY

A suspect involved in the June 2018 gang attack of a 14-year-old teen on the Bronx River Parkway near the East Gun Hill Road exit is among those arrested in a sweep of Trinitarios on Wednesday morning. NYPD cops coordinated a number of raids in the Bronx and Manhattan, arresting multiple alleged leaders of the Trinitarios gang, according to PIX 11. The arrests happened in the Soundview section of the Bronx. The members were detained for stabbings and attacks conducted over the last several years throughout upper Manhattan and the Bronx, including the attack on Bronx River Parkway. HAPPENING

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Twenty-five years ago, Mohammed Iqbal Hussaine, 71, moved to Norwood from Queens and was surprised by the number of Irish neighbors he met. “They treated me very well,” Hussaine recalls. After spending two years traveling to Parkchester for the closest mosque, Hussaine, his friend Syed Jamin Ali and a few others founded the North Bronx Islamic Center (NBIC) inside the basement of a private house at 3150 Perry Ave. Today, as the neighborhood continues to undergo a cultural transformation, Hussaine, now retired, volunteers as the secretary of the NBIC with a new four-story building serving as the mosque, or Masjid,

By DAVID CRUZ

Kossuth Playground in Norwood was blasted to the Middle Ages as the Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP) hosted the first-ever Renaissance Festival on Oct. 5. Participants were clad in medieval wear for the family-friendly festival that included games, music, and some arts and crafts. FOMP also got some assists from the 52nd Precinct NYPD Explorers, BuildON, Cardinal Spelman High School, and local military veterans through the Mission Continues group. Photos by Miriam Quinones.

Cleanup of Legionnaires’ Under Way at Tracey Towers, Could Take Weeks

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

At a community meeting held by the city Department of Health (DOH), residents of 20 W. Mosholu Pkwy. S. were told that the water supply system in their building has tested positive for the Legionella bacteria. Although the findings by DOH were announced late last week, this meeting was the first time since then that residents were able to ask questions in person to Ricky Wong, director of Community Affairs with DOH, about actual remediation steps. “The management has submitted a short-term plan to disinfect the water supply. And it’s been approved,” Wong said. RY Management handles the maintenance at

By MICHAEL TURAY

The proposal to convert the old Sam’s Carpeting on Webster Avenue into an annex for the local 52nd Precinct has been scrapped, with speculation the property will be converted to some type of housing. The news comes after Councilman Andrew Cohen committed $40 million to repair the 52nd Precinct and have the NYPD possibly lease the former carpet store that lies diagonally across from the precinct to serve as an annex. The three-story precinct currently houses over 200 police officers, and is overcapacity. At the latest Community Board 7 meeting on Sep. 25, Cohen confirmed that the annex idea will

Bainbridge Avenue Sewer Project on Hold For Several More Weeks

By DAVID CRUZ

Those living or traveling through Norwood will once again have to brace for another round of patience-challenging congestion and temporary bus route changes as the city will finally resume . completion of a massive sewer replacement project in the neighborhood. It was supposed to start this week, but the city has put it off for another few weeks. The project would’ve been completed a lot sooner, with the city placing the holdup on the state’s largest utility, while also pointing to the contractors’ ongoing talks with the MTA over the temporary bus stops. The epicenter of the project will once