USPS To Install Secure Mailboxes Following ‘Fishing’ Spree

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

The U.S. Postal Service has cast a wide net on its old mailboxes so it could replace them with new ones following a string of so-called ‘fishing’ incidents across the Bronx. The news could spell relief to Bronx residents victimized by the practice that involves thieves stealing mail by feeding a glue trap attached to a string into a mailbox and “fishing” out mail from the slot. Thieves preferably would look for checks where names were bleached using a special machine. The checks would later be cashed with many residents not knowing they were a victim until their mail

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE

On the first weekend of December, a group of 11 volunteers canvassed businesses along Bainbridge Avenue to ask shop owners to display a sign in their front window reading, “Standing Against Islamophobia and Racism.” The idea of the signs, said organizer Pam Sporn, is to show Norwood that their neighbors and shop owners don’t agree with what she says is the hateful rhetoric of President-elect Donald Trump. “It’s easy to feel depressed, disillusioned, and discouraged after the election,” Sporn said. “There is vicious and racist language coming out of politicians’ mouths, and [it’s difficult] to see the kind of appointments

By DAVID CRUZ

A roar mixed with a hum dominates the corner of Jerome Avenue and East Gun Hill Road. On Jerome Avenue between Mosholu Parkway and East Gun Hill Road, a calcalvade of regular customers frequent the parade of restaurants, clothiers, and banks that make up the strip. On East Gun Hill Road between Jerome and Webster avenues, the tone is more low-key during the day, with residents grabbing a slice of pizza on the go, flowers for an anniversary, or a prescription at their neighborhood drugstore. It may surprise some storeowners in that vicinity to know they’re operating within the Jerome-Gun

Anna Rogovin, 100, died on Oct. 27, 2016, after a brief illness. Anna was born on Sept. 25, 1916, in New York City to Russian immigrants. After starting Hunter College in New York at age 15, she graduated with honors and began her career with a civil service job in the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. When WW II broke out, she enlisted in the WAVES in the United States Navy, where she worked on developing synthetic rubber. She served on active duty for the duration of the war, and continued her service for 20 years in the US Naval

Editor’s Pick Bronx Tree Lightings The public is invited to attend local tree lighting events: Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the plaza on Jerome Avenue and Mosholu Parkway North, sponsored by the Jerome-Gun Hill BID, and includes Christmas carols with Santa, hot chocolate, cookies, and gifts (718) 324-4946; on Dec. 8 at 6 p.m., at the Mosholu Parkway Lawn at the intersection of Mosholu Parkway and Bainbridge Avenue, sponsored by Bronx Community Board #7 (718) 933-5650; and on Dec. 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Bryan Park (East Fordham Road and Kingsbridge Road), featuring Santa Claus, free presents

With fears a Trump presidency can erode protections for undocumented immigrants in the Bronx, home to some 250,000 undocumented immigrants, city officials and legal experts are utilizing every stipulation to stave off any removal of rights. They’ve also underscored that the process of deportation is easier said than done. The panel of experts, convening at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, told reporters of the ethnic and community press that immigrants with undocumented status should begin preparing for the worst case scenario: deportation. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport 3 million undocumented immigrants, stirring anxieties and apprehension toward a

By DAVID CRUZ

The troubled DeWitt Clinton High School, considered one of the worst-performing schools in the New York City public school system, is now left without its principal amid accusations he fixed grades, according to reports. Santiago Taveras was removed as principal of the once-famed school early this week. The New York Times reported Taveras was removed after an internal investigation by the New York City Department of Education found he changed grades on student transcripts while threatening to remove an assistant principal in keeping it quiet by giving the principal a poor rating. Accusations Taveras altered grades was first reported by

By DAVID CRUZ

After a bitter battle over a proposal to switch management firms at a Mitchell-Lama complex in Van Cortlandt Village, several members of the Board that pushed for the proposed switch have been voted out, with members favoring the existing management now in power. Among its first orders of business was nixing the plan to remove the longstanding company. “I believe now the plan to come up with a new management company is essentially dead, period,” Gary Axelbank, newly elected vice president of the Park Reservoir Board of Directors, said. Cooperators at the complex voted off four members of its Board of

Hello Fellow Readers! Happy belated Thanksgiving Day to all our readers. We hope you took the time to pause and reflect on the good things that have come to your lives in 2016 and beyond. We hope one of the good things is reading the latest edition of the Norwood News, which hit newsstands last week. Here, you can sample the latest edition digitally, from the comfort of your computer or smartphone. We begin with a story we’ve been following for several months: the preservation of Bedford Park. Bronx Community Board 7 has begun holding a series of workshops on