Bedford Park Activist Enters Race for 78th AD District Leader

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE

Lifelong Bronxite Samelys Lopez, former second vice chair at Bronx Community Board 7, is petitioning to become the Democratic Female District Leader for the 78th Assembly District, an area that covers Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights, Fordham and a portion of Belmont. The district leader is an elected and unpaid volunteer within both the Democratic and Republican parties, and responsibilities for the position include hiring poll workers, listening to and advocating for community members’ concerns and encouraging people to be involved in the local political process. There are two district leaders for each assembly district, one female and one male, who

By TATYANA TURNER and DAVID CRUZ

With the northeast Bronx still facing the highest number of foreclosures in the borough, a local councilman proposes a plan that could stave off foreclosures, coinciding with a larger goal with city officials. Councilman Andy King, representing the 11th Council District, is turning to extending the deadline on lien sales from one to two years. Liens, a collection of unpaid debts that could include water bills, are given at least one year to be paid off by the city Finance Department. As it stands, liens are typically sold to a lien servicing company after one year. The buyer can attach

Editor’s Pick Summer in the City The public is invited to attend Summerstage, a variety of free performances, all at 10:30 a.m., presented by City Parks Foundation, in city parks (schedule is subject to change): Van Cortlandt Park’s Classic Playground, VC Park South and Orloff Avenue – Todd Rolle: Kids Day Out on July 7; and Chinese Acrobat Li Liu on July 14. Van Cortlandt Park’s Sachkerah Woods Playground at Jerome Avenue and Gun Hill Road – PuppetMobile’s Puss in Boots on July 21; Marc Cary: The Harlem Sessions on July 28. Poe Park, next to the bandstand, Grand Concourse

By DAVID CRUZ

For the past six months, the small band of tenants at 267 E. 202nd St., a 2-story apartment building, have dealt with an uncertainty that hasn’t quite been resolved: are they staying or going? It’s a question that’s been on the minds of these tenants who’ve built lives there for as long as 30 years. “Everybody’s been living in that building for so long,” said Cynthia Garcia, a tenant and single mother of two children. “Everybody’s like family.” The piece of property, resting at the tip of Briggs Avenue in a sleepy part of Bedford Park, remains a source of

By ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

The busiest volume in over five years! The British pound tumbled to near $1.32, its lowest level since 1985, before bouncing back to a loss of 8 percent at $1.3678. The five percent drop in the United States Stock Market following Brexit was the worst in 10 months. Wall Street (and your retirement plan) are now -0.5 percent. And our financial markets now have a lot to digest. Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (E.U.) has started a trickledown effect that will leave a gaping hole in many areas of its united armor. If Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, just to name a few, continue

State Senator Adriano Espaillat largely owes his primary victory in the Democratic 13th Congressional District race to the Bronx, which takes up 20 percent of the gerrymandered district that also covers Norwood. Mr. Espaillat took in 15,735 votes over the presumptive frontrunner, Assemblyman Keith Wright, who took in 14,499 votes in a stunning upset. Mr. Espaillat also won the Bronx by 853 votes. Granted, June 28 did mark a primary, but with the district heavily Democratic, November’s General Election will formally see Mr. Espaillat ascend to the seat. With that: Mr. Espaillat, please open a Bronx constituent services office. After

The latest edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of community news you can use to make you a more aware Bronx resident! This week we have 16 pages packed with news happening in the Norwood area and surrounding communities. Our page one story takes us to the heart of the neighborhood and accusations of welfare fraud by a popular halal deli on East 204th Street. A raid rounded up members of the family-owned operation. David Greene spoke with the son of the owner. See what he has to say. We then turn to an editorial found on

By DAVID CRUZ

In the last three years, Steven Bussell’s journey out of the Bronx has been piecemeal. Now a Florida transplant, Bussell had dragged out his departure after finding it hard to let go of the Bronx. But for each trip he took to the Sunshine State, more personal effects followed. On July 1, he made it official. His exit from the borough also signaled his retirement from local volunteerism, saying goodbye to the local 52nd Precinct, West Bronx Housing, and Montefiore Health Systems’ Community Advisory Board (CAB). It also capped four decades living in a neighborhood he says has undergone sweeping

By TATYANA TURNER

While plans for the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) are on a holding pattern pending lawsuits, Bronx residents affiliated with labor unions are making sure that jobs for the $350 million project go to them. Union representatives, community advocates, and residents marched around the Kingsbridge Armory, the expected home of KNIC, chanting “Let’s Keep the Fight” in response to the pending decision of whether or not union jobs will be used to help repurpose the 750,000-square-foot space. The Clean Slate, Rebuilding America, and Laborers International Union of North America were some of the unions represented at the protest on June