Neighborhood Notes

Senior Homeowners Fair The Parodneck Foundation in partnership with University Neighborhood Housing Program hosts a free Senior Homeowners Fair on March 15 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Serviam Gardens Bldg., 323 E. 198th St. Seniors can meet with certified housing counselors and attorneys for free financial and legal advice. For more information and to RSVP, call (212) 431-9700 ext. 391. Free Tax Services Councilman Ritchie Torres hosts free tax preparation services for Bronx residents at his office, 573 E. Fordham Rd., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., every day except Thursdays and Sundays; Mondays till 7 p.m. For

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 will host its general board meeting March 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, 2345 University Ave. CB7 committees are held on the following dates at the board office, 229A E. 204th St. at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Education/Libraries & Youth Services committee on March 8; Senior Services committee on March 9; Parks & Recreation committee on March 9; Traffic & Transportation committee on March 10; Veterans committee on March 10; and Housing/Land Use & Zoning committee on March 16. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. THE 52ND PRECINCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL will

By JASMINE GOMEZ

For a few moments, Elizabeth Quaranta sat in the middle of a big pile of dirt where a beloved tree stump once stood. Found along Mosholu Parkway South between Bainbridge and Marion avenues, the tree base once decorated with lilies and other ornaments was removed by the New York City Department of Parks on Feb. 18. The uprooting of the stump, once dubbed by Quaranta as the “Giving Tree,” left many community members mournful. To many, the tree stump served as the communal arbor for neighborhood residents, where many often met up to sit and chitchat. “The community saw it

By VIVIAN CARTER

You could call Cody Childs and The Ladies of Soul the “staple singers” of local public libraries. For at least a decade, the quartet’s wildly popular performances paying tribute to classic soul artists like Nat “King” Cole, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, and groups from The Shirelles to The Temptations, have become outer borough mainstays, particularly in the Bronx and Queens. Judging from the diverse and enthusiastic standing-room-only crowd that filled Bronx Library Center’s auditorium to hear Childs and his backup trio on Feb. 27, the group’s following is in no danger of dwindling. Cody Childs and The

By DAVID CRUZ

Shades of blue have been spotted at one of the borough’s largest commercial stretches. They come in the form of posters hung at more than two-dozen businesses across the Fordham Road Business Improvement District reminding men and women over the age of 50 to get screened for colorectal cancer, an illness common in that age bracket. The campaign, dubbed “Fordham Road Goes Blue Campaign,” coincides with March’s Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The BID is the only commercial district to adopt the program. “It wasn’t asking [businesses] for money. It’s going out and asking them ‘please help us raise awareness for

Editor’s Pick BMCA Flea Market The Bedford Mosholu Community Association will host their annual flea market on March 5, at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, 360 Bedford Pk. Blvd. (at Decatur Avenue) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kitchen items, books, and other knickknacks will be sold at deep discounted prices. Proceeds go to the organization’s yearly operating budget. For more information, call (718) 584-1900. Onstage The Albert Einstein Symphony Orchestra presents Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, March 13 at 2 p.m. at Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Robbins Auditorium in the Forchheimer Building, 1300 Morris Pk. Ave. Contributions are suggested.

This week we asked readers their thoughts on the recent string of slashing incidents happening across the city and what could be done to stop it. Well, I don’t know if they can stop it. Nowadays people are just reckless and out of control. They don’t really have a motive to do things; they just do it to impress their friends and stuff. It will be hard to stop because there are too many things going on. But I feel safe around here. Isaura DeLuna Bedford Park It’s a big problem and I think they should crack down on that.

Hello Faithful Readers: The Norwood News brings you the latest edition of the community newspaper, with plenty of Bronx news you can use. With 24 packed pages, it’s tough determining where to begin. Well, we’ll go to page one and a recent spike in crime at the local 52nd Precinct, which is dealing with a spike in burglaries. Thieves hit several stores around the busy Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District, with some taking the news in stride while others deeply concerned. Check out the nifty map detailing where the crimes have occurred. We also bring you some sad news of a

By DAVID CRUZ

Business at one of Norwood’s key shopping strips has returned to normal following a string of rare robberies and burglaries that shook up several establishments since January. Seven stores were randomly hit with cash stolen. In every incident, the suspects fled, leaving the question over whether the thieves are gone for good or plan to strike again. Troubling shopkeepers more is the rarity of these crimes in Norwood, a largely calmer community within the 52nd Precinct, whose jurisdiction falls within this neighborhood. Since then, patrols have been stepped up around the East Gun Hill Road area. “[W]e are proactively seeking