Neighborhood Notes: Free Tax Prep, Participatory Budgeting, and More

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Free Tax Prep Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 DeKalb Ave. offers free tax return service Mondays through Fridays from 4 p.m. Those who made $54,000 or less in 2018 and have children, or $30,000 or less without children, qualify for the free service. For more information or to make an appointment, call (718) 882-4000. Participatory Budgeting The next round of workshops on Participatory Budgeting, where residents can decide how $1 million in capital funding should be spent in the 11th Council District, takes place on the following dates and times for residents living in Bedford Park and Norwood: Sister Annunciata

Editor’s Pick: Norwood Town Hall Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Senator Jamaal Bailey and Councilmember Andrew Cohen invite the public to a Norwood Town Hall meeting on April 4 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Montefiore Medical Center Cherkasky Auditorium, 110 E. Gun Hill Rd. For more information, call Dinowitz’s office at (718) 796-5345. Onstage Williamsbridge Oval presents free theatre, Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” in the Rec Center, April 11 at 7 p.m. RSVP bronxacf@parks.nyc.gov. For more information, call (718) 543-8672. Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd., presents Celia Cruz H.S. Orchestra performing chamber music, March 30 at 2:30 p.m.; and

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is: What is the best way to save for retirement? When I tell them, “your tax savings.” I love seeing the shell shocked look. Let’s say you have $0 saved for retirement. You’re 40, living in New York City, home of one of the highest tax rates and high cost of living in the country. And after tax preparation, two years ago, especially because of the new Trump tax laws, you became “tax smart” and attended a tax planning class to learn how the new laws apply to your life–and how

Brazen Bank Teller Defies Would-Be Robber in Fordham

By DAVID CRUZ

Police are looking for a man who tried robbing a bank but was denied by a brazen bank teller. Police say it happened at the HSBC Bank at 1 E. Fordham Rd. in busy Fordham on March 27. There police say the man walked into the bank and passed a note to the teller demanding money. When the teller said no, the man left without any money. He took off in an unknown direction. The man is described as black, around 20 to 30 years old, and last seen wearing a mustard-colored hat, dark-colored winter jacket and baggy clothes. Anyone

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s sixth edition of the Norwood News with plenty of community news you can use. We’ve packed 20 pages full of great stories impacting the Bronx. As usual, we’ll begin with page one! Our front-page story focuses on progress at the The Bedford Park Manor, which will now be occupied with a live-in super. The tenants have been fighting the landlord, The Stagg Group, for several months over the conditions at the building. Jose A. Giralt spoke to all sides. We also hear from West Bronx Housing, which breaks down the unconventional approach by tenants. Inside the cover

Inquiring Photographer: City Control of Subway System

By DAVID GREENE

With New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson recently proposing the city take control of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), amid the agency’s plan to raise weekly and monthly fares, we asked readers if this would make a difference in terms of service. If they fixed things I would pay a little more. They always say the same thing, but you never see the improvements. Maria Fermin Norwood Yes, I think that would be a good idea. It’s always very slow, both the bus and trains and they’re always fixing it. The problem is too many people not working

Struggling Kingsbridge Heights Strip Could Get Leg Up With Small Business Bills Package

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

With evictions of business tenants on the rise across the city, particularly in the Bronx, City Council members looked toward solutions during a meeting of the Committee on Small Business on March 18. And the benefits could be felt in Kingsbridge Heights’ financially squeezed business corridor. In a preliminary budget hearing, the committee discussed some bills aiming to protect commercial tenants by passing laws similar to those protecting residential tenants. Other proposals focused on information-gathering, such as a proposal for a database tracking empty storefronts. “These businesses are key to the ability to start a new life and eventually enter

With Live-in Super, Stagg Tenants Scratch Off Major Grievance

By JOSE A. GIRALT

After an unrelenting pressure campaign on the owner of 2985, 2987, and 2999 Webster avenues to provide a live-in super to respond to complaints quickly, tenants finally got one, rectifying one of their biggest complaints spoken about over the last few months. In a growing list of grievances by tenants against the Stagg Group, owner of the three-building complex, collectively known as Bedford Park Manor, many of those revolved around the lack of an on-site super to attend to maintenance and repair issues in a timely manner. Austin Graham, director of business development at the Stagg Group, said, “We want

Complaints Grow on Much-Delayed Jerome Avenue Retaining Wall Project

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Walking along Parkview Terrace parallel to Jerome Avenue, there is no shortage of people complaining about the $15 million construction project that has inconvenienced them since fall 2015. The complaints range from limited crosswalks, to excessive noise, to lost patience in city promises of quickly finishing the project, which began nearly four years ago. As Kevin Gonzalez walks his Doberman along Parkview Terrace, he points to the orange and white concrete barriers that narrow the space enough for a vehicle to pass through. “I was almost hit by a car right there,” says Gonzalez. Gonzalez has similar complaints of