500 Vets ID’d During Memorial Day ‘Flagging’ at Woodlawn Cemetery

MEMBERS OF THE Washington Greys Military Cadets, based at the Kingsbridge Armory, spent the weekend flagging the graves of U.S. military members. Photo by David Greene

By DAVID GREENE

Some 250 volunteers spent the week before Memorial Day carefully locating the more than 7,000 members of the U.S. military who are buried among the hundreds of thousands of individuals buried at the sprawling 40-acre site at Woodlawn Cemetery. Washington Greys Military Cadets Major Fernando Maria joined 35 youngsters to locate the veterans at the landmark cemetery. They were given maps of the cemetery, identifying G.I.s with the placement of an American flag by their tombstone. “We’ve been here since about 10 in the morning,” said Maria. “We had four sheets, roughly about 500 graves. We completed one whole section

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers! The latest edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of Bronx news to spread around. We’ve packed 12 pages of original reporting by our talented rotation of reporters we hope you’ll find insightful. For now, let’s begin with page one and a long-awaited project. That project falls in the heart of Norwood, Williamsbridge Oval Park. It’s there where a ceremonial groundbreaking of the highly anticipated skate park took place to the pride of many stakeholders involved. Read the city Parks Commissioner’s comments on this latest project. Read also why some will view this project as

Ground Formally and Finally Broken for Oval Skate Park

By MARTIKA ORNELLA and JOSE A. GIRALT

“Today is a big day for the Norwood community,” said city Parks Department Commissioner Mitchell Silver, standing at a podium in front of the future site of the neighborhood’s first skate park. “We’re starting construction on something we’ve been waiting for for a very long time: A skate park right here in Williamsbridge Oval [Park].” Together, with a number of skateboarding enthusiasts in the Bronx, local officials and community leaders gathered at a ceremonial groundbreaking on June 5 to usher in construction of the long-awaited skate park. Councilman Andrew Cohen, representing Norwood, funded $750,000 in capital money towards the construction

By DAVID GREENE

For the third time in six weeks, a life was cut short in Norwood, leaving grief-stricken family to plan for a funeral as detectives at the 52nd Precinct hunt for a killer. It’s the precinct’s third homicide this year, surpassing last year’s total homicide rate at the Five-Two. According to police, more than a dozen teens were holding a pre-summer barbecue at just after midnight on May 29, in the courtyard of a building along DeKalb Avenue and East 212th Street, when a fight broke out and a knife was plunged into the chest of 18-year-old Damion C. Gilbert, Jr. of Williamsbridge. Unlike the

Oval Skate Park Project Quietly Gets Under Way

By DAVID CRUZ

Without much of a notice, the bulldozers came to the west side of Williamsbridge Oval Park to break ground on the long-awaited skate park. A large patch of soil blankets the area once used for a dog run, with crews ready to spend until winter of next year to complete the project. But the council member who funded the project is planning a formal celebration. Councilman Andrew Cohen secured $750,000 in capital funding for the project in 2014, holding a news conference on the funding soon after. The price of the project eventually went up to $888,000. It was among

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS

A law that offers free legal help for low-income residents fighting eviction should be expanded faster, said Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. In late May, Diaz sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio urging him to speed up the availability of the Right to Counsel Act, suggesting de Blasio move the provision by 2020 instead. Right to Counsel is already in effect in some parts of the Bronx. It would be in full effect by July 2022. But Diaz, an early contender for Mayor in 2021, finds the matter more pressing. “Our City’s tenants simply cannot wait,” Diaz insisted

By DAVID CRUZ

The plants that once belonged to Elizabeth Carson have been destroyed. And she knows who did it. It didn’t take long for Carson to know who damaged those beds at Risse Street Garden. It was an apparent team effort. At a meeting among gardeners at Risse Street Garden the morning of April 22, Carson confronted Brendan O’Regan, another gardener, over who destroyed her flower beds. “Those plants have been nicely removed,” O’Regan was captured on Carson’s cell phone video recorder saying, his arms folded as he carefully explained what happened to Carson’s flowers. “Anytime I tried to respond to

Free Graffiti Cleanup “Guerinos Against Graffitti” is offering one military veteran free graffiti removal in honor of Memorial Day. Those eligible be a US military veteran who was honorably discharged and wounded in combat. Applicants must submit their photo standing next to their property. Send submissions to ssg.nag@gmail.com. For more information, call (718) 600-2570. Free Immigration Service West Bronx Housing, 220 E. 204th St., provides free basic immigration services. They offer application assistance for citizenship, permanent residence Green Card applications, renewals, and other basic services. Clients can bring an interpreter, if necessary. For more information, call (718) 798-0929 to make an appointment

By MARIYA MOSELEY

A free writing workshop aims to provide a creative outlet for veterans. The Craft of War Writing is a weekly program that focuses on war narratives and offers attendees the opportunity to read curated stories, interact with guest speakers and share pieces about their personal experiences. Jeremy Warneke, a U.S. Army veteran who currently serves as district manager for Community Board 11 in the east Bronx, founded the program in 2015 after hosting a number of war reading series at a local library in the Bronx. His work has been published in the New York City Veterans Alliance, Homefront Progressives