Students Take ‘Commit to Graduate’ Pledge at DeWitt Clinton HS

By JALEESA BAULKMAN

DeWitt Clinton High School held its first annual “Commit to Graduate” event to increase student motivation by emphasizing the value of a high school diploma and the steps needed to complete their secondary studies, all in a major effort to reverse low graduation rates. “Every single day we make decisions,” Principal Santiago Taveras told his students at the pep rally-style announcement. “And when you make decisions, they have consequences.” During the campaign launch on Sept. 23, students spent the majority of their school day learning about graduation requirements, the college application process, and the importance of school attendance. “Commit to

Fire Escape Burglars A laptop and $20 in cash was stolen from a 30-year-old woman’s apartment on Sept. 20 at around 1 a.m. The NYPD is hoping the public helps identify two suspects captured on video and linked to the burglary. The suspects crept through the victim’s unlocked fire escape window by Briggs Avenue and East 196th Street, later fleeing from the same fire escape after lifting her items. Both individuals (pictured below) are male; the first male was last seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt, light colored pants and black sneakers. The second male was last seen wearing a dark

The premise is deceptively simple: If you were given $1 million of taxpayer money to build a project for the city, what would it be? With Participatory Budgeting, an initiative that’s become cornerstone to many New York City Council legislators, including Norwood Councilman Andrew Cohen, that wish could indeed come true. The initiative is once again under way, and council members want your help. But in the three years since it’s been instituted in the Norwood side of Cohen’s district, what’s really been lacking in PB is participants. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t exactly make

Securing Kingsbridge Ice Center Funding a Waiting Game

By DAVID CRUZ

Vacant Armory purchase price assessed at $17 million, says KNIC In the last year, progress at the Kingsbridge Armory, which was expected to house a large ice skating complex by next year, has stalled with nary a shovel in the ground. A lawsuit by developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) against the New York City Economic Development Corporation prompted the stall. Attorneys for KNIC have since regrouped with a new tactic to settle the case: an offer to buy the landmark Armory. In a two-page letter obtained by the Norwood News, KNIC, the developer picked by the city

By DAVID GREENE

A firefighter chief is dead and twelve others were injured following an explosion of a home in Kingsbridge, which is now under suspicion for housing a so-called “grow house.” Battalion Chief Michael Fahy, a 17-year veteran with the FDNY, was struck with debris from the exploding home at 300 W. 234th Street as he directed operations from outside the home. “It’s a terrible loss for the family, for the Fahy family,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a news conference at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where Fahy was rushed to. “It’s a loss for the Fire Department family. We are a

By DAVID CRUZ

Community Board 7 opened its fall session with a shocker as members held off firing its latest district manager, continuing a pattern of hostility between executive members and DMs that’s ended in the resignations of three DMs in just over three years. With a vote of 26 to 1 at the latest general board meeting, CB7 members voted to extend the probationary period of Andrew Sandler, who was hired by the Board nine months ago after its previous DMs, Dustin Engelken, resigned. On its surface, Engelken left after his wife accepted a job abroad, though members said Engelken left because

A model student at a Bronx catholic high school is being recognized for his scholastic achievements in the nation’s capital. Christian Martinez, a student at Cardinal Hayes High School and an alum of Bronx Youth Heard, the Norwood News’ afterschool journalism program, is being awarded the Seton Award by the National Catholic Educational Association. The award doubles as a $2000 scholarship. “Christian is a perfect example and model student for Catholic education,” Fr. Joseph Tierney, President of Cardinal Hayes High School. “He represents thousands and thousands of young men and women who have these core values that make them great

By DANIELA BEASLEY

The new school year is underway, and for the kids who attend Public School 56 in Norwood, that means taking advantage of a new addition to their school that has been under construction since 2014. “They were over at a different school for first and second grade before the construction was finished,” Denise Gonzalez, a parent, said referring to her children who now attend PS 56. For a time, students were relocated to 3177 Webster Ave., a co-located school. “I’m so happy that our kids are over here again. I graduated from here, this is our school,” Gonzalez added. Construction

By ANTHONY RIVIECCIO

How does one achieve their personal financial goals? By spending and living smartly! Before you start thinking the answer to saving is budgeting, my answer is no, I am not talking about that. What you want and what you need is smart spending. So how do you start? Of course, one should discuss this with a financial advisor in more detail, but if you’re looking to start a game plan today, follow these tips: Cut Out Comfort Expenses Create a frugal lifestyle to improve your quality of life. With a current goal of creating a perpetually frugal lifestyle today, you