Participatory Budgeting Sessions Begin Mid-September

By DAVID CRUZ

Imagine better amenities for your parks, schools, and streets. Now, imagine being empowered to pump $1 million for those improvements. It’s a mission Councilman Andrew Cohen is trying to achieve once again through participatory budgeting, a process where residents in a Council district decide where a certain portion of capital funds will go towards. Several meetings have now been arranged to hammer out some ideas. In Norwood, residents can gather at MMCC on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m., while Bedford Park locals can offer input at the Bedford Park Senior Center on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. to hash out

By DAVID CRUZ

At Bedford Park Congregational Church, members maintain one foot in the past, and the other in the future. The past: A historic, 124-year-old rustic church at the intersection of East 201st Street and Bainbridge Avenue, whose architecture representing a bygone era earned a landmark designation by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2000. “This is the way it was when I first got here,” said Annette Porter, president of the church’s Board of Trustees, looking back when she first began worshipping at the church twenty years ago. The future: Preserving the past. Such has been the case for

By DAVID CRUZ

The newest edition of the award-winning Norwood News is out with plenty of community news you can use. We begin in Bedford Park with yet another homeless shelter sneaking into the neighborhood, only there’s a twist: the tenants won the fight! Read up on suspicions by tenants and what conditions were like inside the building. Switching to lighthearted fare, with an article by salesperson/reporter extraordinaire Vivian Carter on results of the Norwood News survey we asked neighbors to take over the summer. We crunched the numbers and the results were pretty surprising. Definitely worth a read. Next, Jasmine Gomez takes a look at a

By CARMEN FARIÑA, Schools Chancellor

As Chancellor, I love talking to our students and parents at community meetings, forums, town halls and even in the grocery store–and I hear the same message time and again: every parent wants to see their child graduate and ready to conquer the world—and every child wants to follow their dreams and achieve. I took this job specifically to make success a reality for every child and every family across New York City.

2015 Back-to-School Guide

By NORWOOD NEWS

Bronx students are prepping to hit the books this year, and the Norwood News is your place for some compelling stories that can get you nice and ready for the new school year. Check out the list of stories below to get a snapshot of what lies ahead for the new school year. Enjoy the reading, and send thoughts to dcruz@norwoodnews.org: Op-Ed: Building Stronger Community Schools: Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina champions parent engagement as a way to bolster a student’s success. PS 94x: Better Preparing Students Through Key Initiatives: We begin in Norwood, at a neighborhood school that’s pushing

By VIVIAN CARTER

The Norwood News conducted a survey in the past month, producing a snapshot of local concerns. Overwhelmingly, area residents want a cleaner neighborhood. The survey was begun with visits to local venues by newspaper staffers, who asked passers-by to answer a list of questions. The survey was then posted on the paper’s website until a roughly equal number of individuals had responded. Results proved that the Norwood News has succeeded with its own marketing mission, as 86 percent of those surveyed said they know about the award-winning publication. In contrast, only 65 percent of respondents know their New York

Editor’s Pick Clothing and Food Drives Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture, 4450 Fieldston Rd., is having a clothing drive to benefit Part of the Solution (POTS), where clothing is distributed to the homeless, people going back to work in need of business attire, and anyone else in need of new clothing. Please only donate suitable clothing, including shoes, belts, ties, and bedding until the end of October. RYSEC is also having an ongoing food drive to benefit the Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Marble Hill Food and Hunger Project, Inc. (KRMH). Donate canned food (nothing perishable or expired) for low-income families, homeless, underemployed and unemployed

Back-to-School Giveaway By Your Side Tutoring hosts a Kids Launch Free Event on Sept. 5 from noon to 3 p.m. at Van Cortlandt Park. Enter at the entrance of Broadway and 242nd Street. One hundred free backpacks filled with a shirt and school supplies will be given away to students who register for fall tutoring. Attendants will receive a free raffle ticket for a bike, a gift, and wrist band to participate in each activity. Events include face painting, magic show, games, concert, and more. Students receive free drinks and snacks. For more information, call (347) 280-7919. MetroCard Buses/Vans The

By JASMINE GOMEZ

A Bronx street will be renamed after a tireless advocate who provided service for a north Bronx community board for more than 20 years. The corner of East 229th Street and White Plains Road will be renamed Carmen Rosa Way, an eponymous tribute to the district manager of Community Board 12. She died in March from cancer-related illness. During her tenure as district manager of CB12, Rosa’s most celebrated accomplishments included pushing the Federal and State Department of Environmental Protection to clean the toxic site, Hexagon Labs, and playing a vital role in the creation of a revitalization program with