Inquiring Photographer: Should de Blasio Run for President?

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s possible bid to run for President of the United States. I wouldn’t let him walk my dog, and I don’t even own a dog. He shouldn’t even be running the city of New York because he’s a complete imbecile. Edward Burroughs Norwood Maybe, I think he’s trying to do a good job, but it would be better for him to be in the White House, so he could do the right thing for people. But he has to deliver for the city first and then he

By DAVID CRUZ

Norwood’s Councilman is exploring a run for Bronx Borough President, adding to a list of potential suitors for the borough’s top executive post. Councilman Andrew Cohen, the 11th Council District representative covering Norwood, Bedford Park, Woodlawn, Wakefield, Riverdale, Fieldston, Kingsbridge, and Marble Hill, told the Norwood News he’s weighing considering whether to enter a race that’ll open in 2021. He’s laying the ground work in some ways, crisscrossing different parts of the Bronx as a way of understanding its nuances and putting his name out there. “I’m not shy about it. I’m thinking about it,” said Cohen. “We’re approaching the

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

Only five percent of Norwood residents commute by car into Manhattan below 60th Street and so would be affected by an impending congestion pricing toll, according to an analysis of census data by the Tri-State Transportation Commission (TSTC), a nonprofit focused on public transit. In other parts of the northwest Bronx, that number is closer to three percent, the report said. But some residents told the Norwood News they were against the measure even if it would not affect them personally, saying it amounted to squeezing poor people. “It’s an abuse. They need to stop raising the prices on everything,”

Norwood Okays Projects With a Stroke of a Pen Thanks to PB

By DAVID CRUZ

Inside tower one at Tracey Towers, volunteers man a small table inside the lobby. It’s the day before Participatory Budgeting—an initiative that allows residents within a Council District to decide how $1 million in capital funds should be used—and some tenants stop to make their voices heard on paper. It’s the afternoon of April 4, and Delores Edwards and Evelyn McDonald, lure some familiar faces to complete ballots featuring the list of Participatory Budget projects residents spent months hammering out. The projects would impact the neighborhood, part of the 11th Council District that’s represented by Councilman Andrew Cohen. For the

Free Bird Walk Tours Free bird walks are offered every Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. from April 27 through July 20 at the Van Cortlandt Nature Center. Bird watchers can look for various species of residents and migrants and discuss a wide range of avian topics. For more information, email Joseph McManus at mcmnaus638@aol.com. No registration necessary. No limit. Free thanks to grant by Councilman Andrew Cohen. Summer Youth Police Academy Young people between the ages of 10 and 15 can sign up to train with police officers at the Summer Youth Police Academy. The program is free, runs five

Bronx BP Blasts NYCHA for Evicting Newly Elderly Tenant

By DAVID CRUZ

In a continued rebuke against the New York City Housing Authority, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. lashed out at the beleaguered agency for kicking out a senior citizen tenant from his apartment for not paying his rent while he was recuperating from a leg amputation elsewhere. But hours after Diaz’s news conference, NYCHA is slated to reinstate the tenant. “He’s a good tenant,” said Diaz at a news conference April 11, calling NYCHA out for evicting Bienvenido Martinez, a 72-year-old resident at NYCHA’s Union Avenue Consolidation, a nine-story residential building, in Longwood for the last 14 years. Martinez was

Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s eighth 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. And as usual, we’ll begin with page one! Our front-page story looks at the contentious issue of bringing another high school into the DeWitt Clinton Campus. Students and staffers of DeWitt Clinton High School oppose the decision by the New York City Department of Education. Jose A. Giralt was there for a hearing where there was more opposition than support. Find out why this is happen at a critical point in

By ALONDRA VASQUEZ

Bronx Parks Preservation Grant The Bronx River Alliance, along with the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo, is getting extra help preserving the woodsy Bronx Parks forest through an in-kind grant by the Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC) nonprofit. NAC will offer consulting on forest management, expert knowledge, materials, training and long-term planning. Maggie Scott Greenfield, executive director of the Bronx River Alliance said the group will work in “harmonious partnership to protect, improve and restore the Bronx River corridor.” An NAC report found that the city’s forests are exposed to many threats including invasive plants, dumping, and unauthorized

Parking. Rent. Congestion Pricing. Topics Explored at Norwood Town Hall

By JOSEPH KONIG

Fresh off passing the state budget in Albany this week, legislators returned to their districts to laud their successes and discuss their next moves at a town hall specifically geared for Norwood residents. State Sen. Jamaal Bailey, Assembly Members Nathalia Fernandez and Jeffrey Dinowitz, joined Councilman Andrew Cohen in getting those ideas out. Guests in the Cherkasky Auditorium submitted questions covering everything from the plastic bag ban (Dinowitz: “We didn’t need them 35 years ago, we don’t need them today.”), to parking, congestion pricing and marijuana legalization (Bailey: “Conversations continue to be ongoing… my main concern with legalization is impacted