Out & About: Norwood Town Hall

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

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

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

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

By DAVID CRUZ

It was a dramatic scene on Webster Avenue near Fordham Road as crews battled a raging fire that destroyed a 24-hour Laundromat and several other businesses. The fire happened at noon on March 22, with fire crews saying it began at Express Laundry, a 24-hour Laundromat that’s been there for nearly 20 years. Fire crews were spotted on the ladder hosing down the property that included a Domino’s Pizza. A beauty parlor, deli store, and a locksmith business suffered some flooding damage. Fire can be smelled as far away as Lehman College. More than 160 firefighters and EMS personnel responded

Snow Postpones Stagg Meeting at Community Board 7

By JOSE A. GIRALT

After mounting pressure on the owner of 2985, 2987, and 2999 Webster avenues to provide an on-site super, tenants will have one within the next 30 days, according to an email announcement by the Stagg Group, which owns the properties. In a growing list of complaints by tenants against the Stagg Group, many of them revolved around the lack of an on-site super to attend to maintenance and repair issues in a timely manner, the announcement by the Stagg Group addresses the issue directly. “It is our goal that with a live-in super, your apartment repairs will be tended to