Diaz to de Blasio: Speed Up Right to Counsel

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

By DAVID CRUZ

Officials representing Norwood are urging the MTA to consider building an elevator at the Mosholu Parkway subway station, which could be a boon to disabled riders who get on and off the station. In a letter drafted to authority president Andy Byford, Assembly Members Jeff Dinowitz and Nathalia Fernandez, Councilman Andrew Cohen, and state Senator Jamaal Bailey, lobbied for the station to get an elevator. The news comes as the MTA Board approved $300 million to reconfigure 18 stations to make them wheelchair accessible, adhering to a 1993 federal ruling that mandates all current and new stations across the system

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering Bronx communities, is out this week! Check out these stories put together by our dedicated interns and freelancers aiming to get the conversation going across the Bronx. Our page one story focuses on the perennial issue in the Bronx–barbecuing at areas that bar the practice. Community Board 7 is once again getting ahead of the issue and is pressuring the Parks Department to have those “No Barbecue” signs where they’re supposed to be. Read mixed feelings behind this issue. Behind the cover story is another parks-related story, this time focusing

Stop Work Orders Issued at 2 of 4 New Norwood Projects

By DAVID GREENE

A building boom along a four-block stretch in Norwood has once again been halted as the Department of Buildings (DOB) has issued stop work orders at two of the four projects currently under development. DOB records show a full vacate order and a partial stop work order remain in effect for 3083 Hull Ave.—a one-story property by East 204th Street consisting of five shops. Records reveal “There is an active permit for interior demolition of the property. However a violation for work without permit was issued for activities outside the scope of the permitted job at the time of the

By MARTIKA ORNELLA and DAVID CRUZ

Three weeks before the unofficial start of summer, Barbara Stronczer wanted to get ahead of what’s expected to be a raucous season at Mosholu Parkway. As it’s been the case for years, she wants the “No Barbecuing in the Area” signs up before the parties begin. “We expect it by Memorial Day,” said Stronczer, chair of the Parks Committee for Community Board 7 at a meeting on May 9 regarding the signs in neighborhood parks. “If you don’t have it by then, then it’s a big battle for us.” Barbecuing is illegal in Devoe Park, Williamsbridge Oval Park, and Mosholu

By DAVID GREENE

An activist, singer, and advocate with borough roots were honored for making the Bronx proud. The honorees for this year’s Bronx Week celebrated on May 20. Tarana Burke, the founder of the #MeToo movement, actress Maggie Siff and hip-hop legend Slick Rick were honored with special individual street signs on the Grand Concourse. Siff told the crowd, “This is such an honor. I was just talking to my dad last night and he was born in this neighborhood. And he said in 1944, one of his very first memories was seeing [President Franklin Roosevelt] drive by in an open motorcade,

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

So what is inflation? In simple terms, it is prices going up. In longer term measures, it is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services in a county, and is measured as an annual percentage change. Put differently, as inflation rises, every dollar you own buys a smaller percentage of a good or service. How do we measure it: through a tracking stock called the Consumer Price Index (CPI). According to our government, the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses this CPI value to track inflation on a monthly and annual basis. According 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