Bus Countdown Clocks Come to the Bronx

By REGGIE FRANCOIS

Three. Two. One. Zero. Your bus has arrived. Four bus stops in the Bronx were upgraded with Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) countdown clocks. The corners of East Kingsbridge Road and Grand Concourse; University Avenue and West Tremont Avenue; University and West Burnside avenues; and East Burnside and Jerome avenues are the first in the Bronx to get such clocks. Councilman Fernando Cabrera announced June 26 that the clocks were being installed. “Now, our communities will have the technology tools they need to make public transit easier to use,” Cabrera, who allocated funding for the clocks, said in a statement.

Report: Give and Take for Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights Downzoning

By DAVID CRUZ

At its June 14 meeting, Community Board 7’s Land Use/Zoning & Housing Committee approved the findings of an independent study that would limit height restrictions on new buildings in two Bronx neighborhoods, despite the study’s author recommending more neighborhoods be assessed before submitting them to the city. For Lois Harr, a resident in Bedford Park, the motion represented a victory in preventing further construction of high-rise properties in Bedford Park and Kingsbridge Heights, the two neighborhoods studied. Concerns of overdevelopment at a rapid clip in Bedford Park had especially prompted the study. “Time is running out,” Jean Hill, committee chair,

Reconstruction to Begin on Step Street in Kingsbridge

By DEVIN DAE TUCKER

A so-called step street in Kingsbridge is set to undergo a $6.6 million reconstruction following years of complaints. The multi-agency operation between the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), and local officials united to “make the necessary upgrades that will allow this step street to flourish, and create a safer, more efficient passageway for the community,” according to DOT’s Bronx Borough Commissioner Nivardo Lopez. The 230-foot long step street, comprised of ten flights of concrete steps, connects Heath Avenue and Kingsbridge Terrace. It will be given a complete

By DEVIN DAE TUCKER

Bring Citi Bike to the Bronx! That’s the call from supporters and organizers who’ve proposed a $12 million expansion plan to include the rental bikes to the Bronx and other low-income neighborhoods in New York City. The price tag accounts for .01 percent of the city’s 2018-19 Fiscal Year budget and could mean transportation availability for more than six million New Yorkers, according to organizers. The daily rental price is $12 while a three-day pass runs $24. The prospect of the bikes coming to the Bronx sparked logistical questions from Norwood resident Edward Aucay, who suspected that “lack of space

Fordham Stores Learn to Avoid Fines by Agencies Who Dole Them Out

By REGGIE FRANCOIS

Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Lorelei Salas headed to East Fordham Road the morning of June 23. Although anytime is a good time to shop in the Bronx’s largest shopping district, she was there to educate. Salas was joined by Councilman Ritchie Torres, and officials from the city Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Department of Sanitation and the Fordham Road Business Improvement District for a door-to-door trek for Business Education Day along the Bronx’ Fordham Road Business Improvement District. Salas said the agency’s goal was to reach at least 80 businesses along the East Fordham Road strip to keep

CB7 Chair Wins Third Term By Narrow Margin

By DEBORAH CRUZ

Newly re-elected Community Board 7 chair, Adaline Walker-Santiago, cheered herself as she heard the election results in the race for chair, narrowly keeping her position at the June 20 CB7 general board meeting. The news came as the Board announced its district manager is slated to return. In their last meeting before the elections, the buoyant Walker-Santiago won the race by a slim margin of 13 votes to opponent Jean Hill’s 12. Gloria Bent, another board member on the ballot, threw a wrench into the race when she withdrew her bid for chair in the last minute. “I am

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By JENNIFER RAJEWSKI

Dubbed the “sandwich generation,” those in their mid-thirties and forties are in a unique position. Though sometimes we’d prefer the phrase to refer to an affinity for ham and mustard on rye, it actually alludes to how this group of people is “sandwiched” between two sets of responsibilities: raising young children while simultaneously caring for aging and ill parents. Caregivers in this position can quickly be worn thin—one minute Suzy has soccer practice and Davy has violin lessons, the next Dad has fallen down again or has been forgetting to take his medication. With the mountain of responsibility growing larger

Opinion: Acknowledge Oval Park’s Milestone

By FRANK DA CRUZ

Williamsbridge Oval Park — or simply “The Oval” — turns 80 this September. It’s Norwood’s epicenter on the map and in our hearts. It was built between 1934 and 1937 on the site of an abandoned reservoir by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, which was also responsible for countless other landmarks all over New York City and the entire country. The park opened on Saturday, Sept. 11, 1937, with a ceremony featuring Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, Bronx Borough President James Lyons, and WPA administrator Howard Peckham addressing a crowd of 2000 in bleachers constructed

Sen. Bailey Office Hrs. at MMCC Constituent service hours by the office of state Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey are now available at Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC), 3450 DeKalb Ave., every first and third Wednesday of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and every second and fourth Wednesday from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, call (718) 547-8854. Citizenship Help Free, confidential help in obtaining citizenship and immigration information services is available via phone through CUNY Citizenship Now! through June 23 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There will be numerous languages available. For English/multilingual services, call