Latest Edition of Norwood News is Out!

Dear Fellow Readers! The latest edition of Norwood News, covering community news in the Bronx, is out with plenty of stories that will get you talking. We can start with the beginning, with page 1 and a local story on Whalen Park receiving a $2 million upgrade. We go back in time to the days that Henry Whalen, the civic activists named after the eponymous park, was alive and making a positive contribution to Norwood in the 1960s and 70s. Read what his daughter had to say about him and the pending renovations for the park. Norwood News would also like to

By REGGIE FRANCOIS

A popular bar lounge in Norwood had its final hurrah the weekend of June 9, closing its doors after its restaurateur couldn’t agree on a lease renewal deal with the building’s owner. Gino Pacheco, owner of Beso Lounge, said the nighttime bar underwent renovations for three years and had been promised a lease for five more years. Despite a new owner buying the building for more money, Pacheco negotiated the lease in hopes for a similar lease deal he had when he first opened the business. The lounge’s original rent was $3,000 and the new building owner doubled the rent

The 52nd Precinct saw seven car thefts last month, and police say Ford models are the prime target. “There’s a lot of parts on Fords that are valuable like catalytic converters,” Deputy Inspector Peter Fiorillo, commanding officer of the Five-Two, said at the recent community council meeting. Ford motorcycles equipped with expensive Econoline headlights are also being swiped, Fiorillo said. “I’m expecting to see that go up more now that we’re in motorcycle season,” he said. “That’s something we have to look out.” Honda and Nissan vehicles are also being targeted. In May, the precinct, covering Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By DAVID CRUZ

A Pennsylvania man is coming at an end to his visit of several Bronx community boards, having brought a message he feels is given little publicity: If you’re a victim of sex abuse by a clergy member from the New York Archdiocese, you’re entitled to compensation through a temporary program set to expire at the end of July. For Shaun Dougherty, the New York Archdiocese has done little to promote it. “They should be shouting this from the rooftops. They have the means to make it very aware,” Dougherty, the man taking his message across the Bronx, told the Norwood

Plans Looks to Preserve Small Business Sector in Kingsbridge Heights

By REGGIANIE FRANCOIS

Members from different advocacy groups and small businesses owners took to the steps of City Hall Wednesday morning to speak on the lack of legal protections for commercial tenants and access to affordable spaces within their neighborhoods. This also includes the neighborhood of Kingsbridge Heights, where an impending ice hockey center at the Kingsbridge Armory threatens the existing commercial landscape, according to local shopkeepers. Christian Ramos, a member of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and vice president of the Kingsbridge Road Merchants Association, is originally from Ecuador and has been living in the Bronx since 2001. He opened

Ground Finally Breaks for Whalen Park Renovations

By DEVIN DAE TUCKER, DAVID CRUZ, and REGGIANIE FRANCOIS

Whalen Park in Norwood will finally undergo a near $1.7 million transformation it was promised years ago. The improvements are likely intended to revitalize the ‘dilapidated’ Bronx park. Officials and community organizers gathered Tuesday morning to officially break ground. “We want to make sure it’s multi-generational,” said Mitchell Silver, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks, on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony. The renovated park, which is located on Perry Avenue between 205th and 208th streets is expected to include game tables, a playhouse, climbing rocks, a bicycle rack, new seating areas, a spray shower and a water fountain, according

Prepping for Mayoral Debate, Media Seeks Out Bronx Residents

By DAVID CRUZ

Media outlets from print, radio and television visited Lehman College on June 12 to hear what a handful of Bronx residents want to ask candidates in the New York City race for mayor. The questions will be used for several upcoming debates heading into the election season. Questions on homelessness, street policing, and double parking were on the minds of residents, with WCBS-TV’s Marcia Kramer, WCBS-AM’s Peter Haskell, and Daily News City Hall Bureau Chief Jillian Jorgensen hearing them out. The event was part of the citywide Debate Program organized by the New York City Campaign Finance Board (NYCCFB). Amy

Bronx Photographers Put on the Spotlight

A group of Bronx photographers are turning the cameras on themselves, with an extensive art show titled “Capturing the Bronx.” Among the photographers whose work is on display is Miriam Quinones, a freelance photographer for the Norwood News. The exhibit served as a kind of chronicle of the Bronx, with neighborhoods explored and recorded. An exhibit program noted that the reality of neighborhoods could change in the next few years. “[W]e also know that what is true today will be different, perhaps radically different for us and for the Bronx in a few years or even a few months,” read

Farmer’s Market Opens at Fordham Plaza for Trial Run

By DAVID CRUZ

Freshly grown vegetables and baked goods from as far away as Goshen, New York are up for sale at Fordham Plaza, part of the newly opened farmer’s market along the Fordham Road Business Improvement District (BID). And if the 29-week trial run works out, the greenmarket will be managed by BID managers. It’s a model similar to the robust greenmarket established in Manhattan’s Union Square. “We like the Union Square concept. That’s what we like to build here,” Wilma Alonso, the BID’s co-executive director, said. For now, the BID will co-manage the 1.7-acre mall with the New York City Department