“No More. Finito.” CVS Store in Norwood Closes

By DAVID CRUZ

The doors to the CVS Pharmacy on East Gun Hill Road and Perry Avenue did not slide open anymore as the chain store closed one of its Norwood stores on March 18. “No more. Finito,” a garbage man can be heard as would-be customers unaware of the news tried entering the store. A manager quickly peered out a day after the store closed, telling a handful of customers the store has indeed closed its doors. The store, located in a large one-story building at 310 E. Gun Hill Rd. had served the community for nearly two decades, serving as an anchor

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering the northwest Bronx, with dropoff locations at 300 places, is out with plenty of community news you can use. We begin, of course, with page one, and some mea culpas. The front page story focuses on West Bronx Housing’s attempt to shed light on what they believe is a nagging issue across the Bronx–landlords using deceptive tactics to pump up rents on unsuspecting new tenants. Read why the group’s executive director take on these rent registration forms and the state agency tasked to keep track of them. Before going

By DAVID CRUZ

A Bronx tenant’s advocacy group claims landlords may be skirting the rules by not showing rent-stabilized tenants rent registration forms. They’re also claiming the state agency tasked to track these rent histories fails to thoroughly double check whether a landlord’s rent increase on a tenant is justifiable. West Bronx Housing, headquartered in Bedford Park, has since been collecting these statements to pick up patterns while enlisting the help of elected officials. The group has now zeroed in on an apartment building in Riverdale, where rent histories are suspect. They’re now requesting these forms to tenants living in Norwood and Bedford

Onstage The Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd., presents Chamber Music Concert, featuring the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music’s Chamber Orchestra and more, March 11 at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46/57 or visit www.nypl.org. Lehman College’s Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W., presents the following performances: The Habana Boys, featuring four tenors performing arias and popular songs, March 11 at 8 p.m. (tickets: $25 to $40); and The Russian National Ballet, performing “Romeo & Juliet,” and “Carmen,” March 12 at 4 p.m. (tickets: $25 to $45) ($75/all VIP tickets, and

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By DAVID CRUZ

An elevator is coming to the Bedford Park train station. The MTA revealed those plans at a Community Board 7 Transportation Committee meeting on March 9. They told members the lift will be installed at the center median of the Grand Concourse near Bedford Park Boulevard after re-configuring the intersection with help from the city Department of Transportation. The plan requires no approvals from the board, though transportation chair Lowell Green supports backs the project, telling the Norwood News, “the more elevators we get the better off we are.” Ridership on the B/D line has remained steady in recent years

NORWOOD AND BEDFORD Park residents took time to browse through knickknacks at the annual flea market sponsored by the Bedford Mosholu Community Association. Books, homewares, and other items were on display at the market held on March 4 at Saint Mary’s Orthodox Church of India. Barbara Stronczer, president of BMCA, characterized the daylong bonanza as a success. Funds from the flea market go towards the group’s operational expenses each year.

Inquiring Photographer: The Bronx’s Rat Problem

This week we asked readers if incidents like the man who died when he came in contact with a rat are being under reported or is this a growing epidemic? I think it’s been under reported. I think a lot of times incidents happen. Even if you’re not bitten, the rats are there and it’s been a problem for New York City, especially here in the Bronx. We need more politicians to bring this issue to Albany for funding. I didn’t know that rat droppings could kill you. I know that people do have allergies and they can get very

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, publishing Bronx community news you can use, is out at 300 stands across the northwest Bronx. We begin, as usual, with page one and a proposal to downzone Mosholu Parkway, the green pasture that doubles as a roadway. Read what Mayor Bill de Blasio had to say about development in the borough, and get a full picture of his recent town hall powwow from reporter Wendy Joan Biddlecombe. Inside the cover you’ll find stories on Norwood’s CVS pharmacy primed to closed, according to the big chain pharmacy, an investigation into

By ADELINE HANSSEN

At a rally with shades of presidential ambitions, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared that Democrats are not going to let Republicans win when it comes to doing away with the Affordable Care Act. Cuomo, rumored to make a run for the White House in 2020, addressed the powerful 1199 SEIU at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Pelham Parkway/Morris Park on Feb. 22, rallying rank and file union members. He used his platform to criticize the Republicans’ position, taking a definitive stance on health care policy. According to Cuomo, New York faces a $3.7 billion loss to the Medicaid program should