New Affordable Housing Rules Attempt to Prevent Discrimination

By DAVID CRUZ

As Norwood continues its building boom of affordable housing, with more projects under way, securing a unit could improve for applicants placed on so-called “landlord blacklists” following changes in the City’s affordable housing lottery and screening processes. With affordable housing often cut off to New Yorkers who may carry a poor credit score or had once sued their landlord, the new rules mandate landlords and developers disregard those considerations when renting a City-subsidized affordable housing apartment. The revised rules came after City officials solicited feedback over the fairness the housing lottery, a selection process that merely qualifies an applicant to

By DAVID CRUZ

A homeless shelter provider is eyeing a Norwood property that rests across from PS/MS 20 as his next shelter, sources told the Norwood News. But the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS), which offers multi-million dollar contracts to nonprofit shelter providers, hasn’t drafted a contract, according to the agency. News of the proposed site, currently Sam’s Floor Covering at 3041 Webster Ave. near Mosholu Parkway North, caused widespread panic among stakeholders who have demanded that specialized housing be kept to a minimum along the Webster Avenue corridor. The proposal conflicts with and appears to undermine long-term plans to

By JALEESA BAULKMAN

The civil war continues at a Mitchell-Lama complex in Van Cortlandt Village. Following opposition to a plan by the Board of Directors to replace management services by Amalgamated Houses for another, more than 100 cooperators living at Park Reservoir approved a proposal to modify the building’s bylaws to prevent its management firm to be replaced without two-thirds support of tenants. But the proposal, approved 111 to 35 in favor, must be approved by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the agency that oversees Mitchell-Lama cooperatives. If this amendment is approved, cooperators could thwart the board’s yearlong plan

Residents living within the 52nd Precinct are on alert as the “mail fishing” trend continues despite police efforts to crack down on so-called “fishers.” Mail fishing involves perpetrators using shoestring and a bottle covered in glue (oftentimes a sticky mouse trap) to insert it into a drop-off mailbox and snag mail the glue comes in contact with. It’s a quick crime that allows thieves to walk away with mail holding checks or gift cards. In most cases, rent checks have been fished out of boxes, putting residents behind. Over the year, mail theft has increased within the 52nd Precinct, which

Friends of Mosholu Parkland, the civic group boasting and promoting the verdant dale of Mosholu Parkland, held its first annual Fall Festival (not to be confused with Jerome-Gun HIll Business Improvement District’s event of the same name). The group headed to Kossuth Playground on Mosholu Parkway North, for the daytime soiree. It was all fun and games, really, with the group hosting games, planting dafodils and hearing the musical stylings of Steve Oates. Pictures by Miriam Quinones [URIS id=21919]

Hate Crime Suspects Sought for Attack in Fordham

By DAVID CRUZ

Three suspects are on the run and wanted by police for yelling anti-Islam slurs at a Muslim man and his mother in Fordham last month. The suspects, two men and one woman, were riding in a Toyota Camry with gold license plates reserved for taxis when one of the suspects began screaming at the victims, police say. One of the victims confronted one of the suspects but was then attacked by the driver and one of the passengers. The suspects fled the scene while the victim was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center and treated for injuries. The suspects, caught on video

By DAVID CRUZ & DAVID GREENE

For the second time in as many weeks a pair of bandits has broken into the GNC store in Norwood. Police and onlookers were stunned to learn the intruders were of the 4-legged kind. And the pesky, masked-covered raccoons, commonly spotted in more suburban settings, have already made themselves at home just one block north of the vitamin shop, becoming unruly neighbors. Police were called to the vitamin supplement shop at 3453 Jerome Ave. at 9 a.m. on Sept. 29, for an “animal incident,” involving the raccoons. A dispatcher quickly reported it had “one in custody,” shortly after the furry fiends slipped into

By DAVID CRUZ

What does Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and the Bronx’s Arthur Avenue have in common? They’re both considered great streets. Bronx residents will tell you they already knew that, but not the American Planning Association (APA). Until now. The 38-year urban planning nonprofit group officially named the busy Belmont strip known as Little Italy one of America’s “Great Streets,” a distinction that helps slowly chip away the nagging image of a Bronx in blight. It’s the first such distinction for the borough. “This is a big deal,” Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said at a news conference announcing the honor. Diaz’s

By CATHERINE CLARKE

Community-based groups in the northwest Bronx care for their senior citizens! Significant local efforts to assist low-income seniors include the creation of new affordable housing for seniors, the promotion of city programs to keep rents affordable to seniors and a wide array of health, social and recreational services offered by religious institutions, community groups and senior centers. Affordable, safe and decent housing remains an urgent need for all Bronx residents, and more so for seniors who have limited incomes and often growing physical needs in terms of accessibility and safety. New York City recently increased the income limits for its