Digital Edition of the Norwood News Is Out!

Dear Readers, Happy belated Thanksgiving Day! If you’re at home or work, you could spend some time to check out some community news you can use with the Norwood News, covering the northwest Bronx. The digital edition, and physical paper are out with news you won’t find anywhere else. Our front page focuses on an issue impacting the 63 percent of rent burdened Bronxites living in the northwest Bronx–two zoning proposals rejected by Bronx officials. Considered the DNA of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York Plan, the zoning text amendments were not well-received by Bronx elected officials and community boards.

By JASMINE GOMEZ

A snapshot of Community District 7’s health status has just been released by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, offering glimmers of hope and areas of concern. The agency compiled health profiles for each of the city’s 59 Community Districts, which included statistics ranging from life expectancy rates, leading causes of death, and the effects of housing and air quality on one’s health. Each profile also highlighted comparisons in each district to the Bronx and city overall. The average life expectancy of residents in Community District 7, covering Kingsbridge Heights, Bedford, Fordham, University Heights, and Norwood,

Heating Assistance Available This winter, the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) offers eligible households of low-income and elderly New Yorkers to receive a one-time benefit of up to $625 depending on income, household size, and heating source. Households may begin applying for assistance Nov. 16. Applications for emergency benefits for those in danger of losing heat will be accepted starting Jan. 4, 2016. For more information and requirements, go to http://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap. Yankee Leadership Awards Applications are available for the Youth Leadership Awards. Nominees are expected to perform 50 hours of leadership/volunteer services as a tutor, mentor, community unity developer, and/or

An overwhelming number of Bronx residents vented frustrations over Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York initiative at a hearing over the plan, tying it to gentrification and framing their plight as a struggle between haves and have-nots. Hundreds packed the pews at the hearing, an optional public forum organized by the Bronx Borough President’s Office, and separate of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) on Housing New York. The plan, touted by Mayor Bill de Blasio since May 2014, seeks to build 80,000 affordable units while preserving 120,000 already built apartments across the city. That will happen

To our faithful readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News is out and hitting the stands as we write, with plenty (and we do mean plenty) of community news you can use. We go to the epicenter of Norwood, Williamsbridge Oval Park, where football practice has to be cut short for one club that’s working on its plays without any adequate lights. Requests from club organizers have gone unchecked. Read how no lights is impacting their game. We also delve into a growing trend that’s happening across the Bronx: priced out commercial tenants. For rent signs are popping up

By DAVID CRUZ

In the decades since Tom opened his Kingsbridge business, things had always been profitable and quiet. That was until last year when his landlord denied him his regularly five-year lease extension. Tom asked his last name be kept confidential for fear of retribution from his landlord who’s dangled month-to-month lease over his head. “My future’s uncertain there,” said Tom. He’s since refocused his attention on kick starting his restaurant business in nearby Westchester County, where small businesses are welcomed, he noted. Along Kingsbridge Road, a commercial area home to small businesses, many stores have maintained a holding pattern as the

By DAVID CRUZ

Businesses lining the commercial corridor on Bainbridge Avenue between East 205th and East 208th streets will receive cleaning services through a nonprofit agency that helps to beautify the neighborhoods. “When I got elected, the number one issue people in this district complained about are the quality of life issues,” said Councilman Andrew Cohen, who represents the 11th Council District, which covers Norwood. His support to improve the Norwood strip came in the form of a $65,000 council grant for Fedcap, a Bronx based workforce agency. Under Fedcap is the WildCat Service Corp., which runs the Neighborhood Improvement Program. The service

Editor’s Pick: Tour de Bronx The Bronx Tourism Council and the Office of the Bronx Borough President invite the public to the 21st Annual Tour de Bronx, to bike ride 25 or 40 miles and explore Bronx neighborhoods, historic districts, and beautiful waterfronts, Oct. 25, ending at the New York Botanical Garden, with live music and light snacks. Check in at 9 a.m. at the Bronx County Building, 851 Grand Concourse (161st Street). The Department of Transportation will fit and distribute free bicycle helmets from 8 a.m. to noon while supplies last. Riders must sign a waiver. Participants 17 or younger

By DAVID CRUZ

Community news is alive and well here at the Norwood News, serving up another edition filled with plenty of community news you can use. We take you to Bedford Park first and speculation surrounding investment speculation on Webster Avenue that’s revolving around a tiny piece of property currently occupied by the US Postal Service. Reporter William Mathis digs up what is happening at the post office that’s making residents worry. Going inside the award-winning newspaper, and a story on the Norwood News crunching some numbers on the number of 311 complaints Community Board 7 has logged. The results surprised us. And this