Bronxites Urged to Show Small Businesses Love for St. Valentine’s Day as Indoor Dining Reopens

By SÍLE MOLONEY

In what may be a first, 44 neighborhood organizations representing New York City’s five boroughs have joined forces to deliver messages of love and support to small businesses throughout the city, all in time for St. Valentine’s Day. The 44 associations are a combination of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), chambers of commerce, merchant associations and other community-based development organizations. Each of the 44 participating neighborhood associations will customize the “St. Valentine’s Day Sweethearts Shop Local” program to the individual neighborhoods across the city, with the following common messages to New Yorkers: Shop local Order direct Write a positive review

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Freshman, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who represents New York City’s 16th congressional district in the Bronx, was formally and unanimously elected by colleagues on Monday, Feb. 8, to be vice chair of the U.S. Congressional Committee on Education and Labor for the 117th Congress. A spokesperson for Bowman confirmed to the Norwood News on Tuesday, Feb. 9, that the congressman’s placement on the committee and his election to vice chair was unrelated to Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s recent removal from it. “He was named to the committee in December prior to his swearing-in,” Bowman’s spokesperson said. The New York congressman

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Saturday, Feb. 5, the New York City Emergency Management Department (EMD) issued a hazardous travel advisory for Sunday, Feb. 7. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for New York City which will be in effect from 6 a.m. Sunday through 9 p.m. According to the latest forecast, a winter storm is expected to bring steady light to moderate snow to the area beginning early Sunday morning through the afternoon, before tapering off in the evening. The heaviest period of snow is forecast between sunrise Sunday and early Sunday afternoon. Snowfall rates of an inch

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Last year, having been shut for several months after the coronavirus pandemic first hit in March, the DEMA Community Martial Arts School, based at 283 East 204th Street in Norwood, restarted outdoor Tae Kwon Do classes in July in an attempt to keep the school afloat. Despite that innovative approach, and other collective efforts by the local Tae Kwon Do community to support the school, it is now, sadly, at risk of closure. As reported by Norwood News last year, more than a dozen young students were seen throwing kicks and punches in the open air in Mosholu Parkway

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced on Jan. 26 that free tax filing software (Free File) is now available on its website, www.tax.ny.gov, to electronically prepare and submit both federal and state income tax returns at no charge. Taxpayers with income of $72,000 or less in 2020 can complete and submit their federal and New York State income tax returns online at no cost in advance of the tax filing season, which officially begins Friday, Feb. 12. New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance, Michael Schmidt, said that nearly 255,000 New York taxpayers used

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Twenty-eight small business owners in the Bronx are the first cohort of students to complete an emerging technology mentorship program piloted by Lehman College’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) in conjunction with the Verizon Foundation. Under the initiative, which launched in October, the business owners participated in eight hours of technology training via Zoom. They were also paired with a Verizon employee volunteer and mentor group for seven weekly sessions, where they covered topics such as financing, marketing, competitive analysis, and proposal writing. Additional on-call help was available by phone, email, and text. The business owners will

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued a snow alert for Tuesday, Jan. 26 beginning at 2 a.m. Based on current forecasts, the department expects snowfall beginning early Tuesday morning and continuing throughout the day. Total accumulations of less than 2 inches are forecast. All winter weather information and information about the City’s response to the storm can be found by visiting the City’s Severe Weather website at www.nyc.gov/severeweather or by calling 311. DSNY officials said their workers and equipment are prepared for the snow fall. Salt spreaders are filled and ready to go. Additionally, some

By DAVID GREENE

Just days before Christmas, some 15 families renting apartments in one Norwood residential building received a letter from One Vesta Property Management, on behalf of the new landlord, advising them they had to move out on or before Mar. 31, 2021, as their apartments are being sold. According to Real Estate Weekly, the impacted rental cooperative apartments, located at 3245 Perry Avenue in Norwood, are among 255 units located in nine different buildings in the Bronx and Manhattan, which were purchased in November 2020 as part of a $23 million deal by Glacier Equities, a real estate investment firm led by

By DAWN CLANCY

The Bronx Community Board 7 Housing, Land Use, and Economic Development Committee approved a request on Tuesday, Jan. 13, by the Stagg Group for an early work permit in relation to construction work at 140 West Fordham Road in University Heights, permitting the group to start work at the site at 8.30 a.m. on Saturdays. To expedite construction at the site, Stagg Group project manager, Chris Miele, had attended the meeting and requested a letter of support from the committee to obtain the required early start work permit from the Department of Buildings (DOB). Work is typically permitted

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Update: Jamaal Bowman Joins House Education, Energy Committees, Does Not Replace Marjorie Taylor Greene

City Issues Hazardous Travel Advisory ahead of Snow Storm on Sunday, Feb 7 from 6 a.m.

Norwood: Beloved Martial Arts School at Risk of Closure

NYS Launches E-File Free Tax Return Service as NYC Launches Free Tax Prep Program

First Cohort of Business Owners Graduate from Lehman’s Emerging Tech Mentorship Program

DSNY Issues ‘Snow Alert’ for Tuesday, January 26 from 2 a.m., Travel Advisory to Take Effect, ASP Suspended

New Landlord to Tenants: Happy Holidays, Now Get Out

Early Saturday Works Approved on Fordham Road by Bronx CB7 Housing & Land Use Committee