Norwood News 2019 Year in Review

Norwood News Year in Review (Development)

By DAVID CRUZ

What a year in 2019 for the Bronx! In keeping with tradition, the Norwood News paused to look back on 2019 with a highlight of several ongoing stories we’ve followed this past year. Development Large-scale development became the operative word in 2019, with a flood of projects happening simultaneously in Norwood and Bedford Park, prompting a story recapping readers on those projects on the Vol. 32 No. 11 edition and an in-depth piece entitled “The Vanishing Homeowner” in the Vol. 32 No. 23 edition. The common denominator was simple: the Bronx has become such an attractive place for developers that it’s

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s first edition of the Norwood News for the new decade is out with plenty of community stories to read and share. We have packed 28 pages full of news from this corner of the Bronx, so let’s start with page one! Our top story takes a look back at 2019 with our annual Year in Review. We pored over some of the top stories that kept our attention for 2019, including some stories that barely made any news. And with 2019 closing out the decade, we decided to take a look at some impactful stories from 2010

Bronx Connections: Faces of Gun Violence (Part 5 of 5)

By NATALIE MIGLIORE

The Norwood News, in partnership with WFUV radio and BronxNet Television, concludes its five-part series on the impact gun violence has had on Bronx neighborhoods and the people who live in them. How Developing Street Smarts Begins at Bronx Schools David Caba, senior program director of Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (BRAG), sits at his desk at the organization’s office in Wakefield. It’s the newest office for BRAG, which utilizes a cure violence model adapted from a smaller model first implemented in Chicago. The cure violence concept approaches violence like a disease in need of a cure. Caba built the

The 5-2 and Community Members Look Towards a Safer 2020

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

As 2019 draws to a close, Deputy Inspector Thomas Alps, commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct, is hopeful it will end with a downward trend in crime. “We’re having a great 28-day period. We’re down 35 index crimes which is quite a lot in a period,” Alps said at the last 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting of the year. Two crime categories experiencing significant drops, according to Alps, are burglaries and car break-ins. Although these recent drops are promising the command is slightly up for the year in index crimes compared to 2018. Crimes by juveniles has become of special

Bronx Connections- Faces of Gun Violence (Part 4 of 5)

By SABRINA BOYD of WFUV

The Norwood News, in partnership with WFUV radio and BronxNet television, continues its five-part series on the impact gun violence has had on Bronx neighborhoods and the people who live in them. The Cure to Gun Violence? Treat it Like a Disease At Jacobi Medical Center, health professionals and community members are teaming up to combat gun violence, adopting a method akin to fighting an infectious disease. It’s where Dr. Noe Romo, director of Pediatric Inpatient Services at the hospital who doubles as medical director for Stand Up to Violence program, comes in. The program, which has spread across parts

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s final edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of community stories to read and share. We’ve crammed plenty of news into this 28-page paper, so let’s begin with page one! Our top story focuses on improving safety at DeWitt Clinton Campus in the aftermath of a stabbing that happened on Nov. 20. Hear what the commanding officer has to say on the plan to keep students secure. Inside the cover we update you on the 15th Congressional District race, and a much-needed endorsement for candidate Samelys Lopez. Read up on why the New York City

The stabbing of a 16-year-old boy outside DeWitt Clinton Campus was the talk of the four schools housed in that storied campus: DeWitt Clinton High School, World View High School, a D75 school, and Bronx Collaborative High School, where the victim’s enrolled. The stabbing stood at the heart of an hour-long discussion into ways violence can be reduced outside the school, with the commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct, Thomas Alps, taking a pragmatic look at the situation he’s tasked to quell. It was a frank discussion given the belief that no reporter was expected to show (Sirio Guerino, the

By MICHAEL TURAY

Scattered Budweiser cans, shabby clothes, and pieces belonging to a worn out cabinet lay strewn about the front lawn of a two-family home at 290 Reservoir Pl. near East Gun Hill Road. For all intents and purposes, the property appears vacant from the outside. Inside, squatters had invaded, creating an unsettling feeling shared by longtime residents. Things reached a tipping point on Dec. 2 when a shootout happened inside the property, sending officers to the home. Near a second-floor window of the house, multiple bullet holes can be spotted from the shots fired following the nighttime dispute that led to

Extra Police Incremental Dismissals Ideas on School Safety Bounced Around After Stabbing

By DAVID CRUZ

The 52nd Precinct’s commanding officer pledged to maintain safety outside DeWitt Clinton Campus during dismissal time following the stabbing of a 16-year-old boy on Nov. 20 shortly after school, prompting a meeting between engaged parents, elected officials and their representatives, and officers two weeks following the incident. The meeting was called by Sirio Guerino, the former PTA president for Bronx Collaborative High School, which is housed inside the campus along with DeWitt Clinton High School (DWCHS) and Worldview High School. The city Department of Education recently approved the opening of a D75 school to operate in the campus. For Guerino,