University Heights Woman, Unintentionally Shot by Police, Sues for $10 Million

By DAVID CRUZ and DAVID GREENE

Irene Ureña Perez, the woman accidentally shot by an officer of the 52nd Precinct as he was chasing down a suspect in University Heights, is suing the NYPD following the Dec. 5 shooting. Perez, 46, spoke inside her University Heights apartment alongside famed personal injury attorney Sanford Rubenstein, who announced the $10 million lawsuit. Perez was walking home with a small child near University Avenue and West 183rd Street when a bullet pierced her abdomen, damaging several organs, according to the criminal complaint. Perez, recuperating at home, told reporters she underwent three surgeries. “My liver has a cut, my pancreas,

Dog, Left By a Hydrant in the Cold, Seeks Owner

By DAVID CRUZ

Police at the 52nd Precinct are trying to locate the owner of a dog left tied to a hydrant in Norwood. The precinct posted a picture of the pooch on Twitter pleading for anyone to find the dog. It was found at the corner of Tryon Avenue and East 211th Street just near Williamsbridge Oval Park. It was found with a fitted coat over its back and found sometime during the day. Temperature highs on Christmas Eve were in the mid-40s. Anyone with information is asked the call the 52nd Precinct at (718) 220-5811.

Neighborhood Notes: Free Safe Oven Covers, and Crime Victims Support

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Free Oven Safe Knob Covers The Office of Councilman Ritchie Torres is giving away free safe oven knob covers to prevent accidental fires in apartments. Free knob covers can be picked up at 2546 Hoffman St., Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. while supplies last. For more information, call the office at (718) 842-8100. Nonprofit Grants Now Available Resident-led groups in low-income communities and Title I public schools can apply for a Neighborhood Grant of up to $3,000. A workshop in how to fill out the application correctly takes place on Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. at

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to expand the Discovery program as a way of increasing enrollment of black and Latino students in the city’s elite specialized high schools has drawn the ire of Pacific Legal Foundation. The group is now suing the city in federal court, relying on an argument similar to an affirmative action case it has against Harvard University: Discovery essentially discriminates against Asian students who overwhelmingly represent the specialized high school student population. Expanding the Discovery program—essentially offering rigorous summer classes for students who missed the cutoff in passing the specialized high school test—takes effect in 2020,

Bronx Connections- The Gang Impact (Part 5 of 5)

By JULIA ROSE HERMAN of WFUV

In Gang Attacks, Bodegas Lobbied to Serve as Line of Defense The Norwood News, WFUV radio, and BronxNet TV conclude their five-part series on the impact of gangs in the Bronx. As gang-related spats touch off on Bronx streets, leading to bloody consequences, they can spill inside the oft-omnipresent local bodegas, putting owners and employees on the front lines. Edward Lara knows this first hand. Lara, owner of Deli Grocery in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, fended off an attack of a teen by a mob of teens on Oct. 29 at around 6:30 p.m. In that instance, he

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers! The Norwood News is out with its latest edition covering the Bronx. In our last edition of the year, we bring you the latest! The front page story looks at Community Board 7 demanding concessions on a major project coming to Bedford Park. Ischia Bravo, CB7’s District Manager, is offering an interesting take on the building boom happening in the neighborhood. She has a fix she hopes the Bronx Council Delegation would consider. David Greene reports on the tragic death of a 17-year-old who died after allegedly being pushed onto oncoming traffic. Police now say the suspects are

Two Men Linked to Trinitarios Charged in Death of Bedford Park Teen

By DAVID GREENE

Police have arrested two men they say assaulted and robbed a 17-year-old from Bedford Park before throwing him into oncoming traffic, causing his death. The fatal push ranks as the seventh homicide within the 52nd Precinct, which had a 200 percent homicide increase this year. Police confirmed that the two suspects charged in the killing were members of the Trinitarios gang. Officers from the 52nd Precinct responded to calls of a pedestrian struck outside of a private home at 2670 Bainbridge Ave., between East 194th and East 196th Street, at just after 6 p.m. on Dec. 10. Officers discovered Angel

NYPD Probes 52nd Pct. Over Claims of Semen Found in a Water Bottle

By JOSEPH KONIG

The NYPD has confirmed it’s looking into Det. Yesenia Maida’s claims a fellow officer at the 52nd Precinct placed semen in her water bottle. The New York Daily News first reported the claims last week, which reported that a 12-year-old girl was the first to discover the mysterious substance. Maida, a mother of two and wife of a fellow Five-Two officer, heads up the precinct’s NYPD Explorer program. “We have to change something in this department,” Maida said in a follow-up article. “It’s not OK, but sexual harassment happens in this department every day. As women and as cops, we

By JOSEPH KONIG

The incoming Democratic majority in the state Senate handed out committee chair assignments on Tuesday, with several Bronx senators getting tapped to lead key committees by incoming state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins of Yonkers. As committee chairs, the Bronx Senate Delegation can set the agenda for the upcoming legislative session. Sen. Gustavo Rivera will head the Health Committee, Senator-elect Alessandra Biaggi will chair the notoriously ineffective Ethics Committee, and Sen. Luis Sepulveda will preside over the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee. Sen. Jamaal Bailey, who represents most of Norwood and Bedford Park, will chair the Codes Committee,