OpEd: Smoking Even Worse for Teens

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By KATHERINE MENDOZA

I am 17-years-old and I live in the Belmont section of the Bronx. Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to work with NYC Smoke-Free at Public Health Solutions. Their teen advocacy program, Reality Check, helped me to learn more about Big Tobacco and its impact on teenagers. I learned a lot about tobacco use and its influence among teenagers. Did you know that in the Bronx an alarming 1,000 public high school students smoke cigarettes? I became more concerned about tobacco use when I started learning about youth exposure to non-traditional tobacco products such as

Insurance Help Free insurance enrollment help is available at NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, 3424 Kossuth Ave., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following dates: June 21, 22, 28 and 29. For more information, call 311. New Social Security Cards New replacement Social Security cards can be now obtained by going to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. The new cards will no longer include the Social Security number to further protect privacy. For more detailed information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber_. Free Immigration Service West Bronx Housing, 220 E. 204th St., provides free basic immigration services. They offer application assistance for citizenship, permanent residence

Bronx Night Market Brings Evenings of Music and Food to Fordham

By SOPHIA EBANKS

Fordham Plaza is getting its first-ever night market this summer, aimed at celebrating the diversity within the borough. Similar to the Queens Night Market and the Brooklyn Night Bazaar, the Bronx Night Market will be a free outdoor festival that will last all summer and offer food, culture, and entertainment. The market is run by quarterly magazine Edible Bronx and the creative agency BLOX in conjunction with the Fordham Road Business Improvement District. Amanda Celestino, the Edible Bronx publisher and Bronx Night Market co-founder, hopes that it will show visitors all that the organizers believe the Bronx has to offer.

Clergy and Bronx Electeds Slam Trump Immigration Policy

By ANGEL MINDANAO

Clergy, community leaders and Democratic elected officials interlocked arms as they sang “We Shall Overcome” at a prayer vigil and rally on June 22, calling for the reunification of immigrant families detained at America’s southern border. The event saw legislators from the city, state and federal governments weighing in on a policy that, up until June 20, saw families of illegal immigrants separated. It was a policy done away with by an Executive Order President Donald Trump had signed. Legislators saw this as a moment to pounce on Mr. Trump despite the reversal. “There is no substitution for the care

By ANGEL MINDANAO

Calling for “much-needed reform,” borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. is hosting a prayer vigil and rally today in collaboration with clergy, community leaders, and elected officials to demand that the Trump Administration immediately return immigrant children being held in the Bronx to their parents. The event will be co-sponsored by the Bronx Clergy Task Force and will take place on the steps of The Bronx County Building, 851 Grand Concourse (at the corner of East 161st Street), at noon. According to Diaz, his office has been contact with Catholic Guardian Services and Lutheran Social Services of New York, two organizations

By NORWOOD NEWS

The Norwood News, the community publication covering the Bronx and celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, won a first place prize once again for Best Small Circulation Publication at this year’s Ippies Awards. The contest, now in its sixteenth year, celebrates the work of community and ethnic media outlets across the city. The Center for Community & Ethnic Media, which has its offices at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, has organized the show since its inception. Tom Robbins, investigative reporter in residence at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, cited the paper’s 2016 February 16 to March 1 edition

Editor’s Pick Wellness Fair The public is invited to a Wellness Fair sponsored by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, NYC Department of Small Business Services, and Friends of Mosholu Parkland, at Frisch Field, Webster Avenue and Botanical Square (East Mosholu Parkway South), on June 24 from noon to 4 p.m. Events include games, fun activities, music, refreshments, treats, and more. For more information, call (718) 324-4461. Onstage The Bronx Arts Ensemble presents free concerts: Latin jazz on June 22 and oldies, pop, and R&B music on July 8, both at the Williamsbridge Oval at 6:30 p.m.; and A Salute to America on

By ANGEL MINDANAO

Though at first glance, the garage at 383 E. 201st St. appears to be simply old and abandoned, in its alleyway is a historic relic that could come down. At the last monthly Bedford Mosholu Community Association meeting, president Barbara Stronczer announced that a developer had purchased the garage, putting a wall sign at risk while also lowering the chance the garage will ever be used for its intended purpose. The wall sign reads “Vote Henry Bruckn,” with a portion of its right side painted over. Stronczer told residents that she came out of her apartment building two weeks prior

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering the Bronx, is out and packed with plenty of Bronx news coverage. We begin our journey with page one and our front page story. This one focuses on Jean Hill, the newly voted chair of Community Board 7. The headline says it all: Hill’s stature is risen from her ascension to the role of board chair. Hear what Hill had to say on her expectations from Board members come September. We then head inside the cover and the local debate on the Specialized High School Admissions Test and a