Out & About: Tree Lighting in the Bronx

Editor’s Pick Tree Lighting Community Board 7 presents its annual tree lighting on Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. at Mosholu Parkway and Bainbridge Avenue. Events include CB7 choir and Mount St. Ursula and PS/MS 20 choirs. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. Onstage Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W., presents salsa superstar vocalist Oscar D’León and his orchestra, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50 to $65 and $100/VIP which includes reception and pre-concert drinks and d’oeuvres at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 960-8833. Lehman College, 250 Bedford

At Fordham Church, Doors Open For Thanksgiving Meal

By DAVID GREENE

A large group of volunteers spent the night before Thanksgiving cooking hot meals in their homes before feeding hundreds of residents at the Fordham United Methodist Church, on Marion Avenue in the Fordham Manor section. The crowd turned out on Thanksgiving Day as members of the church hosted their 15th annual Thanksgiving dinner. Edward Koku, a parishioner and member of the church’s board of trustees, said that 54 volunteers served 454 meals during the course of the day. “Some of them are parishioners, some are from Fordham University and many volunteers are from a group of Korean parishioners,” said Koku

MMCC and G.O.S.H. Spread Some Thanksgiving Cheer

By DEBORAH CRUZ

A thunderous applause filled the second floor hallway of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC), which was aligned with decorated tables full of canned good and Thanksgiving goodies. It was on Nov. 18 where the Norwood center’s hallways were filled with a group of volunteers standing there in service to its low-income recipients who came to collect a turkey for a Thanksgiving feat. Volunteers led families through the conveyor belt-like hallway where they would be given a bundle of products to take home. For low income families, one turkey can go a long way for a Thanksgiving dinner. “You know

The Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

The 23rd edition of the Norwood News, covering the Norwood section of the Bronx, is out. We begin with page one and the worst landlords in Norwood. Public Advocate Letitia James released the annual list of 100 worst landlords in New York City and Narsinh Desai came in at number 70, making him the worst landlord in Norwood. This edition also features the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, for which a state loan has been approved, a crime file about a wanted serial robber who has attacked at least eight women in Norwood and surrounding neighborhoods, and a movement by Community

This holiday season, you might miss out on that Christmas package you’ve been expecting. The United States Postal Service admits that its carriers can’t deliver packages to some 2,000 apartments in the Bronx. “Carriers cannot get into buildings,” said Diane Jones, a USPS customer relations coordinator, at the latest meeting of Community Board 7’s public safety committee. “And we’re going to have an issue once the holidays come in and the packages start coming.” The issue arises from a lack of keys. While letter carriers typically have the keys to all of the buildings along their route, package carriers do

By AARON MAYORGA

On Nov. 16, the Board of Directors for Empire State Development (ESD), New York State’s economic development arm, voted to approve the agency’s $138 million capital loan to the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC). Under the terms of the loan, KNIC agrees to pay a commitment fee totaling one percent of the loan’s principle (or, $1.38 million) at the loan’s closing. KNIC also has agreed to hire a construction monitor to be “selected at ESD’s sole discretion.” KNIC must also contribute at least $20 million to the project’s development, which boasts a $353 million price tag. The capital loan will carry

Crime File: Alleged Repeat Robber Strikes Norwood

By DAVID CRUZ

Police in the Bronx have identified a suspect wanted for robbing at least eight women in the Norwood section and surrounding neighborhoods. The man, known by police but unidentified by the public, remains at large. Officers with the 52nd Precinct’s Neighborhood Coordination Officers assigned to Sector C, where the majority of the crimes happened, are now patrolling the neighborhood during the day. Six of the eight robberies have happened during the day time, with two happening in the late hours. Sector C usually covers West Gun Hill Road to Webster Avenue at Mosholu Parkway and from Goulden Avenue south to

By DAVID CRUZ

Two Bronx cultural institutions have been given the green light to generate more interest in STEM subjects thanks to a renewed grant by the state’s largest utility firm. The New York Botanical Garden in Bedford Park and Wave Hill conservatory in Riverdale will each receive a $25,000 grant by Con Edison to help pay for educators under the company’s STEM Days Out program. The program brings in teachers specializing in science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEM subjects. “Students will see and touch exhibits, and learn from experts they would not ordinarily meet at school,” said Frances A. Resheske,

And the Worst Landlord in Norwood Goes To…

By DAVID CRUZ, AARON MAYORGA, and YARA PALIN

The worst landlord in Norwood goes to Narsinh Desai, according to this year’s worst landlord watchlist compiled and released by the New York City Public Advocate’s Office. Desai, listed as the head officer for Norwest Realty, is ranked the 70th worst landlord in the 100 Worst Landlord’s Watchlist by Public Advocate Letitia James. The shame list was first conceived by Mayor Bill de Blasio when he served as public advocate. “There are some unscrupulous property owners who have chosen to exploit the market and the dire need for housing,” James, flanked by housing advocates and legislators, said at a news