Inquiring Photographer: Stores in Norwood

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By DAVID GREENE

With the recent closings of several popular stores in Norwood, we asked residents what types of stores the community needs. I think the neighborhood could use a gym and some more clothing stores. I just moved out here, maybe a movie rental store. Millie Sanchez Norwood Of course I noticed the stores closing. The butcher shop is not the same as they used to be. I don’t think the quality of the products is there because they no longer have the clientele of the community, so there’s not as much traffic to the store. So there’s less business.

Power Walk at NYBG Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and J Train Wellness invite the public to join the B’N Fit Annual Power Walk to Wellness at the New York Botanical Garden on May 6 at 9 a.m. rain or shine ($10 p/p; raise $50 and walk free). Event helps educate the community about how to promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent the adverse effects of obesity. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. Whoever raises the most in donations receives $100 gift card and a B’N Fit trophy. Meet at Everett Garden Gate school group entrance. For more

By ADELINE HANSSEN

Covered in student artwork and colorful murals, a renovated basement located between Knox and Gates Places in Norwood serves as the center for Community Organized with a Vision of Excellence (COVE), a local nonprofit that will be home to Dare to Revitalize Education through Arts and Mediation (DREAM!) when the two nonprofits merge this summer. “The combination just makes us a more powerful unit,” said Aisha Norris, who doubles as co-founder of DREAM! and program director of The COVE. The merger of the two nonprofits is somewhat of a no-brainer. The COVE was founded by the Knox Gates Neighborhood Association

NYBG Reopens East Gate Following 10-Year, $3.3 Million Renovation

By ADELINE HANSSEN and DAVID CRUZ

For years, the East Gate was a “pretty rough way of getting to The New York Botanical Garden,” as the institution’s president Gregory Long put it. Now, with the swift snip of a yellow ribbon, the entrance was officially reopened for garden-goers on April 27, intended to increase foot traffic into the garden after a lengthy renovation. The East Gate is one of three entryways to the garden, though it wasn’t it most popular. The gate is found at a geographically obscure section of Allerton, at the corner of Waring Avenue and Bronx Park East. Getting to the gate involves

Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

Dear Fellow Readers, The freshest edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of Bronx community news you can use. In it, you’ll find 16 pages full of good stuff that can make you the smartest person in the room. As usual, we begin with page 1, and a story that while on the surface can be boring, but has major impacts in your quality of life. We’re talking about zoning and the findings of a preliminary study that determines whether it’s doable to have future developers build smaller buildings. The answer, according to the study, is yes. As an

Getting Into Nitty Gritty of Kingsbridge Ice Project Loan

Have you ever had a conversation on what zoning is as it relates to New York City? Unless one is an urban planner, I doubt many can give a comprehensive version of the power behind zoning. In a nutshell, zoning governs how neighborhoods look across the city using a set of regulations or zoning codes that tell developers what’s allowed to be built in a neighborhood. Understanding the nitty gritty aspects of zoning poses major hurdles for anyone looking to gain control of their neighborhood’s fate, and it was pretty evident at a special Community Board 7 Land Use/Zoning and

How Big Do You Want Your Buildings in the Bronx?

By DAVID CRUZ

For residents attending a presentation on the feasibility of downzoning two neighborhoods in the northwest Bronx, tech-heavy jargon such as “Floor Area Ratio,” “compliance,” and “sky exposure plane” admittedly caused confusion for a topic focusing on the size of buildings. “Is this too complicating?” asked Paula Caplan, an independent urban planner hired by Community Board 7 to study the possibility of downzoning the two neighborhoods and present her ideas to the city. Residents answered “no,” with some shrugging their shoulders. A handful responded “yes.” Such is the subject of zoning, a topic that, if presented dryly, can confound and perplex

Oval Park May Get Grant From Walt Disney Co.

Your votes are needed for Williamsbridge Oval Park to secure a $20,000 from the Happiest Place on Earth. The park, at the epicenter of Norwood, is competing with two other parks for the funds as part of the Meet Me at the Park, an initiative between the Walt Disney Company and the National Recreation and Park Association. The funds would go directly to Oval Park’s Summer Sports Experience initiative, where kids learn unique sports skills by trained staffers. “Supporting local parks is essential to the health and vitality of communities everywhere,” said Lori Robertson, NRPA Director of Conservation. “That’s why we are

By DAVID CRUZ

The MTA is rolling out an extra roundtrip bus on the overly congested Bx10 line, following commuter complaints addressed to its local Assemblyman. Its southbound route starts at Riverdale, making 51 stops before reaching Norwood’s 206th Street and Rochambeau Avenue. Commuters were vocal over the line’s constant congestion, which slowed service down. The complaints went to the MTA and to Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, whose district covers Norwood and Riverdale. In a statement, Dinowitz called the bus route a “lifeline for Bronx commuters with limited public transit options.” Bus service stands as the primary public transportation the further north Bronx commuters