Public & Community Meetings

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 committees are held on the following dates at the Board office, 229A E. 204th St., at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Budget, Personnel & Ethics Committee on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.; Public Safety & Quality of Life Committee on Sept. 1; Education, Youth & Libraries Committee on Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m.; Executive Committee on Sept. 6; Traffic & Transportation Committee on Sept. 8; Veterans Committee on Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m.; Environment & Sanitation Committee on Sept. 13; and Health & Hospitals Committee on Sept. 13. For more information, call the Board office at (718)

Greeting Readers! After a brief hiatus (depending on how you ask) the Norwood News is back with its regularly scheduled edition of the neighborhood paper covering plenty of Bronx news you can use. We begin with a story we’ve been following for some time, the saga involving a two-story home on Bedford Park. We bring you up to speed of the aftermath of a fire that impacted the tenants who were in the middle of fighting their landlord in court. Find out how the city is helping to restore the building. In other news: with the September Primary right around

Amid financial turmoil for the city’s network of hospitals, Maureen Pode, previously acting CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals in North Central Bronx, has officially been named CEO of the North Central Bronx Hospital, by president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, Dr. Ram Raju. Earlier in her career, Pode held an assortment of positions at the Cabrini Medical Center before deciding to work at NYC Health + Hospitals where she has stayed for the past 14 years. As a senior executive, Pode will begin implementing the three new service lines that have replaced the hospital’s former network structure,

By DAVID GREENE

Students and fellow teachers gathered to say goodbye to a beloved Norwood teacher who passionately pushed scores of students to follow their dreams and pursue their goals. Ramon Cabrera Mojica, 52, was a teacher by trade. He taught art and fashion design and was the fashion designer and coach to contestants of the Miss Puerto Rico Pageant at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in Manhattan. “His death is a loss to the entire community,” said Benjamin Torres, Mojica’s best friend and roommate. According to Torres, Mojica battled liver cancer and died in Manhattan on Aug. 5. Mojica taught at

Miosotti Tenecora, a graduate of local Bronx public schools and Fordham University-Rose Hill (Bachelor’s, Magna Cum Laude, 2010), recently began her studies at Boston University School of Law as a Public Interest Scholar, a full-tuition award that recognizes her academic achievement and commitment to practicing public interest law. She is the daughter of Flor Mejia of Norwood, who works as a student bus attendant. Over the summer, Tenecora served as an intern in the district office of New York City Council Member Andrew Cohen, where she helped arrange free legal help for local residents, in partnership with several public interest

With Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s recent pledge to invest more than $14.3 million in capital funds toward park improvements, the group working to revamp Kossuth Playground on Mosholu Parkway received the news they’ve been waiting for. “Yes! We get to have our park! I’m so happy,” said Elizabeth Quaranta, president of Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMB), reacting to news of Diaz’s inclusion of Kossuth Playground receiving $500,000 in funds for improvements to the playground. The playground sits atop a hill on Mosholu Parkway and is the only legally designated area for recreation on the parkway. Councilman Andrew Cohen,

By DAVID CRUZ

The tenants of 267 E. 202nd St. no longer call that address home. At least not for now. It didn’t come as a result of their ongoing legal dispute with their landlord, Peter Fine, who long sought to aggressively evict tenants while apparently eyeing the property for high-rise redevelopment, but an overnight fire that tore through the entire two-story home, displacing four families and complicating their lawsuit. But Fine, a multimillionaire and real estate magnate whose portfolio includes Boricua Village in the Melrose section of the Bronx and several luxury homes in Florida, may still be on the hook

If one were to compare the Bronx to the human anatomy, Morris Park would be located where the heart should be. For years, residents of this middle class neighborhood enjoyed a quality of life only matched by Riverdale or Pelham Bay. But residents today worry the quality of life they have enjoyed for decades is quickly deteriorating, and they’re fighting back. Made up mostly of tree-lined streets and private homes, many residents enjoy life without the alternate-side parking quandary that dominates the Bronx as homeowners clean the streets in front of their property. The community enjoys some of the best

By DAVID CRUZ

It’s unclear what the true story is behind the name Norwood, a moniker that’s surprisingly common around the world (there’s a Norwood in South Australia). It could be the namesake of Carlisle Norwood, a friend of Leonard Jerome, a flamboyant moneyman whose fame rewarded him with a street bearing his name. Or it could be a melding of “North Woods” as origin stories as far as some Norwood cities and towns go. Whatever the backstory, the Norwood section of the Bronx is unlike the others identified across the globe. A bygone feel courses through Norwood, one of the borough’s leafiest