Explosion at Alleged Marijuana Grow House Kills Firefighter, Injures 12

By DAVID GREENE

A firefighter chief is dead and twelve others were injured following an explosion of a home in Kingsbridge, which is now under suspicion for housing a so-called “grow house.” Battalion Chief Michael Fahy, a 17-year veteran with the FDNY, was struck with debris from the exploding home at 300 W. 234th Street as he directed operations from outside the home. “It’s a terrible loss for the family, for the Fahy family,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a news conference at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where Fahy was rushed to. “It’s a loss for the Fire Department family. We are a

By DAVID CRUZ

Community Board 7 opened its fall session with a shocker as members held off firing its latest district manager, continuing a pattern of hostility between executive members and DMs that’s ended in the resignations of three DMs in just over three years. With a vote of 26 to 1 at the latest general board meeting, CB7 members voted to extend the probationary period of Andrew Sandler, who was hired by the Board nine months ago after its previous DMs, Dustin Engelken, resigned. On its surface, Engelken left after his wife accepted a job abroad, though members said Engelken left because

A model student at a Bronx catholic high school is being recognized for his scholastic achievements in the nation’s capital. Christian Martinez, a student at Cardinal Hayes High School and an alum of Bronx Youth Heard, the Norwood News’ afterschool journalism program, is being awarded the Seton Award by the National Catholic Educational Association. The award doubles as a $2000 scholarship. “Christian is a perfect example and model student for Catholic education,” Fr. Joseph Tierney, President of Cardinal Hayes High School. “He represents thousands and thousands of young men and women who have these core values that make them great

By DANIELA BEASLEY

The new school year is underway, and for the kids who attend Public School 56 in Norwood, that means taking advantage of a new addition to their school that has been under construction since 2014. “They were over at a different school for first and second grade before the construction was finished,” Denise Gonzalez, a parent, said referring to her children who now attend PS 56. For a time, students were relocated to 3177 Webster Ave., a co-located school. “I’m so happy that our kids are over here again. I graduated from here, this is our school,” Gonzalez added. Construction

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 will hold its general board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 6:30 p.m. at Sister Annunciata Bethell Senior Center, 243 E. 204th St. CB7 committee meetings are held on the following dates at the board office, 229 E. 204th St., at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Housing, Land Use & Zoning Committee on Sept. 21; and Economic Development Committee on Sept. 27. For more information, call the Board office at (718) 933-5650. THE 52ND PRECINCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL will meet Sept. 22 at 2455 Sedgwick Ave. (across from Fordham Hill Oval Cooperative) from 7 to 9 p.m. For

By DAVID CRUZ

It took almost two years, but a neighborhood pizza shop settled prominently at one corner of Norwood has finally reopened with nary a notice. Over the summer, the owner of Nicky’s Pizza & Ristorante, Peter Deliaj, lifted the shutters to the 30-year-old pizza place once again following a lengthy top-down facelift. “I couldn’t keep the store like it used to be,” Deliaj said, speaking to the Norwood News from the recently re-opened eatery. Its shuttered state became an accepted mark to Norwood’s small business district. It wasn’t hard to miss. After all, it rests at the ever-busy corner of Bainbridge

By DAVID CRUZ

The new police commissioner is no stranger to the Bronx, as are a major number of high ranking brass now helping him run the department. Days before he was named by outgoing Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to succeed him, then NYPD Chief of Department James O’Neill stood before a convention of community and ethnic press invited to hear from him. Asked about noise issues in Norwood, he quickly smiled and revealed he knew Norwood well. He had been the second in command at its precinct. “I was the captain of the Five-Two in 1998,” O’Neill said, referring to his time

By DAVID CRUZ

Something old will soon be new again If someone wants to dig up the Bronx’s past, they would have to email the Bronx County Historical Society for assistance. For a fee, a librarian would sift though a trove of aging artifacts, with some in such poor shape that handling them would compromise them even more. For documents available to the public, a trip to the Society’s archives is the only way to access them, depriving out-of-towners the chance for more efficient research of the borough. It’s a reason why the Society, a private not-for-profit, will launch an ambitious archiving project

Editor’s Pick Fall Festival Fun The public is invited to the Jerome-Gun Hill BID’s 20th anniversary free celebration at its 15th Annual Fall Festival on Sept. 17 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine, on Jerome Avenue, between East Gun Hill Road and East Mosholu Parkway North. Events include live musical performances, children’s activities, vendors and food, and a variety of BID merchants. For more information, call (718) 324-4946. Onstage Lehman College’s Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd., W., presents Eddie Palmieri & Friends performing salsa, and Del Caribe Latin Jazz All Stars, on Sept.