In Your Neighborhood: Morris Park, Where Traditions Abound

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

A small yet distinct slice of the Big Apple sits at the northernmost part of the Bronx. Largely surrounded by tall trees and shamrock decorated corner stores, Woodlawn is a close-knit area that has been home to the Irish-American community for generations. Its ties to Ireland are understated yet pronounced. Green-colored awnings dominate Katonah Avenue, Woodlawn’s main street, home to an array of pubs and bakeries that pay tribute to auld sod. To help preserve the green oasis, a little over a dozen women formed a civic group in 2014 called the Women of Woodlawn (WOW), joining a list

By MELISSA CEBOLLERO

I have been a proud “Mussell Sucker” for more than a decade. If you are not a City Islander, named for those living in the City Island section of the Bronx, you may be asking yourself, “What in the world do you mean?” The legend goes as far back as the early 1900s, when the term referred to City Islanders who were not native to the island. Back in that century, it literally meant that you were not born on the island once tethered to the nearby town of Pelham in Westchester County. If you were literally born on the island (home births were a normal occurrence at the time),

Dear Fellow Readers: How much does your neighborhood mean to you? For some, it’s a place to reside. For others, it’s a place to build a family. Whether transient or a mainstay, we are all products of a neighborhood, charged up by its tempo and space. In the Bronx, a kaleidoscope of communities east and west, north and south, give the borough a uniqueness unlike most of the city. If you look to the west, a bustling Fordham shopping district sees some 80,000 people overrun the ever-growing strip while City Island, resting at the eastern tip of the Bronx, offers

New York City kids converged at Norwood’s Williamsbridge Oval Park for a day of flag football, softball and other adrenaline-inducing activities at the annual Summer Sports Experience Jamboree. The event, sponsored by the New York City Parks Department, drew an estimated 1000 young people to the Aug. 17 event. At its heart, the all-day event encouraged exercise at New York City’s parks. Photos by Miriam Quinones. [URIS id=21604]

NWBCCC Unveils Roadmap to Abundance

By DAVID GREEN

Paving the way to housing equality stood on the top of an agenda for a social justice group the last week of July. Hundreds of Bronx residents turned out for the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition’s (NWBCCC) unveiling of its Roadmap From Displacement to Abundance Community Resource Fair, held on Sunday, July 31 at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church on Andrews Avenue North in Fordham. The campaign, part of NWBCCC’s core mission tenets, offers information to combat displacement. The group took a broader look at fighting issues of tenant harassment in the Bronx. Invited guests included state Senator

Norwood residents gathered at Oval Park to hear music from Orquesta SCC, a salsa dura band with quite the following. The group performed August 11, and was sponsored by local Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz as part of the 2016 Summer Concert Series in the Northwest Bronx. Photos by Miriam Quinones. “There is no better way to spend a beautiful summer evening than by listening to talented musicians play music with friends and family,” said Dinowitz. “I was so excited to see hundreds of community members attend these concerts which are excellent opportunities for people of all ages to relax and enjoy quality music together. I am proud to

The 52nd Precinct and community members came together as one at the annual National Night Out Against Crime, a nationwide event intended to bring communities and police departments closer together. Check out photos at the August 2 event held at Poe Park in the Kingsbridge/Fordham section of the Bronx. [URIS id=21560]