Neighborhood Notes: Free Heating Assistance

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Heating Assistance Applications for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) for older adults and low- and middle-income New Yorkers will be accepted by local departments of social services. Eligibility is based on income, household size and how the home is heated. Residents can apply online at https://on.ny. gov/2Fn062M and mail it to NYC DSS/HRA/ HEAP, P.O. Box 1401, Church Street Station, New York, NY 10008. For more information, call (212) 331-3126. Free Tax Prep Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 DeKalb Ave. offers free tax return service Mondays through Fridays from 4 p.m. Those who made $54,000 or less in 2018

Contest Looks to Tap Into Bronx’s Culinary Talents on Salad Dressing

By DAVID CRUZ

Throw in a dash of community gardens, a pound of culinary imagination, and a cash prize and you have a recipe for a contest seeking the next great salad dressing. The Bronx Canasta, a contingent of Bronx-based food and social justice groups, has announced a contest that seeks Bronx residents to create their own salad dressing and marinade recipe. Contestants will craft their recipes using ingredients grown at local community gardens grown across the Bronx. Organizers have taken the pains of prepping a recipe by simply having them submit them online. The contest has drawn interest from elected officials, including

By THERESA SCHLIEP

At $1200 a Month, Managing Diabetes Puts a Dent on Bronx Family’s Budget The Norwood News, WFUV Radio, and BronxNet Television present a five-part series on health-related struggles affecting residents of the Bronx. Elbia Cabral of Highbridge knows a lot about insulin. She knows the different kinds of long-acting and short-lasting insulin, the cheap brands, and the pricier brands. It’s been a year and a half since 12-year-old Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. And it’s been an adjustment for the whole family. Now, Elbia worries about her daughter’s health, and has plenty of questions on her management. “[I]s

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s fifth edition of the Norwood News with plenty of community news you can use. We’ve packed 20 pages full of useful information. As usual, we’ll begin with page one! Our front-page story brings you to Norwood and the temporary, though inconvenient, closure of the local post office. This is the third time the Van Cott Station closed, forcing residents to utilize other post offices. David Greene hears from the the United States Postal Service and residents, who fear a stinky situation has brewed. Inside the cover you’ll find a recap of the latest State of the

Norwood Among Nabes Targeted for Lead Awareness Campaign

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

City health officials are sounding the alarm about lead poisoning that comes not from peeling paint but everyday foods and cosmetics. The city Department of Health & Mental Hygiene announced a lead prevention awareness campaign—which will include flyers, trainings and outreach through community organizations—targeted specifically at South Asian immigrants, who are particularly at risk. The rollout is part of LeadFreeNYC announced at North Central Bronx Hospital on Jan. 28 by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who pegged it as a roadmap to the “literal eradication” of childhood lead exposure. The initiative includes free blood lead level testing and lead inspections for

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s State of the Borough address and their thoughts on the borough’s state. The speech was good, but life in the borough could be better because in this borough there still are numerous train stations that still aren’t wheelchair-accessible. There are some railroad stations that are wheelchair-accessible. He mentioned bringing the Metro-North New Haven Line to this borough. No. That should be a subway train line, not a railroad train line, because that means we will have to pay a premium fare. He also needs to advertise

State of the Borough Pores Over Decade of Change for the Bronx

By JOSEPH KONIG

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. gave his tenth “State of the Borough” speech on Thursday taking credit for nearly a decade of crime reduction and increased economic investment, while acknowledging the borough’s housing and transit challenges. He also indirectly addressed comments made recently by his father, that caused a greater political divide between the two. “The Bronx is thriving,” Diaz Jr. said. “Almost ten years ago, I gave my first ever State of the Borough address. I spoke about the need for better paying jobs, to fight crime in our streets, encouraging new development of all types, and the

By DAVID CRUZ

Experts in the health and housing sectors will converge this weekend to look at the link between the two fields at a forum organized by Montefiore Health System’s Moses Community Advisory Board (CAB). The two-hour session at the Sister Annunciata Bethell Senior Center takes a look at the various factors linking housing to health. This includes the health effects to living in homes with high lead levels, lack of heat and hot water, or vermin. It will look beyond the physical and to the mental impact of housing instability. This can include worries over losing a home or being unable

This week we asked readers living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments in the Bronx about the recent decision for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to oversee NYCHA, and the city’s $2.2 billion commitment for NYCHA repairs over the next decade. I’m all for that because right now we don’t even have heat in the building, no heat at all. We have running hot water, but no heat. We’ve had no heat since yesterday. It comes on and off. They keep saying they’re repairing it. The elevator keeps breaking down. Sometimes we have to go up and down