A Meeting With Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

By DAVID CRUZ

BP Reflects on Development, Drawing Professional Workers, and Mayoral Ambivalence His innuendos were obvious, if not passive aggressive. But there he stood, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. spending 45 minutes in his seventh State of the Borough address chastising the de Blasio Administration for a number of perceived missteps. For political observers, it was a diatribe that once again stoked the burning question. Does Mr. Diaz want to be mayor of New York City? Can he really run the city? It’s an elephant in the room nurtured by daily speculation from inquisitive media and its propensity for validation. Though

By NORWOOD NEWS

On the eve of the first day of Spring, hundreds of residents gathered at Norwood’s Williamsbridge Oval Park for the annual Spring Egg Hunt. The event, sponsored by the New York City Department of Parks, Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District, BID merchants including Gun Hill Pharmacy, New York Cares, Montefiore Health System, and Friends of Williamsbridge Oval Park ushered the start of Spring and brought some fierce competition during several egg hunts. And, of course, there was a visit from the Spring bunny! Check out the photos from David Cruz. [URIS id=20555]

Latest Edition of the Norwood News Is Out!

Hello Faithful Readers! The digital edition of the latest Norwood News, bringing you plenty of Bronx community news you can use, is out and hitting stands as I write. So many stories, it’s hard to know where to begin. We can start at the front page, with a missing persons case that’s rattled Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights and the Bangladeshi communities in the Bronx. Mahfuza Rahman, an aspiring nurse and mother, has not been seen since December. Police are now looking to question the husband, who flew back to his native Bangladesh with their 9-year-old daughter. Find out what representatives from

At a low-income residence for the elderly in Kingsbridge, a resident opened their window one recent grey morning and plunged to their death, spattering on the pavement. The suicide, happening at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Webb Avenue Residence directly across from the James J. Peters Veterans Administration Hospital, startled plenty of onlookers even as a security guard draped a white blanket over the body. Many began their work day with the disturbing image burned in their mind, and plenty of questions. The suicide wasn’t even a blip in the local media’s radar, except the Norwood News’, which made note

Senior Homeowners Fair The Parodneck Foundation in partnership with University Neighborhood Housing Program hosts a free Senior Homeowners Fair on March 15 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Serviam Gardens Bldg., 323 E. 198th St. Seniors can meet with certified housing counselors and attorneys for free financial and legal advice. For more information and to RSVP, call (212) 431-9700 ext. 391. Free Tax Services Councilman Ritchie Torres hosts free tax preparation services for Bronx residents at his office, 573 E. Fordham Rd., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., every day except Thursdays and Sundays; Mondays till 7 p.m. For

By JASMINE GOMEZ

For a few moments, Elizabeth Quaranta sat in the middle of a big pile of dirt where a beloved tree stump once stood. Found along Mosholu Parkway South between Bainbridge and Marion avenues, the tree base once decorated with lilies and other ornaments was removed by the New York City Department of Parks on Feb. 18. The uprooting of the stump, once dubbed by Quaranta as the “Giving Tree,” left many community members mournful. To many, the tree stump served as the communal arbor for neighborhood residents, where many often met up to sit and chitchat. “The community saw it

By DAVID CRUZ

Shades of blue have been spotted at one of the borough’s largest commercial stretches. They come in the form of posters hung at more than two-dozen businesses across the Fordham Road Business Improvement District reminding men and women over the age of 50 to get screened for colorectal cancer, an illness common in that age bracket. The campaign, dubbed “Fordham Road Goes Blue Campaign,” coincides with March’s Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The BID is the only commercial district to adopt the program. “It wasn’t asking [businesses] for money. It’s going out and asking them ‘please help us raise awareness for

Hello Faithful Readers: The Norwood News brings you the latest edition of the community newspaper, with plenty of Bronx news you can use. With 24 packed pages, it’s tough determining where to begin. Well, we’ll go to page one and a recent spike in crime at the local 52nd Precinct, which is dealing with a spike in burglaries. Thieves hit several stores around the busy Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District, with some taking the news in stride while others deeply concerned. Check out the nifty map detailing where the crimes have occurred. We also bring you some sad news of a

The corner of Webb Avenue and Kingsbridge Road was cordoned off for several hours yesterday after a resident of a Kingsbridge assisted-living facility threw themselves out the window at the height of the commuting hour. Witnesses heard the thud of the victim falling from a window at the Weinberg Gardens just as commuters from the James J. Peters Veterans Hospital drove or walked into work. A security guard from the home immediately draped the body with a blanket as commuters stopped to see what happened. The facility is part of the Jewish Home Lifecare. A spokesperson for the residence told