Be Healthy: Alzheimer’s Awareness Month Highlights Importance of Getting Checked

Vital Stats: 2M Number of U.S. citizens age 65 and older suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (Source: Alzheimer’s Foundation) With 15 percent of Bronx residents 65 and older, and a population that’s living longer, Montefiore Health System is preparing for what it’s dubbed a “looming crisis” in the number of impending sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease. “When the first wave of baby boomers reach age 85, which is about 2031, there’s going to be more than 3 million people age 85 and older with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Jessica Zwerling, associate director of neurology at Montefiore’s Center for the Aging Brain in Yonkers. Alzheimer’s

Poetry Workshop The Mosholu Library, 285 E. 205th St., offers a free six-week poetry workshop Saturdays through Nov. 14, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. For more information or to register, call (718) 882-8239. Gifted & Talented Exams Parents interested in having their kindergarten, first, second or third grade children take the Gifted and Talented exam can submit a request online at https://prod.semsnycdoe.com/parentsite/, in person at their school, or at a Family Welcome Center until Nov. 9. An information session will take place at the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus, 500 E. Fordham Rd., on Oct. 21 from 6 to 8 p.m.

By DAVID CRUZ

Community news is alive and well here at the Norwood News, serving up another edition filled with plenty of community news you can use. We take you to Bedford Park first and speculation surrounding investment speculation on Webster Avenue that’s revolving around a tiny piece of property currently occupied by the US Postal Service. Reporter William Mathis digs up what is happening at the post office that’s making residents worry. Going inside the award-winning newspaper, and a story on the Norwood News crunching some numbers on the number of 311 complaints Community Board 7 has logged. The results surprised us. And this

New York faces a troubling statistic: the state ranks last in the U.S. in percentage of residents registered as organ donors. With just 25 percent of New Yorkers enrolled in the registry, the state is below the national average of 50 percent. Because of this, a New Yorker dies every 18 hours while waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. To help move the state out of last place, LiveOnNY, formerly New York Organ Donor Network, is launching the first-ever Organ Donor Enrollment Day on Oct. 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at a number of Montefiore campuses throughout the Bronx. This event is being held to enroll as many

By DAVID CRUZ

With lawmakers now ramping up efforts to rid synthetic marijuana from the streets, Community Board 7 is once again doing its part by sponsoring a forum on the impact the drug has had on neighborhoods. Synthetic marijuana, also known as K2, has seen a growing number of users across the city, including the Bronx. The substance, packaged as incense, causes severe side effects that are potentially fatal. They are usually sold at bodegas with little to no oversight. Details are still being worked out by CB7 organizers. The first K2 forum by CB7 was held at North Central Bronx Hospital

By DAVID CRUZ

Greetings, loyal readers! As expected, the digital edition of the Norwood News is out with, as you guessed it: Plenty of Community News You Can Use! We begin with a story that’s 25 years in the making: pilot access to the Jerome Park Reservoir, long a source of majesty for the Bronx, yet only experienced by a handful. Advocates are pushing, step by step, to grant access to parkgoers who have yearned to take a stroll around the man-made reservoir. Worth a read from our own Adedamola Agboola. Inside, you’ll find a story 76 years in the making: the closing of Freilich

City To Grant Jerome Park Reservoir Access on May 20 and 21

By ADEDAMOLA AGBOOLA

The Jerome Park Reservoir, which has been closed off to the public, will be opened for a trial run in November. The massive reservoir, bordering Goulden, Sedgwick and Reservoir avenues, has been cordoned off with two chain-link fences by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which holds joint oversight of the reservoir with the Parks Department. The DEP has long cited security concerns and operational costs as one reason why it has kept the reservoir closed. “Within the last 20 years, the only time the public has been allowed access beyond the fences was for a one-day event called

By WILLIAM MATHIS

In 2011, Edwin Rivera was serving time in the Bear Hill Correctional Facility in upstate New York when he learned about a new drug. “We started hearing about it,” Rivera said. “People were talking about this new thing, K2.” K2, a nickname for synthetic marijuana, has become the new “it” drug in the northwest Bronx. Rivera’s story, complete with moments of hallucinations, explains why K2 has been popularized despite its harsh and unpredictable effects. The state of New York banned the sale of K2 back in 2012 after a number of its users were hospitalized. However, many bodegas, including 14

By DAVID CRUZ

Vital Stats: 23K Number of workers employed by Montefiore Medical Center. (Source: Montefiore Medical Center) Maintaining a healthier Bronx has consistently been the mission of Montefiore Medical Center. And the hospital’s crop of employees is no exception, a reason why Monte launched To Your Health!, an initiative to bolster the well-being of its 23,000 employees at every level.