Norwood News 2019 Year in Review

Norwood News Year in Review (Development)

By DAVID CRUZ

What a year in 2019 for the Bronx! In keeping with tradition, the Norwood News paused to look back on 2019 with a highlight of several ongoing stories we’ve followed this past year. Development Large-scale development became the operative word in 2019, with a flood of projects happening simultaneously in Norwood and Bedford Park, prompting a story recapping readers on those projects on the Vol. 32 No. 11 edition and an in-depth piece entitled “The Vanishing Homeowner” in the Vol. 32 No. 23 edition. The common denominator was simple: the Bronx has become such an attractive place for developers that it’s

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. LGBT Scholarship College scholarships totaling $10,000 will be awarded to students who are members or allies of the LGBTQ+ community. Applicants must write two 500-word essays that discuss a challenge they

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s final edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of community stories to read and share. We’ve crammed plenty of news into this 28-page paper, so let’s begin with page one! Our top story focuses on improving safety at DeWitt Clinton Campus in the aftermath of a stabbing that happened on Nov. 20. Hear what the commanding officer has to say on the plan to keep students secure. Inside the cover we update you on the 15th Congressional District race, and a much-needed endorsement for candidate Samelys Lopez. Read up on why the New York City

By MICHAEL TURAY & JONATHAN CUSTODIO

Four buildings in Norwood are among those on the notorious Worst Landlords Watch List compiled by the New York City Public Advocate’s office. On the list is 3366 Decatur Ave., a 60-unit building with 201 violations listed on the city Department of Housing Preservation & Development’s (HPD) website and 14 violations through the city Department of Buildings (DOB) along with three evictions this year alone. The majority of the HPD violations were filed under Decatur Enterprise LLC and Matt Levi, who was listed as the 14th worst landlord in the city. While a stop work order has been activated on

By MICHAEL TURAY

Scattered Budweiser cans, shabby clothes, and pieces belonging to a worn out cabinet lay strewn about the front lawn of a two-family home at 290 Reservoir Pl. near East Gun Hill Road. For all intents and purposes, the property appears vacant from the outside. Inside, squatters had invaded, creating an unsettling feeling shared by longtime residents. Things reached a tipping point on Dec. 2 when a shootout happened inside the property, sending officers to the home. Near a second-floor window of the house, multiple bullet holes can be spotted from the shots fired following the nighttime dispute that led to

Gates Place Tenants Unveil Anti-MCI Sign, Ratcheting Up Against Landlord

By DAVID CRUZ

The banner sign that hung diagonally above Silvia Estulillo captured her fellow tenants’ story: “Rent Strike; No Mas MCIs,” referring to Major Capital Improvements that took effect shortly after the landlord’s $1.9 million, top-down renovation of the six-story building on Gates Place in Norwood. It wasn’t easy for Estulillo—who’s joined in the MCI strike—to share her story, bursting into tears after speaking openly on the ongoing strife she and a handful of tenants, fueled by gumption, have had to endure. Last year, the tenants decided not to pay for the MCI fees they say are too costly. “We’re working. We’re

By DAVID CRUZ

The Stagg Group is on the cusp of finishing its newest building in Norwood, and while a quarter of those units are deemed affordable, it appears affordability is in the eye of the beholder. St. George Gardens, a 68-unit, mixed-income building at 186 St. Georges Crescent, a tiny street near Van Cortlandt Avenue East and the Grand Concourse, boasts 18 affordable units with rents that begin at $1,075 for studio apartments dedicated to renters with a maximum income of $52,290. Those renters fall within the 70 percent Area Median Income (AMI) range. For those at the 130 percent AMI, rent

A Solemn Goodbye to a Community Activist, MTA Reroute Bus Plan, and More: Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By NORWOOD NEWS

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s twenty-fourth edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of community stories to read and share. We have 28 pages packed full of news from this corner of the Bronx, so let’s start with page one! Our top story focuses on the death of well-known community activist Heidi Marie Schloegel Hynes. Hynes lost her battle with cancer at 51 years old on Nov. 24. Though she may have passed, her legacy will continue to inspire many activists across the Bronx, according to her supporters. Inside the cover you’ll read a piece on the MTA’s proposed bus route revamp

Heidi Hynes, A Model for Community Activism, Passes Away at 51

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Heidi Marie Schloegel Hynes, 51, executive director of the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center [MMC] in Crotona died on Nov. 24 after a battle with cancer. She lived in Bedford Park with her husband Brian and daughter Frieda, leaving behind a legacy of community service that inspired many activists across the Bronx. Heidi was born on Jan. 19, 1968 in Kansas City, MO. She married Brian Hynes in 1995 and lived in Bedford Park since then. “I think the key to understanding Heidi and her commitment to activism came from the realization that there was nothing wrong with the