Op-Ed from Mayor Bill de Blasio: We can help you sign up for health insurance

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

A few weeks ago I met a man from the South Bronx named Wellington. He was diagnosed with cancer and lost his health insurance. The City of New York fought for him and discovered he was entitled to free health coverage. Within a few days Wellington was in the hospital, getting care. Today he is cancer free. This is a frightening time. People tell me they’re worried about losing affordable health care and don’t know what to do. My answer: Tell everyone you know to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act – or as some people

By DAVID CRUZ

Online grocery purchases are now a possibility for food stamp recipients, thanks to a pilot program. The program allows recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy SNAP-approved food from FreshDirect and Amazon. Lobbying efforts from the Bronx Borough President’s Office and federal legislators convinced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to widen the acceptable food outlets SNAP benefits can take advantage of as a way to improve access to affordable food in areas where food deserts are the norm in the Bronx. It also gives a revenue boost to FreshDirect and Amazon. SNAP benefits come in a reloadable

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 committee meetings are held on the following dates at the board office, 229 E. 204th St., at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Community Relations/Long Term Planning & Economic Development Committee is on Jan. 19; and Website, Acknowledgment & Media Committee is on Jan. 25. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. There is no 52ND PRECINCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL meeting in January. The NYPD and Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit will host TOGETHER AS ONE NYC on Jan. 26 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Latino Pastoral Action Center, 14 W. 170th St., between Inwood Avenue and Plaza Drive. To

Hello Fellow Readers! The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering all things Bronx, specifically Norwood, is out with plenty of community news you can use. As all stories go, we’ll begin on page one and our front page story focusing on the upcoming HOPE Count by the New York City Department of Homeless Services, which is still dealing with a major homeless crisis. Read what the count is all about and why it’s been met with controversy over the years. Turning to the inside pages, we take a look at some glimmer of hope to the topsy-turvy saga that’s

By DAVID CRUZ

Survey comes amid surge of homeless-related calls to 311 in community The makeshift camp on a hilltop on East Mosholu Parkway North stood empty, and the circumstantial evidence of occupancy was clear: pillows, cookware, and empty gallons of water. Residents say it’s an encampment for the homeless, a retreat for the night. And should anyone be camped there at the predawn hours of Feb. 6, they will be among those counted by the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS). The agency, still attempting to find homes for the 62,000 homeless individuals, will once again conduct its annual

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE

The long-abandoned two-family house at 3259 Decatur Ave., next to PS 56’s recess yard and considered an eyesore for nearly a decade, is once again legally reoccupied, but is far from fixed up. Elisabeth Von Uhl, a resident in the Norwood neighborhood, has been concerned for a while that the home is an unsafe property that could put school children in harm’s way. Like other neighbors, she’s called 311, and Von Uhl said she reached out to the police and wrote letters to local officials pleading they do something to address the neglected home. A tenant has moved in since

Dear Fellow Readers, The Norwood News, covering the Bronx, is out with its latest edition of the community newspaper, bringing you plenty of news you can use. We begin, of course, with page one, and a retrospective look at 2016, a year filled with plenty of tumult. We look back at some key stories that the Norwood News followed over the year, along with some departures and so longs. Moving ahead into 2017, we have a story on a proposal to revert Mosholu Parkway back to the days when six-story buildings were considered tall in the grassy neighborhood. Hear about one community

By DEBORAH CRUZ

The start of the holiday weekend was interrupted when the doors of the Williamsbridge Oval Park Recreation Center were vandalized during evening hours of operation. The front doors of the Williamsbridge Oval Park Recreation Center were shattered when rocks and cinderblocks were thrown at the door, by what many believe to be adolescent thugs, leaving the entryways partially destroyed. The incident happened around 6 p.m. on Dec. 24. While initially thought to be a direct attack to the center, a few people who asked not to be identified fearing reprisal said there appeared to be a fight between members of

By DAVID CRUZ

Continuing a tradition established for at least five years, the Norwood News took a look back at its 25 editions it puts out every year to highlight stories that consistently stood in the main pages of the paper. These stories caused plenty of readers to pause and think. Among the recurring themes playing out in 2016 was development of Norwood, which continues to be a hot commodity for wary developers. The stories were among the three following categories: Armory The Norwood News opened 2016 with the front page headline, “Ice Project Thawing Out,” referring to the Kingsbridge National Ice Center