Norwood Assemblyman Declares Run for NYC Council, Potentially Opening Seat

Gjonaj to Receive Bronx Democratic Party Endorsement

By DAVID CRUZ

State Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, whose 80th Assembly District edges into Norwood, has become the latest candidate to jump into the race for the City Council seat for the East Bronx. Four others have already declared a run in the Democratic Primary for the 13th Council District seat, which covers a portion of Norwood, as well as Throggs Neck, City Island, Morris Park, Country Club, Allerton and Pelham Parkway. The seat is now held by Councilman Jimmy Vacca, who is term-limited. The mudslinging has already begun, with one of Gjonaj’s opponents charging that a Gjonaj win could leave the Assembly District without

By DEBORAH CRUZ

An abundance of red gift bags were spread out on a table surrounded by gold, red, and green stars that decorated the walls of Kingsbridge Terrace, a home for formerly homeless veterans operated by The Jericho Project. Chairs and tables abutted a brightly lit and decorated Christmas tree with a sign that read, “Merry Christmas.” The front of the room filled with volunteers placing plates of sandwiches, cookies, soft drinks, and finger food on the tables. And Tori Lyon, CEO of The Jericho Project, oversaw the room, mingling with staffers at the First Annual Day of Action happening at six

Special Report: Noise in Norwood and Beyond

By DAVID CRUZ

Beating back the metallic thuds, relentless clacks, rhythmic noise, and bass sounds stands as a daily occurrence in some Bronx neighborhoods, with Norwood and Bedford Park no exception. Unwanted noise, a never-ending nuisance that somehow, despite registering as a top quality of life complaint, remains perpetually prevalent. It is the city that never sleeps, and noise is living up to that adage. And as the holiday season settles in, the uptick in noise complaints usually follows. For the NYPD and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, agencies tasked to respond to aggravating noise issues, the priority to curb

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

For this edition, the Norwood News embarked on a journey to understand the culture of noise, specifically incessantly loud noise in the neighborhood with a near 3,000-word article that barely scratches the surface on why the city is unable to blunt this pesky quality of life complaint. Noise, whether it’s loud parties, car horns blaring, or that infernal Mr. Softee ice cream truck that spews that annoying jingle, is pervasive. That noise, unlike the rumble of trains or daytime sirens, fly-by-night noise in the grand scheme of things, can go on for hours, seriously damaging quality of life. For residents,

After a successful year of outdoor movie nights, sidewalk sales, family events, and a huge street fair, the Fordham Road Business Improvement District (BID) wrapped up a terrific year with its 12th Annual Sparkling the Heart of Fordham holiday event on Friday, Dec. 2 at Bryan Park. Over 2,500 people attended and enjoyed live music, free raffles with prizes and 600 free toys distributed by Santa Claus. This year’s presenting sponsors included Macy’s Backstage, Monroe College, local New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres and WellCare. The BID’s 2016 Summer Film Festival was its most successful to date. The festival

Hello Fellow Readers! The latest edition of the Norwood News, bringing plenty of Bronx community news you can use, is out, hitting local restaurants, offices, schools, and parts of Montefiore Health System in the coming days. As usual, we begin with the front page and two events underscoring fear and resentment toward President-elect Donald Trump, set to take office on Jan. 20. Reporters Deborah Cruz (no relation) and Wendy Joan Biddlecombe hit the pavement to gauge the sentiment of some Bronx residents. Further in the story you can read a special report on the topic of noise and what can

By DAVID GREENE

A steady stream of customers old and new have been paying their respects for the last several weeks, as the news spread that Norwood’s iconic McDwyer’s Pub would be closing after half a century. Eamonn McDwyer, or “Eddie” to his friends, was just 29 years old when he opened his saloon on St. Patrick’s Day, 1966, at the corner of East 204th Street and Hull Avenue. In the final days, he was surrounded by friends as workers removed a television and pinball machine, a rarer find in the Bronx. Jeffery Cohen, an attorney who represented McDwyer in his failed battle

By DAVID CRUZ

After a bitter battle over a proposal to switch management firms at a Mitchell-Lama complex in Van Cortlandt Village, several members of the Board that pushed for the proposed switch have been voted out, with members favoring the existing management now in power. Among its first orders of business was nixing the plan to remove the longstanding company. “I believe now the plan to come up with a new management company is essentially dead, period,” Gary Axelbank, newly elected vice president of the Park Reservoir Board of Directors, said. Cooperators at the complex voted off four members of its Board of

Hello Fellow Readers! Happy belated Thanksgiving Day to all our readers. We hope you took the time to pause and reflect on the good things that have come to your lives in 2016 and beyond. We hope one of the good things is reading the latest edition of the Norwood News, which hit newsstands last week. Here, you can sample the latest edition digitally, from the comfort of your computer or smartphone. We begin with a story we’ve been following for several months: the preservation of Bedford Park. Bronx Community Board 7 has begun holding a series of workshops on