CB7 Gets Turn to Vote on City Housing Plan

By ADEDAMOLA AGBOOLA

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal to create more affordable housing for New Yorkers dubbed Housing New York might hit a bump as community boards, including Community Board 7, will vote for or against the plan. At issue with CB7, where its general board is expected to vote down the measure when it meets Nov. 17, is the loss of an in-house parking requirement for new buildings that could lead to increased demand for street parking. The rule would apply to neighborhoods falling under a so-called Transit Zone, where there’s ample public transportation for neighbors. In mid-October, CB7’s Land Use

Representatives from a number of Bronx-based anti-violence groups gathered on Nov. 4 to discuss strategies to reduce youth violence. The meeting occurred after a few recent violent incidents in the Williamsbridge Oval Park, including a couple of large fights among students of a nearby school. But in the audience assembled in the Oval Recreation Center, there was a central demographic missing: young people. “The people who need to hear it are not here,” said Abdul “Sleep” Johnson, founder and CEO of the Community Board Athletic Leadership League, noting that all the interested people in the room could not effect change

By NOAH CALDWELL

Vital Stats: 62 – Health ranking of Bronx County. (Source: New York State Department of Health) The Bronx’s collective goal of improving public health has earned it the highly competitive “Culture of Health” prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). After a yearlong application process spearheaded by hospitals, nonprofits, and the New York State Department of Health, the Bronx has been chosen as one of eight winners from a pool of 340 nationwide communities. For health professionals in a county that consistently ranks as New York’s unhealthiest, the prize is a symbol of positive change. “It marks a turning

With some recent high-profile motor vehicle crashes, we asked readers their thoughts on the implementation of Vision Zero and whether pedestrian safety has gotten better or worse. It doesn’t matter because the drivers don’t abide by the law anyway. People complain when you go too slow; they beep you and try and make you go faster and if people don’t see police around, they’re moving. Who wants to do 25 miles per hour? They’re in a hurry. You ever drive 25 and see how far you get? You hold other drivers up. T. Becerra Norwood I believe that traffic has gotten

By VIVIAN CARTER

It’s become a popular post-Halloween ritual in the Bronx—the Pumpkin Smash at Lehman College, sponsored by NYC Compost Project, an initiative of the City Department of Sanitation. On Nov. 4, the community was once again invited to constructively channel their inner goblins, to create compost for greening local parks. The New York Botanical Garden contributed an impressive display of hundreds of fading gourds and pumpkins for dropping, and neighbors could donate their own drooping jack-o-lanterns as well. Participants chose a straight drop from the two-story plaza onto a tarp below, or a catapult rigged to propel the gourds onto

An overwhelming number of Bronx residents vented frustrations over Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York initiative at a hearing over the plan, tying it to gentrification and framing their plight as a struggle between haves and have-nots. Hundreds packed the pews at the hearing, an optional public forum organized by the Bronx Borough President’s Office, and separate of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) on Housing New York. The plan, touted by Mayor Bill de Blasio since May 2014, seeks to build 80,000 affordable units while preserving 120,000 already built apartments across the city. That will happen

Editor’s Pick Walk With a Doc The public is invited to join a free one-hour walk in the park with the doctors at Montefiore, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. at the Williamsbridge Oval. Walking can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, osteoporosis and obesity, improve blood pressure and blood sugar levels, maintain body weight, enhance mental well-being, and more. Meet at the Oval’s Recreation Center. For more information, call (718) 543-8672. Onstage Lehman College for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd., W., presents Lalo Rodriguez, 40 Años de Historia Musical, featuring 17-piece orchestra performing salsa and Latin music,

As South Bronx groups wrangle with developers and politicians over the future of a neighborhood that’s made a comeback, a real estate tracking group is chronicling the neighborhoods’ rise in its skyline. It’s done so via RENTCafé, an apartment listing website that offers before and after slider windows of eleven plots of land, once either barren or housing a one-story property, now occupied by high-rise residential spaces. RENTCafé allows users to view a listing of available apartments across the country, including the Bronx, via property managers. It’s affiliated with Property Shark, a heavily used New York-based real estate website that profiles

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 will hold its general board meeting on Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at Serviam Gardens (auditorium), 323 E. 198th St. CB7 committee meetings are held on the following dates at the board office, 229A E. 204th St. at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Traffic & Transportation: Nov. 12; Veterans Committee: Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.; Housing/Land Use & Zoning: Nov. 18; Environment & Sanitation: Nov. 23; Health & Hospitals: Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m.; Community Relations/LTP: Nov. 24; Economic Development: Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. THE 52ND PRECINCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL meets