After Deadly Fire, Koppell Bill Back in Spotlight

Local elected officials are looking for ways to crack down on illegally subdivided apartments in the Bronx and across the city after a recent fire at one such dwelling killed three members of a Belmont family. One effort, a bill sponsored by Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell, would require the Department of Buildings to seek a warrant to gain access to properties they suspect have been illegally converted if inspectors are turned away or unable to enter a building after two attempts.

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Local Officials Say ‘World a Better Place’ Without Bin Laden

As New York City and the world reacted to the recent death of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, several Bronx elected officials expressed their responses to the historic news — largely seeing the Al Qaeda leader’s death as a milestone for the city, and a means of closure for those who lost a loved one in the tragedy nearly a decade ago.

Teen Charged in Devoe Park Double Murder

Police in the 52nd Precinct arrested a teenager they say is responsible for a triple shooting in a University Heights park earlier this month that left two young men dead and a third person wounded. On April 7, police officers responded to a report of a male shot on the basketball court inside Devoe Park, which sits on the northwest corner of Fordham Road and University Avenue. When the officers arrived just before 8 p.m., they discovered three victims who were then transported to St. Barnabas Hospital.

Making Reading Fun, One T.I.G.E.R. Day at a Time

About halfway through his pivotal starring role as a life-sized, book-loving tiger at Norwood elementary school PS 94, Joe Lawliss removed his foam-rubber mascot head and breathed deeply. It’s all worth it, he thought. Lawliss runs an after-school tutoring program at PS 94. He has two kids of his own. He realizes how important reading is for the development of young minds. It’s the reason he doesn’t have a TV at home and is willing to dress up in a cumbersome tiger costume that makes him feel like he’s living in a sauna. It’s why he will spend the entire day prancing around to various classrooms at PS 94 preaching: Reading is fun!

Off to College, With Posse in Tow

For high school seniors, springtime brings more than showers and flowers — it brings college acceptance (or denial) letters. While many students anxiously await fat envelopes or fear the arrival of thin ones, there are some, like northwest Bronx resident Adolfo Abreu, who are already celebrating and plotting out future plans to put their education to work.

A Local Haven for Abused Children in the Bronx

Every day, the staff at the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Child Advocacy Center must face grim realities that most people find hard to hear or stomach: the stories of physically and sexually abused or neglected children, stories often marked by bruises and broken bones.

Board Rejects Tax Break Bid by Controversial Landlord

Six years after construction began, and a few years after work stalled, an upscale Gun Hill Road building appears to be back on track with a controversial landlord now in the driver’s seat. Though the property, 301 E. Gun Hill Rd., is nominally controlled by a limited liability corporation called Gun Hill LLC, landlord Jacob Selechnik — dubbed “Jake the Snake” by tenant organizers for a long history of neglecting violation-plagued buildings — and/or his related business interests are behind a recent push to complete work on the building, which sits at the corner of Perry Avenue.

Q&A with Michael Lambert: New Jerome-Gun Hill BID Director Settles In

Michael Lambert, a Bronx Science grad and longtime Montefiore Medical Center employee, was recently hired as executive director of the Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District (BID) and deputy director of Mosholu Preservation Corporation. He sat down with the Norwood News to talk about his new position, the benefits of a BID, and why he might make a great Jeopardy contestant.