More Questions for MTA’s Bus Route Redesign Plan

By DAVID GREENE

More than five dozen Bronxites attended a town hall meeting hosted by Community Board 7 and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera where Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) officials once again presented their Bronx Bus Network Redesign plan that would update most bus routes across the borough in the name of savings and efficiency for the cash-strapped agency. Joining Rivera at the Feb. 1 meeting at Mercy College was MTA representative Rashid Dolor who had appeared at a CB7 general board meeting a few months before to discuss the plan. His last presentation a few months back was rolled into the general board

Bankruptcy Issues Push Back Bedford Green House Completion

By HENRY MCEACHERN

An impending residential building spearheaded by Project Renewal in Bedford Park has would-be tenants lining up at the door. But despite a sign reading the project would be completed by fall 2019, the project deadline is now being pushed back, delaying any plans for prospective residents to move in. The Bedford Green House’s path to completion may be rocky for Project Renewal, and applicants are still waiting, but their contingency plans could have the building completed soon enough to have tenants feeling a warm breeze from their rooftop garden, surrounded by fruits and fish ponds. It was thought that the

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s fourth edition of the Norwood News for 2020 is out with plenty of community stories to read and share. We’ve loaded up 24 pages full of news from this corner of the Bronx, so let’s start with page one! Our top story focuses on a long-awaited project announced by the New York Botanical Garden, which is now entering the residential housing market. The affordable housing residences, with one set aside exclusively to seniors, will soon pop up along Webster Avenue. The area had been rezoned in ten years, clearing the path for projects such as this.

By DAVID CRUZ

Orchard Beach may be off season now, but it didn’t stop some brave Bronxites to take a dip into the freezing waters for the annual Bronx Polar Bear Swim at Orchard Beach. Co-hosted by BronxNet Television and BronxWorks, the annual Dip Against Homelessness on Feb. 9 doubled as a donation drive for the homeless during the coldest time of the year. Check out photos by Miriam Quinones in the Norwood News Facebook link below.

Jules Ira Rubenstein, the Original Inquiring Photographer, Dies at 74

By DAVID GREENE

Life-long Van Cortlandt Park resident Jules Ira Rubenstein, the original “Inquiring Photographer” who produced that popular feature for the Norwood News for 14 years until his retirement more than a decade ago, died from complications of pneumonia. He was 74. A source at Montefiore Hospital, where Rubenstein had been hospitalized since October, stated he had died on Feb. 4, confirming that at around 4:30 a.m., he was found unresponsive. “They tried to resuscitate him [but] he expired,” the source added. Rubenstein was the Norwood News’ first “roving reporter” who covered local breaking news events such as police and fire department activity. He was first hired by

NYBG Enters Into Residential Development Market With Pending Pair of Buildings

By DAVID CRUZ

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is slated to construct two residential buildings totaling more than 400 units along a property it owns Webster Avenue in Bedford Park, advancing an interest in development that harkens back to nearly a decade when community advocates joined city leaders in rezoning Webster Avenue to welcome such development projects. Ahead of a Community Board 7 Housing/Land Use and Economic Development Committee meeting tonight, NYBG approached community stakeholders regarding the two projects—a senior home and an affordable housing development. It’s tapped Douglaston Development to spearhead the projects after entering into a 99-year lease. Financial details

“Save Our City”: de Blasio Outlines Two-Year Agenda in State of the City Address

By HENRY MCEACHERN

Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered his State of the City address yesterday at the American Natural History Museum, framing his points that centered around the theme dubbed “save our city” in a town hall style format. That included promises to expand education, spur small business reform, and create greater affordability. Under the enormous blue whale model inside the American Natural History Museum, de Blasio also focused on creating stronger bonds between the NYPD and young people. Last year, there was an increase in the number of youth-on-youth robberies, with 29 percent of those arrested falling under the age of eighteen,

Botanical Square Revives Long-Dormant Tenants Association, Amplify Need for Fixes

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

For 10 years Rosalina Garcia has been living on the first floor of 2995 Botanical Square in an apartment with “crooked floors.” With help from the executive director at West Bronx Housing and Neighborhood Resource Center, Joshua Stephenson, she is hopeful to see the floors fixed soon. “Now, through the petitions that we put in court with [the help of] Steph, they will eventually have to fix it,” Garcia said. “Steph” is Garcia’s shorthand for Stephenson. He has also helped the residents at 2985-2995 Botanical Square, known collectively as Botanical Square, organize a tenants association to address the concerns at

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

Local law enforcement and judicial officials in the Bronx point to the recent uptick in crime borough wide as a sign that aspects of the newly implemented criminal justice reform is making it harder to keep communities safe, following a position repeated from high-ranking NYPD officials. So far this year, the 52nd Precinct has experienced a 113 percent increase in robberies so far this year, 55 percent more grand larcenies, and a 250 percent rise in car break-ins so far this year. Rapes has also risen by 200 percent. Notably, the murder rate remains the same as last year with