Cohen Explores Run for Bronx Borough President Seat

By DAVID CRUZ

Norwood’s Councilman is exploring a run for Bronx Borough President, adding to a list of potential suitors for the borough’s top executive post. Councilman Andrew Cohen, the 11th Council District representative covering Norwood, Bedford Park, Woodlawn, Wakefield, Riverdale, Fieldston, Kingsbridge, and Marble Hill, told the Norwood News he’s weighing considering whether to enter a race that’ll open in 2021. He’s laying the ground work in some ways, crisscrossing different parts of the Bronx as a way of understanding its nuances and putting his name out there. “I’m not shy about it. I’m thinking about it,” said Cohen. “We’re approaching the

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers where the money collected through Congestion Pricing tolls should go to improve the buses and subways. Well, they need to accommodate women with carriages on buses; so I think they need to install more wheelchair snaps in so we would be able to snap in baby strollers in the same blue chair accessible spots. Right now, we’re not allowed to do that so they need to put some money into that, because their excuse is they are unable to accommodate so many mothers. Money should also be spent so that there’s elevators at every train station and create

Diaz Sr. Formally Declares Run for Congress

By DAVID CRUZ and DAVID GREENE

Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr., the socially conservative Democrat representing the Bronx’s 18th Council District, formally declared a run for the 15th Congressional District long held by Congressman Jose Serrano who opted not to seek re-election after nearly 30 years in office. Diaz is the second candidate to formally declare a run in a contest that’ll likely be one of the more closely watched and hotly contested. The first candidate to file was by political newcomer Jonathan Ortiz, according to federal campaign filings. “I could do a lot there in Washington,” said Diaz, in a phone interview with the Norwood News.

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By DAVID CRUZ and EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

The NYPD is trying to figure out how a man in need of medical attention wound up floating face down in the Bronx River. The man was identified by family members as 43-year-old William Daughtrey of Williamsbridge, according to News 12. Daughtrey has been missing since February. His mother, Barbara Felder, said he struggled with mental illness, according to News 12. The cops initially said they received a call at around 2:30 p.m. on April 13 for a man in need of medical attention at Botanical Square, a small street less than a mile from the river. They later discovered

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

Only five percent of Norwood residents commute by car into Manhattan below 60th Street and so would be affected by an impending congestion pricing toll, according to an analysis of census data by the Tri-State Transportation Commission (TSTC), a nonprofit focused on public transit. In other parts of the northwest Bronx, that number is closer to three percent, the report said. But some residents told the Norwood News they were against the measure even if it would not affect them personally, saying it amounted to squeezing poor people. “It’s an abuse. They need to stop raising the prices on everything,”

Norwood Okays Projects With a Stroke of a Pen Thanks to PB

By DAVID CRUZ

Inside tower one at Tracey Towers, volunteers man a small table inside the lobby. It’s the day before Participatory Budgeting—an initiative that allows residents within a Council District to decide how $1 million in capital funds should be used—and some tenants stop to make their voices heard on paper. It’s the afternoon of April 4, and Delores Edwards and Evelyn McDonald, lure some familiar faces to complete ballots featuring the list of Participatory Budget projects residents spent months hammering out. The projects would impact the neighborhood, part of the 11th Council District that’s represented by Councilman Andrew Cohen. For the

Free Bird Walk Tours Free bird walks are offered every Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. from April 27 through July 20 at the Van Cortlandt Nature Center. Bird watchers can look for various species of residents and migrants and discuss a wide range of avian topics. For more information, email Joseph McManus at mcmnaus638@aol.com. No registration necessary. No limit. Free thanks to grant by Councilman Andrew Cohen. Summer Youth Police Academy Young people between the ages of 10 and 15 can sign up to train with police officers at the Summer Youth Police Academy. The program is free, runs five

DON’T MISS THE Spring Egg Hunt at Williamsbridge Oval, the highly-anticipated yearly event, on April 20 (see Editor’s Pick for more details). File Photo Editor’s Pick Egg Hunt at the Oval The public is invited to a free spring egg hunt at the Williamsbridge Oval on April 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Activities include the egg hunt, sack races, arts and crafts, carnival games, visit from the bunny, and more. Please bring a can of food for donation to local pantry. For more information, visit nyc.gov/parks. Onstage Williamsbridge Oval presents free theatre, Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” in the Rec

Bronx BP Blasts NYCHA for Evicting Newly Elderly Tenant

By DAVID CRUZ

In a continued rebuke against the New York City Housing Authority, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. lashed out at the beleaguered agency for kicking out a senior citizen tenant from his apartment for not paying his rent while he was recuperating from a leg amputation elsewhere. But hours after Diaz’s news conference, NYCHA is slated to reinstate the tenant. “He’s a good tenant,” said Diaz at a news conference April 11, calling NYCHA out for evicting Bienvenido Martinez, a 72-year-old resident at NYCHA’s Union Avenue Consolidation, a nine-story residential building, in Longwood for the last 14 years. Martinez was