Gang Deterrent Gets $1M Boost Following Spurts of Violence

By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS

In response to the recent stabbing of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, Councilman Ritchie Torres announced a $1 million allocation to preventing further gang violence through an initiative called Cure Violence. “The value of Cure Violence lies in recognizing that gang violence is not only a problem that falls in the domain of criminal justice,” said Torres, at a news conference outside Mt. Carmel Church, several blocks north from where Junior was killed. “It’s also a problem that falls in the domain of public health. Gang violence is a public health epidemic, and we must do more to cure it.” Torres

SEE VIDEO: 14-Year-Old's Stabbing Linked to Trinitarios

By DAVID CRUZ and ANGEL MINDANAO

Police need help identifying several young men wanted for allegedly stabbing a 14-year-old boy, in a case police say is linked to the death of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz. Police received a call on June 18 at 5:30 p.m. from the Bronx River Parkway near the East Gun Hill Road exit in Norwood where the victim was stabbed multiple times. Police say the beef between the 14-year-old victim, whose name was not released, and the gang began at French Charley’s Park. The fight started over a girl, according to a police source. In a 17-second cell phone video obtained by

NURSE ROSEMARY BARRETT (right) embraces and gives a gift to 99-year-old Ada MacDonald during the Centennial Celebration at the St. Patrick’s Home on June 19. In the background is Sr. Kevin Patricia Lynch. Photo by Sophia Ebanks.

By SOPHIA EBANKS

Julia Bizzarri has been a resident at The St. Patrick’s Home Rehabilitation and Health Care Center for over 10 years. This year, she celebrates her 105th birthday. “I can’t believe I am this old,” said Bizzarri. “I give thanks to God for living this long.” Every third Tuesday in June, St. Patrick’s Home hosts its annual Centennial Celebration to honor residents who had and are close to reaching the centennial milestone. This year, ten centenarians, including Bizzarri, were celebrated at the event on June 19. The Norwood News asked Bizzarri and another centenarian what’s the secret to a long and

Getting a Seat at the Bronx County Committee Table

By MARTIKA ORNELLA and DAVID CRUZ

As the Bronx political season kicks into high gear, community organizers like Samelys Lopez of Bedford Park are working to ensure more equitable political participation across the borough. This not only includes going to the polls, but running for a county committee seat, a governing body composed of members of the same political party. As it stands, the process is esoteric. How does one get on a county committee? The question stood at the heart of a workshop organized by Lopez, who corralled community activists and leaders from various political groups across the city to St. Paul’s Church in Parkchester

Tributes and Anger for Lesandro Guzman-Feliz Killing

By JOSE A. GIRALT

The crowd at the corner of East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue in Belmont, the scene of the vicious murder of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, nearly squeezes out of the metal barriers police have set up. An NYPD officer stands in the middle of the street directing a traffic jam as cars slow to take in the scores of candles laid at the steps where Lesandro drew some of his final breaths. His murder, brutally captured on surveillance footage, has captured the city’s attention over its senselessness. In front of the shutters at Zesarina bodega, Belmont resident Jennifer Pagan has

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

So what is all this talk about a trade war? We’ll tax China and Canada, Trump says. Other countries want to tax America? What is international trade? What does it mean to our economy? The” balance of trade” is the difference between the value of a country’s imports and exports for a given period. The balance of trade (BOT) is the largest component of a country’s balance of payments. Economists use the BOT to measure the relative strength of a country’s economy. The balance of trade is also referred to as the trade balance or the international trade balance. The balance of trade, commercial balance, or net

By KATHERINE MENDOZA

I am 17-years-old and I live in the Belmont section of the Bronx. Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to work with NYC Smoke-Free at Public Health Solutions. Their teen advocacy program, Reality Check, helped me to learn more about Big Tobacco and its impact on teenagers. I learned a lot about tobacco use and its influence among teenagers. Did you know that in the Bronx an alarming 1,000 public high school students smoke cigarettes? I became more concerned about tobacco use when I started learning about youth exposure to non-traditional tobacco products such as

Insurance Help Free insurance enrollment help is available at NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, 3424 Kossuth Ave., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following dates: June 21, 22, 28 and 29. For more information, call 311. New Social Security Cards New replacement Social Security cards can be now obtained by going to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. The new cards will no longer include the Social Security number to further protect privacy. For more detailed information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber_. Free Immigration Service West Bronx Housing, 220 E. 204th St., provides free basic immigration services. They offer application assistance for citizenship, permanent residence

Bronx Night Market Brings Evenings of Music and Food to Fordham

By SOPHIA EBANKS

Fordham Plaza is getting its first-ever night market this summer, aimed at celebrating the diversity within the borough. Similar to the Queens Night Market and the Brooklyn Night Bazaar, the Bronx Night Market will be a free outdoor festival that will last all summer and offer food, culture, and entertainment. The market is run by quarterly magazine Edible Bronx and the creative agency BLOX in conjunction with the Fordham Road Business Improvement District. Amanda Celestino, the Edible Bronx publisher and Bronx Night Market co-founder, hopes that it will show visitors all that the organizers believe the Bronx has to offer.