Neighborhood Notes: Free Tax Filing, Flea Market Donations Sought, and More

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Flea Market Donations Sought Donations are needed for the Bedford Mosholu Community Association flea market scheduled to be held on March 10. Bring new and used items (except clothing and hard cover books) to the BMCA office at 400 E. Mosholu Pkwy. So., apt. B1 (lobby floor) on Feb. 21 and 28 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., March 3 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. and March 7 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. For more information, call (718) 367-2230 or email bedfordmosholu@verizon.net. Free Tax Filing Assistance Free tax filing is available for families whose total income is $54,000 or less or individuals who

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on how President Donald Trump’s first year in office went. He’s done some things good and some things he’s messed up. He’s going after the pedophiles and the corrupt politicians, but he’s just as dirty as they are anyway. He’s corrupt too; all his business dealings and he doesn’t show his taxes and we don’t know anything more about him than what he’s shown. Everybody has their taxes exposed, but his are hidden. Why, I don’t know. But I prefer him over Hillary Clinton because she’s an old school politician who’s done nothing

By DAVID GREENE

Father Richard Gorman, a beloved community leader and Bronx priest who fell from grace after being accused of a molestation incident alleged to have happened 30 years ago, died Jan. 23 after an apparent heart attack. He was 63. Archdiocese of New York spokesman Joseph Zwilling confirmed Gorman’s passing, calling it “sudden and unexpected.” Gorman, who lived in a home for infirm priests in Riverdale, was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center where he died. Gorman reportedly had heart ailments going as far back as 2002. For years, the seasoned clergyman spoke publically on injustices impacting the Bronx. Ordained by the

Editorial: Not a Good Message, Mr. Council Speaker

When New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson took the reins from his predecessor, Melissa Mark-Viverito, we knew change was certainly inevitable. We just didn’t think this was going to happen. Within two weeks from the time Mr. Johnson was sworn in, out went several members of the Speaker’s Public Technology Unit, whose job was to work with the city’s diverse community and ethnic media. This move, which the office addressed as benign, spoke volumes. Four staffers were let go; all of them Latina women. The four employees worked well in sending out a message to New York’s community and

By NIALL RIDGLEY

Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an executive order allowing pharmacies to administer vaccines to children ages 2 to 18 as of Jan. 25 to combat the flu outbreak as weekly diagnoses and hospitalizations reach record highs. Cuomo’s executive order suspends a section of state education law that prevented pharmacists from administering immunizations to persons under age 18, thus enabling New York youth to have a better chance at avoiding a nasty flu strain in a particularly beleaguered state. The state has logged 7,800 cases of the flu strain with 1,759 requiring hospitalization. “I urge all New Yorkers to help us

By MARY MELLON

There will finally be a city-funded animal shelter in the Bronx, city officials announced. The 47,000-square-foot Bronx shelter is expected to be built in Co-op City by 2024, and will have room for 70 dogs, 140 cats, 30 rabbits, and 20 animals from other species. The news comes after years of wrangling by animal rights groups in the Bronx, who see shuttling animals to Manhattan as unfair. In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the shelter will “offer direct adoption because we know how much New Yorkers love their pets, especially those in need of a home.” City-funded animal

CEC Meeting Doubles as JHS/MS 80 Pep Rally

By DAVID CRUZ and NIALL RIDGLEY

They came prepared with signs defending the school’s reputation. And they were very vocal about praising it. Despite reports by the New York Post portraying a school in turmoil, students and parents of JHS/MS 80 rallied behind the school. They came together at the recent Community Education Council (CEC) meeting on Jan. 18, packing the school’s auditorium. Signs held aloft by a group of students displayed the hashtag “#IstandwithMS80” superimposed on images of children holding hands in a hallway, while another student raised a hand-drawn sign reading “We R Staying.” Among the guests was Antonio Ramos, an online celebrity regularly seen on MTV’s

GUSTAVO VEGA with the El Colegio de México (COLMEX) (l) shares a moment with Lehman College President Dr. José Luis Cruz (r) at a symbolic signing between Vega’s and Cruz’s academic institutions aimed at strengthening cooperation and promoting mutual understanding. These agreements between Lehman College and eight other schools are intended to lead student and faculty collaboration. The event happened at the Bedford Park-based college on Jan. 18. Photo by Miriam Quinones

Bronx Teen Shot in Gang-Related Shooting at Oval Park

By REGGIE FRANCOIS

Police at the 52nd Precinct are “aggressively looking” for a video that may help them find a suspect involved in the shooting of a 16-year-old near Williamsbridge Oval Park the night of Jan. 24. The video may contain footage of the car from which shots were fired from and clothing the suspect was wearing. Inspector Peter Fiorillo told an audience at the latest 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting on Jan. 25 that officers had reason to believe the shooting was gang-related spawned by a turf war. Fiorillo said the gang known as the Crips was coming down to the Kingsbridge