Gjonaj Wins Council Seat Opening Norwood Assembly Seat

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE

All that cash ultimately paid off. Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, who set a new record for City Council spending, was elected to represent the 13th Council District on Election Night, securing 49 percent of the vote, and effectively opening his Norwood Assembly seat. Gjonaj, an Albanian American from Morris Park, defeated Republican challenger John Cerini, an accountant and community leader from Throggs Neck, as well as Marjorie Velazquez, the 82nd Assembly District Female Leader and Community Board 10 treasurer who ran on the Working Families Party ticket. Velazquez was backed by the current holder of the seat, the term-limited Councilman Jimmy

Garbage Truck Slams into Pedestrian in Norwood, Killing Him

By DAVID CRUZ

Detectives from the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad are still putting together the events leading up to an early morning truck accident that took the life of the still-unidentified man. Police say the victim was struck and killed by a dump truck, at 5:06 a.m. on Nov. 7, at the intersection of Jerome Avenue and East Gun Hill Road in Norwood. He was pronounced dead at the scene. After a preliminary investigation, investigators determined, “a 33 year-old male was operating a 2010 Peterbilt dump truck when the unidentified male mounted the front step (of the truck) and attempted to hold onto the right

Getting Into Nitty Gritty of Kingsbridge Ice Project Loan

By AARON MAYORGA

State officials are in the midst of finalizing a $138 million capital loan to the developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) after a five-member board approved the measure during their latest meeting. During its Oct. 18 meeting, the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB), which supervises the activities of New York’s numerous public benefit corporations, unanimously approved the general project plan outlined by the state’s Empire State Development (ESD) agency. In addition to the $138 million loan commitment, the ESD plan also includes $26.4 million in historic tax credits and an additional $20.7 million in “other preferred equity.” All

Editorial: Who Will You Hire This Election Year?

Nov. 7 will be the day you exercise your right to vote. In the Bronx there are 11 contests (not counting citywide), most of which have already been won, thanks to the power the September primary has on the Bronx. The general election simply formalizes those victories. The race for Mayor is largely along the same line. In the August 31-September 13 edition of the Norwood News, we wrote that the incumbent, Mayor Bill de Blasio, is likely going to win the general election namely since the two challengers, Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, and Independent Richard “Bo” Dietl, carry very

By DAVID CRUZ

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. got an earful from scores of residents, merchants and even doctors largely opposed to the Jerome Avenue Rezoning plan, a complex and sweeping proposal intended to create more affordable housing across the west and southwest sections of the Bronx. The plan, now in the middle of a public review, is in the hands of Diaz who held a hearing Nov. 2 on the issue. The lofty proposal looks to rezone 92 blocks of Jerome Avenue between 184th and 167th streets. The plan covers a two-mile stretch along its commercial and major transit corridors within

By YARA PALIN

CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ROBBED Five people entered St. Nicholas of Tolentine School in Fordham through an unsecured door and took around $4500 worth of laptops and other electronics before taking off on Oct. 23, police say. The first suspect is Hispanic and in her teens. She is roughly 5’5’’ and 125lbs. The second suspect is also a Hispanic woman and in her late teens or early twenties, around 5’6’’ and 125lbs. The last three suspects are all Hispanic men in their late teens or early twenties and are around 5’7’’ and 170lbs. LIQUOR STORE PICKPOCKET Police are looking for suspect

City Steps in to Aid Troubled Kingsbridge Hts. Building

By YARA PALIN

The city has aggressively stepped in to help tenants of a troubled Kingsbridge Heights apartment building who were reportedly forced to share a single bathroom for weeks. The superintendent for 60 E. 196th St., Cristian Rico, says that conditions first reported by the New York Post were exaggerated. He insists that The Morgan Group, which own the building, has only been renovating after the city ordered them to fix faulty. There are still two official stop work orders posted on the front door, however. He also says that the stop work order was given because “tenants were using one bathroom

Fordham Landing Shelter/Affordable Housing Site Here to Stay

By REGGIE FRANCOIS

Despite numerous attempts to rid a homeless shelter/affordable housing site in Fordham, hundreds of residents at a nearby cooperative will have to get used to the site and its occupants, whether they like it or not. Still, residents at Fordham Hill Owners Corporation expressed continued outraged for Fordham Landing, the homeless shelter and affordable housing site slated to open in December. An Oct. 25 town hall meeting took place between the corporation’s community engagement community and representatives from the New York City Department of Homeless Services and Bowery Residents Committee (BRC), with executive director Muzzy Rosenblatt on hand. “We’re here

Savor the Bronx Aims to Satisfy Taste Buds

By DIEGO BARCACEL PENA

A full serving of the borough’s diversity will be dished out by local eateries during Savor the Bronx Restaurant Week, which runs from Nov. 6 to 17. The eleven-day event will give local restaurants the chance to showcase assorted Bronx flavors while continuing its decades long quest to extinguish the “Bronx is burning,” stereotype of the 1970s. The term was coined exactly 40 years ago when the Yankees played the Dodgers in the World Series in the Bronx. “Unfortunately, that was when the world saw the Bronx burning, in fact some of the fires were just around the corner,” said