Picking Up the Pieces After Perry Avenue Fire

Many of the residents of 3050 Perry Ave. returned home the day after a two-alarm fire tore through three apartments and injured 7, including four children June 15 in the Norwood section of the Bronx. The fire was the talk of the neighborhood. Perry Avenue resident Sonia Gonzalez heard screams moments before the sounds of several dozen emergency vehicles converged on the block. “I saw the flames when they started to blow out the front windows and some people were on the fire escape and they climbed down and the fireman went up,” Gonzalez recalled. Gonzalez added, “I just know one family

Inspirational Stencils, Courtesy of Bronx Community Charter School Students

By DEVIN DAE TUCKER

Six graders from Bronx Community Charter School (BCCS) are taking on a year-end street art project, creating stencil art to be displayed around Norwood. They feel their artworks will have a powerful impact on the community. “I think any time kids have an opportunity to do something authentic and real in their own community, the benefits are huge,” said Kendra Sibley, sixth grade teacher at BCCS leading the class. “It is incredibly empowering to them to know that their work is appreciated and that their voices can be heard.” Students were able to incorporate their stencil art with a

By DAVID GREENE

Seven people were injured, including four children, after a fast moving fire broke out in a six-story, non-fire proof building on Perry Avenue. A massive response by police and fire officials began moments after the blaze broke out on the fourth floor of 3050 Perry Ave., a six-story residence between East 204th Street and Mosholu Parkway North, at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 15. Fires crews closed off the street, a neighborhood comprised mostly of two-family homes and residential properties mostly facing Mosholu Parkway. Fire officials could only say that ten victims were removed from the building, all suffering minor

The 52nd Precinct saw seven car thefts last month, and police say Ford models are the prime target. “There’s a lot of parts on Fords that are valuable like catalytic converters,” Deputy Inspector Peter Fiorillo, commanding officer of the Five-Two, said at the recent community council meeting. Ford motorcycles equipped with expensive Econoline headlights are also being swiped, Fiorillo said. “I’m expecting to see that go up more now that we’re in motorcycle season,” he said. “That’s something we have to look out.” Honda and Nissan vehicles are also being targeted. In May, the precinct, covering Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By DAVID CRUZ

A Pennsylvania man is coming at an end to his visit of several Bronx community boards, having brought a message he feels is given little publicity: If you’re a victim of sex abuse by a clergy member from the New York Archdiocese, you’re entitled to compensation through a temporary program set to expire at the end of July. For Shaun Dougherty, the New York Archdiocese has done little to promote it. “They should be shouting this from the rooftops. They have the means to make it very aware,” Dougherty, the man taking his message across the Bronx, told the Norwood

Plans Looks to Preserve Small Business Sector in Kingsbridge Heights

By REGGIANIE FRANCOIS

Members from different advocacy groups and small businesses owners took to the steps of City Hall Wednesday morning to speak on the lack of legal protections for commercial tenants and access to affordable spaces within their neighborhoods. This also includes the neighborhood of Kingsbridge Heights, where an impending ice hockey center at the Kingsbridge Armory threatens the existing commercial landscape, according to local shopkeepers. Christian Ramos, a member of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and vice president of the Kingsbridge Road Merchants Association, is originally from Ecuador and has been living in the Bronx since 2001. He opened

Bronx Man Guilty in Killing of Rival Near Daycare Center

By DEVIN DAE TUCKER

A jury has found a Bronx man guilty in the murder a rival drug dealer in front of daycare center in Crotona Park two years ago. “As a unanimous jury found, Ruben Pizzaro shot and killed David Rivera in broad daylight in front of a daycare center in the Bronx,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said in a statement. Rivera, 24, was gunned down in front of the daycare center near 175th Street and Crotona Avenue on Nov. 24, 2015. Pizzaro, known by associates as “Chullo,” was a member of a street gang that sold cocaine and crack cocaine near

Greener Days in Hopes of Healthy Lifestyles at DeWitt Clinton HS

By DEBORAH CRUZ

The rainy weather could not keep students from DeWitt Clinton High School and volunteers to venture out and plant 35 fruit trees along the high school’s garden as part of a project to broaden healthier lifestyles in Norwood. Raymond Pultinas, the teacher and coordinator of the daylong event, applied for a grant from The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation three years ago. This year they were awarded a grant through Vitafusion to begin the massive planting. The initiative is part of a broader effort to encourage healthier lifestyles in a borough that’s still struggling in reversing the unhealthy trend. Pultinas, who’s

Ground Finally Breaks for Whalen Park Renovations

By DEVIN DAE TUCKER, DAVID CRUZ, and REGGIANIE FRANCOIS

Whalen Park in Norwood will finally undergo a near $1.7 million transformation it was promised years ago. The improvements are likely intended to revitalize the ‘dilapidated’ Bronx park. Officials and community organizers gathered Tuesday morning to officially break ground. “We want to make sure it’s multi-generational,” said Mitchell Silver, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks, on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony. The renovated park, which is located on Perry Avenue between 205th and 208th streets is expected to include game tables, a playhouse, climbing rocks, a bicycle rack, new seating areas, a spray shower and a water fountain, according