At MMCC, Baking Becomes a Yuletide Event for PS 94 Students

By DAVID CRUZ

The fifteen students from PS 94 huddled around a kitchen eyeing the tray of holiday cookies ready for baking and decorating, its fresh cinnamon scent lingering about. For the kids, it was fun. For Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) of Norwood, it was a giveback for the kids. “I know that they don’t have a kitchen where they’re at, and maybe they don’t have the opportunity to bake,” Yuisa Santiago, director of MMCC’s culinary arts program, said of the first-ever event. The students are part of the MMCC afterschool program installed at PS 94, with funding through the city’s Comprehensive

Dear Fellow Readers! The year’s last edition of the Norwood News is out, crammed with plenty of Bronx community news you can use. Before we begin our summary of stories, some breaking news: A Bronx judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, which one again signals significant delays for a project envisioned as a game changer. We wrote a lengthy piece on the story that you can find here. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming: Our Page One story focuses on Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj (pronounced jo-nigh), who’s declared a run for New York City Council.

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE

Maintaining the streets in the Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District is no easy task. Just ask longtime street cleaner Mohamed Cisse, who has spent the last eight years sweeping sidewalks, emptying garbage cans, and picking up trash in the district. Cisse, a Senegalese native, works for Street Plus, the company previously known as Atlantic Maintenance Corporation. The company is responsible for keeping streets clean in the Jerome-Gun Hill BID, which covers Jerome Avenue between Mosholu Parkway and East Gun Hill Road; East Gun Hill Road between Jerome and Webster avenues; and shorter stretches of East 208th Street, Mosholu Parkway, DeKalb

NEIGHBORHOOD PARENTS AND their kids brave the snow and the temperatures as they wait for their one-on-one conversation with Santa Claus, who made an appearance at Leroy Pharmacy at 314 E. 204th St. for the 6th annual Santa Comes to Town holiday event on Dec. 17. The East 204th Street/Bainbridge Avenue Merchants Association, Mosholu Preservation Corporation (publishers of the Norwood News), LaSorsa Chevrolet Buick, and Foodtown were among the sponsors for the toy giveaway event, which served as a giveback to the community. Photo by Miriam Quinones

Doing Business With the City

A REP WITH New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) (left) helps a local merchant become certified to contract with the City at an open house held at Lehman College in Bedford Park, contributing to the City’s goal of having 9,000 minority and woman-owned businesses certified to do business with the City by 2019. The $16 billion in contracts committed to these businesses is backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Office of Minority, Woman-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) and the SBS. Photo by Daniela Beasley

Judge: Kingsbridge National Ice Center On Ice Indefinitely

Securing Kingsbridge Ice Center Funding a Waiting Game

By DAVID CRUZ

A Bronx judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center against the city, effectively prolonging a redevelopment saga that’s dragged for nearly 20 years. Bronx Supreme Court Judge Ruben Franco dismissed the lawsuit filed in March by Kingsbridge National Ice Center LLC (KNIC) against the city over claims the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the city’s real estate arm, had violated its contract by activating a lease for KNIC. The development firm also accused the city of conspiring against developers from moving forward with the project, a nine-rink ice center to be

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By DANIELA BEASLEY

In a shocker at its end-of-the-year powwow, members of the JeromeGun Hill Business Improvement District were surprised to hear their longtime and only chair, Alice Kulick, announced she will leave the BID after helping it some 20 years ago. Opening the program, Kulick announced she was removing herself from the slate of nominees for the board, where a contingent of 30 registered members of the BID were on hand to vote its new board. Residents and community stakeholders were also among the crowd attending the 20th annual get-together that doubled as an informational session for existing merchants. “I will always

By By ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

Our office finds that the month of December is when everyone suddenly looks for 2016 tax tips. Really? Come on guys and gals, the year is almost over. Tax planning is best January 2 of that year. So if you want to save money in 2017, start January 2 of that year to get a huge refund the next year (2018). But there are some great last minute things you can do to get a bigger refund, for this year: Donate to Charity If you itemize your tax deductions on your tax return, one of the best ways to increase those deductions

Gjonaj to Receive Bronx Democratic Party Endorsement

By DAVID CRUZ

State Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, whose 80th Assembly District edges into Norwood, has become the latest candidate to jump into the race for the City Council seat for the East Bronx. Four others have already declared a run in the Democratic Primary for the 13th Council District seat, which covers a portion of Norwood, as well as Throggs Neck, City Island, Morris Park, Country Club, Allerton and Pelham Parkway. The seat is now held by Councilman Jimmy Vacca, who is term-limited. The mudslinging has already begun, with one of Gjonaj’s opponents charging that a Gjonaj win could leave the Assembly District without