Plans Unveiled for Oval Skate Park

By MICHAEL BROWN JR.

Plans for a skate park expected to be built at Williamsbridge Oval Park have been unveiled, advancing the highly anticipated $750,000 project. According to plans released at Community Board 7’s parks committee, ledges, quarter pipes, ramps, rails, and a bowl corner will be some of the skate park’s features. The park, to be built at a concrete space on the eastern side of the park, will also include two entrances, one already in existence and another to be added during construction. The park will be larger than expected so construction crews can avoid uprooting existing trees surrounding the perimeter of

By JASMINE GOMEZ

A so-called bus bulb is currently under construction below the #4 Woodlawn elevated subway station on Jerome Avenue. While it’s viewed as an added safety measure for riders, it also means the elimination of an unofficial taxi stand. The bus bulb– a method that extends a sidewalk to a bus stop– is being built at the corner of Jerome and Bainbridge avenues directly below the elevated #4 subway line. Crews have begun elongating the sidewalk towards the existing BxM4, Bx16, and Westchester County’s Bee Line stops, eliminating side lanes. The new sidewalk design is part of a long-term campaign to

By ADEDAMOLA AGBOOLA

Students at PS 8 on Briggs Avenue at Mosholu Parkway are currently enjoying a robust music education program, thanks to the elementary school’s new partnership with a non-profit organization that caters to schools lacking resources to provide school-wide music programs. Education Through Music (ETM), the non-profit partnering organization, worked with the school to eliminate the problem by providing funds and support to hire an additional music teacher who works part time in assisting Shoshana Kaye, the school’s full time music teacher. Kaye, an experienced music teacher and band director, recently worked at a high school in Harlem, but was excessed

Toy Giveaway The 52nd Precinct, 3016 Webster Ave., is hosting a toy giveaway event Dec. 18 at 4 p.m. for children under the age of 13. Parents are required to preregister with the precinct and must accompany their children to receive a gift. For more information and to register, call Community Affairs Police Officer Crystal Reveron at (718) 220-5824. Flu Shots Walgreens in partnership with Montefiore will be giving flu shots at 573 E. Fordham Rd. (Hoffman Street between East Fordham Road and East 191st Street), Dec. 11 from noon to 2 p.m. Insurance card is required. Appointment is not

By DAVID CRUZ

Mabel Gerber, a pianist who dazzled audiences at Carnegie Hall while staying grounded as a piano teacher in Norwood, died on Nov. 21 after a long fight with multiple myeloma, friends and family confirmed. She was 85. Gerber was known as the neighborhood’s omnipresent piano teacher and owner of Gerber’s Piano Studio at 3230 Bainbridge Ave. It’s there she taught classical music and all its lyrical parts to hundreds of students around Norwood over the last six decades, often culminating with performances at MS 80 or PS. 8. Gerber was born to Edward and Salome Gerber on Oct. 4,

By HAYDEE CAMACHO

DeWitt Clinton High School’s journalism teacher and her students criticized a recent New York Post story over an investigation of an alleged grade-fixing scheme involving their principal. Overwhelmingly, they support Principal Santiago Taveras and questioned the journalistic integrity of the story and daily newspaper. “In my mind it came out of the blue,” said Ann Neary, who has taught Advanced Placement literature, writing and journalism at the school for 11 years. She said she had not heard any rumors of improper grade changing. “An investigation does not imply that the charges are true,” said Neary. The New York City Department of Education

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 will hold its general board meeting Dec. 15 at Scott Tower, 3400 Paul Ave., at 6:30 p.m. CB7 committee meetings are held on the following dates at the board office, 229A E. 204th St. at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Traffic & Transportation: Dec. 10; Veterans Committee: Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m.; Housing/Land Use & Zoning: Dec. 16; Community Relations/LTP: Dec. 29; Economic Development: Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call the Board office at (718) 944-5650. 52ND PRECINCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL meets Dec. 17 at Beso Lounge, 320 E. 204th St., from 6 to 10

Editor’s Pick Celebrate the Holidays The public is invited to a Winter Wonderland to celebrate Christmas, Eid eMilad-un Nabi, Kwanzaa, Chanukah and Three Kings Day, Dec. 19 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Williamsbridge Oval. Events include winter arts and crafts, carnival games, healthy snacks and a visit from some special guests including Santa. For more information, call (718) 543-8672 or visit nyc.gov/parks. Onstage The Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd., presents Concert, featuring the Celia Cruz H. S. Chamber Orchestra performing classical music, Dec. 12; and Definitely Dickens Carolers featuring carolers performing traditional and contemporary holiday classics

In the last few weeks, Williamsbridge Oval Park has experienced a wave of unsettling incidents that include spurts of unsolved fires, ghastly graffiti tags, and daytime fistfights (with at least one reported stabbing of a 17-year-old) among young people. The Oval, as it’s known, is the epicenter of working-class Norwood. It’s the community’s main family-friendly venue ever since it was repurposed from a defunct city reservoir in the 1930s. Activity at the park typically decreases around this time, but warmer temperatures have put that on hold. Incidents, it seems, have ticked up. The latest happened during the last week of