Out & About: An Outing at the Borough’s Elysium

Editor’s Pick Free Bronx Day at NYBG The New York Botanical Garden presents Bronx Day, May 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Garden’s Clay Family Picnic Pavilions. Bring lunch and enjoy free musical entertainment, fun events for the entire family including face painting, and health, finance, and education resource information kiosks. Advance tickets (free) are required for admission. For more information or if inclement weather, call (718) 817-8990.

Digital Edition of the Norwood News Is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ The latest edition of the Norwood News is on its way to a restaurant, office or store near you, loaded with plenty of news you can use. Our latest offering brings you a timely story rankling many residents—illegal barbecues. Jasmine Gomez takes a look at just why barbecuing is something of a mainstay in the Bronx, despite being prohibited in some parks. We get the city’s side, and hear out the pros and cons. Definitely a community story worth reading. We then move on to a profile of a storied civic group that’s become synonymous to the

By JASMINE GOMEZ With climbing temperatures and daylight hours extending, the barbecue season is heating up. And along Mosholu Parkway, some residents are fuming over illegal barbecues, a common sighting as hints of summer settle in.

Let’s Support our Youth against Big Tobacco

An OpEd by VONETTA DUDLEY For the first time in nearly a decade, we have over one million smokers in New York City. One out of three smokers will prematurely die from smoking-related diseases. This is alarming especially when we know that tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death. In the Bronx, 16.1 percent of adults and 7 percent of the youth are current smokers.* Tobacco companies have been consistently targeting our youth and have labeled them as their “replacement smokers.” Tobacco companies won’t stop and will do what they have to in order for people to

By DAVID CRUZ In the weeks following the death of Ana Charle, the director of a homeless shelter in Wakefield, security at the shelter has picked up. A parked security car sits outside the shelter. Three part-time peace officers and a supervisor from the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) now roam the facility, a reactionary response by DHS shortly after Charle’s death.

Neighborhood Notes

Small Business Workshops Monroe College School of Business and Operation HOPE host free small business development workshops Wednesdays through July 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the college’s Ustin Hall, 2375 Jerome Ave. (184th Street). Participants will learn how to start a business, build a business plan, and look for funding. For more information or to register, call (201) 381-8798 or email pedro.barry@operationhope.org. Understanding Colitis Program An educational program on inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis takes place May 21 at Montefiore Medical Center’s Tishman Learning Center room #1, 111 E. 210th St. Free registration and light

By DAVID CRUZ Perry Avenue and East 204th Street is whole again following crews covering up a giant hole at the busy intersection. City crews placed a metal plate on top of a sinkhole that turned morning rush into an obstacle course for drivers turning to Perry Avenue. Residents spotted the sinkhole, mistaken for a pothole, for two weeks. Although the sinkhole was eventually sealed, the tar sunk in a day later, forcing crews to place the metal plate. According to a statement issued by the Department of Transportation to News 12, Empire City Subway Company, a subsidiary of Verizon

By DAVID GREENE A 20 year-old man was fatally shot in the chest on the sidewalk in Kingsbridge, with detectives now hunting for his gun-toting killer.

Another Property Sold in Bedford Park

By DAVID CRUZ Bedford Park is becoming the bedrock of development. The latest is the purchase of an abandoned piece of property at 232 East 201st St., which was at one point the home of squatters. Ariel Properties executed the sale for an undisclosed buyer for $650,000, translating to $36 per buildable square feet. It’s located at the corner of Valentine Avenue and 201st Street, deemed a R8 zoning district. Developers can build upwards to 17,982 buildable square feet as-of-right or 19,416 should developers work community space into the development. “With direct access to Grand Concourse and the Bronx Botanical