Financial Focus: Should You Double the Standard Deduction?

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

You’ll hear this a lot this upcoming tax season: “The standard deduction has doubled. No reason to itemize.” You might even hear, “Just use the standard deduction, and you’ll get more tax money back.” You will start to hear this from our President, the media, your friends, brochures, but not from a true financial professional Yes, the standard deduction is an “automatic deduction based on filing status” that one can take unless they can itemize, and if that amount is more, then of course you would itemize and take the higher amount. So yes, there is some truth that, for

Two Men Linked to Trinitarios Charged in Death of Bedford Park Teen

By DAVID GREENE

Police have arrested two men they say assaulted and robbed a 17-year-old from Bedford Park before throwing him into oncoming traffic, causing his death. The fatal push ranks as the seventh homicide within the 52nd Precinct, which had a 200 percent homicide increase this year. Police confirmed that the two suspects charged in the killing were members of the Trinitarios gang. Officers from the 52nd Precinct responded to calls of a pedestrian struck outside of a private home at 2670 Bainbridge Ave., between East 194th and East 196th Street, at just after 6 p.m. on Dec. 10. Officers discovered Angel

Getting a Leg Up in the High School Application Process

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

With the deadline to apply to public and specialized high schools extended to Friday, Dec. 14, middle schoolers in the Bronx have hours left to christen the Department of Education’s (DOE) newly erected online application system. Aimed to alleviate the confusing process of applying to city high schools, the DOE’s new MySchools website allows parents and students to browse and apply to public high schools. But the initial rollout wasn’t without some hiccups, including site crashes and slow-downs. For eighth-grader Janely Cruz, 13, the ease to which middle schoolers navigate the high school application process depends less on website errors

A History Sign for the Namesake Behind Risse Street Park

By DAVID CRUZ

Learning about Risse Street Park’s ancestry is not exactly common knowledge to Norwood residents. In a few months, residents passing the tiny park will know the name. Pssst: it’s the grandfather of the Grand Concourse. Tom Campanella, a Cornell University professor and city Parks Department Historian in Residence and his assistant, Zachary Falk, a student from Cornell University, have been tapped to draft a brief history of the Norwood park. The findings will be included in a new signage slated to be installed by the Parks Department as part of its Historical Sign Program. The near 20-year program has acknowledged

NYPD Probes 52nd Pct. Over Claims of Semen Found in a Water Bottle

By JOSEPH KONIG

The NYPD has confirmed it’s looking into Det. Yesenia Maida’s claims a fellow officer at the 52nd Precinct placed semen in her water bottle. The New York Daily News first reported the claims last week, which reported that a 12-year-old girl was the first to discover the mysterious substance. Maida, a mother of two and wife of a fellow Five-Two officer, heads up the precinct’s NYPD Explorer program. “We have to change something in this department,” Maida said in a follow-up article. “It’s not OK, but sexual harassment happens in this department every day. As women and as cops, we

By JOSEPH KONIG

The incoming Democratic majority in the state Senate handed out committee chair assignments on Tuesday, with several Bronx senators getting tapped to lead key committees by incoming state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins of Yonkers. As committee chairs, the Bronx Senate Delegation can set the agenda for the upcoming legislative session. Sen. Gustavo Rivera will head the Health Committee, Senator-elect Alessandra Biaggi will chair the notoriously ineffective Ethics Committee, and Sen. Luis Sepulveda will preside over the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee. Sen. Jamaal Bailey, who represents most of Norwood and Bedford Park, will chair the Codes Committee,

Authorities Rule Homicide in Death of Bedford Park Teen

By DAVID GREENE

Police are investigating the death of 17-year-old apparently pushed by assailants into oncoming traffic on a frigid Monday evening in Bedford Park, according to police. Officers from the 52nd Precinct and paramedics were called to 2669 Bainbridge Ave. between East 194th and East 196th Streets just before 6 p.m. on Dec. 10 for a report of a pedestrian struck. The victim was struck by a white Ford Econoline ambulette that stopped at the corner of East 196th Street. One resident said the driver was seen “pacing back and fourth” after striking the teen. The driver of the vehicle was not

By SHIRLEY SYMISTER

Even as winter approaches, there is still time to enjoy exercising outdoors. Grab a partner, a warm jacket, and comfortable shoes, and don’t let the colder weather keep you from being healthier, especially as the new year draws near. If you want to avoid indoor activity, there’s plenty to do in the north Bronx, home to several beautiful parks in Norwood. There are several perfect areas for you to boost your heart rate and enjoy the scenery along the way: The Williamsbridge Oval: The park has basketball courts, a soccer field, running track, a playground, and a recreation center with

By DAVID GREENE

Police have charged the gunman accused of robbing a pair of drug dealers, before exchanging gunfire with police, wounding two bystanders as other residents ducked for cover in University Heights. Edwin Castillo-Concepcion, 37, was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon after police say he robbed two men of a kilo of drugs in the lobby of 98 W. 183rd St., before shooting it out with police. In a statement issued by NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan, read in part, “At approximately 6:08 p.m., plainclothes officers from the 52nd Precinct were in the