Neighborhood Notes

Free Legal Services The Office of Councilman Andy King is hosting a free civil legal services mobile van for Bronx residents in front of his district office, 940 E. Gun Hill Rd., on Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lawyers will be on hand to assist with family issues, immigration, and more. To set up a required appointment, call (718) 684-5509. Heating Assistance Available Assistance in having your heating bill paid for is available through the state government. Eligible households can receive a one-time benefit of up to $626, depending on income, household size and heating source. A

By DAVID CRUZ

Employees at a Kingsbridge Heights supermarket woke up to find the place they worked was scorched, following a two-alarm fire sparked by a gas explosion. Fire officials say the blaze at Morton’s Supermarket, one of the few supermarkets on the east side of the neighborhood at 19 E. Kingsbridge Rd., was reported just after around 4 a.m., escalating to a two-alarm blaze. According to the FDNY, the fire was brought under control at 5:10 a.m., the department reported that 106 members from 25 units responded to the call. Fire marshals continue to investigate the cause of the explosion and blaze. John

By JALEESA BAULKMAN

A pop-up museum on the Bronx River saw an exhibit that took a different tact: students opening it directly at the water source. It was the kind of exercise that made for an interesting day at Bronx Community Charter School (BCCS) in Norwood, where students set up interactive exhibits at the Bronx River Forest, learning about the 24-mile waterway’s history and restoration efforts. “It’s pretty incredible to go from our very urban environment and then walk behind our school building and be in the middle of a forest,” Sasha Wilson, one of BCCS’ founders leading the exhibit, said. “I think

Editor’s Pick Motown Music at NYPL The public is invited to enjoy A Musical Tribute to the Music of Motown, performed by NYC pop/jazz vocalist Cody Childs and the Ladies of Soul, Nov. 19 at 2:30 p.m., at the Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. For more information, call (718) 579-4244/46/57 or visit www.nypl.org. Onstage Lehman College’s Center for the performing Arts, 250 Bedford Pk. Blvd. W., presents Dracula, performed by Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $75. The $75 VIP tickets include a pre-concert wine and hors d’oeuvres reception from 4

By DAVID CRUZ

Back in 2003, Gonzalo Duran had wrapped up wrestling practice at DeWitt Clinton High School when a military recruiter passed him by. The recruiter asked him a question: do you want to join the United States Marine Corps. (USMC)? “I said, ‘okay,’” Duran says, recalling a critical point in his life that changed his trajectory. Eight years later, after serving eight years in the USMC., rising to the rank of sergeant, and being one of the thousands of military troops deployed to fight in the Iraq War, Duran, now a military veteran, saw the need to do right by his

By DAVID CRUZ

Two neighborhoods falling within Community Board 7 will be the subject of an independent rezoning study by the board, in a move that revisits a request community stakeholders made years ago when rezoning efforts were happening in other parts of the district. But the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), the agency tasked to devise the overall makeup of neighborhoods, will likely reject any plans to down-zone, a request community stakeholders have long sought. The board has now scheduled a brainstorming forum for Nov. 16 to gauge residents on how sections of Kingsbridge Heights and Bedford Park, home

Hello Fellow Readers! The latest edition of the Norwood News, serving Norwood and other Bronx communities, is out with plenty of neighborhood news you can use. We’ve packed the paper with coverage on the historic general election, and our take on what lessons may have been learned. We first begin with a local story on a move by Community Board 7, the all-volunteer civic panel, looking to take the wheel in deciding Bedford Park’s future look. The Board has hired a consulting firm to carry out an independent study on the needs for the neighborhood, home to a hodgepodge of two-story

This presidential election will undoubtedly be pored over in history books for decades, examined by political scientists for its penchant for division over unity. It saw one of the unlikeliest of Republican presidential candidates, now President-elect Donald Trump, square off against Hillary Clinton, an entrenched politician whose road to the White House was indeed bumpy. Their common denominator? They were pretty unpopular outside their base. The race, bombarded into American minds to the point of exhaustion, also led to a civil war among Americans, turning political graciousness into a dysfunctional affair among the pols. It stands to reason that partisanship,

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE and DANIELA BEASLEY

Donald Trump defied expectations winning the U.S. presidency in one of the more decidedly nasty election cycles in recent memory, changing the political landscape for the next four years. In the lead-up to the polls closing at 9 p.m. on Election Day, where Bronx residents overwhelmingly voted for Mrs. Clinton, the Norwood News visited several sites in the neighborhood, observing voters casting their vote without much of a wait. Outside PS 86 on Reservoir Avenue and 195th Street in Kingsbridge Heights, a steady stream of voters congregated under the scaffolding after casting their ballot. Arturo Sealy, 53, hadn’t planned to