New Petition to Improve Voter Experience Under Way

By David Cruz

In the 2013 election, turnout on Election Day was historically low, despite a mayoral election and a swell of New York City Council races that year. That sentiment was viewed in the numbers during the mayoral election– roughly 19 percent of the Bronx voting age population came to the polls. More stunning, 8,000 ballots casted by Bronxites were tossed out since their ballot cards were filled out incorrectly, relinquishing the vote. Invalid ballots are one of a litany of election problems that have long troubled good government groups such as the League of Women Voters (LWV). But now, the New

By JASMINE GOMEZ

A snapshot of Community District 7’s health status has just been released by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, offering glimmers of hope and areas of concern. The agency compiled health profiles for each of the city’s 59 Community Districts, which included statistics ranging from life expectancy rates, leading causes of death, and the effects of housing and air quality on one’s health. Each profile also highlighted comparisons in each district to the Bronx and city overall. The average life expectancy of residents in Community District 7, covering Kingsbridge Heights, Bedford, Fordham, University Heights, and Norwood,

With some recent high-profile motor vehicle crashes, we asked readers their thoughts on the implementation of Vision Zero and whether pedestrian safety has gotten better or worse. It doesn’t matter because the drivers don’t abide by the law anyway. People complain when you go too slow; they beep you and try and make you go faster and if people don’t see police around, they’re moving. Who wants to do 25 miles per hour? They’re in a hurry. You ever drive 25 and see how far you get? You hold other drivers up. T. Becerra Norwood I believe that traffic has gotten

To our faithful readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News is out and hitting the stands as we write, with plenty (and we do mean plenty) of community news you can use. We go to the epicenter of Norwood, Williamsbridge Oval Park, where football practice has to be cut short for one club that’s working on its plays without any adequate lights. Requests from club organizers have gone unchecked. Read how no lights is impacting their game. We also delve into a growing trend that’s happening across the Bronx: priced out commercial tenants. For rent signs are popping up

On Election Night, the Norwood News stood glued to the results of voter returns in the race for Bronx District Attorney, a contest rife with political intrigue wrapped in rarity. The news of an actual race, the first in 27 years following the long tenure of borough District Attorney Robert Johnson, could have spurred a big presence in a contest that’s lain dormant for nearly three decades. One would think it would at the very least signal a spike in voter turnout in an otherwise lackluster political season. We expected that. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. When the returns trickled in, we

It came as a surprise to us when a Facebook post read that the Bronx News, established for the past 42 years, would downgrade. Instead, the paper will serve as an advertising vehicle loaded with horoscopes, trivia, random fun facts, comics and virtually no original reporting. For all intents and purposes, the new Bronx News is a trivialized version of its former self. The publication certainly had an edge, with stories largely focusing on the darker side of the Bronx with a sprinkle of good news thrown in here and there. But say what you will about the newspaper, the

This week we asked readers about complaints to the city’s 311 hotline and how fast they got results. [A woman claimed to be a landlord and wasn’t.] 311 responded quickly, but they just put in the paperwork saying they gave the woman a violation. On that side it went fine. But we’re still left homeless and without a place to stay because this lady took our rent money and now eight people are left in the cold. Anthony Simpson Fordham I called

This week we asked readers their thoughts on new NYPD guidelines that would investigate all claims of use of force and officers who fail to step in during moments of alleged misconduct. I think it would be very helpful. I think that having another officer with them when something arises would be helpful in court. It would also help solve a lot of police brutality because there’ll be somebody watching, and somebody who will hopefully tell the truth when the time comes. Laura Premosch The Hub If one officer is doing something wrong to a suspect, his partner should actually report that

By JASMINE GOMEZ

When it comes to the 311 system, a look at Community Board 7’s list of gripes will tell you there are plenty of building issues to complain about. An analysis by the Norwood News, utilizing 311 data logged on or before Oct. 2, found the top category of logged complaints during the last week of September in Community Board 7 fell under Property and Buildings. The category of Public Safety, which catalogues hydrant issues, came in second. The Board, covering Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge and University Heights had a total 771 complaints. The 311 complaints listed were deemed opened or unresolved five days from the time the complaint