Editorial: Sector Stats are Back, But Legislation Stalls

Just before the Norwood News went to press for this issue (Oct. 4-17), we received a letter with a packet of valuable information from the New York City Police Department. Almost exactly five months after we filed a Freedom of Information Law request, the NYPD had delivered crime statistics for each of the sectors within the 52nd Precinct, which includes all of the neighborhoods in our primary coverage area — Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham, as well as University and Kingsbridge Heights. That means we now have crime statistics on your specific neighborhood, not just the monolithic precinct as a whole. We will be analyzing this data and offering it to you in coming editions of the paper.

Op-ed: Medicare Part D Works

As the founder of Women in Progress, a nonprofit in the Bronx that helps women who are rebuilding their lives, I am greatly concerned about proposed changes to Medicare Part D. This is a program that is not only helping women I serve, but is a crucial benefit that provides for the people that serve as their support system — mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Medicare Part D has radically improved the healthcare of over 43 million seniors in America.

Op-ed: To the Men of the Bronx, Mentors Wanted

For many of us, summer brings to mind childhood memories of baseball games, barbeques and trips to the beach. But for thousands of young people in the Bronx who grow up below the poverty line in single-parent households, summer is just another reminder of what they don’t have.

Passage: Reflecting on My Father in the Bronx

Michael Popowich Sr. was born on March 14, 1944, and lived until June 15, 2012. It is my sad opportunity to share this with his friends and neighbors in the Bronx. Dad grew up in Manhattan, and was raised by my Uncle Walter Kunick, who also lived in the Norwood section of the Bronx by the Reservoir Oval — the same neighborhood where I lived with my father for over 40 years.

Letter to the Editor: Stop “Stop and Frisk”

With respect to the front page story in your March 8 – 21 issue regarding “stop and frisk,” it seems that for a police officer to use his authority to stop and search anyone at random and without cause is truly reprehensible. No one should be subjected to random frisking at the whim of a policeman merely because he can. Ditto for detaining anyone for questioning without any good cause. There have already been numerous stories in the dailies about police overstepping their authority and this issue is no different. There are those who may call this racial profiling, but

Op-ed: For Our Nation, Ignorance Would Not Be Bliss

Imagine a nation that does not know where its residents were born, how much they make, what type of housing they are living in, where they work or how they get to their jobs. This nation would not even know what percent of its population had finished high school or college, what type of heating fuel households are using, how many are going without health insurance, what the divorce rate is, or where its veterans are living.

Editorial: Why It’s Important to Vote on June 26

Please go out and vote on Tuesday, June 26. The Norwood News does not endorse candidates for political office and will not do so as long as we remain a nonprofit publication. However, we are happy to endorse the very democratic act of voting.

Bronx Notes: Bronx House Eco Fair Extravaganza

All are welcome to help reduce NYC’s waste by attending a free event at The Bronx House Eco Fair Extravaganza on Saturday, June 9, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 990 Pelham Parkway South at Bogart Avenue.

Op-Ed: Livable Neighborhoods, Without the Gentrification Label

It’s been almost seven years since the New York Times wrote about the south Bronx transforming into a hip and gentrifying “SoBro,” citing an influx of white residents, artists, croissants and mesclun salad greens. Just last month, the Times ran a similar article, by the same author, once again boldly declaring gentrification in the south Bronx – now on the lower Concourse.