Blake Grabs DC37 Backing In Race for 15CD, Home to 9,000 Members

Diaz Sr. Favors Keeping Rikers Island Open, Will Vote Against Neighborhood Jail Plan

By DAVID CRUZ

In his run for the 15th Congressional District Assemblyman Michael Blake secured an endorsement from the union representing the city’s municipal workforce, immediately turning the support into a fundraising plea. District Council 37 (DC37), a division of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, represents 9,000 employees in the South Bronx district he looks to run. It’s unclear, though, how many of those members are currently registered to vote. Crossing guards, social workers, and accountants, are just some of the jobs that make up DC37. Henry Garrido, executive director of DC37, said Blake’s campaign for “level playing field”

By DAVID CRUZ

Following years of requests from Bronxites, the MTA is now committed to installing three more elevators along the 4 and B/D lines, complementing an already announced project slated for the 4 line’s Mosholu Parkway station in Norwood. The MTA announced that the Kingsbridge Road and Burnside Avenue stations on the 4 line are expected to receive the elevators. The Tremont Avenue station on the B/D line will also get a station. The news builds on the number of stations slated to receive the wheelchair-accessible equipment, which originally had been set to 48. On Dec. 19, MTA New York City Transit

King Casts Himself the Victim Post-Suspension, Appears to Back Theory of a Larger Plot

By DAVID CRUZ

Three weeks after returning to official duties as a Council Member after an unprecedented suspension for an elected official, Bronx Councilman Andy King painted himself a victim when the Council voted to suspend him after agreeing he abused his office. King also clarified why he had equated the investigation to a “lynching.” “They didn’t go after me or my work, they went after my character, and the character that I had built—and that my dad and my mom had put in me over the years. So that’s why I used the term ‘lynching’ because that’s all that it’s about. It

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s final edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of community stories to read and share. We’ve crammed plenty of news into this 28-page paper, so let’s begin with page one! Our top story focuses on improving safety at DeWitt Clinton Campus in the aftermath of a stabbing that happened on Nov. 20. Hear what the commanding officer has to say on the plan to keep students secure. Inside the cover we update you on the 15th Congressional District race, and a much-needed endorsement for candidate Samelys Lopez. Read up on why the New York City

Samelys Lopez Gets Endorsement From NYC Democratic Socialists of America

By DAVID CRUZ

Giving her candidacy a much-needed boost, Samelys Lopez received the backing of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA) in the race for the South Bronx’s 15th Congressional District seat. The endorsement, coming roughly six months before voters head to the polls, comes with a heavy volunteer base that’s ready to pound the pavement for Lopez, whose campaign is among those on a shoestring budget. The New York chapter currently boasts a membership of 5,500. “In a country with unsustainable levels of income inequality, worsening health outcomes and profound housing insecurity, and in a world with dangerously rising

A Solemn Goodbye to a Community Activist, MTA Reroute Bus Plan, and More: Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By NORWOOD NEWS

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s twenty-fourth edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of community stories to read and share. We have 28 pages packed full of news from this corner of the Bronx, so let’s start with page one! Our top story focuses on the death of well-known community activist Heidi Marie Schloegel Hynes. Hynes lost her battle with cancer at 51 years old on Nov. 24. Though she may have passed, her legacy will continue to inspire many activists across the Bronx, according to her supporters. Inside the cover you’ll read a piece on the MTA’s proposed bus route revamp

By MICHAEL TURAY

It didn’t come as a surprise as the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club (BFRDC) came in support of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz in his primary bout against George Diaz for the 81st Assembly District seat, but there was some heckling he did receive from non-members. As Dinowitz and Diaz laid out their platforms to the club on Nov. 20, in which Dinowitz was unanimously voted as the preferred candidate, Dinowitz was criticized by anti-vaxxer protesters whose chants could be heard from inside the packed room at Tibbets Towers. The protestors voiced their displeasure with the Assemblyman since he was a prime

In the race for the 15th Congressional District, Councilman Ritchie Torres leads the pack on endorsements, grabbing his latest backing from the Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board, Workers United, SEIU, an 8,500-member strong union in the city alone. This is Torres’ eighth union endorsement since entering the race in March, beginning with Teamsters Local 237, Steamfitters, Ironworkers Local 46, Hotels Trades Council, LiUNA, and Machinists have also thrown their support. Members include laundry workers that work for Unitex, Arrow Linen, and Elite Airline Linen. Members also work for Manhattan Beer, which holds its headquarters in Hunts Point, one of the areas the 15th

The $1 Million in Participatory Budgeting Results Are...

By DAVID CRUZ

When it came to the New York City Council’s Participatory Budgeting initiative—which lets constituents decide how $1 million in capital monies—one couldn’t find a stauncher advocate than Councilman Andrew Cohen. But after six years on the Council, and two more years to go as the representative for the 11th Council District, Cohen is no longer running the months long, bureaucratic program. “It doesn’t feel fresh anymore,” Cohen told the Norwood News in a phone interview. The process begins in October, lasting through May following meeting upon meeting of what exactly the needs were for the communities Cohen reaches, which include