City to Pick Up Tab on Tree-Damaged Sidewalks Near Homes

By DAVID CRUZ

Homeowners will be getting a reprieve from the city which will begin fixing sidewalks damaged by uprooted trees, a constant headache for homeowners. “It will not happen overnight. I mean as much as I appreciate the gratitude, I also know my colleagues and I are all realistic,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference on Sept. 10. He was joined by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, who represents Norwood, for the announcement at Community Board 12 in Wakefield. The Department of Transportation (DOT) holds oversight of sidewalks. In the past, if a city-owned tree

MMCC to Bring Head Start Programs Thanks to $2.1M Boost

By JONATHAN CUSTODIO

Mosholu Montefiore Community Center’s (MMCC) Child Development Center (CDC) is opening two new pre-kindergarten sites via federal funding provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Head Start program, which offers early childhood education and support services. The two buildings housing the programs will be named after Natly Esnard and Nora Feury, two long-time employees with MMCC. U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that a total of $9.3 million would be awarded to five community centers in the Bronx, with MMCC receiving $2.1 million. “[Head Start] is an early childhood education program but family comes first,”

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

In July 2018, Whalen Park was reopened amid fanfare with family members of the park’s namesake present. At a cost of $1.8 million, Councilman Andrew Cohen said at the time, “Today we have a park that’s as good as any park in the city.” Now, some residents are worrying over activities inside the park that go beyond just “hanging out,” with some fears the playground may revert back to the days when vagrancy was such a normal occurrence. Indeed, the park had been such an eyesore that it left then-Deputy Borough President Aurelia Greene to declare it was once “plagued

By MICHAEL TURAY

Over two dozen construction workers gathered at the site where a partial building collapsed to honor Segundo Huerta, a construction worker from Ecuador who died in the collapse that crushed him on Aug. 27. The workers assembled a vigil at 94 E. 208th St. near Steuben Avenue, the site of the collapse, that included candles, flowers, a hard hat, and a T-shirt memorializing him. The crowd circled around the very spot Huerta took his last breaths. He was a father of five and had been working alongside other family members at the time of the accident. He was also the

By JOSE A. GIRALT

Bronx constituents of the 13th Congressional District now have a new district office location. Congressman Adriano Espaillat, whose coverage area also covers Norwood, has moved his Bronx office into the same location as his former colleague, state Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz at 3107 Kingsbridge Ave., just north of West 231st Street in Kingsbridge. Since 2017, when he was sworn in, Espaillat’s Bronx district office was located at 2530 Grand Concourse inside what was originally known as the Dollar Savings Bank, near Fordham Road. Renovation work inside the landmark building forced the congressman to find another location. Espaillat said that the landmark

By DAVID CRUZ

While political observers await news of former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn will actually run for New York City mayor, which would have made her the first woman to launch a mayoral run in 2021, a Bronx-based nonprofit director has already made up her mind, with eyes of being the first woman mayor serving the five boroughs. Dianne Morales, CEO and executive director of Phipps Neighborhoods in the South Bronx, announced a run for Gracie Mansion on the Democratic ticket early this month, telling the Norwood News the city’s approach to helping the marginalized is broken. Solidifying that

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on the Child Victims Act that became law in New York State, allowing victims to file civil cases against abusers upwards of 50 years from the time the abuse occurred. For 15 or 16 years I have been fighting to amend case law. The legal system, when it comes to victims, they’re more concerned with defending the rights of the accused, who most of the time have actually perpetrated acts of violence against an animal or an individual or a group of individuals. I feel the laws have been too lax. Enough already.

Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s seventeenth edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of interesting community news stories to read and share. We have 28 pages packed full of news from this corner of the Bronx, capturing all kinds of stuff happening in the borough. And as usual, we’ll start with page one! For our front-page story, we delve into the ongoing heroin epidemic that appears to be a permanent fixture in the Bronx. A report from the New York City Health Department shows an increase in the number of opioid-related deaths in 2018, an eight percent increase. Reporter

By DAVID CRUZ and MICHAEL TURAY

Skaters rejoiced at the opening of the much-anticipated skateboard park in Norwood’s Williamsbridge Oval Park, a project many agreed had been a long time coming. Mitchell Silver, Commissioner for the New York City Department of Parks, led a ribbon cutting ceremony that included skaters who had advocated for the park from its very beginning. Even before the park was ceremoniously opened on Aug. 27, skaters were already found zipping and speeding along the park’s concrete slabs. Silver, reading off a list, said the park includes quarter pipes, half bowls, and a manual pad. “I have no idea what I just