Once Close to Securing a Manager for Fordham Plaza, City Now Looks to Bid Out

Bronx Night Market Brings Evenings of Music and Food to Fordham

By DAVID CRUZ

The city is restarting the vetting process for a manager overseeing the massive $34 million Fordham Plaza, after the neighboring business improvement district could not agree to the city’s stipulations. The Fordham Road Business Improvement District (BID), the largest BID in the Bronx, was on the cusp of signing a multi-year contract that would have allowed it to oversee Fordham Plaza, built in 2016 and complete with a café along with three vendor kiosks. The city Department of Transportation, which manages the plaza and was involved in talks, offered a tailored deal that included the city’s offer to fix and

Electeds Want Your Questions for Town Hall Forum in Norwood

By DAVID CRUZ

Norwood’s representatives on the city and state level want you to bring your gripes to a town hall forum they’ve organized for tomorrow. The legislators–Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, Assemblywoman Nathalia, and Councilman Andrew Cohen–will be on hand for the forum starting at 7 p.m. at Montefiore Medical Center’s Cherkasky Auditorium. The forum allows residents to share any community concerns with the four representatives. For Dinowitz, this represents his fourth town hall since November, which has drawn roughly 100 residents on average. “I’m hoping we get a good crowd. We have, in the past, trouble getting crowds,” said

Campaign for More Norwood Spots Results in Progress

By DAVID CRUZ, SHA-NIA ALSTON, and ALONDRA VASQUEZ

Parking remains a challenge for Norwood residents and employees who work in the neighborhood. But a campaign led by Councilman Andrew Cohen was able to chip away at one of the top issues that have long plagued the north Bronx community. “I gave them a list, and they made good on it.” Cohen said, to the city Department of Transportation, which moved ahead with the traffic regulation change. It’s at the quiet section on Putnam Place between East Gun Hill Road and Reservoir Oval East where the DOT removed a “No Parking Monday/Friday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.” restriction, replacing

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers if students should be accepted into specialized high schools on the basis of one test, or should the acceptance process be changed completely? Yes, I think it should be based on more than one test or maybe even something other than a test like overall grades. Some kids volunteer, maybe the extra work they do. Anything that shows how far they’ve been educated and what they know. Someone can recognize how good one is without the basis of a test. They should even look at a student’s interests. Richard Berroa Mt. Eden Yes, I feel

Bronx Connections: The Impact of Legal Weed (Part 1 of 2)

By JULIA RIST and THERESA SCHLIEP of WFUV

The Norwood News, WFUV Radio, and BronxNet Television present a two-part series on the debate to legalize recreational marijuana use in New York State. In 2003, 17-year-old Anthony Posada was thrown against a wall and held at gunpoint by two plainclothes NYPD detectives in Jackson Heights, Queens. With no uniform, Posada initially thought he was being robbed by two men. “The feeling of powerlessness was stunning,” Posada said. “It was paralyzing. My experience with law enforcement up to that day was already one where I couldn’t say or do anything.” The plainclothes detectives found a small amount of marijuana in

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s sixth edition of the Norwood News with plenty of community news you can use. We’ve packed 20 pages full of great stories impacting the Bronx. As usual, we’ll begin with page one! Our front-page story focuses on progress at the The Bedford Park Manor, which will now be occupied with a live-in super. The tenants have been fighting the landlord, The Stagg Group, for several months over the conditions at the building. Jose A. Giralt spoke to all sides. We also hear from West Bronx Housing, which breaks down the unconventional approach by tenants. Inside the cover

Struggling Kingsbridge Heights Strip Could Get Leg Up With Small Business Bills Package

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

With evictions of business tenants on the rise across the city, particularly in the Bronx, City Council members looked toward solutions during a meeting of the Committee on Small Business on March 18. And the benefits could be felt in Kingsbridge Heights’ financially squeezed business corridor. In a preliminary budget hearing, the committee discussed some bills aiming to protect commercial tenants by passing laws similar to those protecting residential tenants. Other proposals focused on information-gathering, such as a proposal for a database tracking empty storefronts. “These businesses are key to the ability to start a new life and eventually enter

A Cramped Five-Two Needs an Annex, Says Cohen

By DAVID CRUZ

Space at the 52nd Precinct is busting out at the seams. Sandwiched between both sides of Mosholu Parkway and Webster Avenue, the North Bronx stationhouse has become increasingly tight given the number of police officers assigned there. It’s also evident in the number of cars frequently seen parked along Mosholu Parkway North, drawing ire from residents. The need for extra digs for one of the city’s busiest precincts has been batted around for years. But now Councilman Andrew Cohen, whose district covers the precinct, is attempting to convince NYPD Commissioner James O’Neil to purchase or at the very least lease

Norwood's Muslim Community Reacts to New Zealand Attacks

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

Over 9000 miles away from New Zealand, the murder of Muslim worshippers in the town of Christchurch had resonance in one of the Bronx’s Muslim communities. A killer who expressed white supremacist beliefs targeted two mosques full of congregants during Friday prayers in Christchurch, New Zealand and appears to have live streamed himself shooting dozens of people. The anti-Muslim attack, in which a reported 49 people were murdered, was deeply felt worldwide—including in Norwood, home to a significant Muslim community. “We are just praying for everybody,” said Mohammed Shuaib Uddin, a pharmacist at the People’s Pharmacy in Norwood. “As a