Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

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 brings you to Williamsbridge Oval Park where the Bronx Buccaneers have reclaimed their practice spot just in time for spring. The Bucs nearly lost their spot after the team parted ways with the permit holder. Martika Ornella reports on who the team is tipping its helmet for the good news. Inside the cover you’ll find a follow-up piece what exactly

Report: Majority of Kingsbridge Road Merchants Rent Burdened (Picture)

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

Evy Viruet started to think something was up when she kept getting phone calls from business owners on Kingsbridge Road about people coming around and taking pictures. “We figured they were up to something,” said Viruet, a small business organizer for Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC). Owners of Kingsbridge corridor businesses soon found ads on the real estate listing site Loopnet.com that offered 2 through 12 W. Kingsbridge Rd. and 2647 through 2659 Jerome Ave. up for sale, specifying that “existing tenants are month to month.” Many tenants in those buildings also have no commercial leases at all.

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

The Bronx Buccaneers youth football team has regained rights to practice on Saturdays this spring at Williamsbridge Oval Park. An official permit was issued in the Bucs’ name by the city Parks Department’s Bronx office. For the Bucs and the community supporting them, the permit is a welcomed end to their months-long battle to stay at the Oval. In December, the Buccaneers’ coach, Keith Spivey Jr., shared an online petition detailing the Bucs’ removal from the Oval by their former vice president, Richard Hernandez, current commissioner to the Corsairs Football League, the long-time permit holder. The Bucs were to be

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

Almost eight years ago, Norwood resident Iris Vega-Ortiz was reportedly awarded $33,000 after the state housing agency found her landlord had overcharged her by $400 a month on rent for several years. A new bill proposed by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz might make Vega-Ortiz’s case more of a common occurrence. Dinowitz, a Democrat who represents Norwood, Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Wakefield and Woodlawn, has introduced a bill to change the state law when it comes to tenants who wish to file a rent overcharge complaint. Currently, tenants can request their rent history from the state Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

So, when will you get your tax refund? Let’s start with the official answer: if you’re electronically depositing the funds into a personal or savings account in which you are the title holder or holders, it should take two to three weeks Now that’s the official answer! Now my answer: balderdash. Firstly, remember the government shutdown? Think again, it’s not over! The shutdown, to the IRS, is still feeling the effects. Having all personnel off for three weeks, not in tune with current adjustments means that the average IRS representative is already five weeks late on any processing paperwork. Yes,

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s fifth edition of the Norwood News with plenty of community news you can use. We’ve packed 20 pages full of useful information. As usual, we’ll begin with page one! Our front-page story brings you to Norwood and the temporary, though inconvenient, closure of the local post office. This is the third time the Van Cott Station closed, forcing residents to utilize other post offices. David Greene hears from the the United States Postal Service and residents, who fear a stinky situation has brewed. Inside the cover you’ll find a recap of the latest State of the

By SHA-NIA ALSTON

The family of a Belmont teen horrifically stabbed to death joined Councilman Ritchie Torres and members of NYPD Explorers program in a street renaming ceremony less than a year from the time the teen was killed. The corner of East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue in Belmont was renamed Junior Guzman-Feliz Way, in memory of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, who was killed directly across where the sign bears his name. Junior, 15 at the time, was stabbed last summer outside of a local bodega allegedly by members of the Trinitarios gang. Video surveillance shows Junior being pulled out of

By JOSEPH KONIG

Brooklyn City Councilman Jumaane Williams is the new Public Advocate for New York City, winning Tuesday’s special election with 33 percent of the vote in one of the more crowded political races in recent memory, according to unofficial tallies provided by the city’s Board of Elections. Queens City Councilman Eric Ulrich finished in second with 19 percent of the vote. Williams ran in the special election for public advocate after falling short in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in September, losing to incumbent Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul 53.3 percent to 46.7 percent. “This campaign has been relatively short, but

Norwood Among Nabes Targeted for Lead Awareness Campaign

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

City health officials are sounding the alarm about lead poisoning that comes not from peeling paint but everyday foods and cosmetics. The city Department of Health & Mental Hygiene announced a lead prevention awareness campaign—which will include flyers, trainings and outreach through community organizations—targeted specifically at South Asian immigrants, who are particularly at risk. The rollout is part of LeadFreeNYC announced at North Central Bronx Hospital on Jan. 28 by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who pegged it as a roadmap to the “literal eradication” of childhood lead exposure. The initiative includes free blood lead level testing and lead inspections for