CB7 DM Out for Several Months

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

Community Board 7 is currently operating without a district man- ager, following suit with Community Boards 5 and 8, also without DMs. Andrew Sandler (pictured left), the CB7’s district manager, has been out on medical leave since early January and it is unclear exactly when he will return. He’s expected to be back within the next couple of months. In the interim, CB 7 will be run by Tom Lucania, director of community boards from the Bronx Borough President’s office. He’ll also take over DM duties at CB5 and CB8 until the DM seats can be filled. He’ll also handle

By SHANNON MEEHAN of WFUV

The Norwood News and WFUV are collaborating on a five-part series profiling different types of illiteracy impacting the Bronx. The South Bronx, a vibrant neighborhood of working families, faces a literacy crisis that is affecting most of the area’s residents. Despite efforts by nonprofits and reading programs, the South Bronx has one of the lowest literacy rates of all five boroughs, intertwining with incomes in the South Bronx. Both facets remain low. Strides to break the cycle of illiteracy are being made in the South Bronx, though progress has not advanced enough. It still remains the poorest and has the

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering the northwest corner of the Bronx, is out with plenty of community news you can use. With 16 pages full of news, it’s always easy to begin at the beginning with page 1. Our front page focuses on the imminent closure of St. Ann School, which comes just two years after the catholic church closed. Read what parents have to say about the school and it’s profound impact it’s had on children. An editorial focuses on the New York City Council’s passage of the Right to Counsel, and why it’s

Repealing the Affordable Care Act. Building a wall. Holding federal funds to New York City hostage. A temporary ban on refugees. All this happened in one week of President Donald Trump’s America. And though his executive orders were theatrical at best (except the ban), they’re just getting warmed up. And so is the media. Since the Inauguration, there’s been a wake-up call among career politicians who believed none of this could happen. The reversal of fortune is tough to stomach for Democrats, who are now banding together to stymie the fallout of the Republican president’s policies, which appear to be

Dear Fellow Readers, Happy Groundhog Day! The Norwood News, covering the Bronx, is out with plenty of community news you can use! In this third edition of 2017 we bring you 16 pages packed with thought-provoking news items. As usual, we begin one page and a story we’ve been wanting to cover for some time: classroom space. With Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing the creation of 38,000, parents would prefer to see a school built. And so does local Bronx Community Board 7, which has made it its top request to the city. Read how many seats are needed and

By DAVID CRUZ

Three years ago, PS 77 at 3177 Webster Ave. opened with the hopes of easing overcrowding within the school district. Three years later, the school is overcrowded, according to Marvin Shelton, president of the Community Education Council for School District 10. “I talked to the principal and she said, ‘yeah, we’re capping Kindergarten already,’” Shelton said, recalling a meeting he had at the school recently. “They’re a Pre-K to 5 and they’re only Pre-K to 3, and they’ve already filled up the building. It just shows how backed up the district is in terms of making new capacity.” And

A few weeks ago I met a man from the South Bronx named Wellington. He was diagnosed with cancer and lost his health insurance. The City of New York fought for him and discovered he was entitled to free health coverage. Within a few days Wellington was in the hospital, getting care. Today he is cancer free. This is a frightening time. People tell me they’re worried about losing affordable health care and don’t know what to do. My answer: Tell everyone you know to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act – or as some people

Amid President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration stances that include erecting a wall between the US-Mexico border and cutting billions of dollars in federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities”, New York City among them, Bronx Democratic officials from all levels of government blasted the new policies as a show of unity against the Trump administration. “[N]o other borough, no other county in the state of New York will suffer more from these cuts than the borough of the Bronx,” Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said, flanked by a cadre of Hispanic legislators at a news conference at Borough Hall. Diaz noted

By DAVID CRUZ

Online grocery purchases are now a possibility for food stamp recipients, thanks to a pilot program. The program allows recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy SNAP-approved food from FreshDirect and Amazon. Lobbying efforts from the Bronx Borough President’s Office and federal legislators convinced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to widen the acceptable food outlets SNAP benefits can take advantage of as a way to improve access to affordable food in areas where food deserts are the norm in the Bronx. It also gives a revenue boost to FreshDirect and Amazon. SNAP benefits come in a reloadable