Public & Community Meetings

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 committee meetings are held on the following dates at the board office, 229 E. 204th St., at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Executive Committee meets on Jan. 3; Public Safety & Quality of Life Committee meets on Jan. 5; and Education, Youth & Libraries Committee meets on Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. BEDFORD MOSHOLU COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION meets Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m. at 400 E. Mosholu Pkwy. So. (Apt. B1). For more information, email the group at bedfordmosholu@verizon.net.

Bedford Park Tenants Fought the Good Fight, and Left Scattered

By DAVID CRUZ

For the four families who once lived at 267 E. 202nd St., the year of turmoil is over. After living through a year where they were nearly evicted from their home, battled their new landlord in court over repairs as a way to delay eviction proceedings, and ultimately forced out following a devastating three-alarm fire, the tenants have found new lodgings. They’ve also happened to settle their case against their landlord, Peter Fine. Fine, who was in the middle of being sued when the home broke out in flames over the summer, settled the cases with tenants for an undisclosed

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

The Norwood News took a look back at 2016’s first editorial, “Welcoming 2016 With Predictions on New Round of Stories,” which forecasted stories for the next 12 months. With that, we look back on these predictions and what really happened: Securing the Oval: 2015 saw more and more police making arrests at Williamsbridge Oval Park, a park frequented by hundreds daily. Fires tormented police for months, but have since subsided. That’s a good thing. Safeguarding the park, a key source of entertainment for a largely working class community, is critical. If a populace fears a park, it will only signal

Tax Preparers Registration The 2017 tax preparer online registration is available on the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website, www.tax.ny.gov. Prpearers who are paid to prepare at least one tax return in a year must be at least 18 years old, take four hours of annual continuing education and take a 16-hour basic tax course for those who’ve been professionally preparing taxes for less than three years. For more information, log on to www.tax.ny.gov. Free Composting Repurpose food by bringing it to Lehman College’s Food Scrap Drop Off location Monday mornings from 8 to 10 a.m. when

Dear Fellow Readers! The year’s last edition of the Norwood News is out, crammed with plenty of Bronx community news you can use. Before we begin our summary of stories, some breaking news: A Bronx judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, which one again signals significant delays for a project envisioned as a game changer. We wrote a lengthy piece on the story that you can find here. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming: Our Page One story focuses on Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj (pronounced jo-nigh), who’s declared a run for New York City Council.

A REP WITH New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) (left) helps a local merchant become certified to contract with the City at an open house held at Lehman College in Bedford Park, contributing to the City’s goal of having 9,000 minority and woman-owned businesses certified to do business with the City by 2019. The $16 billion in contracts committed to these businesses is backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Office of Minority, Woman-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) and the SBS. Photo by Daniela Beasley

Norwood Assemblyman Declares Run for NYC Council, Potentially Opening Seat

Gjonaj to Receive Bronx Democratic Party Endorsement

By DAVID CRUZ

State Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, whose 80th Assembly District edges into Norwood, has become the latest candidate to jump into the race for the City Council seat for the East Bronx. Four others have already declared a run in the Democratic Primary for the 13th Council District seat, which covers a portion of Norwood, as well as Throggs Neck, City Island, Morris Park, Country Club, Allerton and Pelham Parkway. The seat is now held by Councilman Jimmy Vacca, who is term-limited. The mudslinging has already begun, with one of Gjonaj’s opponents charging that a Gjonaj win could leave the Assembly District without

Special Report: Noise in Norwood and Beyond

By DAVID CRUZ

Beating back the metallic thuds, relentless clacks, rhythmic noise, and bass sounds stands as a daily occurrence in some Bronx neighborhoods, with Norwood and Bedford Park no exception. Unwanted noise, a never-ending nuisance that somehow, despite registering as a top quality of life complaint, remains perpetually prevalent. It is the city that never sleeps, and noise is living up to that adage. And as the holiday season settles in, the uptick in noise complaints usually follows. For the NYPD and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, agencies tasked to respond to aggravating noise issues, the priority to curb

For this edition, the Norwood News embarked on a journey to understand the culture of noise, specifically incessantly loud noise in the neighborhood with a near 3,000-word article that barely scratches the surface on why the city is unable to blunt this pesky quality of life complaint. Noise, whether it’s loud parties, car horns blaring, or that infernal Mr. Softee ice cream truck that spews that annoying jingle, is pervasive. That noise, unlike the rumble of trains or daytime sirens, fly-by-night noise in the grand scheme of things, can go on for hours, seriously damaging quality of life. For residents,