Councilman Reacts to Spate of Violence and Alleged Arson at Oval Park

By DAVID CRUZ

The recent spate of violence and alleged arson incidents within Norwood’s Williamsbridge Oval Park has one local legislator and the neighborhood’s community board asking police to step it up. Councilman Andrew Cohen, representing the 11th District, which covers Norwood, along with Community Board 7 sent a joint letter to the 52nd Precinct and Parks Department to increase patrols around Oval Park. Both agencies share policing duties at the park. In the last two months, a series of suspected arson fires and violent incidents have taken place at the Bronx park, heavily used by families and neighbors getting a workout. “[T]he

Dear Readers, Happy belated Thanksgiving Day! If you’re at home or work, you could spend some time to check out some community news you can use with the Norwood News, covering the northwest Bronx. The digital edition, and physical paper are out with news you won’t find anywhere else. Our front page focuses on an issue impacting the 63 percent of rent burdened Bronxites living in the northwest Bronx–two zoning proposals rejected by Bronx officials. Considered the DNA of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York Plan, the zoning text amendments were not well-received by Bronx elected officials and community boards.

By David Cruz

In the 2013 election, turnout on Election Day was historically low, despite a mayoral election and a swell of New York City Council races that year. That sentiment was viewed in the numbers during the mayoral election– roughly 19 percent of the Bronx voting age population came to the polls. More stunning, 8,000 ballots casted by Bronxites were tossed out since their ballot cards were filled out incorrectly, relinquishing the vote. Invalid ballots are one of a litany of election problems that have long troubled good government groups such as the League of Women Voters (LWV). But now, the New

By DAVID CRUZ

The City Planning Commission will meet in December to vote on whether to approve zoning amendments for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s lofty plan to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing by 2025. The move is part of a public review assessing de Blasio’s $41.4 billion Housing New York proposal that, despite a citywide low-rent housing crisis, was unanimously rejected by Bronx officials. With a vote of 0 to 19, the Bronx Borough Board, a 22-member panel comprised of heads of all 12 community boards, the borough president, and nine New York City Council members, rejected two zoning law

By DAVID CRUZ

Bronx officials have formally rejected Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to change zoning laws to help build 80,000 units of housing in the city, dealing a blow to the de Blasio Administration’s signature policy initiative. The unanimous 0-19 vote against de Blasio’s Housing New York proposal happened at the Nov. 19 Bronx Borough Board, a body made up of a cadre of chairs and district managers of community boards and the borough’s New York City Council Delegation. “I vote in the negative,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., saying “one size does not fit all.” The $41 billion plan looks

By JASMINE GOMEZ

For about another week, Bronxites have another location where they can go to apply IDNYC, an ID card offering free and discounted services from the city. The pop-up site at North Central Bronx Hospital (NCBH) will be accepting appointments and walk-ins based on availability for IDNYC applications through Nov. 24. At a news conference on Nov. 17 at NCBH, Councilman Andrew Cohen and members from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and NCBH, a city hospital, were thrilled to be able to offer the pop-up service at the heart of Norwood. Cohen noted some have had to endure two to

By ADEDAMOLA AGBOOLA

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal to create more affordable housing for New Yorkers dubbed Housing New York might hit a bump as community boards, including Community Board 7, will vote for or against the plan. At issue with CB7, where its general board is expected to vote down the measure when it meets Nov. 17, is the loss of an in-house parking requirement for new buildings that could lead to increased demand for street parking. The rule would apply to neighborhoods falling under a so-called Transit Zone, where there’s ample public transportation for neighbors. In mid-October, CB7’s Land Use

To our faithful readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News is out and hitting the stands as we write, with plenty (and we do mean plenty) of community news you can use. We go to the epicenter of Norwood, Williamsbridge Oval Park, where football practice has to be cut short for one club that’s working on its plays without any adequate lights. Requests from club organizers have gone unchecked. Read how no lights is impacting their game. We also delve into a growing trend that’s happening across the Bronx: priced out commercial tenants. For rent signs are popping up

On Election Night, the Norwood News stood glued to the results of voter returns in the race for Bronx District Attorney, a contest rife with political intrigue wrapped in rarity. The news of an actual race, the first in 27 years following the long tenure of borough District Attorney Robert Johnson, could have spurred a big presence in a contest that’s lain dormant for nearly three decades. One would think it would at the very least signal a spike in voter turnout in an otherwise lackluster political season. We expected that. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. When the returns trickled in, we