Judge Forced to Draft Congressional Redistricting Lines; Kingsbridge and Norwood Would Merge with Manhattan District

A federal judge released a set of maps on Tuesday proposing to redraw New York State’s Congressional districts, an act required this year to reflect population changes based on the 2010 Census count. If approved, the new lines would have the Bronx represented by four different members of Congress, expanding the northern Manhattan district currently represented by Congressman Charles Rangel into the Bronx to include sections of Kingsbridge and Norwood. Lawmakers in Albany have been sparring for months over how to draw the new maps. They proposed drafts for the State Senate and Assembly lines in February, but were unable

Tonight: First Meeting of Reconstituted Young Bronx Democrats Club

Bronx Democrats will begin creating the next generation of party patrons tonight at the first 2012 meeting of the Bronx Young Democrats, a group only recently reconstituted by party chairman and Bronx assemblyman Carl Heastie. A chipper staffer at the Bronx Democratic County Committee office said doors for the meeting, at the Chippewa Democratic Club (1447 Ferris Place) near Westchester Square, will open at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will start at 7 p.m.

In State of the Borough Speech, Diaz Touts Bronx Businesses, Job Creation

Photos by Adi Talwar On Thursday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., delivered his third State of the Borough address to a packed, darkened auditorium at Harry S. Truman High School. A bevvy of city and state elected officials were in the audience for the 54-minute speech, which covered the usual political topics–schools, health, transportation, crime–and recalled the accomplishments of Diaz’s last three years in office. But the gist of Diaz’s speech was jobs, jobs, jobs. The Borough President spent much of the first portion of his address reeling off a list of recent economic efforts and business projects that

In the latest development in the citywide debate over worship services being held in public schools, a judge ruled late last week that New York City churches and religious groups are allowed to continue meeting in school space, at least until a lawsuit considering the matter gets resolved. Bronx Household of Faith, the University Heights parish, has been waging a lawsuit against the Department of Education for 17 years for the right to keep holding services at PS/MS 15 on Andrews Avenue. The city has long wanted to end the practice, arguing that it could give the impression that the

Today! Live Coverage From The Bronx BP’s State of Borough Speech

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. is scheduled to deliver his third State of the Borough speech at Harry S. Truman High School tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. and we will be there to cover all the action live. You can follow along via our Twitter feed (@norwoodnews) or return to this site where we will provide a running feed of updates.

Bicycles and Basketballs Could be in the Armory’s Future

Recently, a group of cycling enthusiasts who have been campaigning to turn the Armory into a giant bicycling center have teamed up with New York Gauchos, a Bronx-based youth basketball program, as well as several other sports-oriented groups, with the intent of converting the structure into an enormous sports, recreation and wellness center.

Churches Can Stay in Schools for 10 More Days, Judge Says

A city policy banning worship in public school buildings during non-school hours was put on hold today, after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction this morning that will allow churches and other religious groups to continue holding services in schools, at least for the next 10 days. The ban was supposed to go into effect Sunday, Feb. 12, following a federal court’s decision last spring that the Department of Education could legally evict the religious groups on the grounds of separation of church and state. Bronx Household of Faith, a small University Heights-based church that has held services in

BP Diaz, Bronx Business Leaders Defend Fresh Direct Funding

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., is looking to appease critics of online grocer FreshDirect, which was granted $127.8 million from the city last week in exchange for staying in New York. The company had been considering another lucrative offer to relocate to New Jersey, prompting the Bloomberg administration to counter with an even bigger package of tax breaks and subsidies to convince it to move its headquarters to the Bronx’s Harlem River Yards instead. FreshDirect is currently based in Long Island City, Queens. Some have lashed out against the deal as too generous to a company that pays 38% of

The city has denied a federal judge’s request to delay the evictions of dozens of faith-based groups that hold worship services in public schools, saying the enforcement of the policy has already been pushed back twice, according to a letter sent by the city’s Law Department. Yesterday, Judge Loretta Preska asked the city to allow churches and other groups that rent public school space on weekends to continue to use the facilities while she deliberates on the issue. The Department of Education policy banning religious groups from worshiping in school buildings, citing the separation of church and state, was supposed