3-K to Expand in the Bronx

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

More kids are expected to start 3-K this fall as the city’s universal education program expands to cover more ground. After a morning spent playing with three-year olds at the Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in Longwood on May 23, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced further commitment to growing the 3-K for All program. “We believe in a city that is fair for everyone. The goal of this administration is to make this the fairest big city in America,” de Blasio said. Flanked by Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza and Assemblyman Michael Blake, de Blasio touted the 3-K program he

Dear Fellow Readers, The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering Bronx communities, is out this week! Check out these stories put together by our dedicated interns and freelancers aiming to get the conversation going across the Bronx. Our page one story focuses on the perennial issue in the Bronx–barbecuing at areas that bar the practice. Community Board 7 is once again getting ahead of the issue and is pressuring the Parks Department to have those “No Barbecue” signs where they’re supposed to be. Read mixed feelings behind this issue. Behind the cover story is another parks-related story, this time focusing

By MARIYA MOSELEY

Amidst the fraught race relations between communities of color and law enforcement, one organization is working to improve that bond and the lives of teenagers of color. The United Chaplains State of New York Athletic League (UCSNY) is a community group geared towards empowering youth. The organization is not only comprised of chaplains, but also members from the NYPD, FDNY and EMT. Within UCSNY, more than 200 students from around the city take part in a comprehensive sports program, mentorship and interactive workshops. Lesly Roscha, 16, a student coming from Staten Island, said her two-hour commute to the UCSNY’s gym

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By MARTIKA ORNELLA

Low-income students with dreams of attending one of New York City’s specialized high schools will finally have an equal shot at admittance if new legislation is passed. State senators Jamaal T. Bailey, representing Norwood, and his colleague Toby Ann Stavisky introduced a legislative package geared at widening diversity in specialized high schools by making the admission process more equitable. Black and Latino students accounted for only 11 percent of those admitted to specialized high schools in 2016, despite making up 68 percent of the city’s entire student body. According to Department of Education (DOE) admissions data, black and Latino students

Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers! The latest edition of the Norwood News, covering the northwest Bronx, is out with its latest edition for 2018. We welcome you to check out plenty of stories featured in this year’s sixth edition. We begin, of course, with page one and a story involving a back-and-forth battle between a Norwood resident and a developer building right next door to his house. Hear this ping-pong of a story and why both sides remain at an impasse. Inside the cover you’ll find the latest on the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, where the founder of the mega-project stopped to

By DAVID GREENE

With the recent school shooting in Florida, we asked readers if such a tragedy could happen here. To be honest, it is possible because people get bullied a lot. I’d heard about the student who stabbed two students here in the Bronx and the killer was actually bullied. So it is possible. The victims of bullying like to take things into their own hands. When you’re in school you don’t really think about these things, but sometimes you do see signals and I’ll think about it. People need to ask a person how he feels; he could be suicidal. Friends

By DAVID GREENE

Ahead of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s State of the Borough speech on Feb. 22, this week we asked readers what they think is the current state of the Bronx. I haven’t really seen too much improvement, to be honest with you. Maybe it’s a little better, they’ve opened more businesses in the area and that brings more jobs. Housing is still a big problem too, you have two families living in a two-bedroom apartment, which causes overcrowding. When they distribute the funds, we get what trickles down and the Bronx doesn’t get much–it don’t. I believe they’re cutting

By MARY MELLON

A Bedford Park local will represent the Bronx as a National Youth Correspondent at the 2018 Washington Journalism and Media Conference at George Mason University. Keri Campbell, 15, a student at St. Barnabas High School in Woodlawn, will join an elite group of students from all over the country for a journalism and media intensive program. Keri was selected for her academic acumen and strong interest in journalism and media studies. National Youth Correspondents partake in real-world learning through decision-making simulations that push them to solve problems and examine ethical, creative, and pragmatic facets of journalism and media. The experiential

By DAVID CRUZ

When it came to the more than 15,000 complaints logged to 311 in the Norwood section of the Bronx, tenants at 3525 Decatur Ave. had the most contact with the data-gathering system in 2017, with the bulk of complaints caused by noise. Those were some of the findings determined in an analysis by the Norwood News which reviewed 311 calls filed in Norwood last year. Some questions answered included how long it took a 311 complaint to close, the top 10 buildings with the most 311 complaints in Norwood, what days were most popular to open and close a 311 complaint, and