Editor’s Note: The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

The Office of City Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11) has confirmed that the MTA has committed to restoring the flagpole located next to Woodlawn subway station, the last stop on the 4 train. The flagpole, which was erected in the early ‘70s according to former Bronx resident and now Yonkers-based U.S. Navy Veteran Thomas Moore, had fallen into disrepair, is extremely rusty, and appears to be not so secure.

 

As November marks Veterans Appreciation Month in New York City, Moore said he had reached out to local elected officials, the nonprofit, KRVC, run by executive director Laura Levine-Pinedo, and later to the Norwood News to see if something could be done to advance restoring the monument to its former glory.

Moore told Norwood News he had already received an acknowledgement to his request from representatives of some elected officials and had also been speaking with Levine-Pinedo about the matter, and was just looking for a further update. He mentioned that another local veteran, Jim Malarky, who he said had run the Winners’ Circle Bar in the local Norwood area several years ago and who now lives with one of his daughters in Michigan, had maintained the flagpole in years past. He said his other daughter still lives in the local area.

 

Moore said Malarky, whose health, he said, has declined over the years, used to also volunteer with the Bronx VA Medical Center and with a local Catholic organization, to help support other veterans when he lived in the area up until about 10 years ago. “He’s still alive, he’s pretty old, but he’s really not in shape to travel,” Moore said. “But if he was still around in the neighborhood, he’d know the buttons to push.”

Of the flagpole itself, Moore said, “It’s about to fall down because they left it open for years and the weather is beating it down. He added that there was a ballpoint pen placed on the base of it, and he said he even had people offering to repaint it. When Norwood News visited the site, we did not see the ballpoint pen Moore mentioned but it is in a very rusty state as seen in the attached photos.

 

Moore added, “This is past painting.” He said in the 1970s, Malarky had also started to add various plaques to the base of the flagpole dedicated to different local veterans who he said had since died. A faded mural tribute to veterans is still visible on the gable end of Woodlawn subway station next to the flagpole, organized it seems by Local 147 Tunnel Workers, Catholic War Vets, NYC Transit Authority and Charles N. Bajart Jr. Post 1122.

On Nov. 12, Norwood News contacted NYC Parks, the MTA, and various local elected officials about Moore’s request. We received a response from Nayise Gonzalez, an aide to the assemblyman, who said, “Yes, our office was contacted about this earlier this year, but we do not have any news regarding the site. We had reached out to NYC DOT (Department of Transportation), NYC Parks, and the MTA to find out who owned the flagpole, but each agency shared that they did not own it or know who would.”

 

Gonzalez added, “After further research, our office was able to identify the original contributors for this “Winners Circle Memorial”  as individuals from Local 147 Tunnel Workers, Catholic War Vets and N.Y.C. Transit Authority. While our office would also like to see this site maintained and repaired, we have not yet been able to identify the owner to arrange this.”

 

Brian Dickstein from the councilman’s office also responded, saying, “Someone from our office has been on top of this and has already reached out to the MTA to replace the flag. We are also in touch with the MTA to replace the flagpole.”

 

Meanwhile, in honor of Veterans Appreciation Month, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, in partnership with her office’s veterans’ advisory council, NYC Department of Veterans’ Services, Worldwide Veterans and Family Services, and the Sam Young American Legion Post 620, hosted a Veterans Appreciation Month kick-off event, to honor and celebrate Bronx veterans from all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 1530 Hutchinson River Parkway in the Schuylerville section of The Bronx.

NYC Commissioner of Veterans Services James Hendon said the department was proud to stand with the borough president to honor what he said was a tradition of service that runs through every block of The Bronx. “As we mark Veterans and Military Families Month, we recommit to practical, life-improving work, one claim, one home, one career at a time,” he said. Read the full story here.

 

Various elected officials, including the assemblyman, the councilman, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33) and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark joined Bronx Community Board 8 (CB8) District Manager Farrah Kule Rubin, CB8 Chair Julie Reyes, CB8 Member Bob Bender, Commissioner of NYC Veterans’ Services James Hendon, Stephanie Ehrlich, executive director and administrator of Van Cortlandt Park, Chair of Special Committee on Veterans’ Services and Vice Chair of CB 8 Sergio Villaverde, and members of the Bronx American Legion post 253 Color Guard, Chaplain (CPT) Robinson, and American Legion Member and Judge Yadhira Gonzalez-Taylor for a veterans commemoration event in Van Cortlandt Park on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.

 

“Once again, our community took the time to honor our veterans at Memorial Grove in Van Cortlandt Park,” the assemblyman said. “Thank you to all of our veterans who have served our country, protecting our rights and freedoms. I will continue to stand with our veterans, ensuring they receive the support, dignity and protections we owe them,” he added in part.

 

Meanwhile, a representative from Rivera’s office later said of the event, “Last Sunday, Senator Rivera attended the Veterans Day Commemoration at Memorial Grove in Van Cortlandt Park, where 21 bronze plaques were placed beneath newly planted oak trees. Special thanks to Bronx Community Board 8, its Special Committee on Veterans Services, and the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance for holding this thoughtful event to honor our nation’s veterans and active service members!”

According to NYC Department of Veterans Services, created in 2016 under former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and the first standalone City agency in the country dedicated to serving veterans and their families, there are 135,138 veterans in New York City, 23,482 of whom live in The Bronx, 38,841 of whom live in Brooklyn, 27,778 of whom live in Manhattan, 38,515 of whom live in Queens, and 11,522 of whom live on Staten Island.

 

Of the 23,482 who live in The Bronx, 21,857 are male and 1,625 are female, and of the same 23,482 Bronx veterans, 8,324 live with a disability and 14,431 live without one. They range in age from 18 to over 75 years.

 

Officials at the borough president’s office said they will continue to connect veterans and their families to resources and opportunities throughout the borough. As reported, the Bronx Veterans Resource Center at Bronx Borough Hall is open every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., providing veterans and their families with access to a wide range of services.

On Saturday, Nov. 15, Bronx Community Board 7 in conjunction with Assemblyman John Zaccaro Jr. (A.D. 80) hosted a veterans luncheon at Lehman College. More to follow.

 

For more information about the Veterans Resource Center, veterans are encouraged to contact NYC Department of Veterans’ Services at (212) 416-5250, email them at connect@veterans.nyc.gov, or make an appointment at nyc.gov/vetconnect.