Let’s Support our Youth against Big Tobacco

An OpEd by VONETTA DUDLEY For the first time in nearly a decade, we have over one million smokers in New York City. One out of three smokers will prematurely die from smoking-related diseases. This is alarming especially when we know that tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death. In the Bronx, 16.1 percent of adults and 7 percent of the youth are current smokers.* Tobacco companies have been consistently targeting our youth and have labeled them as their “replacement smokers.” Tobacco companies won’t stop and will do what they have to in order for people to

By TATYANA TURNER & DAVID CRUZ A young man was shot on the outskirts of Kingsbridge/Bedford Park just an hour before the community was to enjoy a street festival. The shooter remains on the run in a case of what police sources say was a gang-related, retaliatory shooting. Children were prepared for the 2nd annual Decatur Avenue Street Festival when gunfire erupted, forcing the cancellation of the festival just on the eve of Memorial Day weekend. Cops from the 52nd suspect the shooting began at a barber shop on 194th Street and Decatur Avenue. The victim, part of the notorious

By DAVID CRUZ In the weeks following the death of Ana Charle, the director of a homeless shelter in Wakefield, security at the shelter has picked up. A parked security car sits outside the shelter. Three part-time peace officers and a supervisor from the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) now roam the facility, a reactionary response by DHS shortly after Charle’s death.

Neighborhood Notes

Small Business Workshops Monroe College School of Business and Operation HOPE host free small business development workshops Wednesdays through July 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the college’s Ustin Hall, 2375 Jerome Ave. (184th Street). Participants will learn how to start a business, build a business plan, and look for funding. For more information or to register, call (201) 381-8798 or email pedro.barry@operationhope.org. Understanding Colitis Program An educational program on inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis takes place May 21 at Montefiore Medical Center’s Tishman Learning Center room #1, 111 E. 210th St. Free registration and light

By DAVID CRUZ Perry Avenue and East 204th Street is whole again following crews covering up a giant hole at the busy intersection. City crews placed a metal plate on top of a sinkhole that turned morning rush into an obstacle course for drivers turning to Perry Avenue. Residents spotted the sinkhole, mistaken for a pothole, for two weeks. Although the sinkhole was eventually sealed, the tar sunk in a day later, forcing crews to place the metal plate. According to a statement issued by the Department of Transportation to News 12, Empire City Subway Company, a subsidiary of Verizon

By DAVID GREENE A 20 year-old man was fatally shot in the chest on the sidewalk in Kingsbridge, with detectives now hunting for his gun-toting killer.

Another Property Sold in Bedford Park

By DAVID CRUZ Bedford Park is becoming the bedrock of development. The latest is the purchase of an abandoned piece of property at 232 East 201st St., which was at one point the home of squatters. Ariel Properties executed the sale for an undisclosed buyer for $650,000, translating to $36 per buildable square feet. It’s located at the corner of Valentine Avenue and 201st Street, deemed a R8 zoning district. Developers can build upwards to 17,982 buildable square feet as-of-right or 19,416 should developers work community space into the development. “With direct access to Grand Concourse and the Bronx Botanical

By DAVID CRUZ Local residents were stunned to see a car-wrangling sinkhole at the intersection of Perry Avenue and 204th Street that’s just feet away from another pothole. But the agencies tasked to fix the problem, the city Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), had shifted responsibilities to each other. DOT is tasked to fix potholes, while the DEP is tasked to fix sinkholes. Respective spokespersons for each agency deferred the Norwood News to each agency. The crater formed sometime last week, with crews placing yellow tape, cones and a barrier on top of it only to slowly seep