An Anticlimactic Bronx Election Day

Yes, it’s Election Day in New York, in case you were wondering why the kids have off from school. Bronxites eager to fulfill their civic duty, however, will be disappointed to learn that there’s no actual race going on in the Boogie Down.

Q&A With Lloyd Ultan, Bronx Borough Historian

On Oct. 26, Lloyd Ultan—a veritable human encyclopedia of all things Boogie Down—marked his 15th year as the Bronx Borough Historian. Ultan, 73, is the longest-serving of the five borough historians, his term spanning those of three different borough presidents. The Norwood News caught up with Ultan recently to get his take on how the Bronx has changed during his tenure, and to hear what he’s been up to lately. Q:Where in the Bronx did you grow up, and where do you live now? A: I was born on the Grand Concourse, near Morris Avenue, in a building that no


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Letter to the Editor: Smoking Concerns

As an artist with a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts and Art Therapy I am impressed with the fidelity to cultural practices and design of the fine cigars created by Francisco Rosario (Norwood News, Oct. 20, 2011-Nov. 2, 2011). Mr. Rosario’s dedication to maintaining the skills he adopted in childhood is admirable and no doubt his cigars bring enjoyment and relaxation to his customers. As a child advocate, I am concerned that he was working with toxic materials as a child and most likely subjected to the second hand smoke of the adults around him. As a health professional with a Master’s in Public Health, I have grave concerns about the impact of cigars on the health and well being of Mr. Rosario, his customers, their families, especially children and anyone in the wake of their smoke.

Domestic Violence Art Project Returns to Fordham Plaza

(Photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)
On Oct. 18, Bronx AIDS Services sponsored its annual “Clothesline Project,” in Fordham Plaza. Domestic violence survivors and their supporters decorated white T-shirts with messages of encouragement, and strung the shirts along clotheslines across the square. The event is meant to be an outlet of expression for survivors of abuse, and an opportunity for them to symbolically air their dirty laundry, said organizer SoJourner McCauley.

DOT Looks to Put Gun Hill Road on Fast Track

Despite its name, traffic on Gun Hill Road is known to be anything but bullet speed. That’s why the Department of Transportation has presented a new study that includes a slew of fixes it hopes will speed up the molasses-slow road.

Coalition, Occupiers Combine Forces

The old school grassroots organizers with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition have found an energetic new ally in the growing number of demonstrators with the nascent Occupy the Bronx movement.

MS 80 Program Aims at Opening Elite School Doors

On a recent rainy Saturday morning, seventh-grader Mehrina Tabassum sat quietly at the front of a classroom inside MS 80 on Mosholu Parkway, listening as a tutor instructed the small group of students to tackle a math problem. Through a new tutoring program, she hopes to buck history and gain admittance into one of the city’s elite and selective public high schools.