Bronx Students, Parents Protest Education Dept. Layoffs

Students, parents and school workers rallied outside of the Bronx’s PS 66 in West Farms last week to protest the planned layoff of some 700 city school workers, among them aides, parent coordinators and other school support staff.

Williamsbridge Oval Park Muggings Inspire Solidarity March

A group of concerned Norwood residents marched through Williamsbridge Reservoir Oval in late September in a show of solidarity amid a recent spate of muggings in the park. Friends of the Williamsbridge Oval, a local advocacy group, organized the event following news of the fifth mugging in the past month.

Police Investigating A Burned Quran as a Hate Crime

On the morning before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Imam Ifa Yahha made a jarring discovery outside the Masjid Hefaz mosque. An unmarked package stuffed with roast meat, a photo of Osama bin Laden, mysterious white powder, and the burned remains of a Quran was placed in front of the door on East 198th Street off the Grand Concourse, said a mosque member.

The Making of a Liberal Politician, Part III: Senator Makes Health a Priority

Gustavo Rivera, a state senator for all of nine months, is comfortably in his element. Sitting at the head of a table in a cramped, windowless room deep inside the belly of The Family Health Center on East 193rd Street and Decatur Avenue, Rivera is asking questions and cracking jokes.

Crowds Turn Out for Jerome-Gun Hill BID Festival

Bronx residents descended upon Jerome Avenue on droves between Mosholu Parkway and Gun Hill Road for the annual Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District Festival on the last Saturday afternoon in September.

Expanded HIV Testing Helps Curb Spread of Virus

Recent changes in New York State law combined with new developments in the technology of HIV testing are expanding the number of New Yorkers who are getting tested for AIDS and HIV, experts say.

Lehman Center Opens Doors on Season 31

Executive Director Eva Bornstein talks to the Norwood News about the Bedford Park performing arts center’s 31st season.

Father of Twins Found Shot on Decatur Ave.

A 25-year-old college student and father of twins was fatally shot on a recent early Saturday morning in the area just south of Bedford Park. Police said Bronx resident Kennedy Brown was found with a gunshot wound to the head in front of an apartment building on Decatur Avenue, off East 197th Street, just before 2 a.m. on Sept 24. Brown was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

‘Have a Nice Day’: My Mugging Story

A few days before I got mugged in Williamsbridge Oval, I was thinking to myself about the surprising warmth and courtesy that I’d felt from Bronx residents in my first few weeks in the borough.