Murders declined again in New York City in 2005 to a 40-year low of 537. But locally, in the 52nd Precinct, the homicide rate more than doubled, from eight in 2004 to 17 in 2005.

Two Norwood restaurants have gone out of business, leaving owners and regulars with more questions than answers over what it takes to run a successful business here and whether or not salads and bagels are in the equation.

On Nov. 30, plainclothes officers caught and arrested two vandals in the act of defacing the Jerome Avenue overpass at Mosholu Parkway. After attending a debriefing session hosted by the city’s Anti-Vandalism Task Force, the 52nd Precinct officers knew just what they were looking for.

Members of the National Guard’s 145th Maintenance Unit returned home from Iraq on Dec. 29 after the company’s first overseas deployment. The unit, which is based out of the Kingsbridge Armory, spent the last 13 months fixing vehicles and air conditioners in the southern city of Nasiriya.

It’s hard to walk a Bronx block without seeing a bright poster announcing the next bachata or reggaeton concert. The signs seem exotic – emblazoned with tough looking men and sexy women – but many originate from a modest printing plant in Bedford Park.

A controversial management company has taken hundreds of tenants to housing court at an extraordinary pace since purchasing dozens of Bronx buildings last year, according to court records.

Much of the time, democracy can run on autopilot without much more than cursory direction from the citizenry. The checks and balances of the three branches of government and annual trips to the polls are sufficient to prevent tyranny.

I knew what was ahead of me when there were no screeching sounds on Tuesday morning. The No. 7 subway track looms outside my bedroom, and the trains emit a hair-raising noise when they go around my bend in Long Island City, Queens. It was eerily quiet at 8 a.m., as it would be for the next three days of the transit strike.

Region 1 Superintendent Irma Zardoya announced that she will retire at the end of next month after more than a decade of overseeing local schools. She will be replaced by Yvonne Torres, a district supervisor and former local principal, on Feb. 1.