Marta Montilla is just like everyone else – and she takes pride in that. Her goal this holiday season is to have what many people take for granted: a place for her kids to play and unwrap presents. A place called home.

The dangerous ringleader of a group of thugs that robbed and killed local merchant Juan Madera in 2002 is off the streets.

It may no longer be a house of Jewish prayer, but there were many expressions of thanks and appreciation during the ribbon cutting ceremony of a new child education center and medical facility in Norwood last week. Elected officials and other community leaders gathered at the old Nathan Straus Jewish Center last month for its reopening as an auxiliary site for the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) and Montefiore Medical Center.

A range of serious issues affecting Bronx residents since their buildings were bought seem to reflect the company’s practices in Manhattan, too. And while tenants say that the Pinnacle organization has stuck them with inflated repair costs, lawsuits and threatening notices, the group’s president denies any wrongdoing.

A civic drama that may rival the local filtration plant saga in emotion, if not the number of meetings and rallies, is unfolding in the south Bronx.

World class boxing now has a Bronx venue. Promoter Cedric Kushner joined former champions Roberto Duran and Iran Barkley at the recently restored Loew’s Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse, to announce boxing matches lined up for Dec. 9.

Sam Gillian, a large man who is quick to smile, likes being terrified. He thinks you should do the same. "If you’re alive, you’re scared. That’s it," said Gillian, 66, sitting in his spacious Tracey Towers apartment.

It’s the kind of event park advocates and politicians celebrate, but like an archaeological dig, the groundbreaking for the new playground at the southeast corner of Van Cortlandt Park revealed layers of complexity below the excitement and ceremonial ritual.

Bronx tenants fed up with their landlords’ lack of action in addressing poor building conditions went over their heads on Nov. 7 to the bank that loans the owners money.