UPDATE NYC Districting Commission Releases Proposed City Council District Maps

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York City Districting Commission released on Friday, July 15, the first draft proposals of the 51 redrawn city council districts, further to a series of initial hearings held across the City in recent weeks. The new draft proposed maps can be reviewed here. The latest Bronx hearing held at Hostos Community College can be watched here. The Commission is responsible for drawing 51 new City Council maps based on the results of 2020 Census, which saw New York City grow by 629,000 since 2010 to reach a total population of 8.8 million in 2020. To reflect this increase,

By DAVID GREENE

Police are looking for a scooter-riding gunman who opened fire on a crowd sitting outside a Fordham Manor building, as they celebrated America’s independence. Police said the incident unfolded at 11:51 p.m. on Monday, July 4 when officers received a call about a person who had been shot outside 2705 Bainbridge Avenue, near East 196th Street. Officers from the 52nd Precinct arrived and discovered a 23-year-old male victim had been shot once in the abdomen by a scooter riding gunman. The assailant fled the scene, and the still-unidentified victim was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was listed in

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Good Shepherd Services’ Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B.R.A.G.) program will host the “B.R.A.G. Northwest Peace BBQ,” on Saturday, July 16 from noon to 5 p.m. As reported, the group will bring together elected officials and community members for an afternoon of free food, games, and music to celebrate unity and non-violence within the local community. As rates of gun violence continue to rise both locally and nationwide, the event will mark the second BBQ this summer of B.R.A.G.’s annual series of Peace BBQs, which provide safe spaces where youth, families, and violence interrupters can gather safely, without fear of gun

By EMILY SAWAKED

Following the State primaries held June 28, Empire State Indivisible, a group dedicated to systematically creating political change in New York State, held a fruitful meeting on July 6 to debrief on the impact of the June primary results, as well as planning how the group will continue to support candidates it has endorsed in the upcoming August primaries. In The Bronx, that means providing support to State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), the incumbent who is being challenged by Bronx Democratic Party-backed candidate, Miguelina Camilo, a former commissioner with the New York City Board of Elections, and current

By DAVID GREENE

This week, given the overcrowding at Van Cortlandt Pool amid the ongoing lifeguard shortage citywide, we asked readers where, in their opinion, a new public swimming pool should be built in Norwood or Bedford Park. “I think the neighborhood needs a swimming pool. It would be a good investment, a good addition to the neighborhood, and all the kids could come play and all that. Probably [Williamsbridge] Oval Park would be the best because that’s where we usually go. I kind of remember that the Oval had a pool way back then, but I was too little to

By DAVID GREENE

A 75-year-old male pedestrian remains in critical condition after he was run down by a turning vehicle as he was crossing a Kingsbridge Heights street. The alleged driver, who was seen sporting house slippers as he stepped out of his vehicle at the scene of the accident, was later arrested and faces multiple charges. Police officials say the incident was reported at 2:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, when the victim was hit as he crossed West Kingsbridge Road at Bailey Avenue. An unidentified police official told Norwood News the following day, “A preliminary investigation determined that a 29-year-old

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT

It has been more than a year since recreational marijuana use for adults has been legal in the State of New York. Signed into law on March 31, 2021 and known as MRTA or The Marihuana Regulation & Taxation Act [sic], as reported, it also created a new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), governed by a Cannabis Control Board to regulate adult use, medical, and hemp cannabis. The exact terminology of the product can change depending on the market and other stakeholders, whether it includes production, medical and/or recreational use. The Office of the Bronx Borough President helped organize

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is asking for the public’s help identifying the people seen in the attached surveillance photos and video who are sought for questioning regarding an attempted robbery that occurred on the border of Kingsbridge Heights and Fordham Manor. It was reported to police that on Friday, June 17, at approximately 1.16 p.m., four unidentified people, described as male, attempted to steal the unattended moped of a 31-year-old victim in the vicinity of Morris Avenue and East Kingsbridge Road. Police said the group displayed a gun when confronted by the victim and then fled on foot to

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY

A female resident of Tracey Towers has died following a reported stabbing at the Jerome Park Mitchel Lama housing complex, police said. An NYPD spokesperson said a 52-year-old woman is deceased following the incident which took place on Thursday morning, July 14, at around 10.50 a.m. Asked for further details, the spokesperson said it was believed to be “domestic in nature.” The spokesperson said a person of interest is currently in custody but police were unable to confirm the age or gender of the person. Asked if it was a neighbor who raised the alarm, the spokesperson