Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie Holds Christmas Celebration in Williamsbridge

By SÍLE MOLONEY & MIRIAM QUIÑONES

New York State Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, in conjunction with Bridgefield Civic League Inc., hosted a Christmas Celebration at the league’s center at 3551 Laconia Avenue in Williamsbridge on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021. The event featured a toy giveaway, food & drinks, games, story time and general entertainment for the local community. It was supported by NYC Health & Hospitals Test & Trace Corps, Metro Plus Health Plan, Gloria Bent, registered dietician and nutritionist, and author, Harlem Holiday, among other volunteers. Speaking to Norwood News at the event, Bent said, “The holiday season is a season for giving,

By SÍLE MOLONEY & MIRIAM QUIÑONES

The folks at Transportation Alternatives Bronx Activist Committee, headed up by Kevin Daloia, held their annual, novel, festive bike ride around the borough on Thursday, Dec. 16, in the lead up to the year-end holidays, all in an effort to spread some much-needed holiday cheer and spirit, amid the then-latest wave of coronavirus infections caused by the omicron variant. Volunteers saddled up, dressed in festive outfits and took a late bike ride around some of the various tree-lighting displays in Belmont and Morris Park, before finishing up at Metropolitan Circle in Parkchester. The event kicked off at Poe Park, at

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Bronx Assembly Member Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80) and her team held one of several toy giveaways which were organized by various elected officials, local community groups and police precincts, in the lead up to the holidays. The event which was held on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, was for children in the local Norwood and Bedford Park areas, and included special guest, Santa Clause. The event was held outside Lexa Express, located at 347 East 204th Street in Norwood, and the assemblywoman said she and her team of volunteers rushed to start the giveaway early, such was the line of

By DAVID GREENE

Over 300 Bronxites turned out for a day of learning, planning, and healing, as dozens of local organizations converged on The Mary Mitchell Center, located at 2007 Mapes Avenue in the Crotona section of the Bronx, for “The Bronx People’s Festival” on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. Participating groups included Mothers on The Move, Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, Laborers International Union of North America, The Point, The Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative and others. The various groups were on hand to provide guests with assistance, as well as free gifts, as

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On Thursday, Jan. 20, the New York City Council appointed recently elected, Bronx, District 14 City Council Member, Pierina Sanchez, as chair of the council’s powerful housing & buildings committee, which has jurisdiction over New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Department of Buildings (DOB), as well as rent regulation policies and practices. HPD is responsible for promoting the quality and affordability of the city’s housing by developing new, affordable housing, enforcing the housing maintenance code, and engaging neighborhoods in planning. DOB is the primary regulator of the construction and real estate industries in

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York City Department of Emergency Management Services (EMS) updated New Yorkers on Saturday on the City’s response to the most recent snow storm, saying Sanitation workers were working to clear roadways as quickly as possible, with 1,800 plows dispatched throughout the five boroughs. As reported, Mayor Eric Adams paid another trip to the Bronx in the space of a week on Saturday to assess the snow situation on the ground, as he did in other boroughs also. “Yes, up in the Bronx on Tiffany Street. Roads are slippery out here today, and so, be careful,” he said.

By DAVID GREENE

A wild and potentially deadly, two-vehicle crash that resulted in injury to one driver and at least one vehicle mounting a sidewalk in the Allerton section of The Bronx has resulted in the arrest of both involved drivers. According to police, the crash was reported at 12:13 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, at the intersection of Astor Avenue and Laconia Avenue. NYPD detective Annette Shelton told Norwood News, “It was discovered that an 18-year-old man was operating a 2020 Acura on Laconia Avenue when it collided with a 2021 Mercedes, operated by a 35-year-old male that was traveling

By DAVID GREENE

A livery taxi driver was wounded as he sat behind the wheel of his cab by an unknown assailant on Friday in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx. The driver reportedly hit the gas to escape the gunman, causing his vehicle to plow into a parked car. An unnamed detective at police headquarters told Norwood News late Friday night that the shooting was reported along Zerega Avenue, between Lyon and Westchester Avenues at 6:15 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 28. The detective said, “There was a shooting at the location. A male was shot in the leg while inside his

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD reported that a fire broke out on Friday, Jan. 28, at 3016 Webster Avenue, home to the 52nd precinct, in Norwood. Officers said there were no injuries, and the cause of the fire is still to be determined. https://twitter.com/FDNYAlerts/status/1487197063830032390?s=20&t=JJKz4nfkYb3slEybOHfHHw FDNY put out an alert over Twitter for all hands at 5.53 p.m, and another at 6.20 p.m., confirming that the fire was under control. Norwood News followed up with the FDNY, and the department later confirmed that FDNY units responded on Friday evening to 3016 Webster Avenue in Norwood regarding a fire on the third floor