Bronx Week to Induct Four to Walk of Fame

By TATYANA TURNER

The annual Bronx Week celebration, an 11-day extravaganza underscoring the borough’s strengths, is under way in the Boogie Down. At a media preview three days before, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. presented this year’s inductees to the Bronx Walk of Fame, which include a celebrated doctor, actress, DJ, and musician. Roughly 100 guests gathered inside Bronx Borough Hall for a media preview of inductees who’ve achieved significant success in their fields. Their names will be etched along the 106 names that make up the Bronx Walk of Fame, running along Grand Concourse south of 161st Street. This year’s honorees

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

By DAVID GREENE

This week we asked readers their thoughts on this week’s rollout of new NYPD body cameras to be worn by patrol officers. Honestly, I think it could go either way, but there are cameras all over. Basically, the NYPD has cameras on every corner, but the body cameras can be used in police brutality cases as evidence of what actually happened at a crime scene as the video shows what happened before or after an event. I think it could cause some privacy issues and people will feel like their rights are being violated. It’s a fact that they sometimes

52nd Precinct Tackles Heroin Amid Fentanyl's Rise in Popularity

By DAVID CRUZ

The commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct stunned his audience with a familiar topic that came with a twist: the local precinct ranks first in fatal heroin overdoses out of all 11 Bronx precincts. Compounding the problem is the mix of heroin with fentanyl, a powerful narcotic described as putting heroin on steroids. “It is so bad that our undercovers and narcotics officers don’t want to touch it without any kind of gloves,” Deputy Inspector Peter Fiorillo, commanding officer of the precinct, said at the recent 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting on April 27. “And it’s very hard for undercovers

Participatory Budget Funds Allocated for Tech Upgrades to Precincts and Schools

By ADELINE HANSSEN and DAVID CRUZ

For Rosalina Garcia, this year’s Participatory Budgeting (PB) process within the 11th Council District, which covers Norwood, was her first. And it was an eye opener and one she proudly described as a “very interesting journey.” “You see how the [council members] want to spend the money to help the community, and that’s rare because usually politicians like to fill their own pockets,” said Garcia. On April 26, Council Member Andrew Cohen, one of 31 council members participating in PB, announced the results of the yearly PB to volunteers and District 11 residents in front of the 52nd Precinct. PB,

The city announced its launched a $1.3 million expansion in legal assistance and training for the city’s immigrant communities, doubling down its commitment to protecting immigrants regardless of status. Beginning this summer, ActionNYC, which has been kicking up immigration services following an aggressive enforcement stance from the federal government, will have a new legal screening site at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in the South Bronx opened. ActionNYC will also grant 20 fellowships for legal and outreach training and technical assistance to community-based organizations across the city. “We are committed to expanding services for our fellow New Yorkers, especially in the face of

By JOLIE MILSTEIN

From the Mill Brook Houses to Lafayette Boynton, families in the Bronx have always been on the front line of fighting for affordable housing. That fight has only taken on greater importance as the borough gets less and less affordable for low- and middle-income families who are struggling to make ends meet. Thankfully, the borough of the Bronx – and all of New York – has taken a huge step forward in combating our state’s dire housing crisis, as the Governor and State Legislature recently approved $2.5 billion for affordable and supportive housing. With over 88,000 New Yorkers still homeless

"Villa Gardens" to Bring 52 Affordable Units to 204th Street and Villa Avenue

By WENDY JOAN BIDDLECOMBE

Excavation is under way to bring 52 units of affordable housing to Bedford Park by mid-2018, continuing the trend of more neighborhood development. Ground broke on the complex at 16 E. 204th St., at the corner of Villa Avenue, just east of Jerome Avenue, earlier this year. Galaxy General Contracting Corp., which develops properties throughout the five boroughs, is planning to call the mixed-income rental building “Villa Gardens.” As standard practice, those hoping for an apartment will need to enter a lottery through the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Richard Sica, Galaxy’s vice president, said the

By DAVID GREENE

With the recent closings of several popular stores in Norwood, we asked residents what types of stores the community needs. I think the neighborhood could use a gym and some more clothing stores. I just moved out here, maybe a movie rental store. Millie Sanchez Norwood Of course I noticed the stores closing. The butcher shop is not the same as they used to be. I don’t think the quality of the products is there because they no longer have the clientele of the community, so there’s not as much traffic to the store. So there’s less business.