Public & Community Meetings

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 will hold its general board meeting on Jan. 17 at the Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd., at 6:30 p.m. CB7 committees are held on the following dates at the board office, 229A E. 204th St. at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Public Safety & Quality of Life Committee, Jan. 5; Education/Libraries & Youth Services Committee, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m.; Senior Services Committee, Jan. 11; Parks & Recreation, Jan. 11 at 7:15 p.m.; Traffic & Transportation, Jan. 12; and Veterans Committee, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 933-5650.

Thief Sought for Burglary Crime Pattern in 52nd Precinct

By DAVID CRUZ

The 52nd Precinct needs help finding a burglary suspect who brazenly sneaks into fire escapes and makes off with victims’ belongings. Police say the thief was reported to have struck six times from Oct. 6 through Nov. 24. In each crime, the thief enters the apartment through the fire escape, in some cases with the victims sleeping inside, and steals items. The thief snuck into apartments on Valentine Avenue and Grand Concourse between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. In all, the thief made off with purses, credit cards, sneakers, watches, Apple products, a Beats headphones set, video

The Festival of Lights was aglow at the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center, which celebrated its annual Chanukah Celebration on Dec. 27. Check out the photos from Miriam Quinones.

Cashless Tolls Coming to Bx. Bridges in Fall

Toll attendants will be a thing of the past this year. The MTA is expected to roll out cashless tolls for the Bronx’s Whitestone and Throggs Neck bridges in Fall 2017, applying even for drivers who don’t use EZ-Pass to pay for a toll. Non-EZ-Pass drivers will have a bill mailed to them, a practice already in effect at the Henry Hudson Bridge. While non-EZ-Pass drivers pay the full rate, drivers with the tag get a reduced rate. Toll beaters will be subject to stiffer fines starting in February, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office.

After Oval Rec Center Vandalized, Parks Steps Up Patrols

By DEBORAH CRUZ

The start of the holiday weekend was interrupted when the doors of the Williamsbridge Oval Park Recreation Center were vandalized during evening hours of operation. The front doors of the Williamsbridge Oval Park Recreation Center were shattered when rocks and cinderblocks were thrown at the door, by what many believe to be adolescent thugs, leaving the entryways partially destroyed. The incident happened around 6 p.m. on Dec. 24. While initially thought to be a direct attack to the center, a few people who asked not to be identified fearing reprisal said there appeared to be a fight between members of

By DAVID CRUZ

Continuing a tradition established for at least five years, the Norwood News took a look back at its 25 editions it puts out every year to highlight stories that consistently stood in the main pages of the paper. These stories caused plenty of readers to pause and think. Among the recurring themes playing out in 2016 was development of Norwood, which continues to be a hot commodity for wary developers. The stories were among the three following categories: Armory The Norwood News opened 2016 with the front page headline, “Ice Project Thawing Out,” referring to the Kingsbridge National Ice Center

Public & Community Meetings

COMMUNITY BOARD 7 committee meetings are held on the following dates at the board office, 229 E. 204th St., at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: Executive Committee meets on Jan. 3; Public Safety & Quality of Life Committee meets on Jan. 5; and Education, Youth & Libraries Committee meets on Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. BEDFORD MOSHOLU COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION meets Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m. at 400 E. Mosholu Pkwy. So. (Apt. B1). For more information, email the group at bedfordmosholu@verizon.net.

Bedford Park Tenants Fought the Good Fight, and Left Scattered

By DAVID CRUZ

For the four families who once lived at 267 E. 202nd St., the year of turmoil is over. After living through a year where they were nearly evicted from their home, battled their new landlord in court over repairs as a way to delay eviction proceedings, and ultimately forced out following a devastating three-alarm fire, the tenants have found new lodgings. They’ve also happened to settle their case against their landlord, Peter Fine. Fine, who was in the middle of being sued when the home broke out in flames over the summer, settled the cases with tenants for an undisclosed

This week we asked readers their New Year’s resolutions and hopes and wishes for 2017. I’m trying to quit smoking and make more money, if I can find a better job. I signed up with the Emergency Response Team for the snow removal with the Department of Sanitation and that pays $18 an hour. I hope that the situation with global warming gets resolved, because this weather we’ve been having is crazy. It’s cold when it should be hot and hot when it should be cold. George Morales Morris Park My hopes for 2017 is to do better than I