Norwood Among Nabes Targeted for Lead Awareness Campaign

By EMILY SUZANNE LEVER

City health officials are sounding the alarm about lead poisoning that comes not from peeling paint but everyday foods and cosmetics. The city Department of Health & Mental Hygiene announced a lead prevention awareness campaign—which will include flyers, trainings and outreach through community organizations—targeted specifically at South Asian immigrants, who are particularly at risk. The rollout is part of LeadFreeNYC announced at North Central Bronx Hospital on Jan. 28 by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who pegged it as a roadmap to the “literal eradication” of childhood lead exposure. The initiative includes free blood lead level testing and lead inspections for

By DAVID CRUZ

Travelers driving through the northern edge of Bainbridge Avenue finally can breathe: the massive construction project is no longer blocking drivers going northbound towards the Major Deegan Expressway. But the project is not nearly over. Construction crews for the massive water pipe replacement project have entered into the second phase of the project, with EIC Associates Inc. set to install a massive trunk main that won’t disrupt service, but will likely expand the search for parking. Crews have knocked out street parking from beginning at the intersection of Jerome and Bainbridge avenues, and heading towards the Major Deegan Expressway, to

By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS

Cohen and the leader of the local quality of life group walked around East Gun Hill Road and Reservoir Oval to identify spots that either have out of date sign restrictions, or signs that are not visible as a way of converting them into parking spaces.

With School Around the Corner, Norwood Projects Could Snarl Traffic

By DAVID CRUZ and JONATHAN CUSTODIO

Bainbridge Avenue in Norwood faces dual projects at its roads, which could spell traffic headaches for the hundreds of drivers that navigate the busy artery following the unofficial end of summer. The problems will likely come during the morning rush, when crews for both projects each running on opposite ends of Bainbridge Avenue–will be on the road. Between parents dropping off children at the neighborhood schools beginning the first day of school on Sept. 5, employees or visitors of Montefiore Health System and North Central Bronx Hospital, and shopping activity at the Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District, getting around

Traffic Tie-Ups Worsen on Bainbridge Avenue

By DAVID CRUZ

Drivers getting around the northwest Bronx will have to pack plenty of patience for the interim as the city partially closed off a key roadway in Norwood. Crews working for the city Department of Environmental Protection have placed barricades on the northbound side of Bainbridge Avenue, between the tip of Jerome Avenue (at the intersection of Bainbridge Avenue) and East Gun Hill Road, in the first week of May. This compounds the already hectic morning and evening rush for drivers and buses, adding minutes to the commute. The intersection is a nexus of travel for those going to Montefiore Health

Police have arrested a man they first believed had been shot by an alleged car thief only to find he made up a bogus story to hide he had accidentally shot himself. Police at the 52nd Precinct say the man was in his car when he got into an argument with another person East 199th Street and Bainbridge Avenue in Bedford Park. The driver then pulled out a gun, which went off, hitting the driver. The driver sped off to East 207th Street and Bainbridge Avenue. Witnesses say the victim had bled profusely. The victim then flagged police who came

By DAVID CRUZ

With a pair of special solar eclipse glasses, Ashley Abril peered up in the shaded sky at Williamsbridge Oval Park, paused for a moment and did something few have thought to do: she made a wish. It was her hope that the rarity of the solar eclipse, the first for the Bronx since 1978, would make her wish come true. “It’s something special,” Abril said after witnessing the celestial event. She didn’t have special eclipse glasses of her own. They were on loan from the Norwood News, which found few Norwood residents ready to look up. Many seized the moment

Brooklyn Man Charged in Shooting Death of Norwood Man

By DAVID CRUZ

Police from the 52nd Precinct have charged a 32-year-old man wanted in the shooting death of a Norwood man during the overnight hours of March 29. Jamal Burnel of the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn was charged with shooting the victim, identified as 46-year-old Michael Vermong, killed outside his home at 3110 Bainbridge Ave. at the corner of East 205th Street just before 3 a.m., according to police. He was pronounced dead at Montefiore Medical Center a few hours later. Police told the Daily News the incident started over drugs, and intensified with violence, with Burnel brandishing a gun and opening fire.

By DAVID CRUZ

A major sewer project in Norwood is slated to have round the clock work taking place to speed up the process, which could be disruptive to residents’ sleep and their drinking water. Community Board 7 members approved the idea by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, where crews from the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) have spent seven months excavating roads to replace century-old sewer pipes along Bainbridge Avenue. The approval clears DDC to obtain a nighttime work permit from the New York City Department of Transportation, which holds oversight on any work happening