Latest Edition of the Norwood News is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s fourteenth edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of great community news stories to dive into and share. There’s plenty of news to report in this corner of the Bronx, and we’ve captured a good chunk of it. And as usual, we’ll start with page one! Our front-page story focuses on the results of the latest Community Board 7 elections, with board members going a different direction in voting for a new chair. Read about the new agenda for Emmanuel Martinez, the newly installed chair of Community Board 7 by myself and Síle Moloney.

By SÍLE MOLONEY

What’s happening in the southeast corner of Van Cortlandt Park? That’s what local residents and activists were asking since barricades were spotted in recent weeks along Jerome Avenue by East 212th Street in an area adjacent to the now infamous Croton Water Filtration Plant (CWFP), the most expensive public works project ever built by the city, one which went years behind schedule, cost taxpayers roughly $4 billion when it was finally completed in 2015, and now supplies the city with between 10 and 30 percent of its water. After some back and forth with various city agencies, it turns out

CB7 Sees Mix of New and Veteran Members to Executive Dais

By DAVID CRUZ and SÍLE MOLONEY

Community Board 7 saw a shift in civic power, as Jean Hill, who presided as chair of the northwest Bronx board, was voted out in favor of 31-year-old Norwood resident Emmanuel Martinez, a relative newcomer to the board. Several familiar faces have stayed on the executive dais, likely adding a mix of fresh ideas and institutional knowledge. Martinez currently serves as chair of CB7’s Veterans’ Committee, having recently hosted the annual Veterans’ Day Brunch, now in its third year. It’s unclear what the vote tally was as CB7 continues to ensure the proper vote count was met but 33 board

Merchants falling in the Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District (JGHBID), and supporters were on hand for the first-ever Small Business Recognition Barbecue hosted by the BID on June 21. The event honored longstanding or active merchants of the BID. Check out these fantastic shots by Síle Moloney

Battle Cry for Justice for Junior Continues Year After Vicious Murder

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Within moments of Leandra Feliz emerging from a vigil held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Belmont, on the evening of June 20, ahead of a planned procession to mark the first anniversary of the murder of her 15-year-old son, Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, the heavens suddenly burst open. Feliz’s face broke into a broad smile, amid applause from onlookers, as she raised her eyes and arms skyward in an apparent secret moment of connection with her deceased son. Dressed in jeans, boots and a t-shirt depicting an image of Junior, she faced off against the media

By SHA-NIA ALSTON & SÍLE MOLONEY

When Dr. Joan Kong arrived as the new principal of PS 11X in Highbridge in September 2011, the first thing she checked out was the school’s library and immediately assessed that it was not fit for purpose. “This is not a library,” she said, at that time, to Roseanna Gulisano, the school’s librarian. “So we are going to start from here and we are going to make this a real library, where kids have the opportunity to read, to enjoy reading, to love books and have the opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten at home or [by] going to the

By DAVID CRUZ

Dear Fellow Readers, The year’s thirteenth edition of the Norwood News is out with plenty of great community news stories to dive into. There’s almost something happening in this corner of the Bronx, and we’ve captured a good chunk of it. And as usual, we’ll start with page one! Our front-page story focuses on more additions slated for the Jerome Avenue Men’s Shelter, which will now see a drug treatment center offered to those not housed at the shelter. Read the story by Jose A. Giralt. Read why the move has irked Community Board 7. Inside the cover you’ll find a piece on a barely

Future of Aqueduct Walk as Hammered Out By Advocates

By SÍLE MOLONEY

“Love your Park” were the three simple words greeting about 40 local residents arriving for an envisioning forum at University Heights Presbyterian Church on June 10. Each resident was armed with concrete plans for the revitalization of the historic Aqueduct Walk, stretching from West Tremont Avenue to Kingsbridge Road and Aqueduct Avenue. The evening was organized by Carlos Acosta, Pilar Maschi, and Ted Enoch from Partnership for Parks, a public-private partnership between the city Parks Foundation and the city Parks Department. The group supports and champions neighborhood volunteers and equips them with the tools to advocate and care for their

Mosholu Library Launches Summer Reading Program

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The sound of tambourine jingles and soft bongo drum-beats rang out from the small, colorful play area of Mosholu Library as an energetic and inquisitive bunch of happy kids sat cross-legged in a circle and gazed intently at Norbert Goldberg, their percussion instructor for the afternoon. Goldberg, part of the Urban Stages group that promotes different artists in the schools and libraries, was there to demonstrate different percussion instruments as part of a special educational musical workshop to mark the launch on June 6, of the library’s annual summer reading program. The program aims to encourage kids to continue reading