After 38 years of serving the Bronx, N.Y., the board of directors at Montefiore Hospital have decided to halt the print publication of their non-profit newspaper, the Norwood News, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Mosholu Preservation Corporation.

The decision comes at a time when larger daily papers and networks are cutting back on coverage of the Bronx, and the current Trump administration’s impending funding cuts to the city will only exacerbate the Bronx’s ongoing issues of crime, homelessness, mental illness, and overcrowding. Now is not the time to discontinue the paper.

Our last print edition is expected to be published on Friday, July 24, although we understand the online edition of the paper is expected to continue.

We are asking Montefiore’s board of directors to reconsider its decision because of the newspaper’s strong and longstanding connection to the community. It provides, informs, and assists residents, and listens to the communities’ concerns. For example, aside from highlighting the positive and uplifting work of so many Bronxites, many stories have also drawn attention to the poor housing conditions and other problems some residents are contending with, while other stories have been used in court cases relating to construction accidents and more. As such, in our opinion, the paper provides real value to residents. 

By eliminating the print edition of the Norwood News; older readers who are not adept at using the internet, and students who get the paper at our local schools also lose out on keeping up with neighborhood news and events. This is in addition to former residents of The Bronx who have moved away but who still subscribe to the paper.

Despite operating with minimal resources since the pandemic in 2020, and an ever-diminishing team, on average, we manage to publish around 20 stories per week online, in addition to producing the print edition every two weeks. 

In May we reported on a daily vigil held by fire victims in Belmont who were seeking more than a dozen animals left behind inside the burned-out building, which prompted animal rescuers, animal advocates and local TV news crews to join displaced residents that forced city officials to go back inside the building where two cats and a turtle were eventually rescued.

We extensively reported on the 2023 death of toddler Nicholas Feliz Domenici, who ingested fentanyl while attending a local daycare. We reported on the subsequent arrests of the operators of the daycare, as well as the trial and convictions of the owners this past March.

In January, a story about two buildings on Botanical Square that had been without gas services since a water main break in 2024, got an elected official involved that helped persuade the landlord and Con Edison to expedite repairs.

We are respectfully requesting that the paper be saved or sold to another publisher and are now asking former editors, writers, photographers, and readers of the paper to sign this petition to convince Montefiore Hospital to reverse this decision to halt the print edition of the Norwood News.

David Greene, Photojournalist, delivery driver

Miriam Quinones, Photojournalist