Anyone fighting to find a scarce apartment to rent might think the local population is rebounding two years after COVID drove an exodus out of New York City. But information tracked by the federal government suggests that, while the rate of decline is slowing, more people are continuing to exit or die, than are being born or moving here.
Start with the Census Bureau, which in late March published population estimates that cover the period from April 2020 to June 2021 and found 300,000 fewer people living in New York City than before the pandemic.
Manhattan accounted for one in three people who left or died — far more than its share of the city’s population.
To come up with that number, government analysts took the 2020 Census count, which found a record 8.8 million people in New York City, and then did some arithmetic — adding births, subtracting deaths (including 40,000 from COVID), and tracking moves from state to state.
The number of births actually exceeded the number of deaths, including from COVID — but so many people moved away that the population shrank substantially.
The streets were desolate in Chinatown during the coronavirus outbreak, April 14, 2020.
The result: The Census Bureau now estimates the New York City population at 8.5 million as of July 1, 2021
Movement to other states was the biggest driver of the population loss, along with contributions from COVID deaths and a drop in international migration.
The Census Bureau followed up last week with more bad news for New York: a recheck of its statewide 2020 Census count estimated it had overcounted New York State’s population by somewhere between 382,000 and 1 million.
In its analysis of the sobering New York City numbers, the Department of City Planning called the population drain “a result of temporary, pandemic-related phenomena that “are likely to have reversed in the second half of 2021.”
We won’t know for a while if that’s in fact what’s happened. But in the meantime, other federal government numbers suggest that, at the very least, the exodus out of New York City may have slowed.
THE CITY reviewed change-of-address statistics from the United States Postal Service to assess the patterns in the second half of 2021 and in 2022. The data does not distinguish between people who moved outside of New York City and people who moved within it. But it shows that movement overall has gone back to pre-pandemic rates.
As of April this year, the agency received 30,900 net change of address requests — down significantly from 53,500 in 2021, and closer to the 26,900 in the same period in 2019.
Where are people going? Internal Revenue Service records covering the 2019 and 2020 tax seasons provide some clues. They show that for every two people moving to New York City from outside, five people left the city.
Just over 380,900 tax filers and their dependents swapped a New York City address in 2019 for one out of state in 2020, the records show. Most who fled New York City went to neighboring suburbs and New Jersey.
Fairfield County, Conn., Los Angeles, Miami, Palm Beach, Fla., and Philadelphia also saw an influx of New York City folks.
In the same period, the boroughs had 150,800 new taxpayers and their dependents, arriving from the neighboring area and other large metros, notably L.A. and Miami.
THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.
The New York City Department of Health has confirmed that a second Bronx resident has died as a result of the latest legionnaires’ outbreak in the Highbridge section of The Bronx which has sickened 24 people since it was first reported almost two weeks ago.
Since the outbreak was first detected across the 10452 and 10456 zip codes of Highbridge, the Department of Health has tested water cooling towers in the area and was able to pinpoint four that tested positive for the bacteria which causes a pneumonia-like infection.
The Highbridge neighborhood finds itself the center of the latest legionnaires’ outbreak in New York City
According to the Department of Health, the two victims were over 50, a key demographic of those most susceptible to the disease which puts you at a higher risk of developing serious complications.
Symptoms of Legionnaires’ include fever, chills, coughing, and muscle aches. Others may also experience diarrhea, headache, and fatigue.
Those exhibiting such symptoms are encouraged to reach out to their health care providers immediately.
Individuals most at risk for Legionnaires’ are those over 50, smokers, have chronic long disease, a weakened immune system, or are taking medication that weakens your immune system.
The Department of Health notes that:
“You can only get Legionnaires’ disease by breathing in water vapor containing the bacteria from sources such as cooling towers, showers and hot tubs. People who are sick with this disease cannot make others sick.
“You cannot get Legionnaires’ disease by drinking water that has Legionella bacteria. It is fine to drink cold water from the tap. When heating water for tea, coffee or cooking, start with cold water.”
The Bronx isn’t new to Legionnaires’ and was the center of New York City’s largest outbreak in 2015 which killed 16 residents and sickened hundreds throughout the South Bronx.
Budding astronomers and stargazers from The Bronx rejoice: New York City’s FIRST public observatory is set to come to the mainland borough this year.
After serving students at Nassau Community College on Long Island for over 40 years, the 12 foot tall structure is seeking a new home as it has been retired due to renovations at the school and installation of newer equipment.
The 12 foot observatory will soon call The Bronx home/Via Amateur Astronomers Association of New York
Now, thanks to the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York, Nassau’s loss will be The Bronx’s gain as the group has approached the New York City Parks Department to host the observatory at the Jerome Park Reservoir.
The plan for the observatory, which is capable of peering far beyond 2.5 million lightyears and beyond the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way’s nearest large neighboring galaxy, is to be run in conjunction with Bronx High School of Science whose campus is just around the corner from the proposed location.
Once in operation, the observatory would be open to the public free of charge, offering Bronx residents (or anyone for that matter) an opportunity to reach for the stars.
But, in order to undertake such an ambitious project to relocate this observatory to The Bronx the AAA is seeking to raise $10,000 and have raised $2,000 so far. (If you want to donate, you can do so here.)
AAA is hoping that Jerome Park Reservoir will be the home of NYC’s first public observatory / Via Amateur Astronomers Association of New York
Right now, as of May 28th, the dome is currently at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island and the Observatory Working Group is working to obtain the necessary Parks construction permits in order to bring the dome to its new home at Jerome Park.
It’s fitting that The Bronx is set to become the home of New York City’s first public observatory given that the northernmost borough was the home of Neil deGrasse Tyson who, for the past 26 years has been serving as the director for the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space which is part of the American Museum of Natural History and is also a graduate of Bronx High School of Science.
Tyson is also perhaps one of the most famous names and faces in astronomy and astrophysicists in the world.
Another Bronx connection to astronomy, but perhaps not as well known to the general public, is Carolyn C. Porco, a Bronx native who graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School and went on to become of the foremost experts on the outer planets with particular emphasis on Saturn and planetary rings.
According to Gothamist, “Over nearly 200 years, several stargazers have tried and failed to set up the city’s first public observatory, according to the International Planetarium Society. The closest alternatives are at Columbia University and various City University of New York campuses, including one shuttered on top of Ingersoll Hall at Brooklyn College. All of which are prioritized for their students.”
Once it’s up and running in, perhaps the next, great astrophysicist will be a kid from The Bronx inspired by staring deep into space from right here within the borough.
The legionnaires outbreak in the Highbridge neighborhood of The Bronx has taken a deadly toll as the first victim has died from the disease while the number of infected has nearly doubled and risen to 19 with 8 hospitalized for this potentially fatal disease.
The public was first alerted to the outbreak last Friday, May 20th by the New York City Department of Health which noted that the first case appeared as early as May 9th centered within the 10452 and 10456 zip codes.
A Highbridge resident reads an informational pamphlet on Legionnaires’ handed out at a local food pantry on the Grand Concourse
During its investigation of the outbreak, the Department of Health identified four cooling towers in the area which tested positive for the legionella bacteria and ordered the immediate disinfection of the cooling towers and will retest to ensure compliance.
“We are saddened to hear about a death in a person who contracted Legionnaires’,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “Health Department staff are working to ensure that buildings in the cluster area are treated and conditions remediated quickly. While most people exposed to the bacteria do not get sick, Legionnaires’ disease can cause severe illness or be fatal for those at higher risk, including people pre-existing chronic health issues. That’s why it’s crucial that you seek health care as soon as you experience flu-like symptoms.”
The Highbridge neighborhood finds itself the center of the latest legionnaires’ outbreak in New York City
According to the Department of Health:
Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia that is caused by the bacteria Legionella, which grows in warm water. Symptoms resemble other types of pneumonia and can include fever, chills, muscle aches, and cough. Legionnaires’ disease can be caused by plumbing systems where conditions are favorable for Legionella growth, such as cooling towers, whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems.
Individuals only get sick by breathing in water vapor containing Legionella bacteria, and the disease is not transmitted from person to person. Individuals at higher risk include those ages 50 and above, cigarette smokers, and people with chronic lung disease or compromised immune systems. People living or working in the area who are experiencing these symptoms should seek medical attention with a primary care provider or seek urgent care.
Bronx residents are particularly susceptible to the disease given the fact that many residents have asthma which can complicate issues with the disease.
In 2015, the South Bronx was the location of New York City’s largest outbreak of legionnaires’ which claimed the lives of 16 Bronxites and sickened 138 individuals.
During that outbreak, residents were told that the culprit were cooling towers and the New York City Department of Health insisted that it was not in the drinking water supply yet a month later, legionnaires’ bacteria was detected in the drinking water supply at Melrose Houses where several individuals had become ill with the disease.
It’s important to note that during this current outbreak, only water cooling towers have been identified as the source of the bacteria and not the drinking supply as of now.
Once again, if you’re experiencing flu-like symptoms including difficulty breathing, please contact a health care provider immediately and get tested. Legionnaires’ is treatable with antibiotics if caught early.
For the past several days, there has been a media frenzy that the last public payphone in New York City was removed in Times Square, bringing with it an end of an era.
Alex Lambertus captured this picture of a public payphone in Co-op City, The Bronx
But the viral news wasn’t quite accurate and in fact, quite misleading.
Although a rarity in New York City over the past decade, public payphones are still, in fact, alive and well throughout New York City as evidenced by Alex Lambertus who snapped a photo of a public payphone in Co-op City, The Bronx.
— NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (@NYCOfficeofTech) May 23, 2022
The frenzy of misleading and false information was spread when the New York City office of Technology and Innovation tweeted out that they had just removed the last free-standing public payphones from Times Square which Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine also tweeted about.
There it goes! The last free-standing pay phones were removed this morning in Times Square. Truly the end of an era but also, hopefully, the start of a new one with more equity in technology access! @LinkNYC is one great way we are achieving this. pic.twitter.com/03lFCT6iI2
— Office of Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine (@MBPMarkLevine) May 23, 2022
Instead of some basic fact checking, the media sadly ran with the story burying lede in the process by not immediately stating that it was the LAST city-owned public payphone.
Reports also streamed from across the city listing locations like Manhattan’s Upper West Side and even Union Square.
Even Snopes, the fact-checking website chimed in by reporting: ” In sum, no, the last pay phones in New York City weren’t removed. Evidence suggested that there were still pay phones available throughout the city, both public and private. For these reasons, we rated the claim that the last pay phone had been removed from New York City on May 23, 2022, as “False.”
So whatever you have read, don’t believe the hype: Public payphones are alive and well in The Bronx and across New York City and its era has yet to end.
Last Friday, the New York City Department of Health announced that it was investigating an outbreak of legionnaires’ in the Highbridge neighborhood of The Bronx where 4 individuals were noted as having contracted the potentially fatal type of pneumonia.
Now, as of yesterday, the number of those infected in the area has risen to 10 according to the city’s health officials and all, as those mentioned last week, are located in Highbridge within the 10452 and 10456 zip codes.
If you or someone you know is experiencing flu-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, coughing, or fever, you should seek immediate help from a health care provider.
Those most susceptible to the disease are people over the age of 50, smokers, have a chronic lung disease like asthma or COPD, a compromised or weakened immune system or take medication that weakens your immune system.
The Health Department is continuing its investigation of this outbreak and is conducting testing of cooling tower systems throughout the Highbridge neighborhood.
As mentioned before, The Bronx isn’t new to legionnaires’ outbreaks and in fact, since 2015 there have been several, including the largest ever seen in New York City which killed over a dozen Bronxites seven years ago and infected hundreds throughout the South Bronx.
Unlike COVID-19, legionnaires’ disease CANNOT be transmitted from person to person and instead is transmitted by breathing in the bacteria via contaminated water vapor from cooling towers, showers, hot tubs, air conditioning, and hot tubs.
For more information on legionnaires’ and what you should know, visit New York City’s Department of Health website.
Four years ago, Sharon Pandolfo-Perez, who runs The Parkchester Project, reached out to Welcome2TheBronx to inform us about something disturbing: The iconic terracotta statues that adorn the 171 buildings spread across 129 acres in one of the most well-known planned communities in not just The Bronx but New York City were disappearing.
Many entryways are adorned with medallions and statues.
Back then, Pandolfo-Perez estimated that about 10 of the statues had disappeared without mention from Parkchester Condominium as to what was happening to them.
Now, the New York Times has written about these priceless works of art and the number of statues taken down is up to 45.
One of several statues at the rear of the old theater.
Growing up in The Bronx, a trip to Parkchester was always magical as I would always seek out these statues, the sentries that guarded this community.
“The complex’s unmatched set of polychromatic terra-cotta ornament — some 500 statuettes and 600 plaques — is, quite literally, being chipped away,” Roberta Nusim, president of the Art Deco Society of New York, wrote to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in November.
The destruction is the result, she wrote, of “sheer carelessness — the kind of carelessness that landmarks designation could prevent. The damage isn’t overwhelming — yet — and there is still time to act, but that time is slipping away.”
Many entryways are adorned with medallions and statues.
And indeed, we agree, that this is a case of such carelessness. Bronxites know from experience that when it comes to landmarks in The Bronx, whether official or otherwise, the city tends to turn a blind eye. Just look at what was done to the landmarked PS 31 several years ago when it was demolished by the city against the will of New York City’s Landmark Preservation Commission and that of local residents.
If this development were in Manhattan or Brooklyn, this wouldn’t have gone beyond one statue being removed without it being repaired and then carefully replaced back to its original location.
According to Parkchester North Condominium and Parkchester South Condominium, some of the statues needed to be removed in order to repair the masonry behind them and that where possible, the statues have been salvaged and are safely stored away.
There is no question that Parkchester is historically as well as architecturally significant and should be declared a landmark.
A broken statue at Parkchester/Via The Parkchester Project
This planned community, although originally constructed as a restricted “whites only” city within a city, would eventually become home to a very integrated and mixed community truly representative of the borough.
It is also a mix of renters and home owners as the development is now a condominium offering families the opportunity to affordably own their own homes.
Another one of Parkchester’s iconic statues.
Let’s make sure that these magical statues continue to guard Parkchester for generations to come and continue to bring joy to its residents and visitors alike.
The New York City Department of Health has announced that legionnaires disease has been detected in four people in the Highbridge neighborhood of The Bronx.
According to NYCDOH, these infections were detected going back to May 9th and are clustered around the 10452 and 10456 zip codes with results from other individuals presenting similar symptoms still pending.
Legionnaires bacteria
“Any New Yorkers with flu-like symptoms should contact a health care provider as soon as possible,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “Legionnaires’ disease can be effectively treated if diagnosed early, but New Yorkers at higher risk, like adults aged 50 and older, those who smoke or have chronic lung conditions should be especially mindful of their symptoms and seek care as soon as symptoms begin.”
The department of health is actively investigating the cluster by testing water from all cooling towers in the impacted area.
This isn’t the first legionnaires outbreak in The Bronx.
In 2015, The Bronx found itself at the center of New York City’s largest legionnaires outbreak which infected hundreds in the South Bronx and killed over a dozen individuals.
According to the Department of Health:
“Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia that is caused by the bacteria Legionella, which grows in warm water. Symptoms resemble other types of pneumonia and can include fever, chills, muscle aches, and cough. Most cases of Legionnaires’ disease can be traced to plumbing systems where conditions are favorable for Legionella growth, such as cooling towers, whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems.
“Individuals only get sick by breathing in water vapor containing Legionella bacteria, and the disease is not transmitted from person to person. Individuals at higher risk include those ages 50 and above, cigarette smokers, and people with chronic lung disease or compromised immune systems. People living or working in the area who are experiencing these symptoms should seek medical attention with a primary care provider or seek urgent care.“
It is an unfortunate circumstance that many have become accustomed to when living in The Bronx. Shootings and deaths as a result of gun violence are simply something that residents, despite the countless activists trying to curb such violence, have become almost indifferent to.
But the unthinkable has happened, yet again.
11 year old Kyhara Tay, killed in a senseless shooting
Kyhara Tay, an 11 year old child who was coming home from school, was shot in the stomach by a stray bullet intended for someone else.
The shooting occurred on Fox Street near Westchester Avenue on Monday afternoon just before 5PM when a man on a scooter shot at another man who was fleeing.
11 year old Kyhara was rushed to Lincoln Hospital but tragically died later that night as a result of the gunshot to the abdomen.
Her killer is still on the loose but The Bronx will come together to find her heartless killer but we have to stop the violence and stop the shootings.
We are killing our children and for what?
Early last month, 16 year old Angellyah Yambo was walking home from school when she was shot and killed when a man arguing with several other men fired six shots, one of which fatally struck Angellyah.
16 year old Angellyah Yambo was killed early last month while walking home from school
Over 40 children and teenagers have been shot so far this year.
If you know who committed this heinous act, now is the time to speak up. Our children deserve safe streets and not to worry about getting shot on their way to school.
They deserve to live out their lives and achieve their dreams, not end up six feet under because of cowardice of the gunmen who kill them.
Lobbying records indicate Ruben Diaz Jr. is on a six-month $120,000 retainer to lobby the city on behalf of Dynamic Star LLC, the developer behind Fordham Landing. At 40 acres, the anticipated $2 billion development along the Harlem River waterfront dwarfs Hudson Yards.
Former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is getting paid $20,000 a month to press for a massive real estate project at the foot of Fordham Road — a project lobbyists had sought his ear on through his final months in office last year.
Fordham Landing is an anticipated $2 billion, 40-acre mega-development, proposed by a Greenwich, Conn. firm called Dynamic Star LLC linked to the inner circle of former President Donald Trump. Facing the Harlem River across from Inwood, its 5 million square feet would include nearly 2,800 apartments four train stops away from Grand Central via the University Heights Metro-North station.
State and city lobbying records show that on March 23, Diaz signed a contract with Dynamic Star that commits his firm Nuevo Diaz and Associates LLC to “provide governmental relations services in the City of New York” and potentially other services from March 10 through Sept. 10 — a stint worth $120,000 to the former borough president.
Then-Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. speaks at an Eric Adams mayoral campaign event, Oct. 15, 2021. | Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITY
Diaz is lobbying on the Fordham Landing project for “Determination regarding real property,” city lobbying records show. A state filing indicates he expects to lobby the city departments of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Transportation (DOT) on municipal land use.
Joint Commission on Public Ethics records also show that a second lobbying firm working for Dynamic Star, Kasirer LLC, reported targeting Diaz during the final two months of 2021, related to “approvals and permits at 320 W. Fordham Road, Bronx.”
City ethics rules include a lifetime ban that bars ex-public servants from appearing before the city or receiving compensation for “services rendered” on any matter in which they had “participated personally and substantially” while they were on the city payroll. That includes decisions, approvals, recommendations, investigations and “other similar activities.”
But Diaz also championed the development of The Bronx’s western waterfront during his dozen years as borough president. In his 2015 State of the Borough address, he declared: “A complete metamorphosis of the Harlem River waterfront is coming.”
Among the highlights: “To the north we have Fordham Landing. This site could host up to one million square feet of mixed-use development, including housing of all types, community space and additional waterfront and park amenities.”
“This is a great site for a public/private partnership, and we will work with the owners and future developers to activate and revitalize the northwest Bronx.”
He elaborated on his vision at an October 2017 New York Building Conference breakfast, saying: “I would love for the west side of The Bronx to have contiguous waterfront accessibility, sort of like what you see on the west side of Manhattan.”
The Harlem River near Fordham Landing.
Dynamic Star isn’t the only big Bronx player paying the former borough president. Diaz is still a full-time executive at Montefiore Medicine, where he has served as senior vice president of strategic initiatives since February.
And on Monday, the consulting firm Actum announced that Diaz will be joining as co-chair “in an advisory capacity,” Actum partner Rachel Noerdlinger said in an interview.
He will also be keeping his own firm, Nuevo Diaz Associates LLC, Nordlinger said.
A person who answered the number listed for Nuevo Diaz Associates did not respond to a request for comment. Diaz did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
Dynamic Star principal Brad Zackson did not respond to a request for comment.
Revolving Door
Diaz incorporated Nuevo Diaz Associates LLC in April 2021 even though he had another nine months to go as a public servant. And he did so in Albany County, many miles from his stomping grounds in The Bronx.
This arrangement with Dynamic means at the time the developer was paying a lobbyist to seek Diaz’s support for his big development, he was already intending to become a lobbyist.
This appears to put him perilously close to violating city conflict of interest laws that bar city workers from receiving compensation regarding a matter with which they’d “participated personally and substantially as a public servant through decision, approval, recommendation, investigation or other similar activities.”
The extent to which Diaz interacted with the developer of Fordham Landing before leaving office is unknown. Borough presidents have a say on land use issues, and Fordham Landing is no exception.
Part of the Fordham Landing property.
Dynamic Star had paid the firm run by veteran lobbyist Suri Kasirer to beseech multiple public officials, including Diaz, during his final months as Bronx borough president. Zackson, the firm’s co-founder, told Norwood News in November that its executives had met personally with Diaz and his staff while he was still borough president to discuss Fordham Landing.
Although it’s clear Diaz has participated in discussions with the developers, it’s not clear whether he took any official action in regard to this project, which has yet to receive land use approval from new Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
“This project is in the very beginning stages of conversations and as Borough President, it is my responsibility to ensure that any development at Fordham Landing is inclusive of community input and engagement,” Gibson said in a statement via a spokesperson. “Affordable housing must be a real priority and include home ownership opportunities to build economic wealth and pathways to the middle class for our residents and families.”
Bigger Than Hudson Yards
Diaz signed his lobbying contract with Dynamic Star director of development Brad Zackson, whose long history in New York real estate had him working closely with two intimates of Trump.
Zackson got his start leasing apartments to tenants in Queens on behalf of Fred Trump, Donald’s father. The elder Trump had years earlier settled a federal civil rights case after investigators determined Trump buildings discriminated by rejecting Black applicants. More recently, Zackson collaborated with Paul Manafort on real estate investments, before Manafort became Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign chairman.
Dwarfing Hudson Yards, Fordham Landing as proposed would be the largest real estate project in the city since that West Side development.
Spanning a swath of land straddling the University Heights bridge along the Harlem River all the way up to the Target in Marble Hill, the estimated $2 billion project is slated to include 2,800 apartments, 30% of which would be affordable, a 700,000 square-foot science center, esplanades, an e-sports amphitheater and a music venue, Norwood News reported last year.
Fordham Landing is still years away from breaking ground. The project must go through a public review process known as Universal Land Use Review Procedure – or ULURP – that would begin in 2023 at the earliest.
Bronx Community Board 7 District Manager Ischia Bravo said that she participated in a “brief” informal meeting with the developer in 2020 but that the board has not had any formal meetings.
“There’s always a concern when there’s a project of this magnitude changing the dynamics of the community, and we want to make sure that there are resources that are attached to that, especially when you bring in a certain amount of residents,” Bravo said. “We’re looking at resources like transportation, schools — the typical concerns.”
Local Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, in a statement to THE CITY, urged that the project take seriously the larger community’s many needs. If she is still serving when the project goes through ULURP, she will likely have influence over any final approvals or concessions to the local community.
Councilmember Pierina Sanchez (D-The Bronx) speaks at a City Hall rally calling on Mayor Eric Adams to invest more in affordable housing and homeless services, April 21, 2022.
“The proposed $2 billion Fordham Landing project is the largest proposed new development project in recent NYC history, taking place in one of the city’s most economically distressed neighborhoods…. We have never had true access to the Harlem River waterfront, and also struggle with a high rate of traffic incidents and fatalities,” she said.
“Any proposed development must center the most urgent needs of our Bronx community to earn my support. In the coming months, I look forward to supporting an independent community input process that centers our community needs.”
Last week, the city Department of Buildings disapproved a permit associated with 320 West Fordham Rd., the project’s southernmost lot.
That site, just south of the University Heights Bridge, will reportedly bear a 17-story, mixed-use building. Dynamic Star purchased the property for $31.5 million in 2019. An additional site — 2475 Exterior Street, purchased for $31.75 million in 2020 — is slated to feature a mixed-used building including rentals, student housing, a public school, a research center, retail and office space.
Bronxites and residents across New York City and even New Jersey were awoken by a loud, ground-shaking boom this morning around 6AM.
Many residents were caught off guard given the fact that thunderstorms weren’t in the forecast, just rain, especially given the fact that many were still sleeping snuggly in their beds.
But why did the thunder sound so loud and why could you even feel the vibrations in the ground?
The answer, according to local meteorologists, is a weather phenomenon known as a thermal inversion.
This happens when warm air traps cold air directly below it and causes the thunder to reverberate, or echo, across the landscape, much like being trapped inside a dome or a bell when it rings.
“While inversion itself isn’t terribly uncommon, a range of factors, including its placement and the slow-moving thunderstorm, combined to make the experience memorable for many.
“It probably happens a few times a year, but when it happens over a major metropolitan area like New York City, it seems a little more unusual,” said Dominick Ramunni, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.“
I was fast asleep when the intense roaring and vibrations from it woke me up from my deep slumber and my three cats, who rarely are bothered by weather events, ran for cover in a panic which sent me into a panic wondering what exactly had happened.
Once I realized it was thunder, I soon went back to sleep.
Anyway, let’s hope we don’t have more of these rare events in NYC.
A lottery has opened for 225 brand new affordable apartments just blocks from Yankee Stadium.
Located at 1164 River Avenue at the 167th Street Station on the 4 subway line, the development is one of three going up on that block and the first to be nearing completion.
1164 River Avenue rises above a bustling and vibrant community at 167th Street
The 17-story development was also the second proposed development announced once the controversial Jerome Avenue Rezoning was approved in 2018 which would pave the way for the displacement of dozens of automotive shops and small businesses.
Available apartments range from studios as low as $375 a month to three-bedroom apartments at $672 a month for qualifying households making 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and each apartment will have access to free broadband internet access.
Breakdown of available apartments are as follows:
30%
$375 a month for studios for households making $15,429-$28,020
$481 a month for 1 bedroom units for households making $19,372-$36,030
$589 a month for 2 bedroom units for households making $23,932-$43,230
$672 a month for 3 bedroom units for households making $27,703-$49,650
1164 River Avenue (left) is one of three developments going up on one block as a result of the 2018 Jerome Avenue Rezoning.
40%
$535 a month for studios for households making $20,915-$42,720
$681 a month for 1 bedroom units for households making $26,229-$48,040
$828 a month for 2 bedroom units for households making $32,160-$57,640
$949 a month for 3 bedroom units for households making $37,200-$66,200
50%
$696 a month for studios for households making $26,435-$53,400
$881 a month for 1 bedroom units for households making $33,085-$60.050
$1,069 a month for 2 bedroom units for housholds making $40,423-$72,050
$1,227 a month for 3 bedroom units for households making $46,732-$82,750
A bathroom at 1164 River Avenue
60%
$909 a month for studios for households making $33,738-$64,080
$1,143 a month for 1 bedroom units for households making $42,069-$72,060
$1,366 a month for 2 bedroom units for housholds making $50,606-$86,460
$1,570 a month for 3 bedroom units for households making $58,492-$99,380
70%
$1,080 a month for studios for households making $39,600-$74,760
$1,356 a month for 1 bedroom units for households making $49,372-$84,070
$1,672 a month for 2 bedroom units for housholds making $59,383-$100,870
$1,865 a month for 3 bedroom units for households making $68,606-$115,850
80%
$1,176 a month for studios for households making $42,892-$85,440
$1,481 a month for 1 bedroom units for households making $53,658-$96,080
$1,789 a month for 2 bedroom units for housholds making $65,109-$115,280
$2,059 a month for 3 bedroom units for households making $75,258-$132,400
Typical kitchen at 1164 River Avenue/via Housing Connect
Please note, for each unit, there are other requirements such as number of people per household and further income requirements based on household size so refer to the Housing Connect website for further details.
How to Apply
For those interested in applying, you have until June 27, 2022 and you can do so online or you can request an application by mail by sending a self-addressed envelope to: River Crest Apartments c/o Wavecrest Consulting LLC, 87-14 116th Street, Richmond Hill, NY 11418.
Remember, you can only apply ONCE and you may not apply both online and by mail. Applying more than once can and will disqualify you according to the lottery rules.
1164 River Avenue, along with the other two buildings dwarf the 4 subway line. As development continues along the avenue, Jerome and River Avenues will undoubtedly get darker and darker.
5% of units are set aside for individuals with mobility issues and 2% for those with vision and/or hearing impairments. 50% preference for residents of Community Board 4 (to see which community board you live in, click here), and 5% for New York City employees.
Also, please note: We are NOT connected with this or any other real estate developments and cannot assist you in obtaining an apartment so please do not contact us regarding these units.
