The 2nd outbreak of Legionnaires in The Bronx, which is centered in the East Bronx neighborhood of Morris Park has claimed its first victim as 13 are confirmed infected.
Although city officials claim that this isn’t related to New York City’s largest outbreak of Legionnaires in history that occurred this past summer in the South Bronx and claimed 13 lives and sickened hundreds, one has to wonder of that is truly the case.
Are these two separate incidents or still the same?
Symptoms
It is important to know that this is not a communicable disease transferred from person to person contact and equally important to know the symptoms and get treatment immediately as this is a very curable infection.
Symptoms include: fever, cough, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea, loss of appetite, confusion, fatigue, and headaches.
11 people are currently hospitalized and one individual has been discharged. How many more people must die or get sickened before the city admits incompetence? Why The Bronx?
According to WABC the following sites have been listed as having contaminated cooling towers, although we already know based on scientific evidence that they are not the sole source nor the source for majority of cases as per EPA, CDC, and other scientific research data.
–2725 East Tremont – Chase Bank
–1740 Eastchester Road – Calvary Hospital
–2964 East Tremont – Lehman High School
–1500 Waters Place – Bronx State Psychiatric
–1199 Sackett Ave – Einstein College
–1845 Eastchester Road – Einstein College
–1301 Morriss Park Ave – Einstein College
–1250 Morris Park Ave – Einstein College
–1865 Eastchester Road – Einstein College
–1925-1935 Eastchester Road – Einstein College
Yet another town hall meeting is planned for tomorrow, Thursday October 1st at Maestro’s at 8pm sharp located at 1703 Bronxdale Avenue.
Weeks after the city declared New York City’s largest outbreak of Legionnaires to be over, which occurred in the South Bronx killing 13 people and sickening hundreds, NYC Department of Health has releases a statement that 7 new cases have come up, this time in the East Bronx neighborhood of Morris Park.
The City has been adamant that it’s not in the water yet earlier this month 4 cases of Legionnaires popped up at Melrose Houses NYCHA buildings where it was found to have the water supply systems contaminated.
What is going on in our water in The Bronx, why are we experiencing these cases of Legionnaires which DOH says are unrelated to the South Bronx outbreak?
“The city Department of Health on Monday confirmed they are investigating seven new cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the Morris Park section of the Bronx.
According to a press release, the DOH says they were notified of the new cases between September 21 and September 27.
The DOH says they are working to identify a potential source.
Health officials say the cluster is unrelated to the outbreak in the South Bronx over the summer that was later linked to bacteria found in the cooling tower of the Opera House Hotel.
The DOH says patients in this latest cluster live or work in the Morris Park neighborhood, range in age from 45 to 75 and are all currently hospitalized.
There have been no deaths.
In a statement, Health Commissioner Mary Bassett urged residents with respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, chills and difficulty breathing to seek medical attention and says the department is “taking immediate steps to determine the source and protect the people who live and work in Morris Park.”
She says the department is taking immediate steps to determine the source and protect the people who live and work in Morris Park.
NY1 will continue to follow this developing story.”
We’ll continue to keep on top of this issue which we’ve been hammering at since first announced in July.
Tweet from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr celebrating the partnership between Port Morris Distillery and FreshDirect which was severed once the community protested about the deal.
Last Thursday an event was held at Port Morris Distillery with The Bronx Brewery, Ruben Diaz Jr, FreshDirect, Marlene Cintron, Executive Director of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation to celebrate the newly formed business partnership between PMD and FreshDirect.
Our borough president began tweeting and even sent out a press release as a victory of sorts in the many attempts his administration has attempted to divide our communities on the issue of FreshDirect coming to The Bronx.
Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation Executive Director, Marlene Cintron
But it didn’t work.
Members of South Bronx Unite, which was founded immediately after a FreshDirect move and sweetheart deal was announced as a done deal without community, gathered quickly to protest against Port Morris Distillery’s new partnership and to boycott the beloved business.
It wasn’t an easy decision to call for an immediate boycott a small business we have all grown to love but within minutes of announcing what had happened, hundreds of people began spreading the word through social media and joined the pledge to not support PMD.
I posted my disillusionment with both small businesses and the vast majority of hundreds of comments were of disappointment and solidarity in joining the boycott. It was shared by many and others joined in including the disappointment because these are business beloved by many.
Even some events that were planned at the space were pulled.
The Bronx Brewery wasn’t immune either. Yesterday’s BX Bike Swap which brought over a hundred people together was to be held at the brewery but was immediately cancelled and moved to Brook Park once it was revealed that they too have been partnering with FreshDirect and selling their beer online.
You see, Ruben Diaz Jr and his administration consistently call South Bronx Unite a small but vocal minority against the dirty deal that would allow FreshDirect to create an environmental disaster in an already overburdened Port Morris and Mott Haven with an extra thousands of truck trips running through the streets.
But Ruben Diaz Jr is a liar not to be trusted for you see, South Bronx Unite is an alliance of over 50 Bronx community and non profit organizations representing all corners of our borough and thousands upon thousands of Bronxite who oppose this deal.
Almost 4 years since the deal was announced and the people of The Bronx are still in litigation against the FreshDirect move which is not a done deal yet regardless of the construction going on.
Within hours of our call to boycott these two Bronx businesses, contact was made with Port Morris Distillery and they agreed to meet with concerned community members the following day including myself.
We met on Friday at Brook Park to give them a chance to explain their decision and they in turn listened to our side and position of why we do this as children played in the garden.
We fight this fight for our children and our community that has been a victim and dumping ground for the city’s unwanted polluting industries for decades creating some of the dirtiest air in the city clearly divided among racial and economic lines.
We are not anti development or anti jobs. South Bronx Unite is pro quality jobs where our residents don’t have to work in poor conditions for up to 12 hours and still qualify for public assistance because companies like FreshDirect do not pay living wages.
Several hours after our meeting with Port Morris Distillery I was contacted by them that they had reached a decision and wanted to meet again.
It was on Saturday that Port Morris Distillery, less than 48 hours after celebrating their new partnership with Ruben Diaz Jr bragging about it across social media, that they came to an agreement to sever that partnership and join the community.
Port Morris Distillery will no longer fulfill any orders with FreshDirect and that is a victory not just for the group and community but a victory for a small business that made a tough decision to end a partnership which could have made their lives easier but it would have been on the backs of the community.
For us, it was a weight lifted from our shoulders for we were being pitted against our brothers and sisters in our own community and borough by an unscrupulous borough president who was and continues to use these businesses not for their benefit but for his own political gain.
Mychal Johnson, a local resident, former Community Board 1 member, and founding member of South Bronx Unite said, Sure. “I’m glad PMD is aligning with the community and not allowing any semblance of division from those with ulterior motives.”
Monxo Lopez, another local resident and founding member of South Bronx Unite added,” The South Bronx, including its local businesses, remains steadfast in its opposition to the proposed FreshDirect relocation; any manipulation by the boro president to make it seem otherwise its doomed to fail in a heartbeat.”
The fact that Ruben Diaz Jr was bragging on social media clearly shows what that he was using them and issuing a press release about it further illustrates that Diaz Jr continues to play dirty and will stop at nothing.
This is a message loud and clear to our borough president: our community stands together and we will not stand idle when you use our people and small businesses for your gain and against us.
When PMD told us they were severing the relationship we immediately took to social media to let folks know about their decision to stand with the people of The Bronx and it was an instant celebration online from folks ecstatic to hear the news.
People immediately began reposting the news and tagging their friends that an outing was in order to Port Morris Distillery to celebrate.
On Saturday, less than 48 hours after Ruben Diaz Jr, FreshDIrect and co celebrated the partnership between the two companies, Port Morris Distillery founder Ralph Barbosa announced that they were severing their partnership with FreshDirect after meeting with community members and South Bronx Unite.
We may not be a small, mediocre online grocer like FreshDirect able to deliver straight to your homes but we are thousands strong and a fiercely loyal community that will protect and make sure our small businesses survive without having to sell themselves to the highest and dirtiest bidder.
Now it’s time for The Bronx Brewery as well as the others who have sided with FreshDirect to listen and see what the community can do united. We still haven’t heard back from The Bronx Brewery after contacting them and tagging them in comments but we do hope they’ll see this as a moment to truly stand by the borough they chose to call home.
For now, please boycott The Bronx Brewery until they stand by our borough not against it.
In the meantime, go celebrate with Port Morris Distillery and drink their pitorro and thank them for doing what’s right.
When we first started our music program with a handful of kids in 2009 we only dreamed of one day having an orchestra full of youth from the South Bronx. Now, not only does such an orchestra exist but it’s had the incredible good fortune to travel to Venezuela for a week of intensive study and performance with El Sistema, the world-renown Venezuelan system of youth orchestras and choirs that inspired us to start UpBeat NYC six years ago.
UpBeat NYC is a free community music program in Mott Haven now serving 150 South Bronx residents ages 5 to 21. We share the philosophy of El Sistema that the study of music is a human right that has the power to transform lives and should be made accessible to all. Through intensive musical training and performance we hope to open our students’ hearts to a world of possibilities, igniting a spark in them to work hard to seek beauty throughout their lives. Like El Sistema, UpBeat’s goal is not only to develop professional musicians but rather to create community through music and to empower our young people to shape their own lives and their communities, giving them the skills they need to succeed in whatever they may choose to pursue.
The Venezuelan-Bronx cultural exchange continues this weekend when the National Youth Orchestra of Caracas comes to Crotona Park for a free outdoor concert open to the public. The 160-piece orchestra will also be performing this weekend at the United Nations for its 70th anniversary celebration. It is noteworthy that this renowned orchestra, one of El Sistema‘s most important orchestral and educational achievements, will be holding its public concert in the South Bronx, a community rich in its own culture but so often overlooked and underserved.
The concert will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s visit to the South Bronx, where he made a commitment to help local people. The realization of Chavez’s initiative has been brought about by the CITGO’s Simón Bolívar Foundation, sponsor of Sunday’s concert and a strong supporter of our work at UpBeat NYC as well as a tremendous array of other community-based work in the South Bronx.
Every few years there is a buzz about the South Bronx being “revitalized,” about changing the image of urban blight created when the borough was burning in the 70s. While we may see some changes in the form of gentrification—money being put into luxury housing and restaurants to lure newcomers to the area—real, lasting change for the people who have lived and worked here for decades has been harder to find. More evident is this wave of new development’s glaring cultural and economic tone-deafness, ignoring the value of the area’s dynamic diversity and pushing longtime residents out by charging higher rents.
By contrast, the initiative begun here by Chavez has recognized and bolstered projects for and by the community. Through sustained support of grassroots organizations that provide services and advocacy for marginalized communities, CITGO’s impact here is significant. Against the odds, these groups have for years fought to meet the critical needs of the South Bronx: affordable housing, fair jobs, alternatives to incarceration, organizing against police violence and providing food and shelter to those living in dire circumstances. [Editor’s Note: The Bolívar Foundation also supports City Limits’ Bronx Investigative Internship Program.]
Sunday’s concert will be unlike any you have ever seen. The Latin-American selections on the program are played by the National Youth Orchestra of Caracas with electricity, passion and expression. The classical pieces are played with just as much energy and excitement. One reason we model our work after Sistema is because the Venezuelan kids are not being taught classical music to change them into buttoned-up musicians, but rather are encouraged to come into themselves and transmit that identity through their music.
Our students noticed this deeply personal expression in every peer they performed with in Caracas: Our kids wrote and spoke about the way their Venezuelan counterparts moved when they played, expressing their emotions, playing with passion. And they noted how easily connected they felt to those fellow musicians, both through their shared music and through their similar lives.
This youth orchestra will not look like the elite classical orchestras we are used to seeing in New York City. It is a diverse orchestra made up of young people of color. This is of huge importance for our young people to see – musicians who look like them, who come from similar challenging backgrounds. Come to be inspired by these youth, come to support these youth and come to support the movement that we are working to create here in the South Bronx to give everyone the opportunity to experience the power of and to be empowered by the beauty of music.
The concert on Sunday, September 27 is at 4 p.m. at Crotona Park. Click here to see video of the Youth Orchestra of Caracas performing, and here for a film about the UpBeatNYC’s visit to Venezeula.
Liza Austria and Richard Miller are husband and wife and the co-founding directors of UpBeat NYC.
Superwoman Bronxite, Nilka Martell who’s being honored this coming Tuesday September 29th by The Bronx River Alliance at their “Upstream Soiree”/ Photo taken by her son Isaias
The Bronx is full of activists and people who are always doing things for our beautiful borough, always giving back.
But there’s one special woman who does so much without much fanfare, and oftentimes goes unnoticed by many since fame or fortune isn’t her endgame.
It’s about leaving The Bronx, our beautiful borough, a better place than we inherited it from our previous generation so that future generations can live safely, in an environmentally sound Bronx.
That woman is Nilka Martell.
Before I even continue, it is only right and fair that I fully disclose that I have become friends with Nilka over the course of almost two years now. I am also on the host committee for ‘An Upstream Soirée‘ where she will be honored thus coming Tuesday at the a fundraising event at The Bronx Zoo for The Bronx River Alliance.
She was also one honored earlier this year as one of the 25 influential Bronx Women of 25 years.
That being said, all of that doesn’t impact how I feel about this woman of The Bronx and appreciate all she has done for us without ever even expecting a thank you.
I put my biases aside as best as someone in my position could and asked myself what would I say if Nilka Martell was someone I did not know but knew the work she did?
The answer was simple: It would be the same.
Nilka Martell, Image by her son Isaias Vargas
Whether it’s beautifying her neighborhood, planting trees, cleaning up garbage or organizing major cleanups of The Bronx River and our waterways, having over 200 trees planted in memory of our beloved activist, friend, historian, and environmentalist, Morgan Powell or supporting the many institutions that make our home borough a wonderful place, Nilka is there.
which began small and cleaning up her block in a campaign of beautifying where she lives.
This adventure eventually took a life of its own with the non profit receiving grants and awards to further their efforts.
It became and continues as a way of Nilka engaging our youth and putting them into action while learning and caring for their environment.
In such a short time, she forged alliances with the many organizations and people who serve to protect The Bronx not just with her passion but her charming personality making her someone pretty much everyone in The Bronx knows or has heard of.
To me, she is the type of Bronxite above and beyond, that we should be celebrating for she doesn’t just talk about it, she IS about it by constantly, literally getting her hands dirty doing what many won’t do but it’s these very people she’s inspired to get their hands dirty as well.
It’s for this and many more reasons that Nilka Martell is well deserving of this recognition and many more. She is someone who loves our borough and understands what it means to truly love it.
Loving The Bronx, as she often hashtags her images and even has an Instagram account with that name (not to mention her I Love The Bronx column in The Bronx Free Press) is a complex thing for to truly love our you accept it for what it is and try to help it without changing the very fabric of our borough’s culture.
You love it and bring about socially responsible change that would uplift everyone not displace folks and that’s what she’s about, walking that delicate balance.
I’m proud to call Nilka Martell my friend, I’m proud to join countless others in celebrating this wonderful, selfless woman of The Bronx.
Tickets are still available for this event which will benefit The Bronx River Alliance, an organization that has done so much to clean up our River to the point where we now have the first beavers in NYC in over 200 years and even installing a fish ladder for migratory fish to return to their spawning
A necklace that Daniel Lanzilotta made out of plastic and garbage.
Daniel Lanzilotta, grew up in the Woodlawn/Wakefield area of the North Bronx and ended up on a journey that took him across the country and eventually across the Atlantic to France where he spends half his time.
For years, Daniel has been collecting garbage that washes upon the shores of France—and even our own Bronx River and our borough’s shores and turns these items that are destroying our ecosystem into beautiful sculptures.
But it’s not just about raising awareness about what we, as humanity, are doing to our planet but he also uses these pieces and everyday disposable, plastic items as a way to teach children their potential.
The Bronx 200 Artist teaches children to look at an object and understand what the potential is by asking them what it is then he begins to assemble a small sculpture and shows them what one thing that may seem insignificant turn into something unique and different with a life of its own.
Lanzilotta said, “So it’s been a journey. How to look at an object and how to understand what the potential is of that object and what is the potential of yourself.”
Even ordinary eye glasses are turned into works of art using garbage showing how something ordinary can become extraordinary—a message he often tells children about their potential, that they are more than they think they are because of their potential to be greater.
“I look at these kids and tell them, you are more than what someone says you are, you don’t listen to what they say you are and you don’t look at another human being and say, “They’re less than me”. No, you look at their potential. That person is potential.”
And that’s precisely what Daniel Lanzilotta does with everyday objects whether it’s plastic and garbage he finds in the ocean and bodies of water or grabbing a stack of plastic stirrers from fast food places that will end up in our garbage and oceans.
He takes them and painstakingly makes anything, manipulates them with heat turning them into necklaces, earrings, and small sculptures—each one different and unique.
According to his bio at The Bx 200, he says: “My artistic mission is to bring greater significance to the seemingly insignificant. I am a ‘plastician”. I work with plastic waste, detritus, rubbish, fragments of litter, trash, flotsam and jetsom. I work predominantly with plastics. My art supply store is the environment we live in.”
Bronx born and raised artist Daniel Lanzilotta along some of his works at his studio in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Daniel also talks about the importance for Bronxites to be able to ‘detox’ and decompress surrounded by nature.
“The Bronx is full of places to go to and recharge yourself, it’s not what people think it’s about, it’s not what is still in people’s images. Go to our many parks, to The New York Botanical Garden, The Bronx Zoo and enjoy the fresh, clean air. Use them!”
Another unique sculpture made out from Starbuck stirrers.
It was a pleasure to chat with this native son of The Bronx and get a closer look at his work. Daniel is one of many amazing people that have come from our borough and continue to come despite whatever odds are thrown our way.
It’s like he says, “You’re more than you are. You are potential.” Pretty much, we are more th
That’s something we should not only think about ourselves as but encourage our youth and others to seek the potential within them.
Another unique sculpture made out from Starbuck stirrers.
The units ranged from town homes, to condos, co-ops, and massive 700+ unit developments—all affordable housing (although we already know that it isn’t affordable for the majority who live in the area and is generally out of reach for those making too little or too much).
3160 Park Avenue is also quickly rising.
Now Melrose is experiencing its second wave of major construction as the last remaining parcels of what was once empty lots filled with the rubble of burnt out and abandoned buildings are being filled in with new affordable developments and even market-rate developments.
Over 2.1 million square feet of developments are in various phases of construction whether just breaking ground, rising, or getting ready to break ground in the very near future which in several years will add thousands of more residents into the area yet no improvements on transit have been made. 3rd Avenue and 149th Street on the 2/5 trains, 149th Street/Grand Concourse on the 2/4/5, and 161st Street-Yankee Stadium at River Avenue on the 4/B/D lines are among the busiest train stations in The Bronx.
Elton Crossing, 263 unit development with two buildings at 8 and 12 stories is well under construction already.
The developments are as follows and will add a total of 1,915 unit to Melrose bringing in a total of over 5,000 units of new housing in just under 10 years to the area:
706 Courtlandt Ave|Under Construction|14,794 square foot, 5 story building with 16 residential units. Affordability unknown.
407 E 160th|Under Construction|25,280 square feet 8 stories, 39 units market rate apartments. According to the developer, details of what the rents will be is, “…too soon to determine”.
Elton Crossing|Under Construction|258,000 square feet, 263 units with 60 units for homeless veterans.
Bronx Commons|Groundbreaking scheduled for end of 2015|361,000 square foot development with 277 apartments and a 15,000 square foot Bronx Musical Heritage Center along with retail space.
La Central|Groundbreaking scheduled for end of 2015/beginning of 2016|1.1 million square feet, 992 apartments (studios to 4 bedrooms, supportive housing for people with HIV/AIDS), 5 buildings from 8 to 25 stories, 50,000 square foot YMCA, 2 acres of public and private landscaped grounds, rooftop decks, astronomy tower and education center, rooftop farm, 10,000 square foot BronxNet studio and classroom space, 30,000 community space and over 45,000 of new retail space.
655 Morris Avenue|Under Construction| 217,579 square feet, 15 stories with 176 units including retail and community space.
3160 Park Ave|Under Construction|11 story, 185,000 square foot with retail and commercial space and 152 residential units.
On paper all of this sounds wonderful and looks quite beautiful but there’s always the question of affordability and who does it really benefit? Who can really afford it? Many professionals don’t qualify because they make too much and the average low-income working family makes too little due to the inane way the area median income is calculated which doesn’t truly reflect the community these developments are built in.
And then there’s the question of what will happen once the affordability of these units expires since they are not permanently affordable?
Check out the renderings of several of the above properties:
La Central on Westchester Ave and Bergen one block east from 3rd Avenue/ Image via by FXFOWLE
La Central YMCA/Image by FXFOWLE
La Central YMCA/Image by FXFOWLE
La Central YMCA/ Image by FXFOWLE
25 story building of La Central will be located at the north of the development across from Via Verde and will feature an astronomy tower and educational center. At the end of the block will be a skate park/Image by FXFOWLE
Note how much space is green and open for La Central / Image by FXFOWLE
Rendering of 655 Morris Avenue/ Courtesy of HPD
Rendering of Elton Crossings by MAP Architects
Rendering of Elton Crossings by MAP Architects
Bronx Commons rendering and future home of Bronx Musical Heritage Center.
Aerial view of the proposed development, La Central
One of the buildings in La Central, 980 unit affordable housing development slated for Melrose
North Along Bergen Avenue
In keeping with all new developments in Melrose, you can see from the renderings that open spaces including rooftop areas will play a large part of La Central
Rendering of 3160 Park Avenue in Melrose / Courtesy Newman Design
Bronx Commons rendering once complete will house a 15,000 square foot home of The Bronx Musical Heritage Center
A Chipotle is slated to open up next to the recently opened Starbucks in Melrose.
Here comes the wave of generic, not-so-unique chains.
According to construction workers at The Melrose Building at 260 East 161st Street where a Starbucks just recently opened, the popular fast food chain Chipotle is coming.
Although we were unable to confirm this with the food chain or management at 260 East 161st Street, plenty of construction workers at the space confirmed that indeed Chipotle was coming to Melrose.
While some may rejoice that it’s an alternative to all the fast food and fried chicken places in the area, Chipotle is not necessarily much better when it comes to eating healthy. A typical chicken with burrito with the usual toppings and a side of chips comes out to 3.5 servings and 1,850 calories—something which most have no problem scoffing down in one sitting. If you’re a sedentary male, the US Department of Agriculture recommends 2,000-2,600 calories per day and if you’re active the number goes to 2,400 to 3,000. For women it’s less: 1,800 to 2,200 calories for sedentary women and 2,000 to 2,400 calories for women if they’re active.
The Burrito Bowl isn’t much better with an average of 200 less calories than above.
So yes, many will rejoice at the fact that there will be another dining option but let’s be real: It’s a more expensive selection of unhealthy food even if you are getting a bit more fiber and veggies, the saturated fats and sodium alone is worrisome.
Give me any of the many authentic Mexican restaurants in the South Bronx and Melrose anytime.
In a pro-gentrification piece written by The New York Times, it was announced by one of the developers of the three 25 story residential towers (of 6) planned for the South Bronx Harlem River waterfront, that 1 bedrooms would rent for a mind-blowing $3,750.
How does Keith Rubenstein, president of Somerset Partners who will be developing these towers in conjunction with the Chetrit Group, justify such rents based on that data?
Sure the area is proximate to Manhattan and main centers of employment but that still doesn’t justify such extravagant prices.
The placement of these towers will be in an area that is physically separated from the rest and in the age of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign to end the tale of two cities…well this is everything but an end and a beginning in the creation of two cities within a neighborhood.
On one side you have some of the highest concentration of public housing in various NYCHA developments with thousands of residents and 40% living at or below the poverty line and on the other side you will have ritzy glass towers along a waterfront that we should be building waterfront access and making it resilient against climate change versus these proposed towers.
What about working families, low and middle income? These rents are far from middle-class affordability.
I’m all for a mixed-income neighborhood and there is room for everyone but the South Bronx is an area that should be developed carefully—but we already know that developers are only out for top dollar with no consideration of the neighborhoods they invade.
Who is going to pay such money in an area that has some of the dirtiest air in the city where residents and children suffer from 8x the national average of asthma not to mention sits in a flood zone that was flooded by Sandy? Are people going to really pay these prices with these conditions when they can pay the same in Manhattan?
The developers have also been picking up retail spaces in the area to begin luring outside restaurants and businesses and encourage them to open up with an eye on the future residents of these towers—not the existing population in the general area of the South Bronx who call the area home for generations.
Now with developers with easy access to major capital, it’s going to be even harder for small business owners to stay or open up as landlords now have these developers willing to rent out these spaces for top dollar.
What will become of our neighborhood when we can no longer afford it? What will become of the South Bronx when it’s no longer even recognizable to those that fled it decades ago and is even out of reach to that generation of Bronxites?
It’s a time honored tradition in New York City: The Battle of the Best Pizzas in Town which every publication puts out at least once a year. Gothamist just put out the 24 best pizza places in NYC and ONLY 2 Bronx shops made the cut? They also had the audacity to say anyone who disagrees with this list is wrong. Clearly they haven’t traveled far and wide and did their homework like Chris Crowley did earlier this year.
This is what the Gothamist has to say about the 2 Bronx pizzerias out of the 24 they “deemed” worthy in the city.
LOUIE & ERNIE’S: This Schuylerville pizzeria is the absolute tops, boasting classic slices that hit the crust/sauce/cheese/toppings marks with ease. You can’t go wrong with a plain slice ($3), but if you’re looking for something extra special and aren’t scared of huge chunks of meat, the sausage pizza here is the stuff of the Gods. A $4 sausage slice gets you a cheesy triangle topped with huge hunks of savory pig meat sourced from a local butcher. You will never deign to eat a $1 slice again, no matter how drunk or cash-strapped you are.
Via Yelp
BROADWAY JOE’S: Broadway Joe’s may be a local haunt, but it’s no hidden gem. While its inconspicuous storefront by Van Cortlandt Park in Kingsbridge is easy to miss, the classic joint is popular among students from neighboring Manhattan College and the nearby Fieldston School for its hefty, foldable slices and accompanying garlic knots. Joe’s is unconcerned with both ambiance and innovation, but its fluorescent-lit interior houses some of the best no-frills ‘za this side of the suburbs.(Roxie Pell)
Broadway Joe’s is located at 5983 Broadway in the Kingsbridge section of The Bronx (718-796-0376)
Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, September 16th and then every 3 days, The Bronx Documentary Center begins its first ever Annual Women’s Film Series (All screenings begin at 7:30PM).
Check below for the schedule and list of films. This is going to be a very exciting event and we hope to see you there. All screenings are suggested donation:
$5 for Bronx Residents, $10 for General, Free for 18 and Under
BDC’s Women’s Film Series
September 16-25, 2015 7:30PM
Our first annual Women’s Film Series starts Sept. 16 and runs through September 25. The film series will showcase movies made by women filmmakers.
Schedule:
Wednesday, September 16, 7:30PM
9-Man
Q&A with director, producer, cinematographer Ursula Liang
This award-winning sports documentary uncovers an isolated and unique streetball tournament played by Chinese-Americans in the heart of Chinatowns across the USA and Canada. Advance tickets now available
Tuesday, September 22, 7:30PM
Don’t Tell Anyone (No Le Digas a Nadie)
Q&A with director Mikaela Shwer and film subject Angy Rivera
This documentary follows the extraordinary journey of Angy Rivera, a 22-year old undocumented immigrant fighting for her right to a future and lending a voice to 11 million people living in the shadows of a life without papers. This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS’ award-winning nonfiction film series. Advance tickets now available
Friday, September 25, 7:30PM
Brooklyn Castle
Q&A with director Katie Dellamaggiore
This film documents the chess team at an impoverished inner city school as they become one of the most successful junior high teams in the United States. This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS’ award-winning nonfiction film series. Advance tickets now available
All screenings are suggested donation:
$5 for Bronx Residents, $10 for General, Free for 18 and Under
The Bronx Documentary Center is located at 614 Courltandt Avenue at the corner of East 151st Street in Melrose just 2 blocks from the 2/5 train at 3rd Avenue and 149th Street.
From a 3rd generation Jewish shopkeeper, to a Salvadoran auto worker, to an African hairdresser and a Latina nail salon worker, these are the people that the Bronx Documentary Center’s Bronx Photo League have been documenting for many months now for their upcoming exhibition, ‘Jerome Avenue Workers Project’.
The study area went from 57 blocks to a massive 73 block area quickly prompting fears about displacement, particularly with the automotive industries which for decades have been housed along Jerome Avenue along with other mom and pop shops, the very businesses which are the lifeblood and fabric of a community.
Although a plan hasn’t been created and the community is being asked to participate in what they’d like their neighborhoods to look like, it hasn’t stopped fears or landlords already trying to cash in on a possible upzoning making their properties valuable in the eyes of speculators and real estate developers.
Tessie Polygerinos at Munchtime Diner on 170th St. between Jerome Avenue & Townsend Avenue. Her husband, Laki, has owned the diner since the 1960s. The diner has been serving Bronx residents for over 60 years. Photo taken August 2015 by Trevon Blondet/Bronx Photo League
This past Sunday we were able to take a sneak peek at the body of work that has emerged from The Bronx Photo League’s first major exhibition and the images were breathtaking in scope.
This intrepid group of socially conscious photographers and documentarians have captured a moment in time that is at a critical juncture in the future of one of the last remaining working class enclaves of industry, factories, and small shops in New York City.
It is a reflection of what we stand to lose in The Bronx and New York City as the specter of gentrification begins to look over our borough. We’ve already witnessed the cleansing of many New York City neighborhoods where the working and middle class along with the poor have been wiped out.
New York City was built on the backs of such communities and immigrant populations and now it’s threatened to be erased for future populations that do not even exist.
The images in this upcoming exhibition are also timeless and transcendental. Many of them look like they could have very well been taken decades ago or even in other countries. They cross ethnic and cultural barriers uniting as one.
Cesar Vaez at J.D. Auto Glass at 2195 Jerome Avenue. Cesar, the manager, emigrated from the Dominican Republic to the Bronx when he was 14-years-old. Now 25-years-old, Cesar supports his family, including two children, from his wages at J.D. Auto Glass. Photo taken August 2015 by Edwin Torres/Bronx Photo League
Making this exhibition even more poignant is that all photographers shot using film and developed them at dark room in The Bronx Documentary Center—something which the younger generation of photographers didn’t have experience in necessarily and the BDC was able to help under the tutelage of its founder Michael Kamber.
Even the exhibition space is special as it won’t be at the Bronx Documentary Center where exhibitions are typically held but will be inside a muffler shop on Jerome Avenue, specifically Vasquez Muffler.
It adds an extra layer and dimension to the exhibition bringing the very images alive where you can feel the blood, sweat, and tears of decades of the hard work of immigrant populations trying to achieve the “American Dream”.
We typically don’t announce exhibitions or events this far out in advance but considering the great importance of the subject matter, we felt it necessary to get the word out as soon as possible.
OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, October 3, 2015 5-8PM
Vasquez Muffler
1275 Jerome Avenue, Bronx, NY 10452
#4 train to 167th Street
(please note this is not at the BDC’s gallery)
Free and open to all
ON VIEW
October 3-18, 2015
Monday-Saturday 4–7PM
Sundays 11AM-2PM
The exhibition features the works of Bronx Photo League members:
Ed Alvarez
Trevon Blondet
David “Dee” Delgado
Melissa Bunni Elian
Jesus Emmanuel
Giacomo Francia
Michael Kamber
Netza Moreno
Heriberto Sanchez
Jonathan Santiago
Rhynna M. Santos
Adi Talwar
Berthland Tekyi-Berto
Edwin Torres
Elias Williams
Osaretin Ugiagbe
Please mark your calendars for this important event.
