Yesterday in an exclusive report in The New York Post, it was revealed that over 100 Native American artifacts were discovered during construction of the Pelham Bay Park Waterfront Development project—artifacts that date anywhere from 1,000-1,800 years ago as per test results.
According to the New York Post, “Experts are calling the trove of ceramics, pottery, stone tools and other artifacts found in the southeastern section of Pelham Bay Park one of the most important archaeological finds in New York City history.”
The Post further writes:
“The findings are pretty spectacular,” said Amanda Sutphin, director of archaeology for the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, who gave The Post an exclusive tour of the tree-lined site overlooking Eastchester Bay.
Tests show the rare artifacts date back to between 200 AD and 1000 AD — centuries before European settlers made contact with Native Americans, she added.
Sutphin was especially impressed with the condition of the ceramics, which she believes were once used for eating and food preparation.
“I’ve never seen anything like it found in New York City before,” she said.
The findings of such artifacts in Pelham Bay Park is somewhat poetic in that besides being the largest park in New York City encompassing 2,772 acres (more than 3 times the size of Central Park) it is also the site of the yearly Native American Festival which actually takes place not too far from the site.
According to Parks Department, construction has been halted as of last month on the site and is currently being protected.
This is a wonderful part of our borough’s history that must be preserved as well as acknowledged. We tend to focus on colonial and post-colonial history but we often do not look to the deeper past of our borough and the rest of our nation.
For example, did you know that the Mohegan Native Americans called The Bronx River Aquehung? Or that Hunts Point was once called Quinnahung which means “Long High Place”? How about The Bronx once known as Rananchqua by the native Siwonoy of the Lenape tribe and that other tribes knew our borough as Keskeskeck?
For 3 Sundays in August (August 2nd, 9th, & 16th) the center lanes of The Grand Concourse will be closed off to vehicular traffic from Noon to 4PM stretching from 161st Street all the way to 167th Street—doubling last year’s footprint of the event!
There will be tons of activities on these days for folks of all ages with free music, arts programs by local artists, and many more! Oh and speaking of art, The BxArts Factory will be on hand with art workshops in their outdoor gallery with DJs spinning music reflecting the borough’s diverse cultures as murals are painted by local artists!
But that’s not all! You’ll get to rollerblade, skate, bike up and down The Concourse and interact with the space in a different way while learning about alternative uses of such public spaces.
Redlining and related policies from the New Deal and Postwar Eras still impact our world and our work in more ways than we imagine. In fact, at the root of many issues like housing, education and policing we find the the long reach of Jim Crow structural racism.
Join Designing the We for a new conversation on how Undesigning the Redline and contextualizing the work we do in the Bronx, New York City, and beyond opens alternative models, collaborations, and processes where another reality is possible. Check out the interactive exhibit and participate in new conversations, both one-on-one and in small groups.
From Gregory Jost:
Come celebrate the completion of nearly 16 years at UNHP and wish me well on what’s next! Instead of buying me a beer at a bar, we will have a keg of a local delicious brew, some decent wine, and some light snacks at this event. I’ll have a jar for donations to cover the costs!
Hunts Point has suffered enough damage through negative press and “documentaries” such as Hookers on The Point by HBO. The area has long since moved passed from that period with only a small fragment remaining yet people still seem to believe that that is the Hunts Point of today and we have outside “journalists” and “photographers” to blame for exploiting out people.
The following is syndicated via The Bronx Documentary Center in response to criticism of Chris Arnade’s inclusion in their most recent exhibition, Altered Images, which explores 150 years of photographic manipulation whether by altering physical images themselves or setting up the scenes and passing it off as documentary journalism.
The images below may be disturbing and offensive to many. In fact, many people in The Bronx are offended at Arnade’s portrayal and exploitation of vulnerable women in Hunts Point and the depiction of a neighborhood that has already suffered from exploitation and outsiders controlling the narrative which is often not based on reality but often on fetishism.
Once again, WARNING: If you are offended by graphic images including that which exploits women then avoid the this post. Welcome2TheBronx is simply reposting this in solidarity with The Bronx Documentary Center and their mission to engage the community in discussions as well as equipping our residents with the tools to take control of our own narratives.
The BDC responds to criticism of Chris Arnade’s inclusion in Altered Images exhibition
The Bronx Documentary Center is a small, mostly volunteer-staffed non-profit organization in the South Bronx. We run after-school photography and writing programs for Bronx children and we work for positive social change as we carry out our mission to provide education through documentary photography and film. Our gallery displays about a dozen exhibitions per year and we screen documentary films year round.
We recently included Mr. Chris Arnade in our show, Altered Images: 150 Years of Posed and Manipulated Documentary Photography (alteredimagesbdc.org). Mr. Arnade, who frequently publishes photos of drug addicted Bronx women and prostitutes, often partially or entirely naked, is one of 40 photographers, editors, and publications whose ethics we found questionable.
As we wrote to Mr. Arnade when we notified him of inclusion in the exhibition:
“A key guideline of the National Press Photographers Assn reads: ‘Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects.’
“Your photos of sex workers, some addicted to drugs, some with mental health issues and/or severely emotionally abused, exposing their breasts or bent naked over a bed, are a breach of this standard…Briefly, people who are paid by you, under the influence of drugs or mentally impaired (and in many cases have little understanding of The Guardian or Flickr), clearly do not have the ability to give informed consent to their photos being used as you have done.”
Our inclusion of Mr. Arnade in Altered Images has triggered a rancorous discussion on the Web. Numerous BDC supporters have requested that we engage more fully in this debate.
Over a million people have seen Mr. Arnade’s Flickr page and his photos are published on newspaper and magazine websites. Mr. Arnade claims that he is not a journalist: this is his “personal project,” he says. But this does not absolve us of the responsibility as critics, editors and curators to engage and judge this work by ethical standards.
Mr. Arnade explains that he has the permission of his female subjects to publish these photos—permission that is frequently given while the women are under the influence of drugs—some of which Mr. Arnade, by his own admission, has helped procure. Every one of the health care professionals we have spoken to has told us that drug addicted women and prostitutes, sometimes high, frequently brutally abused emotionally, physically or sexually, are often not in the position to give consent for their photos to be used.
Unfortunately, these pictures pose serious and potentially harmful long-term consequences for their subjects. Among other factors, they humiliate their families and their communities and they create an online history; in the event a woman later applies for a job, her naked body and drug history is searchable by a potential employer. One Hunts Point prostitute recently passed away. Her brother searched Mr. Arnade’s Flickr page with trembling hands, terrified that he might find a demeaning photo of his sister. It is imperative to remember that these women are real people with families, not props upon which a photographer builds his career.
I myself worked for many years in the Middle East and East and West Africa covering conflicts; we sometimes encountered women who had been sexually or physically abused. In every case, before photos were taken, talks about the potential ramifications ensued with the women and their families, village elders or international aid workers. Editors in New York queried me about the women’s state of mind and especially any repercussions they might suffer. In most instances, the decision was made not to show the women’s faces, much less their naked bodies. I take no credit for the caution and sensitivity of this process; it was a result of longstanding journalistic ethics and standards carried out by professionals.
With Mr. Arnade, there is no backstop. He exerts the privilege of posting photos of abused women straight to Flickr to be viewed by hundreds of thousands of strangers, this despite the fact that he has no journalism training, no background in social work, no training in research ethics, no expertise in drug addiction treatment.
Mr. Arnade’s photographs exist in a continuum, one in which poor women of color have been represented in demeaning ways by White men for hundreds of years. From the Hottentot Venus to the bikini-clad African American dancers on today’s video channels, Mr. Arnade’s hyper-sexualized women fit neatly into a long tradition of exploitation.
This tradition emerges from and begets privilege, the privilege to come to a poor community where you do not live, where your children do not go to school, where your wife does not walk the streets, the privilege to portray that community in a one-dimensional way that brings shame to the residents and a distorted sense or reality to viewers.
We find it instructive that Mr. Arnade’s largely suburban and European supporters almost invariably laud Mr. Arnade for “showing me what addiction is really like.” That these individuals take their cues on the Bronx drug scene from a wealthy white man who lives in the country—ignoring the dozens of journalists and photographers native to the Bronx—says much about them. That major publications such as The New York Times, Mother Jones, and The Guardian have given Mr. Arnade a platform raises serious questions of representation that we will address at a later date.
In every interview I have seen, Mr. Arnade emphasizes the sacrifices he has made for his subjects: giving them $10 to buy heroin; taking them to a detox appointment; even showing prostitutes the stars through his telescope. In one interview he laments that he must sell his multimillion-dollar home in Brooklyn Heights so he can continue to photograph prostitutes and drug addicts: “I’m earning no money, and I’m about to sell my house and move upstate so I can keep doing this.” Lamenting a multi-million dollar real estate deal to continue photographing women who perform oral sex for $10 bespeaks an astonishing level of self-involvement.
Another way to look at it is this: On the backs of these women, Mr. Arnade has gone from faceless Wall Street banker to no small degree of fame; he has an army of followers; his work is published around the world; he sits on panels with respected photographers. To paraphrase JFK, it’s not what Mr. Arnade has done for poor prostitutes and drug addicts, it’s what poor prostitutes and drug addicts have done for Mr. Arnade’s renown.
Finally, and at its root, Mr. Arnade’s work is about power. His photographic “project” utilizes naked women because he has power over the women—power in the form of money to gain access, power to portray them in vulnerable and demeaning positions, power to publish these photos to further his reputation and following.
One can view the photos below, all found upon Mr. Arnade’s social media platforms, and decide for oneself what kind of ethics Mr. Arnade upholds.
We at the BDC stand by our decision to include Mr. Arnade’s work in Altered Images. And we will continue to focus our resources on the many young and talented Bronx photographers who present their community in a nuanced and balanced way.
Mike Kamber
Founder/Director
Bronx Documentary Center
Could this watery future be a reality for The Bronx? [All map screenshots via Climate Central.]
Although there are many who claim climate change isn’t happening (even in the face of science) and that humans aren’t impacting climate change (even in the face of science), this map of what The Bronx will look like in 200 years with a 2°C increase in temperature globally will sober you up.
If the projections and data continue to hold true, Port Morris will be mostly underwater, along with large swaths of Mott Haven, Melrose, Soundview, Castle Hill, Throggs Neck, City Island, Morris Park, Country Club, Riverdale and yes, even Co-op City.
Castle Hill, Soundview, Throggs Neck, Morris Park, City Island can all be gone within 200 years. [All map screenshots via Climate Central.]According to Curbed:
“But it’s not so easy to laugh off when the image comes from climate change scientists. New data published in Science shows that if the planet warms by 2 degrees Celsius, sea levels will rise about 20 feet. It’s pretty much a given that this will happen, it’s just a matter of when—it could be by the end of the century. A 20-foot rise is no where near Linn’s extreme depiction of a 100-foot rise, but it would still radically alter our coastline. The group Climate Central created an interactive map (h/t Gizmodo) that shows what this would mean for major cities in the United States. In New York, it means that entire neighborhoods would be wiped out and 1.8 million people would be displaced.”
Will these neighborhoods be wiped out within 200 years? [All map screenshots via Climate Central.]We won’t be around in 200 years, but we owe it to our future generations to do what we can to prevent the worst case scenario from happening.
Click the map below to zoom in on The Bronx and other areas as well as read the article on Climate Central’s website! 2 °C Warming and Sea Level Rise
Did you know that it is illegal for a business in NYC to keep their front doors open while their air-conditioning is running? This is applicable to businesses 4,000 square feet and greater and applies to chain stores of 5 or more businesses.
New York City Department of Consumer Affairs is holding a day of action next week and volunteers and city employees will be canvassing business districts throughout the city to educate businesses on the law.
Besides against the law, it is a drain on our environment—and the businesses’ pockets by keeping the doors open!
“Portrait of Noc167” – Marc Brasz, 1983/Via Wall Works NY
After closing its doors in 1993, Fashion Moda still remains in the consciousness of many Bronxites and the art world. It was a place where The South Bronx (and The Bronx in general) collided with the downtown art scene when it opened its doors in 1980 in The Hub on 147th and 3rd Avenue.
It was a place where local artists mingled with legends like Keith Haring, who’s works also graced the walls of this iconic place.
Artists featured in the exhibition are as follows:
Charlie Ahearn
John Ahearn
A-One
Marc Brasz
CRASH
DAZE
Jane Dickson
Stefan Eins
John Fekner
David Gonzalez
Keith Haring
Lisa Kahane
Thom Korn
Justen Ladda
Don Leicht
Joe Lewis
Lady Pink
Christy Rupp
.John Ahearn piece, photographed by Walter Robinson, Fashion Moda invite, 1980/ Via Wall Works NY
Opening reception for this exhibition is tonight, Wednesday July 15th from 6PM to 9PM at 39 Bruckner Boulevard in Port Morris. Refreshments will be provided by none other than The Bronx Beer Hall!
In case you haven’t made it yet and have been meaning to do so, this is your last chance at getting inside the Old Bronx Courthouse for No Longer Empty’s exhibition, ‘When You Cut Into The Past The Future Leaks Out’.
To date, over 6,000 people have entered to check out the space, exhibition and dozens of programs and events. 75% of these visitors have been from within the community and The Bronx—and that’s not counting the over 1,000 youth and students who have come over on school trips for educational programming!
People have even left suggestions on what they want to see at Old Bronx Courthouse (someone said they’d like to see it as their own home!).
Check out the events for this week’s closing:
LAST CHANCE
Exhibition closes this Sunday.
Participate in free events – something for everyone!
Top: Landmarked exterior of the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse (photo: David Kopstein). Left: Children explore the exhibition with free Scavenger Hunt activity (photo: Seth Caplan). Right: Michelle Lopez, Smoke Cloud I, 2014 (photo: Whitney Browne).
The last stop in an art show at the old Bronx Borough Courthouse is a wooden table with a handwritten sign sitting on top that asks visitors, “What would you like to see this building become?”
Come visit the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse and exhibition, When You Cut Into the Present the Future Leaks Out, before the doors close on Sunday, July 19. Walk through the halls of the stately building, experience the installations of artists responding to the site and history, and participate in the finale of workshops and performances—see below!
Legal Basics for Artists THUR JULY 16 6–7:30PM Panel / Q&A
Artists of all disciplines are invited to this panel with art and entertainment lawyers, who will discuss the basics in copyright, fair use, contracts, consignments, and new developments in art & entertainment law. In addition to answering questions about your legal rights and potential liabilities, you will leave this seminar with practical legal resources for your creative practices.
Undesign the Redline: Interactive Exhibition FRI JULY 17
4–7PM Workshop
Join Designing the We for a new conversation on how “Undesigning the Redline” in the Bronx and beyond opens alternative models, collaborations, and processes where another reality is possible. Check out the interactive exhibit and participate in new conversations.
“Breaking the Cycle” Finale FRI JULY 17
7–8PM Performance
Artists Juan Betancurth and Daniel Neumann will close out their installation in the basement with an intimate ritual in which the boundaries between objects, subjects, and media are blurred. Objects become expressive, subjects become objects, a medium may suffer, the witness goes missing.
No Longer Bored Family Day:
Building Our Future (as seen in the New York Times and Mommy Poppins) SAT JULY 18
1–4PM Workshop
Families are invited to explore and search for architectural features of the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse through hands-on block-building activities and a scavenger hunt. Hosted in collaboration with the Fine Arts Federation of
New York.
Sharing & Visioning for the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse SAT JULY 18 1–3PM Workshop
Learn what visitors have envisioned, share your ideas for the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, and connect with people in the neighborhood. Youth and children are encouraged to attend. Food will be provided.
An Evening in the Courthouse with Lady L SAT JULY 18
5–7PM Performance
MC and hip hop legend, Lady L, presents an evening of hip hop, performances, and poetry from the Bronx, preceded by the Open Call Showcase, 3–5pm, featuring interdisciplinary performances from across NYC.
Youth Docent Tours SAT & SUN JULY 18–19
2PM, 3PM & 4PM Tour
Join our teen docents as they share their perspectives on the artworks. Tour topics developed during this current cycle of the Y.Dot Program—No Longer Empty’s signature education program for high school students—address stereotypes, gentrification, and the experience of unique spaces. RSVP recommended: programs@nolongerempty.org
Ongoing activities during exhibition hours: Children’s Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt, Youth Cut/Paste Poetry experience, and neighborhood map to explore surrounding historical, cultural, and culinary destinations.
Location & Hours:
878 Brook Ave, Bronx NY
Thursday–Sunday, 1–7pm until July 19
Visit our exhibition and Facebook pages for details.
#oldbxcourthouse
NLE Curatorial Lab participants install The Way Out is Through, 2014. Photo: Whitney Browne
No Longer Empty Curatorial Lab (NLE Lab) is a 15-week professional development program for emerging curators that is dedicated to curating site-specific exhibitions. Expanding on No Longer Empty’s mission to create community-responsive and site-specific exhibitions and programming in underutilized spaces, NLE Lab is designed as a socially conscious platform for experimentation in curating.Dates: September 8 – December 18, 2015 Location: The Bronx Application deadline: July 31, 2015
For requirements and guidelines, visit www.nolongerempty.org
No Longer Empty’s exhibition program at the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse is supported by the following:
We gratefully acknowledge the Dedalus Foundation for support of the Fall 2015 NLE Curatorial Lab.
No Longer Empty activates public engagement with contemporary art through curated, community-responsive exhibitions and education programs that revive underutilized spaces.You are receiving a newsletter from No Longer Empty
that keeps you informed about our upcoming programming.
A Frida look-alike contest with her daughter at NYBG this past Saturday.
Last Saturday the New York Botanical Garden was swarming with dozens of Frida Kahlo look alikes for the garden’s contest in celebration of her life as part of their current exhibition, Frida: Art, Garden, Life. (check out our gallery below!)
LGBT Night Frida Look-Alike Contest July 16 Fridas and Diegos: 7:30–8:30 p.m. “Break out your finest floral garlands and fabulous fabrics! Let Frida be your muse during NYBG’s Frida Look-Alike Contest, an invitation to honor the artist with your best take on her famous fashion. Dress up and compete against other Frida and Diego look-alikes for a chance at a gift bag from Shop in the Garden, all while enjoying the food, music, and fun of Frida al Fresco evenings. Participants will be judged on the creativity and accuracy of their outfits by Garden Staff judges as well as audience appreciation. Three winners in both the Frida and Couples categories will be chosen and awarded a gift bag from Shop in the Garden valued at $30, $50, or $100, and will also receive two tickets for an upcoming Frida al Fresco evening event. Additionally, posed photos will be taken in front of the Conservatory’s Casa Azul and elsewhere in the Garden, and made available to the winners. Rules for the contest are as follows: Participants must be in full costume—not just props or accessories No pets allowed Pre-registration is required for each individual participant Pre-registration is required for each person intending to participate. A limit of 50 participants will be selected for each of the two contest categories. Once approved, registered participants will receive complimentary Garden admission for the event; a confirmation email will follow with additional details. Limited spaces are available, and while some may be offered on-site, they are not guaranteed. Event will be held rain or shine, and moved indoors if necessary.
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In the meantime, enjoy some photographs from Saturday’s event to get you inspired for this Thursday!
Oh and another thing, did you know that Frida Kahlo actually dressed in drag ns posed as a man in photographs—with her family? Talk about a trailblazer!
The winning Fridas and Frida and Diego couple! (Notice the Frida in drag!)
It was a tough decision to narrow it down to just 3 and an honorary winner out of over 30 adults!
And the winner is…
All our Fridas patiently waiting for the announcement of the winners.
1st Place winners of the couple’s contest. Look at Frida gazing into Diego’s eyes.
One of the winning Fridas who one not only for props and looks but the authenticity she gave us!
Is this fun or what? These two Fridas are originally from The Bronx but now live in Yonkers came to join in the fun.
Frida contestant and child.
So many Fridas yet only a few could be chosen as winners. This was hard. Oh so hard.
Cannot HANDLE the cuteness in this picture with Frida and Diego in the children’s contest!
Can we talk about the adorable children who entered the contest?
Lauren Click, Director of Community and Public Programs at The Bronx Museum was one of my fellow judges. Of course she had to come into character for the event!
A Frida look-alike contest with her daughter at NYBG this past Saturday.
Looking up from St Ann’s Avenue towards Eagle Avenue, the 6,546 square foot lot (0.15 acres) has sat abandoned for several years since St Ann’s Terrace was constructed and the developer was told by DOT to stop improvements on the step street. Prior to St Ann’s Terrace, the sloped
Back when St Ann’s Terrace, the massive 700+ unit development adjacent to the site in question, the developer began to put up a nice brick façade at either entrance to the lot but according to some sources they were told to stop the work as it wasn’t part of the development.
So far, according to Maldonado and the petition, they have broad support from residents and businesses immediately surrounding the lot—including St Ann’s Terrace and their residents, Sts Peter and Paul Church across the street, and The New LIFE School atop the hill who is also one of the organizers.
Victor Maldonado, one of the main organizers to get community control of this public and underutilized space has gathered community support from local developers, businesses, schools, and residents to transform this lot into a beautiful garden for everyone to enjoy.
Ramón Santos, owner of H&M Mattress Factory who’s business is directly adjacent to the lot also supports the project.
“It’s about time something is done with that lot to beautify it,” said Santos as he signed the petition.
Carla Rice, MA, LMSW, a social worker at New LIFE School wrote, “…I have consulted with school teachers and administrators and our organization would be pleased and honored to support the development of the Hill Street Community Garden.”
According to Rice the school is working on a budget to contribute to garden maintenance and its development should the community get the green light.
Rice also added:
“The New LIFE School is also interested in developing pathways of mentorship, internships and career development opportunities for our students. They would benefit from participation in a community project that could teach them about civic engagement, community development, government operations and environmental science. In addition, we are currently a school that has no outdoor space. The possibility of working in or just sitting in a community garden would greatly enhance the health, happiness and well-being of our students.”
And outdoor space is something Melrose is lacking.
The only park available in the neighborhood is asphalt basketball and handball courts on 3rd Avenue and 157th Street, tiny Railroad Park on 161st and Courtlandt next to the Melrose Metro North station, and several other small “parks”.
A field of dreams filled with potential is just behind the chain linked fence. St Ann’s Terrace is to the left and in the distance, Sts Peter and Paul Church can be seen.
Residents have to rely on the over 17 community gardens in Melrose for access to green spaces—the most community gardens in any New York City neighborhood—or walk to St Mary’s Park in Mott Haven at Melrose’s southern boarder or over to Joyce Kilmer Park, Franz Sigel Park on the Grand Concourse or Macomb Dam Park and Heritage Field on the site of the Old Yankee Stadium.
As part of the Melrose Commons Urban Renewal Plan, a park was planned for Melrose Avenue between 159th and 160th Streets but that hasn’t come to fruition either.
Shanta Davis, who lives in St Ann’s Terrace, said she’d like to see something for people to enjoy. “Right now it doesn’t look good and it would be nice to have something we can all enjoy and sit down to relax,” Davis said.
Signs surround the land for all to see asking them if they’d love to see this plot transformed.
If you would like to support this endeavor, please sign the petition and share it to get the city to give the residents their blessings on this project!
Gertrude Ederle: “People said women couldn’t swim the Channel, but I proved they could.”/Image Credit unknown
As the frenzy picks up for today’s celebration for the ticker tape parade being thrown in honor of the US Women’s Soccer Team win, it is in fact not a first for women.
Although the US Women’s Soccer Team is indeed a first for a women’s team, there was one woman who got her own parade that has the honor of being the first—someone who eventually made our borough her home and final resting place.
Gertrude Ederle being honored with a ticker tape parade in 1926 for her successful swim across the English Channel making her first woman ever to receive such an honor. /image New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer • Public domain
Not only did Ederle successfully complete the journey, but broke the previous men’s record by a minute shy of 2 hours—only 5 men before her had been able to finish the long and dangerous swim!
Shortly after her record breaking 14 hour and 33 minute swim, according to Brian G Andersson at Woodlawn Cemetery, Ederle moved to a home on Stadium Avenue in Country Club (Andersson is the one who reached out to us and provided much of the information for this story).
At some point in her life Gertrude Ederle moved to New Jersey where she passed away but not even death kept her from The Bronx she had made her home earlier in life and when she passed away in 2003 at the age of 98, she was laid to rest at the historic Woodlawn Cemetery—the final resting place of so many great Americans.
So today when you cheer the US Women’s Soccer Team during their ticker tape parade for their hard earned victory, think back to 1926 and let us not forget Gertrude for being a trailblazer in a world of men and for her being the FIRST woman ever to receive such an honor.
Thanks to Brian G Andersson at Woodlawn Cemetery for telling us this wonderful bit of history that is connected to our wonderful borough of The Bronx.
The gantries at 134th Street would be one of the focal points of this plan./ Renderings courtesy of NYRP
Thanks to community residents from Port Morris and Mott Haven in The South Bronx—along with local institutions, community based organizations and businesses—the vision for a sustainable waterfront and access to it by local residents has taken one leap closer to becoming reality and as soon as a 2017 groundbreaking.
Yesterday, The New York Restoration Project, the nonprofit organization founded by actress, singer and Grammy winning Bette Midler back in 1995, unveiled ‘The Haven Project’(Click the link to view the entire document: Warning PDF) which has been the culmination of 6 months of work in a community led initiative to improve the quality of life for the over 50,000 residents living in the Mott Haven and Port Morris neighborhoods of The Bronx.
For months, residents from the area and organizations and businesses such as Bronx River Alliance, Bronx Documentary Center, South Bronx Unite, The Point CDC, Montefiore Medical Center and even Welcome2TheBronx came together over several visioning sessions to map out our area’s green future.
Folks coming from Randall’s Island would be greeted by this wonderful sign (hey, we’re biased!) / Renderings courtesy of NYRP
The process showed how a community led venture with organizations such as New York Restoration Project can come up with the solutions to problems that impact our neighborhoods such as poor air quality thanks to the industrialization of our waterfront and being surrounded by highways, and most of all, the lack of access to green spaces.
This is the ultimate irony which shows the tale of two cities alive and well within our own borough of The Bronx: We are the greenest borough with 25% of our land dedicated to parkland making us one of the greenest urban counties in the nation, yet the South Bronx and Port Morris and Mott Haven in particular have some of the lowest rates of access to such spaces.
According to The Haven Report:
“Parks and open space provide spaces to recreate, relax, and restore the mind. According to New Yorkers for Parks, Mott Haven has open space rates well below the organization’s standard — 0.32 acres of active open space per 1,000 residents versus the standard of 1.0 acre, and 0.80 acres of passive open space compared to the 1.5 acre standard.2 Only 50% of residents are within a 10-minute walk of a large park, and 68% are within a five-minute walk of a small park or playground, compared to the 100% standard for both metrics.3 It’s worth noting that if Port Morris were included in this survey, the results would be significantly worse on all counts. Many of the parks in Mott Haven, including 35-acre St. Mary’s Park, are in dire need of capital upgrades, while other pocket parks are almost entirely asphalt.”
That last bit about St Mary’s Park, thanks to Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, is on its way to begin capital upgrades starting with one of the most important parts of the park: St Mary’s West Children’s Playground which the Council Speaker has provided $1.5 million to bring much needed upgrades to that corner of the park.
Access via the 132nd Street Pier would provide residents with direct access to our waterfront, both passive and interactive via a canoe launch./ Rendering courtesy of NYRP
While at the meetings for The Haven Project, one thing that each break out group was clamoring for was access to the waterfront. We were told by NYRP that that would be the most expensive and hardest to work with plan but in the end they listened to the residents of the community and the stakeholders here, for after all, we are the true experts of what we need here and our fellow residents want.
Long time resident and activist, Harry Bubbins told us, “We are glad to see organizations like NYRP responding to and listening to existing community needs. It has been decades of inequitable treatment of our South Bronx waterfront. We have four power plants and handle all of The Bronx garbage and some of Manhattan’s waste and are fighting to stop the absurd giveaway of more than $140 million in public cash and resources to diesel truck polluting FreshDirect.”
Bubbins added, “We need these amenities before the glass tower condos come. Con Ed was involved in a tragic accident that destroyed the East 132nd Street pier in 1989, we are confident that they will be involved in funding the repair.”
The Master Plan of The Haven Project which is very similar to the Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan (See Below)Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan
It is nice to see that their Master Plan incorporates many elements of the Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan which received priority status from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as well as major backing from Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.
The Master Plan of The Haven Project along with the Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan further exemplifies why FreshDirect is not needed or wanted in a residential area that is clamoring for waterfront access. We do not need FreshDirect to block our waterfront with a massive 500,000 square foot facility nor do we need thousands of their diesel truck trips through our already unsafe streets adding to the health disparities of the community which Montefiore Medical Center and The Haven Report indicated.
The Haven Project discusses just this when they report:
“Possibly the greatest barrier to leading an active lifestyle in Mott Haven and Port Morris is the monumental scale of highway infrastructure and industry in the neighborhood. Like many low-income neighborhoods in New York City, Mott Haven and Port Morris were victim to massive highway projects undertaken by the mid-20th century by city planner Robert Moses. To this day, these roads — the Major Deegan Expressway, Bruckner Expressway, and the entrance to the Robert F. Kennedy (Triborough) Bridge — bring thousands of vehicles and their pollution through the community on a daily basis. The highways isolate Mott Haven and Port Morris from one another, are visually unappealing, create underpasses people perceive as unsafe, and foster dangerous pedestrian and bike conditions on surface streets. At East 138th Street, getting from Mott Haven to Port Morris requires crossing 13 lanes of traffic under the Bruckner Expressway. Pedestrian injuries in the South Bronx cause 114 emergency room visits and 32 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents annually, compared to 111 and 26 citywide.”
They further indicate the lack of access to the waterfront and indirectly mention industries, including the planned FreshDirect move by saying:
“Within Mott Haven and Port Morris, there is not one public waterfront access point. Derelict waterfront sites, like the streetend on East 132nd Street, hamper stunning views. In an age when New York City is reclaiming its waterfront — evidenced by the recent creation and transformation of waterfront parks in all five boroughs, efforts to increase coastal resilience such as the Rebuild by Design competition, and Mayor de Blasio’s call for a dramatic expansion of ferry service — it is truly an equity issue that the Mott Haven and Port Morris waterfront remains privatized and fallow.”
With such strong support from our elected officials, including State Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo, who are dedicated to finding funding for the project, it is critical that we indeed continue to apply pressure to make sure that these projects come to fruition as soon as possible.
The thing with this project is that it was something that wasn’t initiated by developers for future residents but the very residents residing here, right now,trying to get the same amenities that other parts of the city enjoy.
Artist Martine Fuogeron, who lives in Port Morris just a few blocks away from the connector and the area that will be directly impacted by this plan said to New York Restoration Project:
“I moved my studio to Port Morris in 2009 where I reside. As a visual artist I fell in love with this stark and centuryold industrial area and was amazed by the breeze from the waterfront. I believe that this neighborhood should find a new paradigm which celebrates the neighborhood’s diverse industrial heritage as well as the residential and artistic communities, in order to avoid the Dumbo or Williamsburg models. This is precisely what NYRP is earnestly attempting to do: giving Bronx residents and workers a stunning waterfront experience and green parks at the base of old gantries and inviting artists to invent new forms of public conversations which will make Port Morris a unique experience — and example.”
And truly, we have seen the disastrous impact of developer lead projects in the above mentioned neighborhoods which destroyed the character of these areas. They went from multicultural ethnic enclaves to bland, generic version of every other area that has gone through gentrification in the city—something we don’t want and by taking control of our resources early on, we become stronger community stakeholders than before.
The first phases of the project have an estimated ground breaking at some point around 2017. All of this, of course, is dependent on getting the necessary funding.
Initial focus areas will be the pier at 132nd Street and the Gantries at 134th Street as well as providing safe access to the Randall’s Island Connector which is expected to open at any point this summer. The 132nd Street Pier would be up first and is expected to cost anywhere from $5 million to $10 million.
As always, we welcome your thoughts on this and any topics we discuss!
