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.
“
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!
The Bronx Museum and Morris Perk together for the new cafe which we want YOU to name!
As you know, we’ve partnered with The Bronx Museum along with BronxMama and The Bronx Socialite to engage our fellow Bronxites in choosing a name for a new cafe that will operate at The Bronx Museum. The bonus? It will be serving Morris Perk’s Bronx Blend which our borough has fallen in love with over the past year with proprietor, Lovie Pignata’s Morris Perk Pop-Ups across every type of business, organization and corner of our wonderful borough.
Since we launched the contest several weeks ago, over 300 entries have been selected and now only the top 3 have made the cut so it’s up to YOU to name that cafe!
Folks, this is beyond a cafe opening. This is community building once again where a large organization such as The Bronx Museum helps out not only Morris Perk by sourcing their delicious coffee and the café will be run in partnership with Fountain House, an organization which dedicates itself to providing learning and working opportunities to local residents recovering from mental illness providing a wonderful way to give back to the community through this vehicle.
In a borough that is home to so many great mom and pop restaurants and the home of Arthur Ave, New York City’s REAL Little Italy, it always baffles me why someone in The Bronx would choose to go to a chain restaurant like the Olive Garden.
That’s DEFINITELY not the ‘cucina italaliana‘ (Italian kitchen) I grew up with spending time with my Italian high school friends and their families.
One of the beautiful things about growing up in The Bronx and going to school here was being exposed to the many ethnic groups that make up the beautiful tapestry that is our borough.
It was growing up here that I learned what authentic cuisine Italian cuisine was along with Albanian and many other flavors.
Not knocking anyone who loves chain restaurants and Olive Garden but seriously? With all our excellent, Italian restaurants why would you go there? Makes me wanna just shout, “Porca miseria!”
Anywho, hope you enjoy this video by Buzzfeed showing us what happens when you have Italian grandmothers to try Olive Garden for the first time.
After the video, check out some great articles on Arthur Avenue and why you should basically make that your stomping grounds for the real deal.
Now if only we could answer the age old question: Is it sauce or gravy?
What better way to celebrate Frida Kahlo’s birthday, which is today, July 6th, than by dressing up like her or Diego Rivera?
On Saturday July 11th The New York Botanical Garden will be filled with plenty of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lookalikes—from children to adults—in a competition to see who can pull it off best!
As many of our readers already know, Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life, one of the most anticipated exhibitions, is in full swing and what better way for Frida lovers to commemorate her life than to dress up like her or Diego?
“Participants will be judged on the creativity and accuracy of their ensemble 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. Kids’ Contest participants will each receive a prize for participating, with additional prizes for the three selected winners.”
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City, 1939 / Image credit unknown via theredlist.com
Kids contest will be from 2pm-3pm and Frida and Diego adult contest will be held from 4pm-5pm.
Whether you haven’t seen the exhibition or are a repeat visitor, you definitely want to go on this day and enjoy the fun even if you don’t participate.
Can you give us your best Frida or Diego? Show us we want to see! Tag us on instagram @welcome2thebronx or Twitter @welcome2thebx
The Bronx was once home to several major film & television production facilities and now will be home to major players again.
Silvercup studios purchased 295 Locust Avenue for $15 million and according to WSJ will be investing an additional $20 million to convert the building into 4 production studios.
With a lot of home grown talent in the film and television production industry it is only proper that such facilities continue to expand into our borough—an industry that is an economic powerhouse in New York City which the WSJ says: “The sector annually generates an estimated $7.1 billion in direct spending and $400 million in tax revenue, while employing 130,000 New Yorkers behind the scenes, said a spokeswoman for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.”
Bronx resident Gene DeFrancis has been calling for Film & Television production to come to the Mott Haven/Port Morris area of The Bronx for years now. Last year in an interview with The Bronx Times, he was quoted as saying:
“Locals would embrace a film studio development far more than they did the other main development to rock the area in recent years — the relocation of FreshDirect to the Harlem River Yards at the borough’s southern tip, said DeFrancis, who lives in Allerton but often hosts productions in the area.
“I know it would not face the same resistance as Fresh Direct,” said the actor. “And it would help local business and create real jobs.”
The new Silvercup Studios will be located just a few blocks away from the soon to open Randall’s Island Connector as well as the Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan—a community led and designed plan for a sustainable waterfront in the South Bronx that would provide equitable access to area residents to our waterfront as well as add additional, much needed greens space in the area.
What do you think about film and tv coming back home to The Bronx? We want to know!
Many people wouldn’t think that The Bronx would have any role in America’s independence but not only does our borough indeed play one but it is much bigger than you think!
Let’s start with our nation’s first president, George Washington.
Van Cortlandt House, where President George Washington slept at least twice and also where he began his journey from into Manhattan to re-capture New York from British rule thus ending their control in America.
On October 12, 1776, the British landed in Throgg’s Neck with 4,000 troops who were later met with the resistance of 350 Americans who were able to hold them off at Pell’s Point in Pelham Bay Park. This allowed Washington and his troops to safely reach White Plains. Think about that. 350 Americans against 4,000 British troops!
But it wasn’t until 1783 that George Washington left Van Cortlandt House in The Bronx with his troops in what is considered the final act of the American Revolution which was the recapturing of New York City. Known as ‘Evacuation Day‘, November 25th, 1783 was that historic day when Washington triumphantly left The Bronx, crossed the Harlem River into Manhattan and headed down the island to New York as the last bit of British Authority fled the shores of America. It should also be noted that sadly, the British army slaughtered Native Americans fighting for American Independence, The Stockbridge Indians in present day Van Cortlandt Park where they are buried and memorialized in Indian Field.
Here are some other historical facts on our borough’s role in the founding of America:
2: Lewis Morris half-brother, Gouverneur Morris who not only was a signer of the Constitution but is also the author of large sections of this treasured document and is considered the ‘Penman of the Constitution’ and the author of its preamble:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
“As Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, General George Washington ordered the construction of outer defenses throughout the Kingsbridge area. Fort Four was built under the direction of Colonel Rufus Putnam in 1777 to protect the American army and to safeguard the line of the Harlem River. The largest of all fortifications in the neighborhood, Fort Four was admirably situated, commanding a view for miles in all directions. In the fall of 1779, the fort was destroyed by the British forces led by Sir Henry Clinton.”
5: Here’s another one submitted by Bronxite Sally Dunford: “Also according to NYC Parks: “Gun Hill Meadow is named for a January 25, 1777 Revolutionary War battle that took place near this site. Gun Hill Road, then known as Kingsbridge Road, was an important east-west thoroughfare, which the British and the Americans fought fiercely to control. During the battle, the British were chasing the Patriots east towards the river. While in retreat, a group of soldiers, led by Captain Bryant of the artillery, dragged a cannon atop a nearby hill and fired upon the charging Brits. That strategic position, which then became known as “Gun Hill,” forced the Brits to retreat west to Kingsbridge, allowing the Patriots to escape.”
6: And Bronxite Nick Leshi reminded us about Glover’s Rock in Pelham Bay Park and the Battle of Pell’s Point:
According to New York City Parks Department:
Before the American Revolution, the Siwanoy Native Americans used the rock as a lookout point along their trading route.
On June 21, 1775, the British ordered Glover and his Marblehead Militia to Cambridge, but the next day he and his regiment defected to the Continental Army. General George Washington (1732-1799) organized the Continental Army on July 3, 1775, and on January 1, 1776, the Marblehead regiment became the 14th Continental Regiment, led by Colonel Glover. Colonel Glover soon commanded a brigade, and on September 13, 1776, he safeguarded the evacuation of New York City through Harlem, across the King’s Bridge, and into the Bronx and White Plains. General Howe and a British fleet had landed on Kip’s Bay, and the British Army was threatening General Washington’s position in White Plains. Glover spied the fleet off Pell’s Point, the site of present-day Rodman’s Neck.
There were four regiments in Glover’s brigade, one being his own Marblehead regiment, the other three under the command of Colonel Joseph Read (b. 1731), Colonel William Shepard (1737-1817), and Colonel Loammi Baldwin (1745-1807). On October 18, 1776, Colonel Glover separated each regiment, spreading them along Split Rock Road behind the stone walls that marked property lines. He then led 40 men in a direct attack on the British. After an exchange of fire, two Americans were killed and Glover retreated north along the path with the British in pursuit.
Soon, the British forces hit the other three Continental Regiments, and, surrounded, they retreated back to Pell’s Point. Only 12 Americans were killed, yet between 800 to 1,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded in the battle. Colonel Glover thus enabled General Washington to position and hold his forces in White Plains before moving south. Glover’s “Marbleheaders,” with their experience as sailors, were also essential in Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, for the Battle of Trenton. Glover was promoted to Brigadier General on February 23, 1777. While General Glover was stationed in Rhode Island, his wife died on November 13, 1778. After the war, Glover returned to Massachusetts and was elected to the state legislature in 1788 and 1789. He died in Marblehead on January 30, 1797.
Here’s one last bit and a fun fact: Lewis Morris tried to convince the newly found nation to make Morrisania the Capital of The United States in 1790…but we know how that went.
On Monday when we started the petition calling for New York City to cancel the contract with Donald Trump at Ferry Point Golf Course after his disparaging remarks and factually incorrect remarks about Mexican immigrants, we thought it was just a pipe dream that we would be heard and listened to (click the link to sign the petition please!).
But now it seems that Mayor Bill de Blasio and his administration have heard our collective calls as our petition has reached over 5,000 signatures.
Yesterday, New York City Bill de Blasio announced that they are reviewing all contracts with Donald Trump and his organization of which Ferry Point Golf Course is one of them.
Even major GOLF organizations, are beginning to back away making our crusade even more important to continue to fight this battle:
“After an interview with the Golf Channel on Tuesday in which the Republican candidate for president claimed he had the support of the golf community despite his inflammatory comments because “they all know I’m right,” the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, USGA and PGA of America jointly released a statement disassociating themselves from Trump.
The four golfing bodies are the latest to publicly back away from the embattled Trump, along with television networks Univision and NBCUniversal (the parent company of msnbc) and the department store Macy’s.” — MSNBC, Golf organizations the latest to back away from Donald Trump
Currently we have received almost 5,000 signatures on our petition to date and the mainstream media is listening to our voices. Now it is a sit and wait to make sure that our elected officials pay attention as well.
Some of the media coverage on The Bronx’s quest to be rid of Trump are as follows:
We want to personally thank each and every one of you for making this possible for without the power and voice of the people, we would not have reached this point. It is too soon to declare any sort of victory, but the fact that the administration is listening and working on reviewing these contracts and the media is listening to voices, it sure is something to be happy for.
4 out of 5 major sales have occurred on just one block in Port Morris. / Map Via PropertyShark CLICK TO ENLARGE
Let’s face it: We already knew that developers were going to set their eyes on The Bronx, often called “The Last Frontier” by real estate developers and moguls due to The South Bronx’s proximity to Manhattan and excellent transportation network but as speculative purchases are made on properties far more than their actual worth, is it over for those trying to make a quick buck on our back?
198 E 135th Street, which was owned by storage company CubeSmart, was sold on May 12, 2015 for $15,470,000 to Deegan 135 Realty LLC. CubeSmart owns the adjacent property at 200 E 135th Street which is a massive lot at 276,538 square feet with a 214,560 square foot storage facility. In August of 2012, CubeSmart purchased the properties at a price of $68,234,000.
The vacant lot is 48,976 square feet in size and according to public records can be developed to accommodate a 352,627 mixed-use residential building, however no plans have been filed as of yet with NYC Department of Buildings.
198 E 135th Street sold last month for almost $16 million.
These properties sit right within the Special Harlem River Waterfront District in the Lower Concourse Rezoning Area and are proximate and/or adjacent to the properties purchased by the Chetrit Group and Somerset Partners—developers who want to rename the area the Piano District, as reported by Curbed, which gives homage to the area’s distinction of once being the epicenter of piano manufacturing in America.
The name may sound cute but it is rather audacious that developers want to rename OUR neighborhoods where we have lived and have been here for decades, generations of families having lived here when no one wanted to only to have developers come traipsing in to make things cute and nice for outsiders and not for those who currently reside in the area.
It should also be noted that CubeSmart is sitting on a lot that can be developed up to almost 2 million square feet (1,991,074 square feet to be exact) of residential properties so if a developer offers the right price for this waterfront property, they probably wouldn’t hesitate in selling it.
In just a matter of 5 months, just slightly over $104 million in 4 properties have been sold—3 on one block and the other across the street from the others.
Most of the Lower Concourse Area is filled with empty or semi-vacant warehouses along with fully occupied industrial buildings and now that these properties are selling for such astronomical numbers that even two years ago no one would have thought would be possible, many of these owners stand to make a fortune should they sell to speculators looking to develop the area.
All properties are located on High Risk FEMA Flood Zones (Post Sandy Update) / Map Via PropertyShark
One of the good things about these properties is that they are located in high risk FEMA flood zones so development is going to be quite costly and perhaps give us time to delay anything detrimental to our communities.
Already 2401 Third Avenue will require a Fish and Wildlife Impact Analysis as stipulated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in emails obtained by Welcome2TheBronx during investigation performed on these properties. Initially, NYSDEC indicated that one was not necessary, however, environmental activists in the area familiar with the Brownfields on these lots raised a red flag to which NYSDEC quickly acknowledged that indeed a Fish and Wildlife Impact Analysis will have to be performed.
All properties discussed here are also located in NYC Tidal Wetland areas which makes costlier for developers to construct what they want due to the extra paperwork and approval process enacted in 2009 to protect NYC’s waterfront.
Now it’s just a game of wait and see what will happen to The South Bronx: Will speculators continue over-inflating prices in the neighborhoods or will they realize that prices are already high for them to make any decent return on investment in the near future?
