The old Concourse Plaza Hotel on The Grand Concourse at 161st Street.
Recently, NYC& Co, New York City’s official tourism marketing arm listed the Grand Concourse as a destination making, “This close-knit area is perfect for a day trip. It’s packed with cultural attractions, homey restaurants and hip-hop history, all a quick subway ride from Midtown.”
She says in the article called ‘Grand, Wasn’t It?’ (although I very much disagree with it because to me it is STILL Grand):
“THE Grand Concourse, the four-and-a-half-mile boulevard that for much of its life was described as the Champs-Élysées of the Bronx, has often sat for its portrait, as have many of the handsome buildings along its flanks. But there is one image that captures in poignant fashion exactly what the street represented in the mid-20th century.
It is a grainy black-and-white snapshot of a boy named Sam Goodman, a third-generation boulevard resident, wearing a dressy coat and hat and standing in front of the Lorelei fountain in Joyce Kilmer Park. Anyone who knew the area would recognize the luscious white-marble concoction of mermaids and riverfront siren, which had been created in Germany in 1893 and brought to the Bronx with much fanfare six years later.
Lorelei was not the boulevard’s only charmer. This broad, tree-lined street, the ultimate prestige address for vast numbers of the city’s upwardly mobile Jews, was also home to a movie palace where stars twinkled in a midnight-blue ceiling, a grand hotel where political intrigue played out amid marble columns and crimson carpets, and a stellar collection of Art Deco apartment houses.
If you haven’t read the book, check it out below. It’s a wonderful read and gives a great history of the Grand Concourse much of which many know but also a wealth of history that you may not know.
80 volunteers came out to plant 215 trees and clean up The Bronx River by Burke Bridge
It was a day that would have had Morgan Powell beaming with pride.
This past Saturday, about 80 volunteers—from all over The Bronx, New York City, and beyond—gathered to honor Morgan’s memory and legacy by planting 215 trees in The Bronx River Forest by Burke Bridge along with a clean up of that section of the river.
At 8:30am, about 40 of us met in front of 2515 Olinville Avenue where Morgan lived and a few remarks were made about what he meant to us and the people of The Bronx.
After a few minutes of talking, we began walking North on Ollinville towards Allerton Avenue and headed East towards Bronx Park, tracing a route that Morgan would have likely taken himself to head over to Burke Bridge.
Along the way the crowd of 40 began to swell in numbers as more people showed up as we chatted about what Morgan would probably be saying as we walked.
Walking along Allerton Avenue towards Bronx Park
“Morgan would be telling us about this tree and that tree and what species it was. He’d talk about the architecture of the buildings along the way.” I said, knowing how much he loved to share his knowledge with everyone who was willing to listen.
“I never met Morgan,” said one woman from Soundview who came to volunteer. “I came across the tragic loss of this man who did so much for the community. His story inspired me to start giving back to my own community, something I have wanted to do. His story was what pushed me into action,” she continued as we walked through the Allerton neighborhood that was Powell’s home.
By the time we arrived at The Bronx River Forest at Burke Bridge, the crowd had swelled to just to 80 individuals and we were greeted by workers and volunteers from the Bronx River Alliance and Lovie Pignata who kept us warm with her delicious Morris Perk coffee.
Karen Young-Washington sit sin meditation facing the Sun and the Bronx River before we all got to work.
After signing waivers, we immediately got to work and in about 40 minutes, we had planted 215 trees along the western banks of the river just adjacent to the bridge.
With so many people willing to help, it was a quick task with the assistance from the folks at the Bronx River Alliance and Parks Department to guide us.
For me personally, and several others, it became extremely emotional to see an army of people—people who knew him and people who didn’t—coming together to honor this man whose absence has left such a large hole in our hearts and communities.
A shopping cart being hauled out of the river.
Jose Albelo, who started as a volunteer at the Alliance in 2013 and is now a full-time employee there said, “that among the trees we are planting today we have Peach Pines, Magnolias, Box Elders, Hot Berries, White Oak, Black Walnut, Silver Maple, and Flowering Dogwoods.”
26 year old Albelo began working in gardening and landscaping before he ended up with the Alliance. “I always loved to work with the earth and nature and make sure it looks beautiful. “Morgan was a nice person, always smiling so this is a nice thing to remember him by.” he added.
Once we were done planting, we headed over to the other side of the river where teams of two each got into canoes and began paddling up and down The Bronx River to begin cleaning up.
So much garbage ends up in the river not just originating in The Bronx but a lot floats down from Westchester County as well.
Some of the items pulled from the river were a shopping cart, a nightstand drawer, a tire, and tons of plastic and glass bottles.
Plastic bags and Styrofoam were a particular menace as there were so many around and stuck to felled trees that were in the river.
By noon, we had collectively picked up a considerable amount of trash from that one area and there was a sense of major accomplishment as we left the river cleaner than when we arrived, planted 215 trees that will help with erosion and over time will grow into a beautiful grove.
About 10 lbs of garbage was pulled on my trip with David alone, including a nightstand drawer.
The day was extremely successful and couldn’t have been possible without Nilka Martell’s organizing efforts, all the volunteers who showed up, the amazing support provided by The Bronx River Alliance with their staff, Parks Department who were on hand to help, and Morris Perk to help us stay energized with their wonderful coffee.
Upon reflecting on what was accomplished that day, it would be a nice gesture if we could get the area where we planted the 215 trees named ‘The Morgan Powell Memorial Grove’. I picture myself sitting among the trees we planted that day, and simply relaxing.
The day could not have been any better for such a lovely tribute.
The Bronx is beautiful and Morgan always showed us beauty in the unlikeliest of places.
Let’s continue to keep his memory and mission alive.
Catherine Hiller, author of “Just Say Yes: A Marijuana Memoir,” at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, where she believes she first smoked marijuana in the 1960s. Credit David Gonzalez/The New York Times
Here’s an excerpt from the article and please don’t forget to click the link at the end to read the entire piece:
“Just in case people approached her story waiting for the Lifetime movie moment of regret and picking up the pieces of a broken life, she started her book in the present-day, flashing back, if you will, to the rest of her life. As a writer — she has published a novel and short stories — the approach was an entertaining challenge. As a wife, daughter of an activist and proud mother of three young men, she wanted to show that her life turned out nicely.
“I wanted to show people that smoking marijuana did not make me hit rock bottom,” said Ms. Hiller, 68. “My story is the story of so many people who use each day. And so what? What’s the issue? What will it lead to?”
Well, in the case of minority youths, it could lead to jail time and a criminal record, something which Ms. Hiller feels is unjust. Recently, a young man smoking a joint in a Bronx building was mortally injured when he fell off a roof running from police who entered the lobby after reports that marijuana was being used in public view. On the other hand, she and other marijuana advocates wonder about the criminal charges attached to using when banks, like HSBC, laundered drug money, but got off with a fine and no criminal indictments.
She has experienced the disparities of race and class when it comes to how law enforcement looks at smokers. In her book, she recounts how after she and her first husband lit up in their car, a policeman flashed a spotlight on them, told them to put out the joint and then waved them off. After an essay adapted from her book was published in The New York Times, someone accused her of living in a cocoon of white privilege.
“Maybe I won’t get stopped,” she said. “But I wrote this not because of my privilege, but because I think it’s absurd that anyone would get stopped for this. Whatever I can do to legalize it, I will.”
The Bronx and Hip Hop community has been abuzz about Baz Luhrmann’s Netflix series ‘The Get Down’, due out in August 2016, ever since it was first announced several months ago. Most of the chatter was whether or not outsiders would get our story right (Welcome2TheBronx was the first to raise this issue) and now it seems we may have been right: Not one Latino cast member was introduced this week.
“Tremaine Brown Jr will star as 14-year-old Boo-Boo, “a mechanically-minded kid who wants to get down, he is an irrepressible 40-year old in a 14-year old body.” According to Netflix, Brown is an aspiring rapper and dancer. “T.J. hones his craft by performing in the NYC subway, where he was discovered by ‘The Get Down’ casting team,” Netflix said in a release.
Justice Smith will play Ezekiel, “a smart, resourceful teen brimming with untapped talent and unrequited love who is determined to make his mark in this world.” Smith is 19 years old and can also be seen in the feature film “Paper Towns,” which will be out in June.
Nineteen-year-old Shameik Moore was cast as Shaolin Fantastic, “a child of the streets, thrill-seeking, unpredictable, eccentric but above all, enigmatic.” Atlanta-born Moore starred in this year’s breakout Sundance hit, “Dope.”
Skylan Brooks will be Ra-Ra, a loyal, respected, protective friend and brother with his head screwed on tight, he’s the voice of reason beyond his years.” Brooks is a Los Angeles native and will also be seen in Antoine Fuqua’s “Southpaw” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams.
“The characters these young actors play in ‘The Get Down’ unwittingly become a band of brothers,” Luhrmann said in the release. “Any great group is always made up of distinctly different characters, and the actors we are privileged enough to invite into the roles of Ezekiel, Shaolin Fantastic, Boo-Boo and Ra-Ra all have the distinction of being from such diverse backgrounds — from performing in subways in the Bronx to the music scene of Atlanta and of course Los Angeles. I know they’re collectively on the beginning of a thrilling journey with a big story to tell.”
The series, which is set in the South Bronx of the 70s, according to Netflix:
“The Get Down” will focus on 1970s New York City – broken down and beaten up, violent, cash strapped — dying. Consigned to rubble, a rag-tag crew of South Bronx teenagers are nothings and nobodies with no one to shelter them – except each other, armed only with verbal games, improvised dance steps, some magic markers and spray cans. From Bronx tenements, to the SoHo art scene; from CBGBs to Studio 54 and even the glass towers of the just-built World Trade Center, The Get Down is a mythic saga of how New York at the brink of bankruptcy gave birth to hip-hop, punk and disco — told through the lives and music of the South Bronx kids who changed the city, and the world…forever.”
The Puerto Rican and Latino influences are well documented yet often overlooked and ignored and now it seems that a major Hollywood producer is getting it all wrong.
Late last night in a conversation with b-boy Richard Colón, best known as Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew he said, “It only shows how people choose to ignore the contributions of Puerto Ricans as well as other Latinos to Hip Hop Culture.”
Just moments later Madonna, who’s on the Jimmy Fallon show, is talking about what she misses most and mentions that very energy from that era and people like Keith Haring, Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Rock Steady Crew.
There on national television, right before Madonna performed a heavily Hip Hop influenced number, she mentions the very group and man who I’m having a conversation with.
Forward to 25:31 where Madonna begins to talk about the NYC of that era and mentions the Rock Steady Crew:
In the earliest documentaries on Hip Hop such as Style Wars and Wild Style, you see the Puerto Rican Latino influences on the genre.
Even NPR last month did a piece on that very often overlooked aspect when people talk about Hip Hop’s history.
We reached out to HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors) and A.B. Lugo, Associate Director of the organization told us:
“The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) is concerned about the possible absence of Latino characters in the Netflix-Baz Luhrmann series “The Get Down”. The story of the birth and growth of hip hop cannot be accurately told without the inclusion of the contributions of Latinos. Fuller statement:We at the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) have noticed the details released by Netflix for the upcoming Baz Luhrmann television series “The Get Down” and are concerned by its absence of Latino characters and stories. HOLA is investigating the production’s practices and efforts in casting as we do with many productions where we feel Latino faces and voices are missing. Right now the available details are too sketchy to be able to issue a definitive statement regarding whether we feel there has been a failure here to include Latinos in a story that really should have them. Hip-hop was created by African Americans and Latinos and both have been instrumental in the development of hip hop through its four elements (MCing, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti). It would be an indictment on the authenticity of this work if it didn’t also include Latino stories and Latino characters. The role of Latinos in hip hop (as well as other genres of music and art) is well-documented but often overlooked. “The Get Down” gives the opportunity to get the narrative right and present a fuller, more complete story of the 1970s New York art scene (which included such Latino luminaries as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Devastating Tito of the Fearless Four, Richard “Crazy Legs” Colón, Luis DJ Disco Wiz Cedeño, and Billy Murcia of the New York Dolls). We hope that our first impressions here are wrong, because we know Netflix has a relatively good track record at telling Latino stories and using Latino actors (for example, “Orange is the New Black”). We are also aware that Baz Luhrmann has been inclusive to Latinos in casting his productions as well. We will not only be monitoring this story closely but we will be actively investigating this matter and asking the tough questions to the right people. A central part of our mission here at HOLA is to do just that, and hold the media accountable for treating our community fairly. I guess the question Latinos need to ask Netflix and Baz Luhrmann regarding their upcoming production is, “How can WE get down?”
Edwin Pagán a filmmaker and a member of Seis del Sur said that, “…the idea of a “town hall” has been floated to get the original stakeholders and community together to prep a response and collective plan-of-action and the ball is already rolling to make this happen.”
“I think a lot of folks have not stepped up to make sure our role in this genre – or in other areas – is recognized. Now, we have to be the ones to set it straight and make sure folks know there’s a bruising at the tail-end of negation, co-option, and the re-imagining of our stories, especially in our back yard.” added Pagán.
With this latest announcement from Netflix and Baz Luhrmann, there is little hope that ‘The Get Down’ will have any semblance of accuracy about the era and will more than probably be better known as ‘The Let Down’.
We know better than to judge something that isn’t even out yet let alone in production, but if this is the sign of things to come, then it is a major fail as we had hoped it wouldn’t be but somehow knew outsiders would once again get our story wrong.
“It seems that a Bronx man has found the fountain of youth. Joe Binder from Belmont is celebrating his 105th birthday. NY1’s Erin Clarke filed this report.
Joe Binder has a secret to living a long life.
“You’ve got to be kind to people and stay away from stress,” Binder says. “I don’t carry any grudges. Turn the other cheek.”
That motto has served him well over the years—105 years yeas to be precise.”=
Wednesday Joe turned 105 and he’s still as sharp as a tack.
“He sits here every Wednesday with us and has lunch with me. He’s got maybe 20 jokes every time he comes. He writes poetry, he sings, he plays the ukulele,” says Joseph Migliucci, Binder’s friend.
Migliucci was just a kid in 1946 when he first met Joe Binder, a navy vet who had settled in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx in a three room apartment renting for just $18 a month.
Part of Riverdale Country School’s 27.5 Acre campus
While many schools in The Bronx are suffering from lack of decent facilities and programming, the Riverdale Country School in Fieldston (split between 2 campuses in the neighborhood on 27.5 acres) is begging for $52 million in tax-free bonds to construct a new pool, theater, and gym for the country’s fourth most expensive school.
The kindergarten through high school private institution is a school where tuition is a staggering $45,600 a year student and it is unconscionable for them to ask for such monies while so many public schools in our borough barely have adequate facilities for their own students.
As a private school, our tax dollars should not be spent on such projects that clearly do not benefit ALL of our children and perpetuate the Tale of Two Cities that plagues so many facets of our city.
Aixa Rodriguez, an education activist with Bronx Educators United for Justice and Badass Teachers Association, said, “…at time when walls are held up with duct tape and teachers have to sew curtains to replace broken blinds at Lehman High School these fools want a pool? Kids are protesting lack of access to sports #nycletemplayand these fools want a pool? I am furious.”
Teacher made curtains to replace NO BLINDS in a classroom at Lehman HS / Via Aixa Rodriguez
According to an article in DNAinfo:
“Riverdale Country, which is a nonprofit, declined to say whether its project will serve a needy population or will meet other criteria Build NYC prefers.
“We feel we have made an appropriate application to Build NYC to finance these projects,” Riverdale Country headmaster Dominic Randolph said in a statement. “Build NYC will determine whether our project fits their criteria.”
The New York City Economic Development Corporation, which administers Build NYC, wouldn’t say whether the school met any of its preferred criteria. But the agency said that Riverdale Country was entitled to apply for the subsidy “so long as it’s compliant with local regulations and best practices.”
The NYCEDC said that if the deal is approved, the city will lose an estimated $817,423 in taxable income from bond interest payments to investors — but money will be made on the back end. The agency claims the city will directly and indirectly collect about $29 million in tax revenue connected to the project’s construction.
The NYCEDC said construction would probably not happen without the subsidy.
“It’s highly improbable that Riverdale would move forward with capital improvements on this scale if not for the tax-exemption,” the agency said in a statement.
But tax filings show the school isn’t hurting for cash.
Riverdale Country’s most-recent filing shows that the school raked in $69 million in revenue and held net assets of $104 million in 2012. That year, it had an endowment worth $18.5 million.
Randolph, who made $564,000 in salary and compensation in 2012, said many nonprofits similar to Riverdale Country have previously requested and received the tax-exempt bonds from Build NYC.” – via Private School With $45K Tuition Asks City for Help to Build Pool
Top of wall in a classroom held together with duct tape at Lehman HS / Via Aixa RodriguezMystery leaks in a clasroom in use, has happened repeatedly / Via Aixa Rodriguez at Lehman High School
We are teaming up with the Bronx River Alliance to plant trees and shrubs along the Bronx River by Burke Bridge in memory of our beloved Morgan Powell. We will start planting at 9:00. If you interested, we are meeting up at 8:30 in front of 2515 Olinville and collectively walking to Burke Bridge. While we walk Julien Terrell will speak about our dear friend. Please help spread the word as we won’t pretend to know all of Morgan’s friends! Let’s do our buddy proud! Direction: please take the 2 train to Allerton and walk one block west if you want to meet us at 8:30, if not, take the 2 train to Burke and walk west to Bronx Park East to meet us at 9:00. Please dress accordingly!!!! At noon Stephen DeVillo and Mike Gupta will be hosting a walking tour as part of the Bronx River Alliance’s Bronx River Ramble.
Hundreds of Yankee fans arrived in The Bronx in style—not in a private limo but in a special vintage IRT subway train that pulled in at 12:15PM at 161st Street/Yankee Stadium on the uptown 4 platform.
The die-hard Yankee fans were able to board the special “Lo-V” train at Grand Central Station in Manhattan and were whisked away up north to The Bronx on a model that ran for more than 5 decades along the IRT line into the late 1960s , according to the MTA’s website.
The cushioned seats, ceiling fans, and incandescent light bulbs along with vintage signs and maps was a break from today’s tech heavy trains which, although not the most sanitary in terms of germs and bacteria, seems so sterile when compared to these beautiful, old trains.
But it doesn’t seem like this special train will bring the Yankees any luck. As of this moment, the Yankees are losing their home opener with the Blue Jays leading The Bronx Bombers 5-1.
A video posted by Ed García Conde (@welcome2thebronx) on
Hundreds of Yankee fans, along with several train buffs, were able to take a special ride into The Bronx today on one of these vintage Lo-V trains for Opening Day at Yankee StadiumAn old IRT map depicting, the now defunct Third Ave El in The Bronx and several stations no longer in operation.All aboard!“Rivera” Avenue was just a sea of blue and white pinstripes as fans gathered at local watering holes and businesses before the 1:05PM start time for Opening Day at Yankee Stadium.
This is a story we all know too well in The Bronx: The city doesn’t care about us unless it’s about making money.
Had this property been located in Manhattan or Brooklyn, this would never have been allowed to happen but because it is located in the poorest congressional district in the country and the poorest borough in the city, it’s ok to treat our history like garbage — at least that’s the message being sent here.
We speculated that the real reason behind the city’s insistence that the building needed to be demolished was because the area had been rezoned in 2009 (minus the school and several other buildings) in the Lower Concourse Rezoning Area.
Now the city plans to rezone the lot to allow for denser construction on the site for affordable housing (which of course we already know isn’t affordable to those who live in the community because of how the area median income is set up and doesn’t truly represent the neighborhood).
In an official statement from the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, they wrote to us:
“The South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation(SoBRO) submitted a proposal to HPD to save the building . It was financially feasible to do so and we had a plan to protect the remaining structure while the planning was underway.
THE COST OF THE PRESERVATION PLAN WAS LESS THAN THE COST OF DEMOLITION. Despite this the city has selected to go ahead with the demolition. At the time the city said it was an emergency situation and the demolition was to protect the public— but that was more than a year ago and the building is still standing.
We feel it’s demolition is another Bronx tragedy.”
Every single elected official who stood by and did nothing is complicit in this atrocious act that will befall such a treasured in the community.
From Crains:
“In a matter of weeks the city will finally demolish a once-stately Bronx school known as the “Castle on the Concourse,” which was built in 1899, landmarked in 1986 and later left to rot under the city’s stewardship. In its place, officials will seek to upzone the property and pave the way for a large affordable-housing complex.
With former P.S. 31’s end firmly in sight, stakeholders are focusing on what will take the school’s place. Although the property is landmarked, the city in this case is not bound by restrictions that prevent its demolition.
“[PS 31’s] imminent demise is a moment of great sadness for so many neighborhood residents, myself included,” wrote Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. in a March 31 letter addressed to the head of the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. “We owe it to these residents to make the most of this opportunity.”
The shell of the former P.S. 31, along Grand Concourse at East 144th Street, has been the source of acerbic criticism for years. Even the city’s own Landmarks Preservation Commission expressed disgust at the property’s deterioration into a public health hazard since it was shuttered in 1997.
“I find it completely despicable,” Landmarks Commissioner Michael Devonshire said in a New York Times report last year.
Untapped Cities took us on a trip last month on New York City’s Interior Landmarks and gave us a peek at some The Bronx’s very own special gems and here’s what they wrote. Be sure to check out the link at the end to see others in our beautiful borough as well as throughout the rest of New York City.
The Bartow-Pell Mansion has an illustrious history dating back from before American Independence. In 1654, Thomas Pell signed a treaty with the Siwanoy Indians for the rights to 9,000 acres in what is now the Bronx and Lower Westchester. The treaty was signed under Bartow-Pell’s Treaty Oak, a giant white oak on the property that became the only tree to have an obituary on the front page of the New York Times when it died in 1906.
The property was passed on (and sometimes sold and re-acquired) through the generations until its current mansion was built by Robert Bartow between 1836 and 1842. In 1888, New York City purchased the estate as part of Pelham Bay Park. In 1914, the International Garden Club adopted the mansion as its clubhouse, restored the interior, and installed gardens, eventually opening the museum to the public in 1946.
The Bronx General Post Office was constructed between 1935 and 1937 and designed by Thomas Harlan Ellett and Louis A. Simon. The gray brick building almost camouflages into the streetscape but its real treasure lies inside, where there are thirteen murals by Ben Shahn and Bernarda Bryson Shahn. The paintings were inspired by Walt Whitman’s poem I Hear America Singing. As the United States Postal Service struggles amid massive debt, it has started selling off its real estate, and this building was sold to a developer in 2014.
(March 27, 2015) Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli tout the money available to Bronx residents who may have unclaimed funds on 444,000 accounts valued at nearly $245 million. / Image Courtesy Bronx Borough President’s Office
More than 400,000 Bronx-based accounts are owed a whopping $244,783,169.60 according to an audit by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office and he, along with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr are urging residents to see if that money is theirs —some of which dates back to the 1940s!
To date, according to a press release issued by the borough president’s office, only a totaly of $1.6 million has been claimed by Bronxites since January.
The monies generally from old bank accounts, utility deposits, stocks, etc that are just waiting for the claimants to come forward. In order to find out if you have money owed to you, you can visit the state’s website and search by your name or an organization’s name.
Just recently, the state comptroller’s office returned $6,704.25 back to the Black Law Students Association which found out they had unclaimed funds.
The full press release is below from the BP’s office:
MARCH 27, 2015—New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. are encouraging Bronx residents to search for forgotten money belonging to them at Bronx Borough Hall. More than 444,000 accounts valued at nearly $245 million are owed to Bronx residents.
Unclaimed funds is money owed to New Yorkers dating back to the 1940s. The accounts are overseen by DiNapoli’s office until the funds can be reconnected with their rightful owners. The money comes from old bank accounts, utility deposits, uncashed checks, insurance claims, stocks and other sources that have been dormant for a number of years.
“With this found money, poor and low income families can stretch their budget and have more to spend on essential needs, like rent, transportation, child care and utilities,” said Diaz Jr. “I encourage Bronx residents to make the effort to track down their unclaimed money from the more than $244 million in unclaimed funds currently being held by the state. I thank Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and the Office of the New York State Comptroller for expanding their efforts to track down the owners of these unclaimed funds in The Bronx.”
DiNapoli’s office oversees 444,181 unclaimed funds accounts valued at $244,783,169.60 belonging to Bronx residents.
There are 31 million unclaimed funds accounts statewide valued at $13 billion.
“There are about 245 million reasons why Bronx residents should be at Bronx Borough Hall today,” said DiNapoli. “When an individual forgets about an old bank account or a utility deposit, that money can eventually be turned over to the State Comptroller’s office. Today’s event with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will help raise awareness about unclaimed funds across the borough. It’s your money, come and get it. My thanks to Borough President Diaz for inviting my team and me to provide this service to his Bronx constituents.”
New Yorkers can search for and claim money by using the Comptroller’s easy-to-use online claiming system or by calling the toll-free call center at 1-800-221-9311 to speak with English or Spanish-speaking representatives from 8:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.
A total of $1.6 million in unclaimed funds has been returned to Bronx residents since January.
Photo by Larry Lederman via 
