Tomorrow, Saturday July 12th at 8PM, the Bronx Documentary Center will be screening ‘Freedom Summer’ where “Over 10 memorable weeks in 1964 known as Freedom Summer, more than 700 student volunteers from around the country joined organizers and local African Americans in a historic effort to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in what was one of the nation’s most viciously racist, segregated states.”
Join the Bronx Documentary in this unprecedented an historic event and the panel discussion which will follow the screening.
Dorothy M. Zellner, who worked closely with Julian Bond as a staff member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1962 to 1967, will be in attendance as well as other former Freedom Summer volunteers.
“The summer flies by, but time seemingly stands still at one Bronx park.The two clock towers at Crotona Park’s pool — which was the recipient of a highly touted $1.6 million kiddie wet zone, unveiled to great fanfare on June 27 — do not work.“They need to renovate them,” said Evelyn Rivera, who brought her two tots for a swim on Thursday. “It’s very, very annoying. It should have been part of the [last] project.”
The Belgian invasion of The Bronx has conquered the people with just one truck and wafels topped with your favorite ‘dinges’.
Land ho! Wafels & Dinges, the popular food truck turned brick and mortar shop, has arrived upon the shores of the mainland and docked along 149th Street in front of Lincoln Hospital.
In 2007, a Wafels & Dinges truck began roaming the streets of Manhattan, along with Williamsburg and the usual suspects in Brooklyn, and Astoria in Queens.
Serving up what they call “authentic” Belgian Wafels — which doesn’t consist of using pancake batter — they became what Gothamist called “a perennial favorite”, since they only operated during warmer months of the year.
Last year the truck plucked down some roots and the company opened its first cafe in the East Village.
According to Tyler, an employee who was operating the truck in Melrose on Wednesday, they’ve only been out for a few weeks, “but the numbers are already encouraging.”
And locals were equally pleased.
Alex Brown, a student at Hostos Community College who first alerted Welcome2TheBronx about the Wafels & Dinges truck, said it, “…was the perfect after class snack.” He had a mini with Nutella and powdered sugar and a coffee.
A nurse at Lincoln Hospital was excited to have such downtown flavor, Uptown in The Bronx and told us, “If you bring it and show people that there are different options they will come.”
Three women who worked down 149th Street towards The Hub agreed. One of the customers kept raving to her colleagues about the new truck and had brought along two of her friends for the experience.
Melrose resident Karah Shaffer told us her Belgian roommate, Steven Schuermans who’s been living in Melrose for the past four years says, “It’s the most legit of wafels in the US.”
“…I think it’s great they’re coming up here. They do sell the real deal, as authentic as it gets at least. They make them just like back home but they offer a bigger variety of toppings…it’s quite nice to have a little piece of Belgium make it’s way into the Bronx,” Schuermans, 27 year old Filmmaker and Director, told us.
You can get a plain old Belgian Wafel and choose from a variety of toppings, or ‘dinges’ as they’re called, including but not limited to: walnuts, real Vermont maple syrup, powdered sugar, butter, bananas, strawberries, and dulce de leche.
For the adventurous, you can opt for a savory wafel which includes popular menu items like ‘Chicken N’ Gravy Wafel Biscuit’ which is “Two savory mini wafels smothered in chicken & mushroom gravy with a side of greens,” or ‘BBQ Pulled Pork Classic’ which they describe as, ” Where Brussels meets Biloxi: a wafel topped with Pulled Pork, coleslaw, sweet BBQ sauce and a coolickle.”
What did I have? I opted for a regular sized one topped with walnuts, bananas, Vermont maple syrup and powdered sugar. I can honestly say that it was the best tasting wafel I’ve ever had and it wasn’t the cheap version we’re used to here in the states made from pancake batter. It was such gooey deliciousness.
The gooey deliciousness that I had was a simple Belgian Wafel ‘dinged’ with bananas, walnuts, real Vermont maple syrup, and powdered sugar.
Wafels & Dinges were recognized in 2010 as the number one food truck in the city by Zagats, and The Learning Channel called them the best food truck in the country.
Their arrival is yet another indication of the growing confidence the commercial sector has in the Melrose area of The Bronx. The location is perfect since The Hub, two blocks over, is the busiest intersection outside of Times Square (over 200,000 people walk by daily). Just a couple of blocks away is The Opera House Hotel (The Bronx’s first luxury boutique hotel) and a few blocks north the luxury boutique Umbrella Hotel will be opening in September.
Wafel & Dinges food truck is out on 149th Street between Morris and Park Avenues Mondays and Wednesdays from 9AM to 8PM. Make sure to follow them on Twitter @waffletruck to find out which other locations they’re heading out to in the city.
The Bronx is GREEN. We already know that The Bronx is the greenest of the 5 boroughs with roughly 25% of our land as parks and green spaces and home to 3 of the 10 largest city parks (no, Central Park, you are not the largest).
Van Cortlandt Park, tucked away in the Northwestern corner of The Bronx, is New York City’s 3rd largest park. From over 8 miles of hiking trails, a swimming pool, a lake, America’s first municipal golf course, horse stables and bridle paths, and a 250+ year old mansion, the park packs a lot in 1,146 acres.
As you hike along the old Putnam trail (running along New York Central Railroad’s Old Putnam Line), past Van Cortlandt Lake and Tibbet’s Brook, you feel like you’re no longer in the middle of a large metropolis like New York City. Surrounded by forests on either side of the trail, you get that feeling like you’ve been transported back to simpler times when nature ruled over the city versus skyscrapers of today.
The Parade Ground at Van Cortlandt is equally as impressive as being stuck in the midst of the Croton Woods of the park. The 66 acre area is a flat expanse of grassy field (more than 4 x the size of Central Park’s largest, Sheep Meadow) and was once home to the Wiechquaeskeck tribe of the Lenape Native Americans.
Atop Vault Hill you can overlook the Parade Ground, The Bronx and the New York City skyline.
Just north of the Parade Ground you can climb Vault Hill where the Van Cortlandt family was once buried and see what remains of their burial plot. Behind the old vault you can continue your climb and sit atop the rocky outcrop which provides beautiful views of the Parade Ground with Manhattan’s skyline in the background on a clear day.
Besides all the walking, hiking, and exploring you can do at Van Cortlandt Park, you can also partake in numerous activities held year-round.
Starting tomorrow, Thursday, July 10th, the free Barefoot Dancing Series begins.
The Van Cortlandt Conservancy says:
“Barefoot Dancing is FREE, learn-as-you-go dancing paired with live music from around the world. Kick off your shoes this summer and come dance onthe lush green lawn of the Van Cortlandt House Museum. Join in the sharing of this multicultural celebration. Shoes are optional!
Barefoot Dancing is from 6-8:30 on the following dates:
July 10 Zlatne Uste (Balkan)
July 17 Caren Calder (West African)
July 24 Lei Pasifika (Tahitian)
Jul 31 Nadia Moussa (Middle Eastern)
August 7 ¡Retumba! (Salsa)”
Also, let’s not forget that next Tuesday, July 15th, New York Philharmonic Concert In The Park closes out its season at Van Corltandt at 8:00PM and ends with a fireworks show. The event is free and open to the public.
To get to Van Cortlandt Park:
Directions: Take the #1 subway to 242nd Street.
Enter the park on foot at Broadway & West 246th Street.
Parking is available at Golf House Lot.
Call 718 430-1890 for information and directions or visit www.vcpark.orgfor a map.
To check out other Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy Summer programs, click here. Take advantage of our fun, free activities!
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This September, the Bronx Documentary Center will exhibit a group show featuring Bronx-based documentary photographers and photojournalists. We are asking photographers to submit work that addresses the issues and forces that shape the Bronx; this exhibition will display the depth, range and passion of socially engaged documentarians covering our borough.
We are calling all Bronx-based photographers to submit their work to the BDC for consideration, and we would very much appreciate it if you and your organization could help us spread the word!
The page with more information about this call for entries can be found here, and you can share it via Twitter and Facebook with posts that we have already crafted! Just click on the Twitter/FB links to be led to the page with the pre-crafted posts.
Call for entries: Bronx Documentary Photographers Group Show
Deadline: Friday, July 25th, 11:59pm 2014
Guest Curator: Sandra Stevenson, New York Times photo editor and BDC board chairperson will curate the exhibition.
What are the issues and forces that shape the Bronx? In September, 2014 the Bronx Documentary Center will exhibit a group show featuring Bronx-based documentary photographers and photojournalists answering this question.This exhibition will display the depth, range and passion of socially engaged documentarians covering our borough.
Eligibility: Bronx-based documentary photographers and photojournalists.
Submission Guidelines: Submit up to 15 images via wetransfer only to: info@bronxdoc.org. Each image file should be 1-2mb. Please zip any folders.All images must have applicants name in the title along with full caption information.
Robert Reid, National Geographic Travel’s ‘Offbeat Observer’ just published a wonderful article on The Bronx and The Grand Concourse.
In the article he writes:
“The man with graying dreadlocks raking outside a New York mansion is hip-hop pioneer Kool DJ Herc. He hasn’t switched careers, but is an artist-in-residence helping out at the Andrew Freedman Home, a one-time “country club” retirement home that’s now a workspace for graffiti artists, a 1920s-styled bed-and-breakfast, and space for homegrown art and theater. Up the street, a yoga class is under way outside Edgar Allan Poe’s 200-year-old cottage. Farther south, the intricate Beaux Arts façade of the 1913 Opera House, where Houdini once did tricks, is a newly opened hotel that fancies itself “boutique.” All 60 rooms are full, and staff advise guests to dine next door at the tiny Mexicozina taqueria, a neatly converted shrine of devotion to poblano specialties (like the best pig-ear tacos in town).
Few visitors to New York will have seen this. Nor have, to be honest, most New Yorkers. The reason is location.
The College of New Rochelle’s John Cardinal O’Connor Campus in Melrose sold last month for the asking price of $10.5 million in an all cash transaction according to the real estate firm, Massey Knakal.
As we reported back in February when the property was first listed, The College of New Rochelle will still remain in the building, however, they will scale back their operations to just 4 floors in the 9 story, 50,000 square foot building in this sale / leaseback transaction.
We predicted that the property wouldn’t last long on the market due to its strategic location in Melrose coupled with the growing confidence in the area by the commercial sector.
Recently there have been sales of a number of large properties in Melrose. The New York York National Bank building at 369 East 149th Street, just half a block away from CNR’s campus sold for $4.4 million in October of last year. The old 60,000 square foot YMCA building aka the Pyramid Reception Center, also in Melrose, at 470 East 161st Street sold for $6.65 million in October as well.
The College of New Rochelle’s property sits in an area that is rapidly growing and has transformed from one of blight to one that is highly desirable.
3 blocks away on 149th Street you have the Opera House Hotel which is the first luxury boutique hotel in the Bronx and right across from it, construction is well under way for Triangle Plaza which is a mixed retail and office development which will house a new campus of Metropolitan College of New York.
Crunch Fitness opened this Spring at the Opera House Hotel adding to the collection of fitness chains in Melrose such as Planet Fitness and the two Blink Fitness locations all located in the neighborhood.
Directly behind Triangle Plaza will rise one of five buildings that will make up the massive, 985 mixed income unit, La Central development that is scheduled to break ground sometime in the summer of 2015 (a 48,000 square foot YMCA with 2 swimming pools will be located in this building).
4 blocks north, another luxury boutique hotel, Umbrella Hotel, is slated to open come this September.
All one has to do is take a walk around Melrose, The Hub and the 149th Street corridor to see all the changes rapidly taking place.
It will be interesting to see what the new owners of 332 E 149th Street will do with the building.
Mychal Johnson is a Bronx resident and activist with South Bronx Unite. His recent focus has been the relocation of Fresh Direct to the South Bronx and the adverse affects it would have on the air quality in the area which has the highest asthma rates in the City. This roundtable connects to the PERCENT FOR GREEN’s focus on the history of the Environmental Justice Movement in the US in low- income areas and communities of color and links green urban issues to health, food and the economy. www.southbronxunite.com
This roundtable is brought to you by PERCENT FOR GREEN, a social practice project by Alicia Grullon. PERCENT FOR GREEN examines how art can facilitate community coalition to create solutions for environmental progress in the City and promote more discussion on Climate Change. The project’s objective is to co-author a bill with Bronx residents that protects the environmental rights of people in underserved areas.
PERCENT FOR GREEN is part of InClimate an exhibition curated by Regina Cornwell being presented under the auspices of Franklin Furnace Archives and its co-founder Martha Wilson.
City residents are invited to round-tables, in public and domestic spaces, where we will engage in conversations on creating solutions for environmental imbalances we identify in our neighborhoods. What we learn from this process will form the basis of the new “Percent for Green” legislation.
PRECENT FOR GREEN will be running from the Longwood Arts Gallery, 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street in HOSTOS Community College, June 5th and runs to August 6th.
Project programming consists of roundtables, workshops, presentations and discussions around climate change, the City undeserved groups, and environmental action.
The artist is present at the gallery between 12-3 until June 30 and then from 12-5 from July 1 through August 5, 2014. While in the gallery, she is available to help you brainstorm solutions, discuss legislation points or talk about the environment, economy, and society. Come make 311 calls, contact your local council member or write a letter to the mayor! Bring in any images you’ve taken and your concerns. If you want to use the space for a workshop, presentation, or discussion of your own, submit your idea to: percentforgreen@gmail.comt
PERCENT FOR GREEN is made possible with public funds from the Bronx Council on the Arts through the New York State Council on the Arts Decentrailization Program and in partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
for more information go to: http://percentforgreen.tumblr.com/
www.inclimate.org
Take the #2, 4, or 5 trains to 149th street and the Grand Concourse (so easy from Brooklyn and only 20 minutes by car from the Queens Museum via the Triborough Bridge) or get the the BX #1 or #2 bus
Christopher Columbus High School shuttered last week after serving the Pelham Parkway area for 75 years. Famous students included Ralph Lauren, Kerry Washington, and Son of Sam David Berkowitz.
After serving thousands of Bronx residents from their humble office at 3176 Bainbridge Avenue during these past 18 years, West Bronx Housing & Neighborhood Resource Center has lost their lease.
West Bronx Housing, a subsidiary of Bronx Jewish Community Council, Inc is now in desperate search for a new home after their landlord accepted an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“Our landlord has been very kind to us over the years,” said Sally Dunford, Executive Director at West Bronx Housing, “He hasn’t given us an official date but is willing to give us as much time as he is able to for us to relocate.”
The community based organization was able to stop 83 evictions last fiscal year alone — but that’s not all they do. They also assist folks with enrolling in food stamp programs, help seniors navigate the often complex world of Medicaid and Medicare, they even help a 90 year old woman read her bills and write her checks for her once a month. WBHRC also dabbles in some immigration work helping people filling out forms.
According to Dunford, with a small staff of 3 full time employees, 3 part-time employees, an intern and a volunteer, they were able to serve over 1,200 individuals with one on one attention.
“We serve the Jewish community best by serving the entire community well,” said Dunford echoing the mission of BJCC which sets out to help all the vulnerable in The Bronx, particularly seniors — regardless of their background.
In the current issue of Time Out New York, it’s a Battle of the Boroughs: Natives and longtime residents square off to explain why their home turf is superior to all others. This week, we’re spotlighting one borough per day online. Read on to see whether our arguments for Bronx dominance sway you or whether they only bolster your other-borough pride.
Heard of hip-hop? Started here. Grandmaster Melle Mel, DJ Kool Herc, Grand Wizzard….
NYC’s actual Little Italy is much farther north than most people think. Buy some fresh mozzarella and cannoli on Arthur Avenue to see what we mean.
The 28-acre, bucolic Wave Hill is the best daycation in town.
Just a couple weeks ago, the borough’s culinary ambassador, Baron Ambrosia, scaled a tree five stories high to save a stranded kitten. “I don’t care if the tree’s 200 feet high and on fire,” he said. “If you want me to get the pussy out of the tree, I’m gonna get the pussy out of the tree.” Dude has a way with works.
The Bronx Museum of the Arts’ First Friday shindigs are fun and culturally fulfilling, with everything from dance performances to Afro-Cuban films.
Note: The exhibition has been extended until August 16th.
Back towards the end of May last year, Thomas Stubbings of Austria was visiting New York City. It wasn’t his first time here since Stubbings has been visiting the city since the early 80s — but it was his first time in The Bronx in 30 years of coming to New York.
“I had been to New York about ten times but never to The Bronx,” said Stubbings yesterday as I visited with him while he was setting up for the opening of the exhibition this Saturday July 5th at Poe Park Visitor Center in Kingsbridge. “I still had the old images, the clichés of what The Bronx was. With each visit I had done everything to avoid The Bronx and going around it.”
So last year he decided to change all that and after researching tours that’s when he stumbled across MCNY Tours owned and operated by Bronx resident Alexandra Maruri.
“I’ve been to the Empire State Building four times and asked myself do I really need to see it a fifth time?”, he told me recounting his journey last year.
According to Maruri, Stubbings had arranged for a 6 hour historical tour of The Bronx but quickly turned out to be a ten hours excursion through our borough.
It was during that time where Thomas Stubbings’ perception of The Bronx began to melt away.
“The more I walked around, the more interesting, the more lovely these places appeared; so different from the images of The Bronx I was used to seeing.”, he told us.
That’s when Maruri and Stubbings came up with the idea of a photography exhibition to showcase the real Bronx and help dispel the myths and stereotypes of our borough came about.
They approached Lucy Aponte, Director of the Poe Visitor Center, with the idea and although she liked the idea, Maruri said, “…she felt the exhibit needed something extra, Ms. Aponte suggested to Mr. Stubbings to create an artistic comparison of both places, the Bronx and Vienna Mr. Stubbings home residence in Austria.”
And it was with something so simple as a visit to a forgotten and unwanted borough that ‘The Bronx Meets Vienna’ was born.
The exhibition will display 24 portraits shot by Thomas Stubbings; 12 of The Bronx and 12 of Vienna showing every day life in both places.
I asked if he would put similar photographs from both locations side by side but Stubbings said he wanted the exhibition to make people think about where each particular photograph was taken so it’s not as obvious. “The thought process is very much an important part of this exhibition.”, he says.
Indeed, after looking at several prints, I had to really look at them to be sure where they were taken.
I asked Stubbings what did he enjoy most about shooting in The Bronx and he simply replied, “The positive spirit, the energy, the mood of the people was so different from the expectations that surprised me. Everyone was so friendly.”
“Although we’re different, there are more similarities when you look closely,” Stubbings explained, “whether it’s children playing, or people walking with their heads down looking at their smartphones, we’re not so different. There some things which unites us and shoes how close we are.”
‘Bronx Meets Vienna’ runs from Saturday, July 5th through August 16th at the Poe Visitor Center in Kingsbridge. The exhibition will hit the road and will be shown in Vienna, Austria by the end of this year.
Opening reception with photographer Thomas Stubbings will be held this Saturday July 5th from 1PM – 4PM so make sure to come out and meet the artist and chat with him as well as give him a big old Welcome to The Bronx.
Operating hours are from Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9AM – 5:00PM
The Bronx meets Vienna Supporters
*A Special Thanks to TheAustrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY) an agency of the Republic of Austria, part of the Austrian Consulate General in New York, Fordham Road BID, NYC & Company, The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, The Woodlawn Conservancy, & The Opera House Hotel & Welcome2TheBronx for their assistance and support.
