Back in January, Welcome2TheBronx wrote about how our Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. sat on the fence on the soccer stadium deal after much wooing them to the Bronx. Now Crain’s New York reports an interview with Diaz Jr, where he says, “On the soccer stadium as a whole, I’ll say this: I’m not there yet. That said, I am open-minded. As I said in my State of the Borough address, with a good community-benefits agreement, with proper community engagement, I think we can get to a place where folks understand the economic benefits of the stadium. But those benefits have to be real and be felt. It can’t just benefit the royal family of Abu Dhabi [who co-owns the franchise] or the Yankees.”
Perhaps this is a sign that Ruben Diaz, Jr is beginning to listen to his constituents’ needs?
The Mix Pop Up Coffee Shop opened yesterday in Port Morris as a 3 day social experiment to engage the community and talk about race and identity — over a cup of coffee.
Immediately when you walk into the cafe you are asked, ” WHAT ARE YOU?” by big stenciled letters along the walls. This is one of the most common questions asked to people of color, especially folks who’s ethnic identity isn’t ‘readily apparent’.
Just as controversial as the stenciled lettered question is the menu with coffees by the names of The Mulatto, The Red Bone, The Mutt, The Half-Breed, and a delicious hot chocolate called The One Drop. All names and terminologies that have been used throughout the centuries in a derogatory manner or by means to discriminate.
When you approach the counter, you stand atop three stenciled options: Pure Breed, Half-Breed, or Other. The barista takes your order and instead of asking your name like at Starbucks, she asks, “What are you?” and you provide one of the aforementioned options.
The concept of the pop up cafe was created by Vernicia Colon who currently is a student at Parsons School for design and is the first of many events for The Shoppe BX, a new artist space founded by Jamie Jones and Edith Harper.
Jones and Harper envision The Shoppe BX as a place where local artists can not only showcase their creations but sell them as well. They also intend to utilize the space to teach various classes taught by local artists.
I stayed there for a couple of hours both joining the conversations that were brewing as well as just simply observing.
During my stay at the cafe, I watched folks from all walks of life, young and old, black, white, latino, asian, and everyone in between, all engrossed in this truly interactive project.
Make sure you stop by for some stimulating conversation over a great cup of coffee or hot chocolate but don’t wait too long. The Mix Up Coffee Shop will only be open until Sunday, April 27th.
We hope that Vernicia can open up the shop permanently down the road!
The Shoppe BX is located at 127 Lincoln Avenue at Bruckner Boulevard and make sure to follow them on Facebook too!
The other day I decided to take walk around the Lower Concourse Rezoning District so that I can document the area before it starts changing and buildings are either demolished or converted.
What struck me the most was the number of available signs for entire buildings or lots to be developed that weren’t there before. It seems that owners are starting to pay attention to the media coverage and beginning to market their properties.
The area is still quite gritty and rather desolate in feel. It is filled with a lot of great warehouses and architecture with potential for some nice loft apartments but other buildings would probably be better off torn down.
For the full set of images of the Lower Concourse Rezoning District, head over to Welcome2theBronx’s Flickr Page .
Software consulting company, Doran Jones has teamed up with Per Scholas, a non profit what specializes in training underemployed individuals in high tech industries for free.
Together they will be construcing a new facility at 804 E 138th Street in Port Morris just off the Cypress Avenue station on the 6 train.
Once completed, the facility will be home to 150 tech jobs with wages totalling $5 million in just the first year of operation according to a press release issued by the company.
The press release also said:
“… Per Scholas will train the testers through its 8-week software testing education program (STEP), and the majority of its graduates will go directly to work in the UDC occupied and operated by Doran Jones in the same building. Construction begins this summer.
Industry trends in software testing have created an opportunity to meet growing labor demands, improve quality, reduce overseas costs, and reshore jobs to the U.S. The UDC model establishes and concentrates high-technology infrastructure, resources, and jobs in low-income urban neighborhoods as a conscious economic development strategy.
“I am incredibly excited about this opportunity to work with Per Scholas, and I believe we are about to embark on a genuinely transformative project for both the software testing industry and our local community,” said Keith Klain, COO of Doran Jones. “There is a huge quality gap in the software testing market. This solution provides a talent pipeline to that problem and makes meaningful contributions to our local community, our clients, Per Scholas and, most significantly, the graduates of the training program. This is a blueprint for true Corporate Social Responsibility programs and further emphasizes Doran Jones’s core value of investment in our people.”
Welcome2TheBronx strongly believe these are the jobs we should be focusing on and bringing to the Bronx — jobs that will make a real economic impact in our neighborhood without the environmental cost that FreshDirect would cause with its low-wage jobs that perpetuates the cycle of poverty.
This is big news we should be celebrating in the nation’s poorest congressional district and the Bronx. These are the types of training and jobs that will help combat poverty and unemployment in our borough.
A listing for a condo loft in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx has broken a record with an asking price of $900,000.
Located at 305 East 140th Street at Bronx Bricks Condominiums, a converted building constructed in 1904, the 2,350 square foot apartment originally sold for $712,775 in 2007 at the peak of the market.
The building directly abuts the Mott Haven Historic District which is filled with over 100 town houses, 2 churches, a library and the 40th precinct station house.
Bronx Art Space, run by one of the original building owner and developers, Linda Cunningham, is located on the ground floor of Bronx Bricks.
Rendering of Brook House once renovated. / Rendering courtesy of Baer Architecture, PC, the firm who is designing the space on both the interior and exterior.
BOOM!Health, a Bronx-based organization that is dedicated in transforming lives through health and wellness has signed a 25 year lease (with an option to purchase), taking over Brook House Furniture in the Melrose neighborhood of the borough. Once the renovations are complete, the building will also house The Bronx LGBTQ Center and BOOM!Cafe.
The organization is a result of a merger that occurred in 2013 between CitiWide Harm Reduction and Bronx AIDS Services and provides a wide umbrella of services to those most at risk in our community. Among the many problems that BOOM!Health fights against are: Hunger & Obesity, Homelessness, Poverty, Access to Healthcare, and HIV/AIDS just to name a few.
Roberto Cordero, President and Chief Program Officer of BOOM!Health, said the Brook House building will be transformed into an energy-efficient building and will seek LEED certification as well as take advantage of NYSERDA credits for reducing their carbon footprint. Seeking such certification is in line with Melrose and the Melrose Commons area of the neighborhood which is still the ONLY LEED certified neighborhood in all of New York State.
The windows of this building will finally once again be opened up bringing new life to this corner of Melrose.
One of the most exciting aspects of the project that even senior management is thrilled about is the cafe that will open as a part of the new center.
BOOM!Cafe
On the ground floor of the building, 1,000 square feet will be dedicated to a cafe that will be operated by the youth who are part of BOOM!Health’s various programs. The cafe will feature fair trade coffee that is sourced straight from the groves of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and perhaps even Jamaica and aims to be an integral part of the community.
BOOM!Cafe will follow the model of Catalyst Kitchens, an organization that, “empowers the lives of individuals facing barriers to employment through comprehensive foodservice and soft skills training, along with targeted job placement and job retention efforts.”
Cordero and Jose M. Davila, BOOM!Health’s President & Chief Administrative Officer both envision this space as a place where the community can gather and are also interested in the possibility of it becoming a cultural spot with poetry readings among the many ideas being thrown around.
The space itself will have windows that slide open and will be able to take advantage of the warm weather by providing outdoor seating as well.
Such a cafe is something that many in the neighborhood have been asking for, particularly since PeaceLove Cafe and Coqui Mexicano closed. Since their closing, thousands of new apartments have opened up with both low and middle income working professionals yet no real community space has opened to compliment both longtime and new residents in Melrose.
Robert Cordero, President & Chief Program Officer, talks to employees about the project / Image Credit: Jose R. Figueroa / Boom!Health
The New Bronx LGBTQ Center
Since the former Bronx Community Pride (once located in Melrose on 149th Street) shuttered its doors over 2 years ago, the Bronx LGBTQ community has been without a home or a place to call its own. Thanks to BOOM!Health, once the building is renovated and open for business in January 2015, that will no longer be the case. Although the details aren’t finalized as of right now, the New Bronx LGBTQ Center (which was founded after the original organization disbanded) will be co-located within the organization in a mutually beneficial relationship.
According to Robert Cordero, both organizations have some overlap in the clients they serve but both offer different services that compliment each other and will only enhance the experience for their clients. Members of the LGBTQ community coming to the organization will be able to take advantage of the wide variety of services such as Housing and Peer Development, Legal Services, Wellness Empowerment, Food & Nutrition that BOOM!Health offers.
An often overlooked segment of the LTBTQ population is the transgender community and BOOM!Health, along with the Bronx LGBTQ Center are looking to change that and how that segment of the population receives necessary services. By sharing a physical space, they can provide a “safe space” where these individuals can come and receive the care they may need and are entitled to.
Filling A Gap Along 3rd Avenue
Since the early 2000s, activity along 3rd Avenue has been coming back to life. For decades, the 3rd Avenue corridor between 153rd and 163rd Streets was nothing but a stretch of vacant lots, abandoned buildings and a few businesses here and there.
Now there is only one tiny vacant lot in that stretch as developments, including condominiums, have sprung up in less than a decade.
The new BOOM!Health, once completed, will bring with it over 100 workers to the area from doctors, nurses, pharmacists to support staff and case workers. Employees of the organization were on hand for a tour of the building and everyone was excited about their new location. With their focus on women’s health along with seniors, the LGBTQ community and the youth, this will only help strengthen the neighborhood as it continues its transformation from a place that was torched to the ground to a place where people actually want to move to. Perhaps it will even spur activity at the Old Bronx Courthouse which sits directly across from Brook House.
Cordero stressed that they do not want to just be located in the community but they want to be a part of Melrose and develop partnerships with residents and businesses alike.
We look forward to not only welcoming them to the neighborhood but to also work with BOOM!Health in improving this place we all love and call home.
Jose M. Davila, President & Chief Administrative Officer of Boom!Health / Image Credit: Jose R. Figueroa / BOOM!HealthJose M. Davila, President & Chief Administrative Officer provides a tour to employees / Image Credit: Jose R. Figueroa / BOOM!HealthCordero tours employees through Brook House, explaining what the layout will look like / Image Courtesy Jose R. Figueroa / BOOM!HealthBefore and After
Brook House, New York’s largest furniture showroom has stood the test of time and the changing face and economics of Melrose. As the Third Avenue El was dismantled and Melrose and the South Bronx burned around it, Brook House stood.
Now after over 50 years serving the community and Bronxites alike with quality furnishings, the Kopstein family is saying goodbye as they begin the process of liquidating their inventory.
Opened in April of 1959 by Bronx born and raised Ben Kopstein, Brook House is scheduled to close its doors by the end of May of this year according to David Kopstein (Ben’s son), who’s worked at the family store for the past 27 years. The 35,000 square foot building is being leased by the Kopstein family to Boom! Health for 25 years with an option to buy. Boom! Health has big plans for the building, which sits across from the Old Bronx Courthouse, and the community, more of which we’ll get into greater detail.
In the meantime, make sure you head over to Brook House to say goodbye to a neighborhood fixture as well as take advantage of a good sale.
Carmine Zeppieri Jr. prepares a cake at Zeppieri & Sons Bakery, where three generations of the Zeppieri family have worked for more than half a century / Edwin J. Torres for The New York Times
From The New York Times:
Anyone seeking a large body of water in Pelham Bay would be quickly frustrated: The neighborhood’s namesake no longer exists. Instead, you would find a tidy community with rows of two-story brick homes bearing awnings and grillwork fences immediately adjacent to the city’s largest park.
That’s not to say that water is very far away. Pelham Bay Park has 13 miles of coast hugging Long Island Sound, and residents often consider the prestigious waterfront communities of Country Club and Spencer Estates to the east, and Throgs Neck to the south, to be part of Pelham Bay.
But Pelham Bay proper is a working- and middle-class community of about 23,000 residents, roughly a square mile framed by the Bruckner Expressway and the Hutchinson River Parkway.
HuffPost Travel published an article today from SmarterTravel where a Bronx tour had the distinct honor of being selected — in a positive light!
In the post, SmarterTravel says:
“See a completely different side of a city when you break away from the mob of tourists following the guide with the red umbrella. On these 10 unique city tours, you’ll venture into the Bronx with an old-school rapper, see abandoned buildings in Portugal’s second city, and go longboarding through Amsterdam’s most famous park. You’re sure to come home with a camera full of authentic experiences that most visitors miss.
Hip-Hop Tour, New York, New York
With a legendary hip-hop artist as your guide, Hush Tours will give you a truly entertaining experience in the Bronx and Harlem, the birthplace of the culture. Here, people on the street might recognize and give shout-outs to the Hush Tours guides—Grandmaster Caz, Kurtis Blow, and others—as they delve into four aspects of hip-hop culture: DJing, MCing, B-boy and B-girl dancing, and graffiti artistry. You’ll see the important landmarks and check out where Biggie, Nas, and Jay-Z grew up on this fun tour.
Details: Tours range from two hours ($32) to four hours ($75).
Insider Tip: Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. At one point on the tour, you’ll learn hip-hop moves and try them out on the streets.”
April is National Poetry Month and to that end, we’d like to share some words from a Bronx Poet who’s has graced the stages of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, El Museo del Barrio, and the Bronx Museum (among many others) when he’s not walking the halls of justice at Bronx Family Court as an Officer (you can catch him this Thursday, April 24th at the Andrew Freedman Home).
Peach, as he’s known both on and off the stage by his friends and fans alike recently published, ‘Rooftop Reflections Lessons Learned from the Outside Looking In‘ where you’re told to, “Let him take you by the hand as he shows how he navigates life, love, maturity, ethnic identity and cultural awareness while growing up in New York City. It may not always be pretty, but its real and it made him the man that he is today. A true soul searching poetic insight of how one young boy found his voice while trying to grow up and how one officer found order in the midst of chaos. A must read for anyone ever curious about the urban dichotomous conflict, that pits boy against man, good versus evil and the past against the future.”
This is his Bronx Story:
My Bronx Story
Welcome to my Bronx story
it’s a tale of temptation
from 138th Street to the Grand Concourse
consider this your initiation
from las calles of Kingsbridge to Tremont Ave
and a Fordham Road paved with gold
from Prospect Ave to Gun Hill Road
many a person needs to hear this toldso how do you get that second chance
when you were not worthy of the first
and unteach all the laws of the street
that were instilled in you since birth?
even birds with broken wings
learn how to fly again
the true fear is not in the result
but in the failure or lack of trying
sins carried upon my back
built upon fallacies and lying
scars written all over my face
are but remnants of my crying
from harsh realities of killers with smiles
that’s why the good are always dying
because it’s easy to get hit in the heart
if they stab you in ya back
it’s not ‘cause you loved too hard
it’s from the courage that they lack
perp walks are drawn
from outlines of chalk
and even after the rain
the blood still remains
and now begins the tough talk
blood lust frenzy
occupies the men that we be
straight scripture talk
begins at the table
an eye for an eye
just like Cain and Abel
but if just for a second
we can break this tribal hold
that’s been foretold
for far too many a season
and think back in time
to the first days of rhyme
where love was the only reason
because an NYSID number
is nothing more
than a barcode in
the bodega of life
your strength in the yard
matters not
to your unborn child
and your wife
so if you didn’t retaliate
does it really make you a phony?
because all the letters your lady writes you
ain’t gonna fill your commissary homie
I wish for this poem to be heard
by every juvie going thru
Spofford’s door
from every courtroom
in the halls of justice
to every tier on C-74
cause you back on the block
slinging that rock
got that Charlie Sheen
and you think you winning
never took a second look
at that first impression
but you can start right now
and make that brand new beginning
because karma may not come on time
but she will never be late
Atlas held the world on his shoulders
do you think
he thought about his worth
while he was preoccupied
by its weight?
when you dance with the devil
between good and evil
at times the line is drawn paper thin
but karma recognizes
neither conscience nor fate
and sometimes
you can’t outrun sin.
Make sure you grab your copy and support local Bronx artists!
On November 8, 2013, New York City’s Department of Buildings issued an emergency demolition order for the landmarked ‘Castle on the Concourse’ aka PS 31. They cited it as a public safety issue and were concerned that it wouldn’t survive another Sandy-like weather event.
It is something that truly makes you scratch your head because we were told by the DOB that the building is in danger of collapsing and couldn’t be salvaged yet engineering reports from SoBro stated the contrary. Their engineers stated, that although in poor condition, it could still be salvaged.
For almost 20 years, various city administrations, including several Bronx Borough Presidents, left this beloved and precious landmark to rot. It was not until Welcome2TheBronx started a petition last year to help save the landmark building, that our Borough President, Ruben Diaz, Jr finally addressed the situation stating in the State of the Borough address earlier this year that:
“It is an absolute disgrace that the City allowed P.S. 31, one of the most iconic school buildings in our city and my own alma mater, to fall into such disrepair that it is scheduled to be torn down,” said Borough President Diaz. “With that said, it is time for innovation. The city must issue a new RFP for the P.S. 31 site. This RFP should examine whether or not the building can be saved, and should also explore a wide variety of uses for the site in order to stimulate street life and blend in with the neighborhood.”
It must be noted that Diaz Jr also did absolutely NOTHING to help save the school until we made it an issue and took it straight to the Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting in December delivering over 500 signatures on a petition pleading to save the school. The petition was, of course, addressed to the Borough President along with other elected officials and departments and due to all the media attention we were able to provide the necessary pressure for the issue to finally be addressed.
PS 31 sits in the middle of the Lower Concourse Rezoning District and just a couple of blocks away from the Special Harlem River Waterfront District. To a developer, the property is most likely worth more demolished as more hype continues to be built around the neighborhood. But to the community in which it stands, it’s a part of our history that needs to be preserved and can be used as an important cultural space, adding to the many already in the neighborhood.
Below is a series of photographs by Edwin J. Torres who took a tour of the buildingand was kind enough to share his images with us (exterior shots by Welcome2TheBronx). For those who attended and loved this school, as much as the written testimonies have shown, this may be a rather emotional journey. If it makes you angry and frustrated at the city for allowing such a disgraceful thing to happen to a beloved, landmark building, then turn that anger and frustration into action by signing and sharing the petition and demanding something be done. The Bronx deserves and demands better treatment. We know that no where else in the city would this be acceptable.
Deputy Inspector Christopher McCormack, who was at the center of controversy on the Stop & Frisk practices of the NYPD has been reassigned to the 46th precinct, Welcome2TheBronx has learned.
McCormack made headlines when we was caught on tape saying, “I have no problem telling you this,” the inspector said on the tape. “Male blacks. And I told you at roll call, and I have no problem [to] tell you this, male blacks 14 to 21.” by officer Serrano who secretly recorded the conversation.
Under McCormack, the 40th Precinct saw the highest rates of stop and frisk in the Bronx and in the top 5 precincts in New York City during 2012. The 46th precinct saw was 4th on a list of the top 5 precincts where blacks and latinos made the majority of such stops.
Replacing McCormack is Deputy Inspector Lorenzo Johnson who commanded the 49th precinct in the Bronx, for less than 2 years, which covered the neighborhoods of Morris Park, Van Nest and Allerton.
According the email obtained by Welcome2TheBronx:
“Deputy Inspector Johnson was appointed to the New York City Police Department in January 1988, and began his career on patrol in the 25th Precinct. He was promoted to Detective Third Grade in December 1994; Sergeant in December 1995; Lieutenant in February 1999; Captain in June 2005; and Deputy Inspector in July 2013. Deputy Inspector Johnson has served in the 30, 19 and 49 Precincts; as well as PSA 7, Internal Affairs Bureau, Patrol Borough Manhattan North, Narcotics Bureau Manhattan, Narcotics Bureau Bronx, Vice Enforcement Division Bronx, and Gang Division Bronx.
Deputy Inspector Lorenzo Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from The State University of New York Empire State College.
Community policing is a core component of the NYPD’s methodology and you can be sure that Deputy Inspector Johnson will work diligently to build on the efforts of his predecessor.”
For those of us in the 40th Precinct, we sure hope that perhaps this change will bring about necessary changes in our community when it comes to policing. If indeed as they say in the email that, “Community policing is a core component of the NYPD’s methodology, we hope that the practice of stop and frisk continues to drop in our neighborhoods and relations between residents and the police improve.
