In 2014 The Bronx is celebrating two major anniversaries: The 375th anniversary of the first European settler — and our borough’s namesake Jonas Bronck, to call our great borough of the North home, and the 100th anniversary of the creation of Bronx County, New York State’s 62nd and last county created.
In the spirit of history, we’ve decided to compile a list of things you may not (or may) know about the Bronx.
4. Contrary to popular belief, Central Park is NOT the largest park in New York City. That honor goes to Pelham Bay Park. At 2,765 acres, Pelham Bay Park swallows up Central Park’s 843 acres and is more than 3x its size.
5. Speaking of parks, the Bronx has 3 of the largest parks in NYC while that other borough *cough Brooklyn cough* has one. Besides the aforementioned, Van Cortlandt Park is the 3rd largest in the city and Bronx Park at 7th.
6. Patience and Fortitude, the world famous and iconic lion statues standing guard at the New York Public Library’s main branch on 5h Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan, were also made in the Bronx by the Piccirilli Brothers in Mott Haven. Did we mention that they also carved #2 on our list?
8. Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Livshitz and also raised in the same neighborhood in the Bronx. He also attended the same school, PS 80, as Calvin Klein did.
11. While we’re on the subject of space, the final frontier, planetary scientist Carolyn Porco was born and raised in the Bronx attending Cardinal Spellman High School. Porco began her career in exploring the outer solar system with the voyager missions and currently leads the imaging team on the Cassini mission orbiting Saturn.
Since its founding in 2011, Welcome2TheBronx and its founder and editor, Ed García Conde, has had the privilege of being featured or quoted in a diverse array of mainstream media outlets.
From hyperlocal newspapers, television stations to national and international papers such as the New York Times, and blogs with millions of monthly visitors, Welcome2TheBronx has become one of the main go to sources for Bronx related issues.
Many of our original and exclusive stories have been picked up and expanded upon by the mainstream media as well.
Below is comprehensive list (print circulation, online unique visitors, and viewership provided where available) of where we have been featured:
BronxTalk
BronxTalk is one of the longest running talk shows in New York City history and began back in 1994. Gary Axelbank remains as the original host of this weekly show which airs live on local Bronx cable access channels.
Mott Haven Herald
Local Bronx-Based newspaper available both in print and online, serving the communities of Mott Haven, Port Morris, Melrose and the surrounding areas.
New York Daily News Over 6 million unique visitors visit the newspaper via its website and apps and has a daily print circulation of 516,165 and Sunday print circulation of 644,879.
New York Magazine
New York Magazine has a weekly print circulation of 1.8 million readers and its website, nymag.com receives over 15 million unique visitors a month.
The Approval Matrix January 10, 2010 (Photo Credit / Blog Mention under Welcome2Melrose)
New York Times
Circulation of the newspaper is at 1,865,318 the for Daily and 2,322,429 for the Sunday Edition (March 2013). With almost 31 million unique visitors a month, The New York Times website is the #1 newspaper site in the nation.
The popular and Baron Ambrosia approved Mexican restaurant, Xochimilco is still open! Due to a major error with Verizon and Cablevision, their main number is out of order but they can still be reached at 718 402-5100.
Hopefully your thoughts of the restaurant having closed, ensued by panic had been subdued!
What: On Sunday, April 6th, hundreds of volunteers will join together to deliver over 500 Passover food packages to home-bound Jewish elderly. Project HOPE is a semi-annual event where over 300 volunteers deliver food packages by foot and by car to low income and isolated older adults. Often, these volunteers are the only visitors to seniors’ home all week and many times seniors welcome young volunteers and their families to stay for a visit.
“Generations of Volunteers have been coming every year to deliver packages. We have had some volunteers who have been doing it all their lives and have now passed it on to their children. It’s such a wonderful Bronx-wide service project.” –Niti Minkove, Director of Volunteers.
The involvement of youth and families in helping BJCC spread the spirit of the holidays has become an important resource for our community, especially those clients who depend on us. Seniors are the most vulnerable population in our community, but knowing that we can count on our volunteers to personally deliver these packages and brighten the day of each and every single person we reach, demonstrates how easy it is to make a difference.
When: Sunday, April 6 2014
9:30am – 11:00am
Where: Distribution will take place out of two sites:
• Ampark: 95 Gale Place, Bronx, NY 10463 (Community Room #9, in the Corner of Orloff Ave. and Gale Pl.)
ABOUT: The Bronx Jewish Community Council is a non-profit, no-sectarian community based social service organization whose assistance is available to all low income Bronx residents. BJCC specializes in assessing needy Bronx residents’ problems – especially those of seniors aging in place – finding holistic solutions and helping them remain comfortably in their homes and communities. Services range from emergency assistance to providing connections to benefits and entitlements, care management, mental health outreach, home attendants and other life-sustaining services. In 2012, the Food Pantry fed more than 31,000 individuals, most were under the age of 60 and more than one-third were children. BJCC operates 3 Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORC) programs, which help improve the quality of life of approximately 1,500 constituents annually who are often isolated elderly. For further information, visit www.bjcconline.org
Typical day at the Borough Hall market at 161st Street and Grand Concourse
On Sunday, local residents gathered in Melrose to discuss the next steps in the creation of the South Bronx Farmers Market to be located on 138th Street between Willis and Alexander Avenues in Mott Haven.
The new market has already secured necessary permits from Community Board 1 and is in the middle of filing other necessary paperwork to make this happen.
The South Bronx Farmers Market is targeting Saturday, June 14th of this year as their first day of operation and will be working with local farmers as well as community gardens and urban farmers to bring you the freshest and most local of fruits and vegetables.
This will be the fourth Farmers Market in the General area and will be the first one to operate on a weekend.
Current farmers marketsin the area are located at 161st Street and Grand Concourse at Joyce Kilmer Park (the largest and busiest of the group) which operated on Tuesdays during the market season, Lincoln Hospital on 149th Street between Morris and Park Avenues on Tuesdays and Fridays, and The Youth Market on Wednesdays at 3rd Ave and 149th Street at Roberto Clemente Plaza.
Anyone who has ever been to these markets knows that the local residents hunger for such access to fresh produce as they are filled with shoppers from open to close.
Adding one in Mott Haven on 138th Street will only further solidify and ensure access to fresh produce to an underserved neighborhood which will accept SNAP (EBT aka food stamps), WIC, and will also participate in the health bucks program where for every $5 you spend using EBT you receive $2 “Health Bucks” to buy more produce at the farmers market.
The South Bronx Farmers Market still needs more help in organizers so if you’d like to reach out and help, please do so and become a volunteer! There are many opportunities to do so, including, community outreach, marketing, working in procuring local farmers, policy planning, volunteering on market day, and many more. To find out more on how you can help, send an email to: southbronxfarmersmarket@gmail.com and someone will get back to you!
When Baron Ambrosia sends you an invitation, you immediately RSVP — no questions asked.
With a menu consisting of Cricket Brie Sushi, Spicy Beaver Tacos, Muskrat Fakoye & other exotic dishes, Baron Ambrosia, the culinary ambassador of The Bronx, hosted an unforgettable epicurean experience which would have made Andrew Zimmern feel proud.
This past Saturday at the Andrew Freedman Home, The Baron held the 4th Annual Bronx Pipe Smoking Society Small Game Dinner —an event which has quickly become one of the most highly anticipated and exclusive dining experiences in the Bronx.
Four years ago, I was one of the select few of about 20, brave and intrepid souls, to partake in the very first invitation only event which was held on a snowy winter’s night at the abandoned Old Bronx Courthouse in Melrose.
Saturday night was a marked departure from the first which was held in a cavernous and freezing courtroom in an empty shell of a building with no heat. It was held in the warm and cozy embrace of the historic Andrew Freedman mansion and the number of attendees had at least tripled in size.
With small game for the evening provided by Boss Bill Guiles & Trapper Jim DeStefano and insects by World Ento (a supplier of edible insects in the US) Chef Bun Lai created a wondrous selection of sushi platters. Each platter was a burst of both traditional and exotic fair.
The Cricket Brie sushi was phenomenal, packed with crunchy crickets and earthy Ethiopian spices. The mink, eggplant & goat cheese rolls, along with the raccoon, shrimp, apricots and asparagus, apricot, raccoon rolls were equally scrumptious.
After cocktail hour, we were asked to assemble in the library for appetizers, where renowned and beloved Bronx artist, Daniel Hauben (who’s artwork is currently being exhibited at the Andrew Freedman Home but more on that in another post) was painting a portrait of the evening.
Spicy Beaver Tacos were served up by Jason Engdahl of Brooklyn with a helping of chipotle and jalapeno cabbage. The porcupine was served up nam tok style and prepared by Siam Square Thai restaurant of the Bronx, Meow Meow Sliders (no, not that kind of cat but Fisher Cat). Elk was also provided (it wasn’t any different from venison) and the most exotic of this portion of the evening was nsenene, a Ugandan delicacy which is long-horned bush cricket. The nsenene were so good I couldn’t stop munching on them.
The guests were just as colorful and varied as was the menu. In the invitation, Baron Ambrosia informed us that the, “dress code was formal with the options being black tie, traditional or warrior.” He went on to say in the invitation that, “…If you’re part of a sect, society, crew, or military branch, wear your colors, sashes, badges, medals, beads, taxidermy, bones, & mojo bags proudly. Large blades are welcome; swords, machetes, spears, etc.”
And the guests did not disappoint in taking his edict seriously.
When the time came for the main course, we were ushered into main gallery area of the Andrew Freedman Home which was transformed into the dining area. The Baron had each chef for the main course come up and describe their delectable dishes. Five of the chefs were from the Bronx.
Rafael Mata of the beloved Xochimilco Mexican restaurant of Melrose, cooked up the Coyote Enchipotlado. The Garifuna Possum Hudutu was whipped up by Chef Callita Diego, while Assetou Sy & Tata Maiga of the Malian Cultural Center of the Bronx made the Muskrat Fakoye. A nascent Bronx Jamaican catering company provided a delicious side dish of vegetables and bacon, commonly referred to as a cook-up (or bitch-up if you really want to get technical).
Before we ate, Hip Hop artist, Armageddon provided grace followed by Trapper Jim and Grammy winner and Hip Hop pioneer, Grandmaster Melle Mel, ritually stabbing the beaver. Also present in the group was DJ Kool Herc – another legend and pioneer of Hip Hop.
Baron Ambrosia also took this moment to explain one of the reasons for this event and that is to help us rethink our food and is source, seeking out more sustainable sources of food, including small game in our own regional backyards as well as nutritious insects (which, by the way, are eaten by roughly 50% of the global population).
No dinner would be complete without dessert and not to be outdone by the cocktail hour, appetizers and main course, Bronx-based dessert company, Whoopies Miniature Desserts, headed by Bronxite, John Denizard, provided excellent treats. Unlike anything else on the evening’s menu, this is something you can sample at any time so make sure you head on over to their website and contact them!
The entire evening was full of surprises, characters, great company, music, dancing, and great food. There really is nothing this fun and exciting in The Bronx, like the Annual Bronx Pipe Smoking Society Small Game Dinner and perhaps all of New York City. One guest likened the event and its guests to a scene from the Hunger Games and I couldn’t agree more of the festive atmosphere at the Andrew Freedman Home.
I’m already looking forward to next year and hopefully being lucky enough to secure another invitation.
On Thursday, March 27th, the Appellate Division of New York ruled in favor of FreshDirect and, “Bloomberg-era Industrial Development Agency decision to provide $80 million in subsidies to Fresh Direct to move its trucking operation to a South Bronx waterfront flood zone…without any requirement to assess or address the environmental impact of an additional 1,500 daily diesel truck trips on our asthma-plagued community.”
Essentially, South Bronx residents have been told by the court that an environmental impact statement conducted 21 years ago is good enough to go by but this is an extremely flawed, morally irresponsible decision by the court when given the strong case that legally EXISTS to demand a new EIS be conducted.
When the environmental impact study for the Harlem River Yards (the proposed site for FreshDirect) began over 20 years ago and was finished and published in 1993, the area was vastly different.
In 2009, directly to the north and directly adjacent to the second Port Morris Rezoning, the 30 block Lower Concourse Rezoning was officially adopted changing the zoning from mostly industrial and manufacturing to residential as well. The Department of City Planning said in their introduction to the rezoning of the area:
“
The proposed actions will transform a waning industrial waterfront area and the lower Grand Concourse into a vibrant, mixed-use, mixed-income community with new housing, waterfront open space, and an array of retail services.
“
Since then, thousands of new residents have moved into the area including at the 400+ unit, 3 building development, Bruckner By The Bridgea development which also is adjacent to the Harlem River Yards.
Interestingly enough is that the proposed FreshDirect site is directly next to the southernmost portion of the Special Harlem River Waterfront District Plan (with plans of thousands of new residential units) any sort of industrial development where FreshDirect intends to plop down completely illogical. Proposed FreshDirect site in relation to the Special Harlem River Waterfront District Plan
Can we afford FreshDirect with thousands of more truck trips barreling through our roads in the South Bronx, worsening the traffic situation? Is the empty promise of jobs worth the risk of exposure to our children — a company with dubious labor practices where they are currently being sued by their own drivers? Do we sacrifice our future over corporate greed and over $130 million in tax breaks and subsidies?
The company and its supporters argue that emissions will not be an issue because they have “promised” to convert its fleet to electric (in a non-binding memorandum of agreement). Let’s face it, even if they converted their entire fleet to electric, the thousands of truck trips through our neighborhood would still clog traffic and the overwhelming majority of vehicles on the road are not hybrids or electric.
According to USA Today, “The review found that children diagnosed with leukemia were 50% more likely to live near busy roads than children without leukemia,” said Vickie Boothe, a CDC health scientist and lead author of the Journal article.”
While the study found a link between traffic pollution and childhood leukemia it did say that a cause and effect relationship has not been found.
The CDC is calling for more comprehensive studies to be done so that these findings can be confirmed but in the meantime they suggest that the public be informed and educated on the findings:
“As many people reside near busy roads, especially in urban areas, precautionary public health messages and interventions designed to reduce population exposure to traffic might be warranted.”
The community of Mott Haven, Port Morris, the South Bronx and the rest of the Bronx have come together to oppose this deal and have even come up with a comprehensive waterfront plan that would provide much needed access to our waterfront.
I ask the city and state, once again, why our government is refusing to conduct a new environmental impact study on the proposed move of FreshDirect to our neighborhood?
Given all this information, it would be criminal to not only allow FreshDirect to move into a neighborhood that is no longer industrial but to do so without a new comprehensive environmental impact statement which takes into account the 3 rezoned areas and the new plan for the Special Harlem River Waterfront District which is directly adjacent to the site.
Myself, South Bronx Unite, and over 50 community based organizations have said no to this project and we urge you to listen to our voices. We are not a minority voice as FreshDirect and borough hall likes to refer to us but we represent an overwhelming majority of Bronxites who demand better.
According to the New York Times, data released by the Census Bureau indicated that the Bronx is growing.
The Times reports:
Every borough registered a gain in population. Even the Bronx, a traditional laggard, recorded a rate nearly as high as top-ranked Brooklyn and Manhattan. While Manhattan and the Bronx lost more people to migration than they gained, the difference was made up by more births than deaths.
Can we afford FreshDirect with thousands of more truck trips barreling through our roads in the South Bronx, worsening the traffic situation? Is the empty promise of jobs worth the risk of exposure to our children — a company with dubious labor practices where they are currently being sued by their own drivers? Do we sacrifice our future over corporate greed and over $130 million in tax breaks and subsidies?
Even if FreshDirect converted their entire fleet to electric, the thousands of truck trips through our neighborhood would still clog traffic and let’s face it, the overwhelming majority of vehicles on the road are not hybrids or electric.
According to USA Today, “The review found that children diagnosed with leukemia were 50% more likely to live near busy roads than children without leukemia,” said Vickie Boothe, a CDC health scientist and lead author of the Journal article.”
While the study found a link between traffic pollution and childhood leukemia it did say that a cause and effect relationship has not been found.
The CDC is calling for more comprehensive studies to be done so that these findings can be confirmed but in the meantime they suggest that the public be informed and educated on the findings:
“As many people reside near busy roads, especially in urban areas, precautionary public health messages and interventions designed to reduce population exposure to traffic might be warranted.”
And this past Saturday, that is exactly what members of South Bronx Unite did: over a hundred people held a peaceful rally and march to the proposed FreshDirect location, calling for Mayor De Blasio and the city to stop FreshDirect’s move and allow a full environmental review to be done.
Nine peaceful protesters were arrested but quickly released yet it sent a strong message to the city that the South Bronx and the Bronx as a whole, will not continue to be a dumping ground for corporate sweetheart deals that do not benefit the community.
The community of Mott Haven, Port Morris, the South Bronx and the rest of the Bronx have come together to oppose this deal and have even come up with a comprehensive waterfront plan that would provide much needed access to our waterfront.
Interestingly enough is that the proposed FreshDirect site is directly next to the southernmost portion of the Special Harlem River Waterfront District Plan (with plans of thousands of new residential units) any sort of industrial development where FreshDirect intends to plop down completely illogical.
I ask the city and state, once again, why our government is refusing to conduct a new environmental impact study on the proposed move of FreshDirect to our neighborhood?
In 2009, directly to the north and directly adjacent to to the second Port Morris Rezoning, the 30 block Lower Concourse Rezoning was officially adopted changing the zoning from mostly industrial and manufacturing to residential as well. The Department of City Planning said in their introduction to the rezoning of the area:
“
The proposed actions will transform a waning industrial waterfront area and the lower Grand Concourse into a vibrant, mixed-use, mixed-income community with new housing, waterfront open space, and an array of retail services.
“
Since then, thousands of new residents have moved into the area including at the 400+ unit, 3 building development, Bruckner By The Bridgea development which also is adjacent to the Harlem River Yards.
Given all this information, it would be criminal to not only allow FreshDirect to move into a neighborhood that is no longer industrial but to do so without a new comprehensive environmental impact statement which takes into account the 3 rezoned areas and the new plan for the Special Harlem River Waterfront District which is directly adjacent to the site.
Myself, South Bronx Unite, and over 50 community based organizations have said no to this project and we urge you to listen to our voices. We are not a minority voice as FreshDirect and borough hall likes to refer to us but we represent an overwhelming majority of Bronxites who demand better.
Students at Columbia University are conducting a retail analysis of Melrose and are conducting a very brief survey to identify the wants and needs of the community.
Once the data is collected, it will be presented to the Housing Preservation Department (HPD) to advocate for the concerns of the community.
