Last night was the opening exhibition of GAY at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos Community College —a very much ‘in your face body of work by 20 artists of color exploring the shift in gay culture within the past decade.
I ran into friend and fellow Bronxite Jeffrey Guard of The Bronx Arts Exchange and we were both pretty much in awe at the exhibit and frankly quite proud that we were experiencing this in the South Bronx of all places.
Below is an excerpt of his review:
“Upon entry to the Longwood Gallery’s Gay exhibition viewers are immediately greeted by Jose Joaquin Figueroa’s massive photograph, Playboy depicting a nude attractive hirsute man wearing a communist beret and in the iconic coquettish pose of Marilyn Monroe’s Playboy centerfold. It is the gay love child of both Monroe and Che Guevara. The lush satin red backdrop coupled with the exposed naked body will make anyone stop and take notice. It is both a slap in the face and a kiss on the lips. It’s also the perfect amuse-bouche for what’s to come. Gay organized by curator and artist Ivan Monforte is an ambitious and provocative exhibition that features 20 artists seeking to explore the ever-shifting identity of what it means to be gay. The unapologetic, uncensored and brazen tone of Gay harkens back to the days of Robert Mapplethorpe and Keith Haring. There is a fearless excitement in this aggressive and beautiful depiction of contemporary gay male culture—that hasn’t been seen in the Bronx (or the rest of NYC for a very long while).”
Community activists and residents alike, along with politicians, were (and still remain) upset at the sale of a landmarked building which is a heart and pride of the South Bronx and the borough overall.
According to the article, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr met with developers Youngwoo & Associates last month who are entertaining the idea of turning the post office into a marketplace.
The New ‘Bronx Market’
Since I first found out about the sale I began to brainstorm on what possible uses the building could take on. I can’t help it with 15 years of real estate experience.
I also am not opposed to the sale especially since the exterior of the building is landmarked and so is the lobby.
We need to be realistic. The USPS is dying and rather than have the building end up decaying like the landmarked PS 31 just a few blocks south, I would prefer it sold to a developer who has the vision to bring something transformative to the building and truly world-class for the Bronx.
One of the best uses of the landmarked building would be to transform it into a hybrid of the Chelsea Market and Eataly — the immensely successful and popular indoor markets — with a Bronx twist.
The Bronx General Post Office is huge at 150,000 square feet and due to its high ceilings can easily add another 100,000 square feet of space by dividing some of the floors.
The lower levels can be used as a market much like Eataly except it would not solely be Italian but offer the best variety of ethnic culinary delights the Bronx has to offer. Think of the place permeating with the aroma of the cuisines of Albania, Ghana, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Italy, Bangladesh, India, Jamaica, Ireland, Nigeria, Mexico, and all the many other ethnicities that our borough is home to.
Imagine a year-round farmer’s market located inside as well where you can buy locally grown produce right in our borough or the smell of a spice market also located indoors.
Like Eataly, the rooftop can be used for a restaurant and bar and maybe even add some green space.
The floors in between the market and the rooftops can be used as offices like at the Chelsea Market or business incubators, gallery spaces for local artists — the possibilities are endless.
Surrounding the post office on either side are wide terraces which can be used as outdoor cafés.
The post office can easily remain in the building as they only need 7,500 square feet to operate.
Such a marketplace can be a major boon for Melrose, The Lower Concourse, and the Bronx as a whole.
The building is located right next to the 149th Street and Grand Concourse subway station on the 2,4, and 5 express trains which sees over 4 million passengers annually. Just one stop North on the 4 train is 161st Street and River Avenue, right next to Yankee Stadium, which has a ridership of almost 9 million a year and one stop East on the 2 and 5 Line you have 3rd Avenue and 149th Street Station with 7.5 million riders annually.
That’s an impressive 20 million riders at the location and adjacent stations alone.
The first luxury boutique hotel in the Bronx, the Opera House Hotel which has already received over 5,000 guests since it opened in August of last year and attracts folks from all over the country and the world, is also right on 149th Street just a 10 minute stroll or a 2 minute, one stop subway ride from 3rd Avenue and 149th Street — one of the busiest intersections in the city with over 200,000 pedestrians a day.
The Upper East Side is 10 minutes away at 86th and Lexington Avenue on the 4 and 5 train. Harlem is only 1 stop away and 3 minutes on the 2 Line or even the 145th Street bridge which is heavily used by pedestrians.
A ‘Bronx Market’ of this caliber as I’ve described would keep much needed money locally as it would not only be a destination for Yankee Stadium fans and tourists but it would be a place where residents of the Bronx can congregate and keep their money in our borough.
If the sale is to go on, let’s make sure whatever goes in there is something that the entire Bronx can enjoy and be proud of.
Ultimately, whatever goes in the building should be a transparent process and have community input as hard as that would be considering it would be dealing with a private owner.
An apple orchard sits atop one of the many rooftop terraces of Via Verde
Via Verde, the award-winning “green” development, which changed the game plan on what affordable housing can be and looks like just won another award —this time from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The world-renowned development was an Honerable Mention for built developments and recognized for ‘Smart Growth Achievement’ by the agency.
In a press release the EPA said, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today recognized projects in seven communities as winners of the 2013 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement for their creative, sustainable initiatives that better protect the health and the environment while strengthening local economies.”
Since before construction was even finished, Via Verde was making headlines in the real estate, architectural, and sustainable development industries.
Via Verde isn’t the only green and LEED certified development in the neighborhood. In fact, the entire northeastern section of Melrose —Melrose Commons — is filled with dozens of LEED certified developments and 4 years ago became New York State’s first (and still ONLY) LEED Certified Neighborhood district.
A year later in 2011, The Atlantic wrote about what a sustainable community looks like, citing Melrose as one of the examples. Access to public transportation and employment centers is key and with dozens of bus lines, Melrose Metro North Station, and the 2 and 5 express trains at 3rd Avenue and 149th Street (which whisks you away into midtown Manhattan within 15-20 minutes — East or West) Melrose has no shortage of options.
Since Via Verde, Courtlandt Crescent (part of the Courtlandt Corners LEED Certified development) has opened and there are 4 other green and sustainable projects approved and in the pipeline including the massive La Central which will rise across from Via Verde.
Here are some interesting numbers about The Bronx and the New York City Council:
—The Bronx makes up 16.6% of New York City’s population.
—The Bronx has 8 of 51 seats on the City Council, or 15.6%.
—On the top five major council committees (Finance, Economic Development, Transportation, Education and Land Use), the Bronx delegation is represented by just 7 members out of the 69 total, or 10.1%; of course, none are chaired by a Bronx member.
Are those really the five most powerful committees of the City Council? The chair of Baruch College’s Political Science Department, Professor Thomas Halper, agreed when asked.
Professor Halper also asked, “Why? Why hasn’t the Bronx been able to get its act together when there is a mayor and speaker with a message of economic justice? One would think they both would be highly sympathetic to the Bronx.”
With 16.6% of the city’s population, but only 10.1% of the important council committees, why indeed?
IS ANYBODY THERE?
I should’ve said this before, but anyone who wants to send tips, suggestions or press releases, please email me at robagiuffre@gmail.com.
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The Bronx has had many first in green technology as many of the new developments built here have green components and are oftentimes LEED Certified —showing that they meet the highest standards of sustainable and green development set forth by the United States Green Building Council.
Now a school in Melrose —the ONLY LEED Certified Neighborhood district in the entire State of New York —has won a major award in the amount of $100,000.
The Bronx Design and Construction Academy won the Zayed Future Energy Prize beating out 2 others schools and thus becoming the only school in North, Central, and South America to win this prestigious award.
The school is located within the Alfred E. Smith High School on East 151st and is home to the first green roof in a public school. According to News12 the Bronx, “the money will go toward making the students’ design of solar panels and an off-grid greenhouse a reality for the school and the community.”
The research center to be created from the award will help students continue their research into sustainable energy and technologies.
Meanwhile in the northern Bronx neighborhood of Riverdale, the Daily News reportsthat the Riverdale Country School is the only site in the nation with a new technology called kinetic energy tiles. The floor tiles use the energy of footsteps which it then converts into electricity. Courtesy of Pavagen
This technology can be transformative in how we power our city when you take into consideration that there are more than 8 million New Yorkers walking around and to be able to harness that power is exactly what Pavegen, the London-based energy company who’s kinetic tiles are at the Riverdale Country School, is working on.
Congratulations to the students of both these Bronx schools for their hard work and showing the world all the great and wonderful things that our borough is capable of and is about.
Watch the News12 interview with students at the Bronx Design and Construction Academy. Read about the Riverdale Country School endeavor with kinetic floor tiles, in the Daily News.
The world is in desperate need of innovative solutions to create a new, sustainable energy future. No one knows who or where the next great energy solution will come from. Solutions and technologies that could change the world are being developed globally, and the $4 million Zayed Future Energy Prize, managed by Masdar in Abu Dhabi, is ready to recognise and reward these innovators of our time.
The Zayed Future Energy Prize came to fruition as a result of the vision of the late Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Founding Father of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
In 2008 at the World Future Energy Summit, His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the UAE, announced The Zayed Future Energy Prize, to honour his father’s legacy of environmental stewardship.
With a mind towards ensuring that the Prize reaches out to the different key players in the industry; The Prize will is awarded annually to: A Large Corporation, A Small and Medium Enterprise, A Non-Governmental Organization, a Lifetime Achievement recipient and up to 5 High Schools from 5 different world regions.
Delicious Mushroom and Spinach tacos at Mexicozina in Melrose
What the Bronx lacks in the generally horrible chain restaurants, we more than make up for it with our mom and pop culinary establishments.
From the collection of Mexican, Puerto Rican and Dominican, Ecuadorian, African restaurants in Melrose to the seafood fare of City Island or the great pubs of Woodlawn, and Italian restaurant galore whether in Belmont on Arthur Avenue or Morris Park and Throggs Neck, we have so much to choose from.
Dessert at Bruckner Bar and Grill
We really want to know which your favorites are so please let us know in the comments section!
The Smithsonian Magazine has published a wonderful article on Edgar Allan Poe and the history of Poe Cottage in the Bronx. It’s wonderful when a globally recognized cultural institution and national treasure like the Smithsonian writes about our borough’s rich and diverse history.
Read the excerpt below and follow the link to the full story!
When Edgar Allan Poe Needed to Get Away, He Went to the Bronx
The author of ‘The Raven’ immortalized his small New York cottage in a lesser-known short story
Once upon a morning dreary, I left Brooklyn with eyes bleary, Wearily I took the subway to a poet’s old forgotten home.
In 1844, Edgar Allan Poe and his young wife Virginia moved to New York City. It was Poe’s second time living in the city and just one of many homes for the peripatetic author. Unfortunately, after two years and several Manhattan addresses, Virginia fell ill with tuberculosis. With the hope that country air might improve her condition, or at least make her final days more peaceful, Poe moved the family out to a small, shingled cottage in the picturesque woods and green pastures of Fordham Village – better known today as the Bronx. An engraving of Edgar Allan Poe's cottage in Fordham, New York (image: James Horsey Finken via Library of Congress)
The six-room cottage was built in 1812 as worker’s housing for farm hands. Poe rented it from landowner John Valentine for $100 per year – no small sum for the constantly struggling writer who sold The Raven, his most famous work, for a flat fee of $8. During his time at the cottage, Poe cared for his ailing wife, who died three years after they moved in, and wrote some of his most celebrated poems, including the darkly romantic “Annabel Lee”.
The cottage circa 1910, before it was moved to Poe Park (image: The Library of Congress)
After Poe’s death in 1849, the cottage changed hands a few times and gradually fell in disrepair as the pastoral countryside became more and more urban. The area’s upper class residents came to see it as an eyesore and an obstruction to progress, and by the 1890s Poe’s house seemed destined for demolition. The growing controversy surrounding the cottage’s future was well-reported by The New York Times, which published a passionate article arguing in favor of preservation:
“The home of an author or a poet, whose memory has been marked for the honors that posterity alone confers, becomes a magnet for men and women the world over….The personal facts, the actual environment, the things he has touched and that have touched him are part of the great poet’s wonder-work and to distort them or to neglect them is to destroy them entirely.”
But what can the MTA do NOW to, at the very least, make commuting at night a bit easier for millions? They already FAILED the Bronx by not extending the Second Avenue subway to the Bronx.
The answer is to restore 24 hour service to the 5 Line.
Each night around 10:30PM, the last 5 trains begin to roll out from Bowling Green leaving Bronxites with no direct 5 train to and from the Bronx until around 6:00AM. This results in millions of passengers a year who live above East 180th Street to take three trains instead of just one.
Passengers wishing to go to any station from 3rd Avenue and 149th Street to the 5 train’s terminus at Eastchester / Dyre Avenue must transfer to a 2 train at 149th Street and Grand Concourse walking down two flights of steps making this an arduous or impossible task for people with disabilities due to the lack of an elevator at the station.
Courtesy MTA New York City Transit
This leads to an already overcrowded 2 train to become jam packed as it’s the only train serving the stations between 3rd Avenue and 149th Street and East 180th Street since the 5 stops running. For passengers going beyond East 180th to Morris Park, Pelham Parkway, Gun Hill Road, Baychester, and Eastchester / Dyre Avenue, they must again get off and transfer to a shuttle train.
Keep in mind that 3 trains is the minimum needed to reach this section of the Bronx. If these riders are coming from other areas we’re talking about multiple transfers.
Just how many subway riders are there between 3rd Avenue and 149th and Eastchester/Dyre Avenue?
In 2012 (2013 statistics haven’t been published yet by the MTA):
-An average of 95,413 daily riders on weekdays Monday through Friday.
-An average of 79,770 on Saturdays and Sundays.
-28,789,161 annual riders.
These numbers do not include 149th Street and Grand Concourse which has seen an increase of 1 million annual rides from 2007 to 2012. It is also important to note that 3rd Avenue and 149th Street saw an increase of 500,000 annual rides during the same time. That’s 1.5 million new Annual riders in two adjacent stations in one neighborhood.
These two stations are heavily used by Melrose residents which is the fastest growing neighborhood in the Bronx and 3rd fastest in the city as per census data from 2010 and subsequent surveys.
By restoring the 5 to 24 hour service, the impact goes beyond just the 5 line in the Bronx above 3rd Avenue and 149th Street but it will add more frequent service in Manhattan’s severely underserved East Side.
It will alleviate a congested 4 train which shuttles 5 train passengers during those hours of no service and will also alleviate a packed journey on the 2 line between 149th Street and Grand Concourse up to East 180th Street.
So, folks, what do you think?
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
On January 18th, Stephanie Sinclair’s ‘Too Young To Wed’ exhibition opened up at the Bronx Documentary Center with over 400 people joining the opening reception. This multimedia exhibit explores the culture of child brides and marriages in several parts of the world.
As part of the programming connected to the current exhibition at the BDC, this Saturday February 1st at 7 PM the center will host ‘VERY YOUNG GIRLS‘ Screening & Q+A with director Nina Alvarez and film subject Dominique.
From the BDC:
The documentary takes us into the work of a former sexually exploited youth-turned-activist named Rachel Lloyd, who started the New York City organization GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services) to help victimized young women escape their pimps and find another way of life. We meet teenage girls at different stages of this transition. Some have been so psychologically manipulated by their pimps that they feel compelled to return. Others have successfully broken with their past. As we come to know these girls better, they emerge as well-rounded individuals full of unexpected laughter and insight.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2014 | 7:00PM
Suggested donations: $10. Tickets available at the door as well as in advance PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS | RSVP
CURRENT EXHIBITION
TOO YOUNG TO WED | STEPHANIE SINCLAIR
Photographs by Stephanie Sinclair and featuring short films by
Jessica Dimmock and Stephanie Sinclair
PHOTO EXHIBITION ON VIEW JANUARY 19–MARCH 16, 2014
GALLERY HOURS Thursdays and Fridays 4-7PM | Saturdays and Sundays 1-5PM
___________
Contact us at: info@bronxdoc.org
TO GET TO THE BRONX DOCUMENTARY CENTER
Subway 2 & 5train to 3rd Avenue-149th Street
Bus BX2,BX6, BX13, BX 15, BX 19 BX32, BX41
Car 24-hour parking available directly next door to BDC
614 Courtlandt Avenue (@ 151st St.) Bronx, NY 10451
Photos from the opening reception of Stephanie Sinclair’s Too Young To Wed:
The popular chain of Puerto Rican cuisine is finally coming to the Bronx and opening on City Island.
Many locals on the News12 the Bronx Facebook page were excited about having Don Coqui closer to home while others predicted mayhem and doom for City Island.
Some of the comments are pretty downright racist and clearly individuals seem upset that a Latino restaurant will be opening on City Island.
Don Coqui isn’t the first nor will be the last Latino restaurant on the Island. Remember Tito Puente’s restaurant?
Have you been to Don Coqui? Are you glad that they’re opening a location in the Bronx? How do you feel about it being located on City Island?
Hunts Point, home to the largest food industrial distribution center in the world and home to thousands of residents, sits precariously on the coast as a peninsula within the Bronx peninsula.
It is, without a doubt, important that we protect our vulnerable coasts and the fact that Hunts Point also feeds most of the Northeast region of the country, it is in our best interest to do so. Courtesy Rebuild By Design
Rebuild By Design is running the multistage regional competition process and has a dedicated page to the Hunts Point proposal where you can read more about it.
Paul Lipson, former Chief of Staff for Congressman José E Serrano and now currently president of Barretto Bay Strategies, LLC said that, “…this process is tied to a competition for tens of millions of federal dollars to protect the eastern seaboard and The Bronx shouldn’t be left out.”
As Bronxites, we know all too well that we often get left out but this isn’t one that we should sit on.
While the competition is great and puts together experts and residents to envision what they want and need for their areas, it falls short in that these communities have to compete with each other.
All these areas were affected by Superstorm Sandy and should receive the necessary funding needed. Perhaps we’d have the money if our government wasn’t throwing corporate subsidies worth billions at companies like FreshDirect and so many others.
With climate change a reality, we need to rally together and fight for our communities so please come out this Tuesday and be a part of the discussion AND solution.
