Is there a haunted house in the Boogie Down? Scouting New York seems to think so when they stumbled up this Mount Hope beauty. What say you about this or any other places that you think are haunted or spooky? Personally, one of the spookiest spots in the Bronx is atop Vault Hill in Van Courtland Park – former burial ground of the park’s namesake family. It’s something straight out of a horror movie!
This morning I was looking at some stats for Welcome2TheBronx and noticed that someone landed on the website by searching for, “why can’t the Bronx be more like Brooklyn” . Well that person probably wasn’t expecting my post where they landed. In the simplest terms: WE DON’T WANNA BE LIKE BROOKLYN!
Don’t get me wrong, Brooklyn isn’t a bad place but we just simply have a lot more flavor than that other borough has going. The neighborhoods closest to Manhattan have already been diluted to the point that their identities have merged with Manhattan as if resistance is futile (Think the Borg). Why should we give that up?
We have Arthur Avenue, our Little Italy that makes Mulberry Street look like the Olive Garden. City Island, that little nautical New England-esque treasure in the Sound, a seafood lover’s delight (sorry Red Lobster but you might as well be imitation crab meat.
Oh and what about Melrose, Mott Haven, Morissania, Hunts Point, Longwood, Port Morris, Highbridge and others that are lumped together by those not in the know as The South Bronx? You know, that neighborhood that birthed music from Mambo to Hip Hop – if it wasn’t for the Boogie Down, Jay-Z wouldn’t have had the opportunity to play at the Barclay Center in his home borough of Brooklyn: You’re welcome.
I can go on and on but then I’d be bragging so, fuhgeddaboudit. As some would say, “Don’t get it twisted. We love the Bronx and wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The battle against Stop and Frisk is in the courts with a Bronxite at the center of trial. David Floyd, a 33 year old black male from the Bronx is the named plaintiff in the lawsuit and is taking the stand for thousands – including the thousands of blacks and Latinos who have disproportionately been negatively impacted by this unconstitutional practice.
It is important to never forget that this is but one component of a broken system and failed culture that needs to be fixed. Gone our the days of the NYPD being that neighborhood cop everyone knew and because of the bad seeds and bad practices, they have been replaced with images of people in uniform that we should fear and not trust.
Practices like Stop and Frisk are the complete opposite of a police force defending our rights and instead just violate them.
Let us hope for a positive outcome during this trial.
Man At Center Of Stop And Frisk Trial Takes The Stand – http://huff.to/11bMg8z
Happy π Day! Not only is this a day we celebrate the mathematical constant known as Pi (thus 3.14) but it is also the birthday of the late Albert Einstein…what a wonderful coincidence that he was born on this day!
One day after his 74th birthday, he agreed to attach his name to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine right here in the Bronx which opened its doors in 1955.
It was a wonderful moment for the Bronx to have the honor of becoming home to the first medical college to open in NYC since 1897 back at that time.
Since then, the institution is renowned for its excellence and leadership in several medical areas.
Celebrate the Bronx!
The Bronx continues to rise and this time we can attributes to the business sector. According to an article published in Crains New York, our great borough of the North has experienced an 305% increase in new businesses incorporated between 1991 and 2011. In fact, the increase was so much that the analysis indicated that the Bronx lead all 5 boroughs during that time frame.
As residents of our beloved borough, we already know this to be a fact. We are people that don’t necessarily wait for opportunity to knock but we make our own opportunities – call it the Bronx Hustle if you will.
From restaurants to breweries and galleries, and green technology, the Bronx is teaming not only with this increasing activity of entrepreneurship but also with an untapped pool of talent.
We have the infrastructure, now we need to continue to show the business sector what they’ve been missing out on!
**This post had been corrected. The original post said there was an 805% increase when in fact it was 305%.
Check out this cool piece by Patrick Wall of DNAinfo on a London born Bronx rapper living in public housing in our borough. Jamieson’s journey definitely sounds interesting. Don’t forget to support our local talent!
Community activism and organizers are no strangers to the Bronx – after all, it was this group that rescued the borough from near oblivion when we were abandoned by our government, landlords and business leaders. So it should come to no surprise that after working in the trenches for over 40 years that one of our own officially joins the race for city council.
Julio Pabón, born in the coastal Puerto Rican town of Guayama and raised in the South Bronx, is officially running for the 17th council district in the Bronx – a district who’s incumbent has gone unchallenged for too long.
That Mr Pabón has tirelessly worked to improve the lives of the members of his community is an understatement to say the least. He is someone who just can’t seem to stand still as long as there is inequality or suffering around him. His resume of accomplishments is a testament of his leadership skills through the various organizations that he’s founded making him a unifier.
Julio Pabón is not only that natural born leader the people know they can rely upon but they also know he’s listener that transcends the generational gap since he’s never just focused on one group. Whether it’s engaging our youth in their schools or through various social programs he’s founded or the South Bronx Homeowners Association where homeowners are united in improving their neighborhood, he’s always there to truly hear the heartbeat of the community and listen to what we need.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had one of our own people walking the streets listening to us and working with us so it is with great pride and honor that we announce Julio Pabón’s candidacy for the 17th council district in the Bronx.
Stay tuned for more news as it unfolds.
#vote4julio
Stop and Frisk is the unfortunate way of life for many of our youth in the Bronx. Considering that the vast majority who are victimized by such tactics are people of color, you can easily see that it is racial profiling at its best. How demoralizing is it to be walking around the neighborhood or just sitting on your stoop with friends shooting the breeze and all of a sudden you’re bumrushed by cops because you “match the description” of a suspect?
Julio Pabón, longtime Bronxite and community leader speaks out on this very issue in a thought provoking piece where he said something that rang so true:
As a father of three who have grown up in the South Bronx I remember many times that we as parents would be as worried of our kids being detained and harassed by police as being mugged. This might sound crazy, but true. The experiences that we have had with the police in our neighborhoods have not been as pleasant as what many of the police cars would have inscribed on their sides as “Neighborhood Police Teams.” They should go back and inscribe what they had on the cars when I was a teenager, “Tactical Patrol Force.” At least then they were more honest because it was a “Patrol Force” making us feel as if we were living in an occupied territory.
Growing up in the South Bronx (and even to this day) my parents always told me to be careful out but the one thing mom and dad would stress the most is to be careful if the cops pulled me over. To not give them an attitude and be obedient and follow directions because they feared if I attempted to defend myself verbally that a bullet through my head wasn’t all that improbable. Given the violent history of the NYPD with our community (as well as my own personal experiences), they had reason to fear for my life. They knew that I didn’t hang in dangerous circles but to them, the men in blue were equally dangerous.
Read the rest of Julio Pabón’s article on this issue which affects our citizens deeply.
For all the ills that still plague our beloved borough, the one issue that deserves to get the spotlight, rarely does so. The Bronx political machine and establishment is perhaps the single most problematic entity we have yet to give our full attention. It is a system that is rife with corruption, nepotism and plain old apathy.
But change is on the horizon.
Bronxites are slowly making noise and voting out these career politicians who are in the business of being poverty pimps. We got rid of disgraced Pedro Espada (actually his dirty deeds finally caught up with him) and Naomi Rivera who was ousted by newcomer Mark Gjonaj.
We still have to rally against the Arroyo clan who continue to be run unopposed (and when they are challenged, they resort to alleged dirty tactics such as haunting the polling stations on election day and influencing the outcome of the vote such as Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo is accused of doing. ) Her daughter, Maria del Carmen Arroyo who is a city councilwoman is another who is no stranger to scandals.
What about the Diaz clan who is another political dynasty in the Bronx that simply runs on name recognition and unopposed? The despicable State Senator Ruben Diaz (father of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr) is another charlatan that needs to boot from Bronx politics. Thankfully, he is the last of a crew of four poor excuse for politicians that remain. His cronies in the State Senate, Espada, Monserrate and Kruger have either been convicted and serving jail time or facing jail time.
To all of these politicians I would like to say to you on behalf of your constituents who have voiced either publicly or privately their distrust and disgust of you:
We are watching you and your days as our “elected” officials are numbered. There is a tide of Bronxites fed up with the cycle of poverty which you are all guilty of perpetuating in our borough. You have all been charged with securing the future of our borough and what do we have to show for it? We are still the poorest county in the state, with the highest unemployment in the city. We are still home to the poorest congressional district in the NATION and suffer rates of asthma that are amongst the highest in the country. We have some of the hungriest citizens who are also the unhealthiest and among the most obese.
We have the least access to the waterfront and lowest ratio of residents to parkland in the South Bronx yet our Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr chooses to support a deal to not only take away almost 100 acres of our waterfront with the dirty FreshDirect deal but it is a plan that will clog up our roads which will contribute to more asthma inducing traffic pollution. Is this acceptable in Manhattan? Brooklyn? Queens or even Staten Island? The answer is NO so why would we allow our borough President to happily give away our land on the empty promises of jobs?
Fellow Bronxites, we must remain united and continue to put fresh blood into office and hold them accountable for their failures in office and to our citizens.
As always, we welcome you to share widely and comment below so that we can engage in a discussion of solutions to our problems. For those of you who don’t have a Facebook account, you can email me your comments at info@welcome2thebronx.com and we’ll be happy to post them on your behalf.
Make sure you read this excellent piece by Joe Hirsch on how residents are turning to local activists and shying away from politicians.
Southern Boulevard always played second fiddle to the HUB but for thousands of Longwood and Hunts Point residents, this bustling shopping district has been the go to place for goods and services for decades. Tonight, Gary Axelbank’s BronxTalk, along with local leaders, will discuss the current state of the shopping district and its future. It should be an interesting talk given how prominently Christine Quinn mentioned the South Bronx during her state of the City address today.
Be sure to tune in and remember, you can always email or call in your thoughts and opinions and join in on the discussion during the show.
Check out more from Gary Axelbank:
TONIGHT! – BronxTalk will feature the Southern Blvd. shopping district. The Executive Director of the BID and District Manager of Community Board 2 will join us to talk about improving business conditions for merchants, expanding shopping options for customers, planned new development, and the overall health of this important Bronx shopping strip. BronxTalk is Monday nights at 9:00pm on BronxNet’s channel 67 and Fios 33.
The Bronx has a wealth of murals throughout our neighborhoods. This one is in Melrose at Neighborhood Cycle.
Which one is your favorite? Tweet your pics to @welcome2thebx and let us know!
Since 2009, Welcome2TheBronx has been a popular online platform dedicated to highlighting the vibrant culture, history, and ongoing developments within New York City’s northernmost borough. Founded by life-long resident and community advocate Ed García Conde, the site features local news, personal stories, and in-depth coverage of issues such as gentrification, community empowerment, art, and real estate. Through its engaging content and active social media presence, Welcome2TheBronx has become a trusted resource for residents and visitors alike, shining a spotlight on the unique identity and rich heritage of the Bronx.
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