Thursday, October 8th between the hours of 4:30PM and 7:00PM PeaceLove will be hosting Express Yourself – an evening for anyone who wants to get up on the stage and grab the mike and sing, recite original or their favorite works of poetry.
So hop on the 2/5 express train to 3rd Avenue/149th Street and EXPRESS YOURSELF!
PeaceLove is located at 617 Melrose Avenue between East 151st and East 152nd Street just two short blocks north from the 3rd Avenue/149th Street 2/5 train station. For more information please call 347-577-6397.
A big Melrose THANK YOU to Darada David and PeaceLove for working so hard to provide such a great venue for self-expression and relaxation and not to mention great healthy eats, drinks and sweet potato pie!
Melrose Avenue facing south at East 158th Street with Jardinde Seline in the background.
Compliments of Engine 71 and Ladder 55 of the FDNY at Melrose and East 155th Street…couldn’t say it better myself. I smell a public service campaign in our neighborhood from this…
Today I strolled over to Hostos Community College (located in Mott Haven and the border of Melrose) for the annual ¡Viva El Bronx! and Hostos Community College Homecoming Celebration which was held on the Grand Concourse between East 144th Street and East 149th Street. Well they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are a few to show you some of the highlights of this gorgeous Bronx afternoon. Be sure to click on the pictures below for a larger image…ENJOY!!
Dancing to the beats of salsa from the CD vendor
Firm E Rydaz were there showing their great lowriders which truly are works of art…see below
More dancing!
Los Macheteros Band marching in the Hostos Homecoming Parade
RamitasdeBorinquen, or Little Branches of Borinquen (what the Taino Indians called the island of Puerto Rico).
Strangers picking up instruments at one of the CD vendor tables and playing along with the music that was playing as well as dancing…gotta love The Bronx!
Melrose and Concourse Village will benefit tremendously from the newly adopted rezoning of East 161st street from Park Avenue , the eastern most part of the new zoning area, across to the west towards River Avenue right at the new Yankee Stadium. The new zone then proceeds south along River Avenue to East 153rd Street right where the new Metro North station opened earlier this year as well as the Gateway Mall which also opened earlier this year. (click on any image to expand the view of that image)
What exactly does this mean for us in Melrose as well as our neighbors in Concourse Village? Simply put with a minimal rezoning of just a few lots in what is the most important corridor of The Bronx, we are set to gain more office buildings as well as more residential units in an area that is still growing considering there is a recession and decline in real estate projects in general.
For those of you who do not know, East 161st Street is the heart of The Bronx as it is the main thoroughfare in Civic Center. Within 3 blocks you have The Bronx Borough Hall, Yankee Stadium, what will be the Heritage Park once the old Yankee stadium is demolished, the old Criminal Courthouse, the new Bronx Hall of Justice, Concourse Plaza Mall which currently houses the office building where the offices of the Borough President are located. On the western end of that corridor you have the 4, B and D trains at River Avenue/E 161st Street and the easternmost end of the new zoning area you have the Melrose Metro North station at 162nd Street and Park Avenue.
The new zone is divided into 3 nodes each with specific goals and are as follows:
The Transit Node, which comprises River Avenue from East 162nd Street down to East 153rd Street, will encourage high-density development adjacent to the 4, B and D train station at 161st Street and River Avenue. Some of the lots that are now rezoned will allow for 10, 18 and 27 story office towers. Of all 3 nodes, the Transit Node will eventually have the most dramatic impact on the area once a developer comes up with an idea to properly integrate office towers of such heights in the area which should not be difficult since they will be located at the nexus of The Bronx’s courthouses.
Civic Node focuses on the heart of, well the Civic Center and runs from Concourse Village West between East 159th Street and half a block North of East 161st Street down East to Concourse Village East and Morris Avenue. This node will focus on the fact that there is a wide open gap between the Concourse Plaza Office building and the Melrose Office Building which is occupied by the mall’s parking lot. As described above, this gap can now be filled in with a 10-13 story office building with enough set back to still allow access to the mall itself and the movie theatre. There are also a few underutilized lots with only 1-2 stories of commercial use where a 6-8 story commercial building can be built.
Residential Node is at the easternmost end and meets the Melrose Commons area of Melrose as well as the currently-under construction Courtlandt Corners. This node will now allow for development on the current commercial and residential lots which are occupied by 1 story commercial and 2-3 story 2-3 family homes. With 161st Street being such a busy street, this area is very underutilized and does not benefit the neighborhood as is improved. Where the commercial building sits at the northeast corner of 161st Street and Morris Avenue, a 12 story residential building will now be allowed with a commercial overlay to allow for ground floor commercial. The entire block which it sits on has now been rezoned for such development.
Once developers take advantage of the new zone and the City of New York does its part now that it has approved the zoning, the 161st Street Corridor will be a beautiful street linking the Transit Node where the 4, B and D trains are located, Bronx Borough Hall, Yankee Stadium, Civic Center with the new Boricua Village and its vertical 14 story campus for 2,000 students, 4 residential apartments of low to mixed incomes and middle incomes (approximately 700 apartments in total) and Courtlandt Corners currently under construction which an additional 323 units.
This is truly an exciting time to be living in Melrose. A big Melrose THANK YOU to the City Council and Department of City Planning for approving the new zoning on September 30, 2009! Thanks for your continued support in rezoning a once neglected and abandoned area!
Diagrams compliments of New York City Department of City Planning.
Thanks to my daily walks around the neighborhood (and really thanks to my gorgeous Siberian, Kanela) I get to see more of the neighborhood everyday than I normally would otherwise.
Well today I passed by 688 Courtlandt Avenue at the corner of East 154th Street. For years the backyard of this 5-6 unit building with a vacant store on the ground floor has been the dumping ground in the vicinity for all things: mattresses, toilets, refrigerators and just garbage. We can thank the owner, Green Courtlandt Realty, Inc (ironic name, isn’t it?) who has neglected to repair the broken chain-link fence which has been wide open to the street for as long as I can remember. The garbage just spills right onto the sidewalk creating a breeding ground for all types of bugs, bacteria and rats…large ones.
So what does the Mayor of Melrose do about this? I snapped photographs, called, 311 and filed a complaint against the owner of the building for neglecting his property and letting it be utilized as an illegal dumping ground. Citizens of Melrose and any neighborhood for that matter, if you have similar problems in your neighborhood you have the right to have something done about it and this is especially EASY if you live in NYC with our handy 311 system.
Stay tuned to find out how long it will take to remediate this situation!
A big Melrose SHAME ON YOU to Green Courtlandt Realty, Inc for allowing 688 Courtlandt Avenue’s backyard to be a cesspool of filth in our neighborhood. Maybe you can create a private garden so that your tenants can enjoy a little greenery instead of staring at a mound of garbage?
Yesterday, The New York Times published a great article on what to do in the Concourse Village neighborhood which is directly to the West of Melrose and in the spirit of what Welcome to the Village of Melrose is about – not only our neighborhood but the neighborhoods which surrounds us, check out this article by David Gonzalez.
Also don’t forget, tonight at PeaceLove: Open Jam Session Hosted by Alvin Rogers so come on out tonight and play that funky music amongst some cool kats at a great establishment. PeaceLove is located at:
617 Melrose Avenue
Between E151st and E152nd Streets
Bronx, NY 10455
Take the #2 or #5 Express train to 3rd Avenue/149th Street and walk up 2 blocks on Melrose Avenue or you can also reach PeaceLove by the, 2, 4, 15, 19, 21, 41 and 55 buses which all stop at 3rd Avenue/149th Street so there’s no excuse! That’s why Melrose is known as The Hub because we are at the crossroads of the South Bronx!
Back in 1991 when Melrose was mostly burned out lots, vacant buildings and rubble, the first 2 Family homes were built along Elton Avenue between East 154 and East 155th Streets as well as those same streets between Elton and Melrose Avenues. These pictures below are of the evolution of what architects thought belonged in a low-income neighborhood from 1991 to the present. If anyone lived in the area and has photographs of what it looked like back in the 1970’s through the early 1990’s, please feel free to send them to me so that I may post them!
Year built: 1991
Elton Avenue @ East 155th Street facing North. These first homes, when built, added a much needed splash of color to a neighborhood that was just burnt out buildings or garbage filled lots.
Elton Avenue @ E 155th Street facing South.
Year built: 1994
East 153rd Street between Melrose and Elton Avenues. A little drab, but homes nonetheless in an area once dominated by rubble.
East 154th Street between Melrose and Courtlandt Avenues
Year built: 2000
Elton Avenue between East 157th and East 158th Streets…although a little bland, these 3 family homes that dominate Elton Avenue turned a desolate street into a calm and quiet tree lined street.
Year built: 2001
Elton Avenue between East 158th and East 159th Street. These homes were the first Green Homeownership Development in the Bronx and in 2003 they received the Platinum award, the highest level, from HUD’s Secretary’s Award for Excellence as well as first place in the residential category for Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) in 2003 as noted in ArchitectureWeek.
East 158th Street between Courtlandt and Melrose Avenues
Year built: 2004
Courtlandt Avenue between East 158th and East 159th Streets
Year built: 2004
East 159th Street between Courtlandt and Melrose Avenues. These 2 family homes here offer an owner’s 3 bedroom duplex with Central AC, 1 Car Garage, a full, finished basement as well as an ample back yard…beautiful grass and all. They also happen to be located on the same block as the community garden recently featured here.
Year built: 2005
East 154th Street between Melrose and Elton Avenues. Although these homes are nice to look at, they lack a backyard. What is the “backyard” is barely 5 feet in length. This is one of those instances when they should have come up with a better idea to provide more outdoor space for the homeowners instead of trying to squeeze out every inch of the lot to make a profit.
With all the new real estate being developed in Melrose and over 1,400 apartments coming online within the next year or so with developments such as Boricua Village, Courtlandt Corners and St. Ann’s Terrace, the area is yearning for more open spaces. As it stands, Melrose has no real park within its borders of its own…a space of green grass and trees, of flowers and benches, unless you count Flynn Playground on Third Avenue at East 157th Street which is nothing but concrete basket ball courts and handball courts. Melrose residents have to go to St. Mary’s Park in Mott Haven or Franz Sigel and Joyce Kilmer Parks on the Concourse directly North and South of The Bronx County Courthouse – all outside of Melrose proper.
Thankfully, until this problem is remediated, Melrose has a plethora of community gardens where its residents can escape to for some peace and quiet. Many of these gardens usually have a casita, Spanish for small house, reminiscent of the old, small wooden homes that dotted the mountains and valleys of Puerto Rico. The gardens are a little slice of Puerto Rico here in the urban, concrete jungle of New York, echoing home for so many residents which hail from the island or have roots there.
One such garden is Rambo Garden located on East 159th Street between Melrose and Courtlandt Avenues. Earlier today as I was walking my dog…or she walking me, I had the pleasure of stopping in this garden and check it out for myself. Below are some pictures of the garden. Feel free to drop by anytime and relax whether you live in the area or work in the area…great place to walk to and have your lunch and go back to work.
Thinking outside the commode.
Totem pole of sorts.
Local resident Lillian, enjoying the many toys the garden offers children, free of charge, to play in.
Inside the casita…table’s ready for a game of dominoes
.
Ceiling and chandelier inside the casita.
Another tricycle available for the children.
Um…Toto, I don’t think we’re in The Bronx anymore.
Nope! We’re definitely not in The Bronx! A scene like this could be anywhere…but yes, it’s here in Melrose right in the South Bronx.
With an alarmingly high percentage of obese and overweight residents in the South Bronx, The South Bronx Food Co-op is a beacon in Melrose to the rest of the surrounding neighborhoods. Located at 3103 Third Avenue @ East 158th Street in Melrose, the Co-op offers a variety of fresh organic produce, whole grains, hormone-free meats and dairy products as well as eco-friendly household and person products.
No longer do local residents have to travel into Manhattan to go to Whole Foods to obtain basic organic food and green products that are good for the environment. With the South Bronx Food Co-op, on a smaller scale, you have everything that they offer and more because they will special order certain items. But that is not all what the Co-op offers.
The Co-op is a community run and founded organization that dedicates itself to be the green alternative to for profit supermarkets in the local area. They contract with local farmers to bring in the freshest produce and products from as locally as possible to minimize the carbon footprint of our eating habits. Along with these principles they also provide services such as cooking classes, nutrition education (workshops run by healthcare professionals from Montefiore Hospital), health screens, fitness workshops (including three yoga classes with one in Spanish).
Although you do not have to join the South Bronx Food Co-op to benefit from what they offer, if you join you get a discount on all prices in the store. All products are labeled with two prices, one for members and another for non members which is considerably lower. Membership fees are also very reasonable for all economic situations. Senior Citizens and those on certain types of public assistance can join for $40.00; Students for $60.00; Families of 2 or more $80.00 and $120.00 for just regular folks. Note: you must provide ID to prove you qualify for the discounted membership fees and also know that these fees are ONLY ONE TIME FEES and can be PAID IN $10.00 INSTALLMENTS. This makes it attractive to all residents who desire to make a change within themselves, their families and their communities by affording them the opportunity to pay such a low installment.
As a member of the Co-op you are required to work 3 hours every 4 weeks which really isn’t much considering that time is money after all and by working just 3 HOURS every 4 weeks you are helping keep prices down.
For more information visit their website, call 718-401-3500, email at info@sbxfc.org or just simply drop by and say hello at 3103 Third Avenue between East 158th and East 159th Streets right here in the Heart of Melrose. Slowly but surely with the likes of the South Bronx Food Co-op and healthy eating alternatives such as PeaceLove Cafe, Melrose and the rest of the South Bronx is eating to a healthier fu
ture.
A big Melrose THANK YOU to the South Bronx Food Co-op for providing us with a healthy alternative to eating right!
Went in for a slice of all natural and homemade sweet potato pie over at PeaceLove and was treated to some serious beats by Alvin Rogers cool Jazz playing on stage while Darada David, owner of PeaceLove, served up some coffee whilst on the microphone belting out amazing vocals.
Starbucks eat your heart out…organic coffee @ $1.40 PLUS live jazz and the owner SINGING while serving you your coffee…nope…you can’t compete with THAT.
Not too long ago the New York Daily News declared that “The South Bronx is a banking wasteland” in an article of the same name which points out how under served the general area is when it comes to banks. According to the article there are only 27 banks in an area that has an estimated population of 500,000 residents.
Luckily for people who live in Melrose this is not case because thanks to it being part of The Hub, the nexus of subways (2 & 5 lines) and buses (2, 4, 15, 19, 21, 41, 55), office buildings and neighborhoods (where Melrose and Mott Haven meet), there are 8 Banks in a 2 block radius from Third Avenue/149th Street/Melrose Avenue/Willis Avenue intersection. Up until recently there were 9 banks however with Chase swallowing up Washington Mutual, Melrose is sans 1 but still is light years beyond any other South Bronx neighborhood and probably any Bronx neighborhood for that matter.
The only drawback with the location of these banks is that they are at the southern border of Melrose and the northern fringes are left virtually devoid of banks with the exception of Bank of America at Concourse Place on 161st Street. With over a 1,000 apartments being constructed over the next few years along East 161st Street in just a 2 block span with Courtlandt Corners and Boricua Village as well as the already existing new condominiums, The Aurora and The Orion, banks who do not seize the ground-floor retail spaces available at either development on East 161st Street is going to be one sorry bank.
If banks down in Manhattan can have 2 or 3 branches within blocks of each other, this fast growing and vibrant neighborhood certainly deserves the same rights afforded to more affluent neighborhoods. By adding more branches to the northern border of Melrose it will not only enhance the already existing banking opportunities to Melrose residents, it will also benefit our neighbors to the north, Morrisania which according to the Daily News article is one of the most under served South Bronx neighborhoods.
So what do you say Wall Street and Bankers??? Time to put your banks where your mouths are…in the neighborhoods of the working class.
CLICK ON THE MAP BELOW FOR A MORE DETAILED LOOK AT BANK LOCATIONS IN MELROSE!
14 days, 15 entries (including this one) is how long we’ve been on the web. Yesterday we hit a milestone of sorts…for the first time since starting this blog 2 weeks ago, Welcome to Melrose had over 200 hits yesterday, Wednesday, September 23, 2009 and we could only thank YOU, the followers who continue to read up on Melrose and what we have to offer on a daily basis and spreading the LOVE! Since it’s launch we have consistently grown in hits on a daily basis from starting around 70 hits per day to over 140 hits daily especially since our friends The BoogieDowners gave us a nice shout out! (Please do visit their blog as it is by far THE finest blog about The Bronx!)
As Welcome to Melrose continues to grow in readership, I personally invite YOU, the public and citizens of Melrose, to feel free to drop me a note sometime and let me know if there is that special Melrose resident, business or organization that you would like featured.
Once again, a big Melrose THANK YOU to all of you who continue to visit and support this blog.
PeaceLove is located at 617 Melrose Avenue between East 151st and East 152nd Street just two short blocks north from the 3rd Avenue/149th Street 2/5 train station. For more information please call 347-577-6397.
