A wind turbine which was installed in Co-op City a couple of weeks ago has collapsed after spinning out of control.
News12 The Bronx posted a video from a local resident who captured the incident as it happened.
According to the report, no injuries or fatalities have been reported, however, this is a developing story so stay tuned for updates.
Metropolitan Transit Authority announced that an additional 20 subway stations will get elevators under the proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan with five of them coming to The Bronx.
This brings the total now to 11 stations that will get elevators installed, making them ADA accessible during the 2020-2024 cycle.
The Bronx is severely behind Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens with such stations with only 12 accessible stations in the borough.
In our borough, the following stations have been added to the list:
These stations will be joining the previously these previously mentioned stations which will bring the total to 23 accessible stations in The Bronx:
Sadly, still no elevator for 149th Street and Grand Concourse on the 2/4/5 lines which many residents and activists have been clamoring for.
In 2015, the MTA announced that it would allocate $45 million to repair and add another elevator at that station and should have been up and running by 2018.
To this date, no work has been done on this project on the one of the busiest stations in our borough.
Here’s hoping that the MTA finds the money (and will) to finally make it happen.
A massive redevelopment plan is being floated around that would not only bring a world-class soccer stadium to The Bronx but also 3,000 units of housing, a school, community space, as well as office and retail space spread across 4 million square feet.
For the past year, Welcome2TheBronx has been hearing a lot of chatter among local South Bronx activists and community members that there was evidence of shady backroom discussions and perhaps even deals are being made to force a soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club into a neighborhood that has adamantly opposed it.
Six years ago it had been revealed that the Bloomberg administration had a non-binding agreement for a $350 million soccer stadium just south of Yankee Stadium without zero community input.
After much opposition, the deal seemed to have been killed only to resurface in various iterations and different locations since then.
Now The Outfield is reporting on new renderings and plans for the NYCFC soccer stadium at the original proposed site on E 153rd Street as well as conversations that are still ongoing and without zero community input.
The Outfield speculates that the emails they have obtained via public records requests that this potential stadium may be closer to reality than we think or have been led to believe.
They write:
“On October 30, 2019, the nonprofit Urban Land Institute held a Technical Assistance Panel to discuss Bronx community development needs. The panel operated under the assumption that a stadium would be built on the GAL site, and the ideas presented at the TAP meeting bore similarities to Maddd Equities’ presentation, including an emphasis on affordable housing. Though the manager of the local Bronx community board, Paul Philps, noted at the meeting that no formal stadium proposal had crossed his desk, records show that the plan has continued to receive quiet attention from city government.
“In an email obtained by The Outfield dated July 1, 2019, Nate Gray from the NYC Economic Development Corporation talked soccer stadium with David Quart of VHB, a planning, design, transportation, land development, and environmental firm. After rattling off traffic considerations, programming and uses, and local community partnership opportunities, Gray added, “Once you have had a chance to digest with the team, we should talk about a follow up meeting at the appropriate time.” Gray and Quart did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether “the team” referred to NYCFC or the project team.
“Behind the scenes, though, NYCFC’s partners have been meeting with city officials about specific details surrounding the development. Public filings show that the law firm Akerman LLP, which was listed as “Land Use Lead – ULURP” in Maddd Equities’ stadium presentation, focused its most recent lobbying for Maddd on “South Bronx Master Plan – Block 2490, Lot 1 in the Bronx.” Block 2490, Lot 1 is better known as 45 River Avenue, one of the underused parking garages at the heart of the stadium plan. “
The Plan Itself
As we mentioned, the proposed development as it appears in the slides obtained by The Outfield indicate that it would be spread across 4 million square feet where GAL Manufacturing currently sits on E 153rd Street directly north of the Bronx Terminal Market.
That stretch of East 153rd Street between River Avenue and the Major Deegan Expressway would be demapped and the parking Yankee Stadium parking lots would be demolished plopping the proposed soccer stadium right on that site and surrounded by open plazas, a hotel, and Macombs Dam Park directly north.
A corridor of new, residential housing would rise from 152nd Street down to E 149th Street between River and Gerard Avenues with approximately 3,000 units of affordable housing, a school, and office and retail on the lower levels of the residential buildings.
If this project actually moves forward, it would create a massive cultural and entertainment corridor between Yankee Stadium and E 149th Street.
The long delayed Bronx Children’s Museum is slated to open soon (we hope) at Mill Pond Park and construction begins on Bronx Point next year which will house the country’s first Hip Hop museum not to mention Pregones Puerto Rican Traveling Theater has been 2 blocks away from the proposed site for 40 years.
But do we really need another sports stadium?
Can the area handle the influx of traffic that would accompany yet another sports complex?
The 149th Street and Grand Concourse station on the 2/4/5 line is already bursting at the seems and that’s without the thousands of additional residents that will be flooding the area once Bronx Point opens.
Traffic is abysmal from 138th Street to 153rd Street along Exterior Street and will only get worse if E 153rd Street is demapped and eliminating another access point to the Deegan.
What about the home owners just a couple of blocks away? They didn’t purchase a home to live next to a stadium. They already live in the shadow of Yankee Stadium and have to deal with the traffic and parking woes that come along with that.
Finally, who’s gonna pay for this? Are we, the tax payers, going to be asked to foot the bill and give a developer and New York City Football Club a sweetheart deal at the expense of our tax dollars?
It seems there are always tax breaks and money for big projects but when it comes to our communities that have to beg for what’s rightfully ours, like new schools, better pay for our teachers, well funded arts and cultural centers and programming, after school programming and centers for our youth, funding to help with the out of control opioid epidemic gripping our community and actual solutions to combat poverty in The Bronx we are dead in the water and have to accept scraps.
We’re not anti-development we’re pro sensible development that has sufficient TRUE community input and places communities first and above profits.
SOUNDVIEW — And then there were two.
When Silvercup Studios opened up in 2016, it was the Bronx’s first movie and television studios in decades since the last production facility of its kind shut down in the 1970s.
Before Hollywood became the epicenter of America’s nascent film industry, New York City played a major role with the world’s first commercial motion picture exhibition right here in our city in 1894.
Many studios sprang up around the city including two in The Bronx: First Edison Studios in Tremont just north of Crotona Park (which opened in 1907 and eventually closed its doors in 1918) and Biograph Studios which ran from 1912 in Bedford Park until the 1970s (in 1956, after being closed for several years, it reopened as America’s largest film studio outside of Hollywood).
Now, York Studios, which actually announced its coming to a borough a year before Silvercup opened up shop, is gearing to open up their 175,000 film and television studio in Soundview next year solidifying The Bronx’s reputation as a place for the industry to do business once again.
With hit shows like Gotham, Orange is the New Black, and Pose already having filmed in our borough and HBO leasing a building to film the second season of Deauce, you can expect the number of shows coming to The Bronx to only increase with this new facility.
Construction began on the 9 stage $100 million facility in June 2017 and once operational is expected to create 400 jobs once fully operational.
The Commercial Observer writes:
“The new two-story, prefab structure, located at 1410 Story Avenue, sits on a 10-acre lot sandwiched between Soundview Park and the nearby Bruckner Expressway.
“The ground floor will house three stages sized at 15,000 square feet and two stages sized at 18,000 square feet. Ceiling heights will reach about 30 feet and the stages will feature full-length catwalks and busway systems which help facilitate the lighting of multiple sets. Each stage comes with an adjoining support space sized at either 5,000 or 8,000 square feet.
“The second floor will house 45,000 square feet of office space running along the building’s western edge, offering views of Hunts Point and the remaining development site. There will be private offices, conference rooms, and bullpens, as well as space for things like wardrobe, hair and makeup, and talent rooms.“
In 2015, when York Studios purchased the 10 acre lot located at 1410 Story Avenue along the banks of the Bronx River, Edwin Pagán, filmmaker and former board member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) said, “Film production has deep historical roots in the Bronx and the concept of a major film studio being built in the borough is a very intriguing proposition, and could, potentially, become a catalyst for long-term economic revitalization in the region.”
Pagán added, “The creative medium of film, with its varied disciplines and vocations, would provide an excellent opportunity for apprenticeship programs for the local community, especially youth and the many filmmakers who call the Bronx home. It would be great to see the studio create “shadow” training initiatives where young people are linked with mentors and receive hands-on production experience in set-building, lighting, makeup, wardrobe and other production crew responsibilities, with the ultimate goal of having them become part of the related unions and can build careers in the industry. We hope the investors have this kind of vision purpose-built into their overall long-term plans.”
We’re usually skeptical of such ventures into The Bronx after we were an afterthought for so many decades but this is something, if local residents in the film and television industry or those aspiring to enter the field, can take part as Pagán noted, should such opportunities arise.
The massive 3-day music festival known as Governors Ball, which is attended by about 150,000 during that short span, is looking for a new home and their eyes are pointing north to The Bronx.
Ese Olumhense at one of our favorite news outlets, THE CITY, has revealed that event organizers presented their plans to Community Board 8, which covers the northwest Bronx neighborhoods of Riverdale and Kingsbridge along with Marble Hill, of their desire to bring the event to Van Cortlandt Park.
This is after their application was denied by New York City Parks’ Bronx Borough Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa on the same day they presented to CB 8.
Rodriguez-Rosa states in the letter:
“…After careful consideration and review of the application submitted, we regret to inform you we must deny this application.
“Pursuant to Section 2-08 (c)(2) of title 56 of the Rules of the City of New York (“RCNY”), the Parks Commissioner may deny a request to hold a special event if “the proposed event is of such nature or duration that it cannot reasonably be accommodated in that location.” Likewise Pursuant to Section 2-08(c) (5) of title 56 of RCNY, the Parks Commissioner may deny a request to hold a special event if the special event “would interfere unreasonably with the enjoyment of the park by other users” Given the proposal to host a multi-day multi-stage music and arts festival and for what would have to be an extensive period of time, given the need for the load in, load out, and the actual event, the Department has determined that the Park is not a viable venue for an event of this size and duration. Moreover, the Park has not hosted events of this duration and size before. Indeed, the only venue that we utilized for an event of this scope has been the festival grounds on Randall’s island.“
Olumhense reports:
“The scale of it hasn’t been done in Van Cortlandt Park,” Debra Travis, a board member, said Wednesday. “There’s a lot of moving pieces to it. It’s something that needs a lot of thought, and a lot of vetting, and a lot of input, before we can figure out if there is a viable path forward.”
An estimated 50,000 people are expected to attend each day of the festival, slated for June 5-7. Some suggested the crowd could overwhelm not only the Van Cortlandt’s parade grounds, but flood nearby parking and transit, too.
It’s also a larger event than those typically held at the park, according to the board. “For purposes of comparison to the expected 50,000 daily concertgoers, it was noted that the annual New York Philharmonic concert in the park draws between 2,000 and 3,000 people,” said notes from the meeting.“
And indeed, our first thought was that this was not a suitable location for such a festival.
As much as we’d like to see such events in our borough, we just can’t put them anywhere and Randall’s Island was our first thought of where it could realistically go outside of Governors Island.
Van Cortlandt Park is a special place not just for local residents but the thousands of Bronxites who flock there for peace and tranquility from across the borough.
It is our answer to Central Park minus the throngs of people; a place where we can escape to from the ruckus of daily life in the city and get lost in the miles of trails through the woods of New York City’s third largest park.
Founders Entertainment, the organizers behind Governors Ball, clearly hasn’t done their research in their haste in search of a venue for their event which sees such headliners like Bjork, Lana del Rey, Kanye West, and Eminem at past events.
Besides the park, what about the local impact to the immediate surrounding community?
Manhattan College an Horace Mann School are literally up the hill from the park nestled in historic Fieldston, one of New York City’s most affluent and unique neighborhoods.
The enormous set up that needs to be done leading to the event would most certainly disrupt life in the area not to mention the severe impact that having 150,000 people just show up over three days in a neighborhood that simply isn’t used to that type of activity.
The organizers need to get back to the drawing board and perhaps actually consult with the local community stakeholders before trying to rush and shove an event down a neighborhood
The New York Public Library has issued its yearly ‘Top Checkout List‘ for 2019 which breaks down the most popular books checked out across the entire library system in The Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island and even shows the most popular books by borough and branch.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ topped the list as the most checked out book across the NYPL including the top in The Bronx and several branches located within our borough.
So what is The Bronx reading?
The top ten in The Bronx are as follows:
Top Book by Branch in the Bronx
Allerton – Becoming by Michelle Obama
Baychester – Becoming by Michelle Obama
Belmont – The Caregiver by Samuel Park
Bronx Library Center – Becoming by Michelle Obama
Castle Hill – Becoming by Michelle Obama
City Island – Redemption (Book 5) by David Baldacci
Clason’s Point – The Bronx by Marcus Weber
Eastchester – The Vitamin Cure : Clinically Proven Remedies to Prevent and Treat 75 Chronic Diseases and Conditions by Monte Lai, Ph.D
Edenwald – Influence by Carl Weber
Francis Martin – A Game of Thrones Book 1 by George R.R. Martin
Grand Concourse – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
High Bridge – The Bronx by Marcus Weber
Hunt’s Point – When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
Jerome Park – Betty Crocker learn with Betty: Essential Recipes and the Techniques to Become a Confident Cook by Betty Crocker
Kingsbridge – Becoming by Michelle Obama
Melrose – Becoming by Michelle Obama
Morris Park – Becoming by Michelle Obama
Morrisania – Murder in Paradise by James Patterson
Mosholu – Murder in Paradise by James Patterson
Mott Haven – The Black Market by Kiki Swinson
Parkchester – Traffic Enforcement Agent by Jack Rudman
Pelham Bay – Under Current by Nora Roberts
Pelham Parkway–Van Nest (tie)– Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Riverdale – Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Sedgwick – Jane Austen’s Women: An Introduction by Kathleen Anderson
Soundview – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Spuyten Duyvil – Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Throg’s Neck – Liar Liar by James Patterson and Candice Fox
Tremont – Ambush by James Patterson
Van Cortlandt – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Wakefield – Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking–150 Vegetarian Recipes by Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau
West Farms – The Black Market by Kiki Swinson
Westchester Square – New York City SHSAT Specialized High Schools Admissions Test by Gilbert Kessler, Anne Villeponteaux and Lawrence Zimmerman
Woodlawn Heights – We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas
Woodstock (three-way tie*) –The Meaning of Happiness: The Quest for Freedom of the Spirit in Modern Psychology and the Wisdom of the East by Alan Watts; Networking All-In-One for Dummies by Doug Lowe; and Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
Now we wanna read some of these books to see what the fuss is about among our residents!
Last month we reported on the imminent launch of the MetroCard’s eventual replacement, OMNY and we’re happy to report that it’s officially now active in a few stations in The Bronx.
At E 138th Street and Grand Concourse on the 4 and 5 train and at 149th Street and Grand Concourse on the 2, 4, and 5 line, you can simply just tap your NFC enabled phone or a credit card or debit card that’s NFC capable to enter the subway system.
I’ve actually tried it several times and it’s so much faster than swiping a MetroCard and the beauty of the new system is that you don’t have to wait in line at a MetroCard vending machine to refill your card when your balance is low.
This recently happened on a trip to midtown and when I went to get on the subway at Grand Central, I swiped my card and got the dreaded INSUFFICIENT FARE. I turned around and saw the long line for the MetroCard vending machine but quickly remembered that I could just tap one of my NFC enabled credit cards and just walk right through.
It literally saved me a number of minutes and I was able to catch the arriving train without having to race for it.
The only drawback right now is that unlimited rides aren’t being offered at the moment in the new system but it’s perfect for those who sporadically use the subway or don’t rely on unlimited rides.
As of right now, these are the only stations in The Bronx where you can try it out.
In March 2020, the system will expand to Manhattan Buses (it’s already on all Staten Island buses) but a time table as to when it will reach Bronx buses hasn’t been listed as of yet.
According to the OMNY: “During the rollout, you can continue using your own contactless card or smart device. OMNY supports a full-fare, pay-per-ride option for now, with free transfers at OMNY-enabled subway stations, bus routes, and Staten Island Railway locations.“
Let us know your thoughts on the new system and if you like it!
And say goodbye to your MetroCard by 2023 as it will be phased out and go the way of the token!
Watch below to see how the new system works:
With contactless cards:
With your smartphone or wearable:
For more information, visit OMNY.
Updated for 2019 as a lot has changed since this was originally written in 2011. For starters, we had folks trying to rebrand Port Morris and Mott Haven as the “Piano District” so we’ve included that too.
About 3 years 6 years ago 7 years ago 8 years ago I posted a rant on Welcome2Melrose on the use of the name SoBro by realtors in their never-ending re-branding quest of “forgotten” neighborhoods.
It was written as a response to a New York Times piece on Congressman Hakeem Jeffries’— then a state assemblyman —wish to pass a bill that would have required approval by community boards, City Council, and the mayor before new neighborhood names could be used.
Now as more and more eyes are falling upon the South Bronx as one of the last frontiers, I think it’s appropriate to reprint the following just as a reminder of who we are and will continue to be.
So without further ado, here goes:
Realtors (and developers too)…we love and hate you in New York City oh so much however, nothing pisses me off more than your inane, fabricated names for our neighborhoods.
We have beautiful, historic names such as Port Morris, Melrose, and Mott Haven. Why would you want to erase these names and lump us under the SoBro moniker?
It was cute for SoHo and TriBeCa in Manhattan but not so much for our neighborhoods in the Bronx. Hunts Point, Longwood and Morrisania —all names which were once attached to the old towns, villages and hamlets that made up the Bronx —that’s where we’re from.
Even affluent Riverdale, who never suffered a negative image problem, was the victim of this foolish attempt at name changing when Sotheby’s Realty began a campaign to call it NoMa. You guessed it; North of Manhattan.
You can change our names but you will never change the past. Where were the realtors when the Bronx “was burning”? Oh yeah… along with the rest of the government officials, business owners and landlords who chickened out and gave up on us.
Do us a favor and stop with your stupid acronyms, as they are an affront to we the people who stayed here when we were abandoned, and do your JOB. Research the rich history and tapestry that is the cultural fabric of each neighborhood, good and bad. Tell the story of the neighborhoods coming out of the ashes and how resilient we are but don’t sell us out by changing our names.
Tell the stories of those who rebuilt these neighborhoods: The very people who never left but were left behind.
Collectively, our neighborhoods are called the South Bronx and anyone who lives here will proudly exclaim it as the South BRONX but SoBro? That vile name will never roll off the tongues of any self-respecting native.
Stop trying to make SoBro happen…it’s never gonna happen. We are the South BRONX! Say our names filled with rich histories not the white washed gentrified vision you want.
That being said, go back to the drawing board, erase SoBro from your mind and come back to us with the RESPECT we have EARNED. That baloney may work in Manhattan but I’ll be damned if it will stick in our borough. Tell your clients, our prospective neighbors, that they will be living in the SOUTH BRONX. The changing of the name does not change the past or present.
16 year old Karol Sanchez, who was abducted yesterday and forced into a car in front of her mother, has been found.
According to WABC:
Police say Karol Sanchez walked up to her relative’s Bronx apartment building. She met with police and is now on the way to the local precinct.
Further details of her safe return are unknown at this time, and more information will be posted as it becomes available.
Check back for updates as this is a developing story.
UPDATE 12/17/2019 2:56pm: Karol Sanchez has been FOUND.
Yesterday, 16 year old Karol Sanchez was abducted right in front of her mother on Eagle Avenue and E 156th Street in the Melrose section of The Bronx.
According to reports, at around 11:20PM, the pair were approached by a 4 door sedan where two men jumped out and grabbed 16 year old Karol and dragged her into the car and the knocked the mother to the ground before fleeing along E 156th Street.
An Amber Alert was issued for Karol this morning, almost 12 hours after the incident happened which leaves us scratching our heads as to why it took so long for the alert to go out?
Clearly this was a criminal act and kidnapping as we saw the video. We also know that the purpose of the Amber Alert is to not waste precious time when children are kidnapped and there’s credible evidence that they are in imminent danger of bodily harm and or death.
Once she’s found, we’re hoping we can investigate as to why it took so long for the alert to be issued.
Sanchez is 16 years old, 5 foot 8 and weighs approximately 150lbs. She was wearing a blue bubble jacket, white undershirt, blue jeans, black sneakers, and a white backpack at the time of her abduction according to the Amber Alert issued earlier today.
If you see her or know of her whereabouts, contact 911, 1-866-NYS-AMBER (1-866-697-2623), or NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-8477(TIPS).
Via WABC:
Even if the Garabedian Bronx Christmas House on Pelham Parkway doesn’t get lit again, it will forever live on in our memories — and in Mariah Carey’s, ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ video.
We didn’t realize, until News 12 The Bronx pointed it out, that part of this video, who’s song is now finally at number 1 in the charts after 25 years, was filmed right here in The Bronx in front of the iconic Bronx Christmas House.
It’s a little bit to rejoice considering the iconic house went dark this year for the first time in 46 years after a late start last year.
Sadly, the Garabedians do not want to accept help from volunteers this year to light up the house but that’s ok, that’s their right.
But we’ll always have Mariah’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’…
News12 The Bronx:
Nestled within the world’s largest food distribution center at Hunts Point in The Bronx is the New Fulton Fish Market where, according to many, New York City’s best seafood comes from.
The fish market itself is the country’s largest of its kind and at 400,000 square feet, the facility handles over 200 million pounds of fish per year with an economic value of over $1 billion.
And the early bird catches the worm, or in this case, the fish, as restaurants and market owners are at the Fulton Fish Market by 3AM selecting the finest of available fish.
One good thing that we learned from the video is the market’s commitment to sustainable methods of fishing and working with such fisheries.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently released a report which indicates that 33.1% of global fish stocks are currently being subjected to overfishing.
Here’s a great video that Zagat put out about the market several years ago where they follow a fourth generation fish monger, Louis Rozzo of F. Rozzo and Sons on what makes this place so special.
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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