169 newly constructed apartments in the Fordham Manor area of The Bronx are up for grabs via New York City’s Affordable Housing Lottery program.

Located at 2519 Creston Avenue, across from Saint James Park and a block from the Grand Concourse as well as Fordham Road, the development has apartments for a wide range of incomes from those making 40% of the Area Median Income to households at 110% of the AMI.

The units come with hardwood floors and the development itself has a fitness room as well as a recreation room for residents.

You MUST apply by October 30th and you can do so by following this link.

Please note: Welcome2TheBronx is NOT affiliated with any of these listings so please do not contact us regarding this or any apartment as we cannot help you. Instead, follow the links we provide and good luck!

For the first time in 7 years, overdose death rates in New York City have dropped.

According to New York City Department of Health, NYC saw a 3% drop in such deaths in 2018 compared to 2017 however, The Bronx continues to see a rise in overdoses.

In 2018, our borough saw an increase of 9% leading the city in overdose deaths with 391 fatalities last year making it not just the borough with the highest rate of overdose death in New York City but also the borough to record the most deaths as a result of overdoses.

During that period there were 1,444 overdose related deaths recorded in New York City, a drop of 38 deaths from 2017.

The Crotona – Tremont area of The Bronx, comprised of the 10453, 10457, and 10460 zip codes) saw the highest rate of overdose deaths in the borough and placed second in New York City with a rate of 49.5 deaths per 100,000 residents more than twice the average of 20.5 deaths per 100,000 for the entire city.

Only East Harlem in Manhattan was worse with a rate of 56.1 deaths per 100,000 placing the area on the top of the list.

Of the top 15 of the 42 neighborhoods in New York City in the report, six are in The Bronx making the borough by far the center of the opioid crisis in the country’s largest city.

The Bronx neighborhoods with the highest rates of overdoses, in order, are:

According to the report, fentanyl accounted for 60% of the opioid related deaths and cocaine was involved in 52% of such cases.

Other key statistics from the data showed that Latinos had the highest rate of overdose death at 24.8 per 100,000 residents; a 5% increase from 2017.

Overdoses are also increasing in females which saw an increase overdoses in 2018 of 7% compared to the previous years.

Also, unsurprisingly, neighborhoods with very high levels of poverty had a much higher rate than areas of high, medium, and low poverty.

The crisis is far from over in The Bronx and we must continue to pressure our elected officials to provide more resources to battle this scourge that is destroying the fabric of our communities.

You can view the full report here.

Last year NYC Ferry kicked off its service in The Bronx at Clason Point in Soundview offering relief to a transit-starved community and cutting commute times by as much as half in many cases.

For people who worked downtown, they saw their commutes go from as much as 90 minutes to as little as just over 30 minutes: The time it takes to get from Soundview to Wall Street on the ferry.

Several weeks ago we asked the New York City Economic Development Corporation about how the new service has fared in the past year and all indicators point to a resounding success.

According to the EDC, the Soundview route, which stops at Clason Point in The Bronx, 90th Street, 34th Street and Wall Street in Manhattan, was expected to carry 410,000 riders during the first year.

In less than 12 months, it carried over 670,000 riders, 63% more than expected.

Even more impressive is that the ferry stop at Soundview accounted for a third of that ridership with 223,634 riders at the Soundview landing according to data that the EDC provided us which translates to an average of 620 people a day.

An EDC spokesperson told Welcome2TheBronx exclusively, ” “NYC Ferry has transformed commutes for hundreds of thousands of Bronxites over the past year. The Soundview ferry landing has surpassed our expectations and has provided people living and working in this community with a fast, affordable option to travel around the city. Our ridership is only getting stronger by the day and we encourage all New Yorkers to hop on board and explore all the routes NYC Ferry has to offer.”

But it’s not all roses, at least for many locals who now have to put up with extra traffic coming in even though buses have been added and extended to the ferry.

Parking woes for locals have continued since the launch of the ferry service with many upset that parking wasn’t a consideration when implementing the service in the area.

This is a sentiment that is also echoed by commuters who drive to the ferry and don’t live in the immediate vicinity.

Future Service Expansion in The Bronx

In January, NYC Ferry announced that it would expand its ferry service across NYC, including adding Throggs Neck as a stop (starting in 2021) on the Soundview route at Ferry Point Park answering the wishes of many locals in the East Bronx.

While this is excellent news and we have been pushing for a Throggs Neck stop since day one, the city and NYC Ferry MUST expand direct service into Queens and Brooklyn, bypassing Manhattan.

Manhattan is no longer the center of the universe for the outer boroughs. At one point, traveling to employment centers in Manhattan was a necessity which is why the vast majority of our subway lines are Manhattancentric to begin with but that is no longer the case.

Job growth and share has declined in Manhattan whereas it has grown in the outer boroughs by 48% between 2009 and 2018 according to a report issued by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

That same report indicated that the outer boroughs accounted for 60% of all job growth in New York City.

A ferry route from The Bronx to Brooklyn and Queens would connect millions of residents in the outer boroughs without having to waste time going through Manhattan.

At least we can have a ferry connecting us if the Triboro Line connecting The Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn never materializes.

108 years ago, the Italian brothers known as the Piccirilli Brothers carved one of New York City’s most iconic statues: The lions standing guard at the New York Public Library’s main branch known as Patience and Fortitude.

Now these treasures will soon be undergoing routine maintenance and work and will be covered up as they are cleaned along with minor repairs due to age and weathering like small cracks here and there.

The project costs the library $250,000 and lasts roughly 9 weeks according to NYPL.

amNY writes:

“We love the lions here at the library, they really are our mascots,” said Iris Weinshall, chief operating officer of the New York Public Library. “But they are out there in the cold and the rain and the snow … every seven or eight years they have to go to the spa.”

Caring for the beloved beasts, carved from pink Tennessee marble, is no easy feat. The library hires experts to evaluate the condition of the lions and then perform delicate work to keep them clean and shore up any cracks in their bodies.

Meanwhile over at the Daily News they report:

“The lions have earned some time at the spa,” New York Public Library President Anthony Marx said in a statement.

“For over 100 years, they have stoically guarded our building on bustling Fifth Ave., delighting visitors and providing calm hope at all times that with knowledge we will prevail,” he said. “They are the true kings of this city, beloved by all. As great stewards of this building, it is critical that we maintain the lions and ensure that they are strong to inspire everyone for generations to come.”

Glad they’re taking care of these treasures.

Oh, did you know that the Piccirilli Brothers also carved Abraham Lincoln’s statue at the Lincoln Memorial in DC?

A new report released by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli this passed Friday reveals that as of 2017, not one of The Bronx’s 70 subway stations were in good condition with each one showing structural deficiencies in one form or another.

According to the report, this is an increase from 2012 when 12 stations were reported to be in good standing.

Westchester Square and Cypress Avenue along the 6 line were among the top 5 worst stations in New York City where conditions structural and architectural components were seen to have had a rapid decline since the last report in 2012 according to the Daily News.

The report also stated that half of the structural components at the 149th Street and Grand Concourse station on the 4 line needed repair (the comptroller’s report made it unclear if it was specific to just the 4 platform or the entire 2/4/5 station).

DiNapoli issued the following statement in a press release:

“Years of underfunding for the MTA capital program has translated into a longer list of needed repairs in New York City’s subway stations, fewer stations in good condition, and ever-increasing rider aggravation,” DiNapoli said. “The rising number of potentially hazardous worn or damaged platform edges is particularly troubling. On the plus side, the MTA has been able to reduce the number of the most serious station defects, but a lot more needs to be done to address declining station conditions. It is up to the MTA to prioritize its limited resources to ensure its next capital program improves service and conditions for riders.”

You can read the report for yourself over here.

When Superstorm Sandy hit the New York City region in 2012, no corner of the region was left unscathed and The Bronx was no exception.

One particularly grim instance was the further erosion of Hart Island, the country’s largest public cemetery where the forgotten and poorest of the poor are interred, where human remains were exposed along with damage done to the sea wall on its northern coast.

Now, after 7 years, New York City will finally begin the process of cleaning up human remains and repairing the damaged sea wall.

The fact that it has taken this long is an absolute disgrace considering the island’s history and who’s buried there.

Over 1 million people are buried here including some of the earliest victims to succumb to the AIDS crisis that gripped New York City in the 1980s and well into the 90s.

The Washington Post reports:

“It’s not the way to treat those who have passed with dignity,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “This restoration project is a step in the right direction of us treating Hart Island as a public cemetery.”

In 2015, the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted the city $13.2 million for the two-year restoration. Unlike standard sea-wall restorations, the project on Hart Island requires a high degree of archaeological expertise on the handling of human remains.

“Erosion on Hart Island means human remains are exposed and they wash away,” said Melinda Hunt, president of the Hart Island Project, an advocacy group. “There is an obligation on the part of the city to bury people and to keep them buried.”

According to Hunt, there are reports from 1985 documenting that human remains were being found back then, indicating that the problem was decades long and simply exacerbated by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Last year, 174 human bones were recovered along the shores after two months after CBS News reported that human remains from Hart Island were washing up in local communities with some claiming they had found human bones on Orchard Beach.

New York City Parks Department vehemently denied that this was happening but the recovery of the human bones along the north shore of Hart Island only strengthened previous claims of the occurrences.

Hart Island is currently under the administration of New York City’s Department of Correction which uses inmates to work on the island and makes it near impossible for families and loved ones to visit the graves as there are heavy restrictions for access due to the fact that Corrections is in charge.

Local advocates and lawmakers want to change that including Councilman Mark Levine who wants to transfer control from Corrections to NYC Parks Department and Recreation so that family and loved ones can visit with better ease.

But for now, NYC will finally begin to right one wrong and let these unfortunate souls rest in peace.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-The Bronx and Queens) got a rock-star reception as she greeted constituents under the roar of the elevated No. 6 train Wednesday morning.

The freshman member of Congress, who became a national figure after her upset Democratic primary victory last year, surprised Parkchester passersby with a pop-up event promoting participation in the 2020 Census.

“Our strategy is all about building trust in the community before the enumerators even come to your door,” Ocasio-Cortez told THE CITY.

That trust is crucial in a district where 47% of residents are foreign born, and fear of taking part in an official government count is expected to be widespread.

“There’s been an increased use of one’s immigration status as a form of intimidation,” she said.

For Ocasio-Cortez, a full Census count is more than a matter of making sure her district gets all the funds and services it’s due. In a sense, her own political fortunes could hang in the balance.

A review by THE CITY, building on data and analysis by The Texas Tribune, suggests Ocasio-Cortez’ district could be particularly vulnerable to undercount because a little over a quarter of those living there are non-citizens.

That’s a higher percentage than any other congressional district in the state.

A Census undercount in Ocasio-Cortez’ district and elsewhere in the state could lead to the elimination of congressional districts — potentially setting off politically charged redistricting battles.

New York already is on track to lose up to two congressional seats during reapportionment due to population decline and slower rate of growth, according to a December report by Election Data Services.

“Every member of Congress should be concerned about the Census,” said Jeffrey Wice, a fellow at SUNY Buffalo Law School and redistricting expert who’s a senior advisor to New York Counts 2020.

‘The Damage Has Been Done’

The Trump administration recently attempted to add a citizenship question to the once-a-decade count, which dictates how $675 billion in federal funding — for things like Medicaid, Section 8 housing, foster care and school lunches — is allocated each year.

This controversial effort was unsuccessful, though “the damage has been done,” Wice said.

Ocasio-Cortez’ district is full of communities with apprehension about the Census process, said Naureen Akhter, the lawmaker’s deputy district director.

“We have a high immigrant population, a lot of undocumented folks, a lot of distrust from the community in the government,” she said.

In-person contact, like home visits, likely will be key to district residents’ Census participation. While the 2020 Census will mark the first time the national survey is conducted primarily online, close to 40% of those who live in Parkchester, nearby Castle Hill and Clason Point do not have broadband internet access, according to a July report by the City Comptroller’s Office.

“People are intimidated in many different ways,” said Judith Goldiner, who runs the Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society.

Some tenants have contacted the organization reporting that their landlords have threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on them, at a time when fear of ICE raid runs high. In one case in Brooklyn, Goldiner said, a landlord asked only non-white tenants to sign a lease with a clause requiring they prove their citizenship.

A Door-to-Door Effort

As Ocasio-Cortez greeted constituents Wednesday, Census Bureau representatives standing nearby handed out flyers, seeking workers to go door-to-door in the neighborhood for the crucial population count.

As of July 12, the Census Bureau had filled 28% of the 121,240 New York area positions it’s recruiting for, according to a presentation last month by Jeff Behler, director of the state Regional Census Center.

“As you see, we’re a year out from the Census, and we’re already here with organizers, enumerators,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “So step one is to hire people from the community. Hire people from Parkchester, from Jackson Heights, from Pelham, from Throggs Neck that are from these communities, that understand these communities, that are already trusted — so when they knock on people’s door, people don’t feel intimidated or strange about it.”

The congresswoman’s surprise appearance spurred double-takes from commuters. Retirees, kids headed to camp and construction workers all stopped to meet their representative — some saying their hellos in Spanish while others briefly whipped out earbuds to shout their support.

Every elected official “should do this,” Jonathan Fogel, a doctor who works at an urgent care center nearby, said before pausing for a photograph with Ocasio-Cortez.

“It’s like seeing a rare bird,” he added.

Sophia Suarez, a high school teacher, cried after meeting the lawmaker known to many as AOC. She took Ocasio-Cortez’s Census count message to heart.

“It’s about creating voice,” Suarez said. “We need to come out in numbers.”

This story was originally published by THE CITY, an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.