Once again, the Bx19 was named The Bronx’s slowest bus in the borough by the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and TransitCenter’s annual Pokie and Schleppie Awards.

Last year the Bx19 came was also named the slowest in The Bronx along with the Bx21 as the most unreliable but this year the latter has been replaced by the Bx3 as the most unreliable in our borough according to the report.

The Bx19, which runs between The New York Botanical Garden and Riverbank State Park in Manhattan, runs with an average speed of 4.8 mph and came in as the 6th slowest in New York City.

NYC’s second most unreliable bus route, the Bx3 running between Riverdale and the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan saw 19.2% of its buses arriving bunched which means not spaced apartment according to their schedules but more than 1 or 2 at the same time because of delays along their routes.

But fret not, folks, because this year’s slowest buses didn’t get lower. In fact, they’re faster by 0.1mph faster according to the report (LOL).

We’re hoping that the drastic changes that are being proposed by the Bronx Bus Network Redesign will help with this but not at the expense of cutting certain routes back too much.

So, we know most of you like arguing with data and facts so we’ll ask, do you agree with these two routes being selected as the worst?

Which ones do you think are the worst of the bunch?

Back in the beginning of the year, Welcome2TheBronx broke the news that Yolanda’s Italian Restaurant, which has been serving the Melrose community for 59 years on 149th Street, would close and be replaced with an 8 story residential building with 123 units.

Well the day is almost here when the famed restaurant will temporarily close its doors.

Next weekend on July 27th, the restaurant will close its doors to make way for the new building but fret not as they will return once construction is complete in a couple of years.

According to an interview with News12 The Bronx, the owner said they will come back, “…in our same location just looking a little different, a little more modern and complimenting the neighborhood, that’s our dream.”

Yolanda’s restaurant is one of the last remnants of when the neighborhood was settled by Italian immigrants, mostly from the island of Ponza off the coast of Italy.

The fact that they’re still around long after the vast majority of the Italian community left the Melrose and the South Bronx is a testament to just how good their food is.

We’re looking forward to them reopening in the near future.

Watch the newsclip below:

Last year, Welcome2TheBronx broke the story that the landmarked old Bronx General Post Office was up for sale again after being purchased by developer Young Woo in 2014 for $19 million.

MHP and Banyan Street Capital were in contract to purchase the building for $70 million but have since walked away from the deal.

According to the Commercial Observer, Young Woo failed to provide stipulated paperwork regarding the property by a set date as per the contract giving the buyers the option to walk away from the deal.

The landmark building has been undergoing major work since its purchase, first with the landmarked lobby restored along with its 13 historic Ben Shahn murals as well as the opening of The Bronx’s first rooftop restaurant, Zona de Cuba.

The United States Postal Service still operates a post office within the building occupying a much smaller footprint of 7,500 square feet in the 175,000 square foot building and is located in the north side of the building.

No word as to what will happen or whether it will be up for sale again.

One thing is for sure and that’s the promise to the community of what the building will be is long overdue.

After several years of false promises, Citi Bike officially announced today its plans for expansion into The Bronx.

The expansion will first head into the rest of Manhattan finally going into Washington Heights and Inwood, providing coverage to the entire island, as well as parts of the South Bronx as part of its Phase 3 Expansion starting next year according to comments to Welcome2TheBronx from Citi Bike and their press conference.

While no exact locations have been announced yet where they will begin in the South Bronx, our guess is across parts of Port Morris, Mott Haven, Melrose and perhaps up the Concourse to Yankee Stadium.

After that is done, the remainder of the phase 3 expansion will roll out across the West Bronx covering Highbridge, Claremont, Morrisania, Longwood, Concourse, Mount Eden, Melrose, Mott Haven, and Port Morris by 2023 along with parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

DOT and Citi Bike will work closely with community boards to determine where best to place the new docks.

This is way too slow for residents of our borough who have been wanting this expansion and have been waiting for Citi Bike to get to The Bronx since it first launched 6 years ago in 2013.

Sadly, there is no timeline for residents of the East Bronx as they are not even mentioned during this particular expansion.

In order to create a fair and equitable system, we need to make this accessible to every single neighborhood in the city.

The city also needs to provide the necessary infrastructure such as protected bike lanes so that we may safely ride these streets.

Citi Bike told Welcome2TheBronx that they will be working with NYC Department of Transportation to begin community outreach this Fall for its upcoming expansion.

In the meantime you can head over to this link and recommend where a docking station should go while you wait for the expansion to cross the river.

The 2nd Annual Latin American Foto Festival opens in The Bronx today transforming parts of Melrose into an open gallery.

The festival returns after last year’s successful run at the Bronx Documentary Center as NYC’s first and only Latin American photography festival of its kind.

Curated by Michael Kamber and Cynthia Rivera, this year’s festival focuses on the works of 10 photographers hailing from throughout the Caribbean and Latin America and takes a look at various aspects of life throughout the region from violence due to political upheavals in Venezuela to portraits of Mestiza women of Mexico and the cultural roots of Afro-Ecuadorian communities.

The New York Times writes:

“Oaxaca is a visually rich place full of culture and folklore and many photographers come year after year to take photos of celebrations like the Day of the Dead,” Ms. Fabián said. “I think the main difference is they just came to take photos like a hunter — to just catch whatever crosses their lenses. I honestly find it rude.”

Her powerful photos, made on glass with the 19th-century ambrotype process, are on display at the Bronx Documentary Center’s second annual Latin American Foto Festival, from July 11 to 21. Some of the exhibits will be on the Melrose neighborhood streets where Spanish is often spoken by immigrants and their children, said Cynthia Rivera, who curated the festival with Michael Kamber, the founder of the Center.

“Our neighborhood is predominantly people from all different parts of Latin America,” Ms. Rivera said, “and we are bringing photographers and photographs from these countries so people can easily see work from the places they are from, and those from outside the community can understand these stories.”

Opening reception is tonight, July 11th from 7PM-9PM and the show runs through July 21st.

Gallery hours are as follows:

GALLERY HOURS
THUR, JULY 11th, 7-9PM
FRI, JULY 12th, 4-8PM
SAT, JULY 13th, 1-5PM
SUN, JULY 14th, 1-5PM
WED, JULY 17th, 4-8PM
THUR, JULY 18th, 4-8PM
FRI, JULY 19th, 4-8PM
SAT, JULY 20th, 1-5PM
SUN, JULY 21st, 1-5PM

Melrose is getting its second Starbucks, this time at The Hub on 149th Street and 3rd Avenue.

After several months of negotiations, the coffee giant has signed a lease at 383 E 149th Street just steps from the 3rd Avenue and 149th Street station on the 2 and 5 line as well as The Bronx’s busiest intersection.

The first Starbucks in Melrose opened at 161st Street in the old Melrose building across from the Bronx County Hall of Justice (technically it was the second in the area as there’s one inside Target at the Bronx Terminal Market).

All of these locations are less than a mile from each other as Starbucks begins to penetrate the market which is causing concern among residents about gentrification.

While there are many residents who welcome yet another Starbucks and don’t see anything wrong with their presence, study after study has shown that the presence of such a store correlates to a rise in housing prices in the immediate area.

And indeed retail rents are on the rise in the area as more and more national chains move into The Hub at the Third Avenue Business Improvement District.

Last year saw the arrival of Burlington and Marshall’s at the old Alexander’s which was gut renovated. Boston Market, Planet Fitness, Blink Fitness, Cinnabon, Auntie Ann’s are also among the many national chains which have claimed space in the area boosting landlord confidence that they can charge a lot more than they have in the past.

This will undoubtedly raise cause more displacement of what’s left of mom and pop shops in the area as landlords will utilize Starbucks’ presence to validate their asking rents.

The Hub is The Bronx’s oldest shopping district and has always been home to thriving small businesses regardless of racial and socio-economic makeup of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Now even that is changing with these national chains that continue to arrive and will only speed up as thousands of more new residents move into the area, particularly at La Central with almost 1,000 affordable housing units just a block from Third Avenue.

No official word yet on the exact opening date but we’ll let you know when it’s announced.

Personally, we’ll still be supporting out local mom and pop shops like Capri Bakery for our coffee. Supporting small businesses is CRUCIAL.

Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think!

Everywhere you turn and look in The Bronx, you’re bound to stumble upon a bit of history.

Some of it is pretty common knowledge but other bits of our past may surprise you.

Many people wouldn’t think that The Bronx would have any role in America’s independence but not only does our borough indeed play one but it is much bigger than you think!

Let’s start with our nation’s first president, George Washington.

On October 12, 1776, the British landed in Throgg’s Neck with 4,000 troops who were later met with the resistance of 350 Americans who were able to hold them off at Pell’s Point in Pelham Bay Park.  This allowed Washington and his troops to safely reach White Plains.  Think about that.  350 Americans against 4,000 British troops!

But it wasn’t until 1783 that George Washington left Van Cortlandt House in The Bronx with his troops in what is considered the final act of the American Revolution which was the recapturing of New York City.  Known as ‘Evacuation Day‘, November 25th, 1783 was that historic day when Washington triumphantly left The Bronx, crossed the Harlem River into Manhattan and headed down the island to New York as the last bit of British Authority fled the shores of America. It should also be noted that sadly, the British army slaughtered Native Americans fighting for American Independence, The Stockbridge Indians in present day Van Cortlandt Park where they are buried and memorialized in Indian Field.

Here are some other historical facts on our borough’s role in the founding of America:

1: Morrisania and Morris Avenue get their names from the Morris family of the Bronx of which Lewis Morris was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence of our country.  He is buried in the family vault at St Ann’s Church on St. Ann’s Avenue and E 142nd Street in Mott Haven just south of St. Mary’s Park.

2: Lewis Morris half-brother, Gouverneur Morris who not only was a signer of the Constitution but is also the author of large sections of this treasured document and is considered the ‘Penman of the Constitution’ and the author of its preamble:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Gouverneur Morris also was, “Among the most vocal participants of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Morris argued for granting Congress veto powers over state laws, direct election of the president and proportional representation in Congress based on taxation.”

3: The iron dome of the United States Capitol in Washington DC was made right here in the Bronx.

4: Right across from the Jerome Park Reservoir we have Old Fort Four Park which according to NYC Park’s Department:

“As Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, General George Washington ordered the construction of outer defenses throughout the Kingsbridge area. Fort Four was built under the direction of Colonel Rufus Putnam in 1777 to protect the American army and to safeguard the line of the Harlem River. The largest of all fortifications in the neighborhood, Fort Four was admirably situated, commanding a view for miles in all directions. In the fall of 1779, the fort was destroyed by the British forces led by Sir Henry Clinton.”

5: Here’s another one submitted by Bronxite Sally Dunford:  “Also according to NYC Parks: “Gun Hill Meadow is named for a January 25, 1777 Revolutionary War battle that took place near this site. Gun Hill Road, then known as Kingsbridge Road, was an important east-west thoroughfare, which the British and the Americans fought fiercely to control. During the battle, the British were chasing the Patriots east towards the river. While in retreat, a group of soldiers, led by Captain Bryant of the artillery, dragged a cannon atop a nearby hill and fired upon the charging Brits. That strategic position, which then became known as “Gun Hill,” forced the Brits to retreat west to Kingsbridge, allowing the Patriots to escape.”

6: And Bronxite Nick Leshi reminded us about Glover’s Rock in Pelham Bay Park and the Battle of Pell’s Point:

According to New York City Parks Department:

Before the American Revolution, the Siwanoy Native Americans used the rock as a lookout point along their trading route.

On June 21, 1775, the British ordered Glover and his Marblehead Militia to Cambridge, but the next day he and his regiment defected to the Continental Army. General George Washington (1732-1799) organized the Continental Army on July 3, 1775, and on January 1, 1776, the Marblehead regiment became the 14th Continental Regiment, led by Colonel Glover. Colonel Glover soon commanded a brigade, and on September 13, 1776, he safeguarded the evacuation of New York City through Harlem, across the King’s Bridge, and into the Bronx and White Plains. General Howe and a British fleet had landed on Kip’s Bay, and the British Army was threatening General Washington’s position in White Plains. Glover spied the fleet off Pell’s Point, the site of present-day Rodman’s Neck.

There were four regiments in Glover’s brigade, one being his own Marblehead regiment, the other three under the command of Colonel Joseph Read (b. 1731), Colonel William Shepard (1737-1817), and Colonel Loammi Baldwin (1745-1807). On October 18, 1776, Colonel Glover separated each regiment, spreading them along Split Rock Road behind the stone walls that marked property lines. He then led 40 men in a direct attack on the British. After an exchange of fire, two Americans were killed and Glover retreated north along the path with the British in pursuit.

Soon, the British forces hit the other three Continental Regiments, and, surrounded, they retreated back to Pell’s Point. Only 12 Americans were killed, yet between 800 to 1,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded in the battle. Colonel Glover thus enabled General Washington to position and hold his forces in White Plains before moving south. Glover’s “Marbleheaders,” with their experience as sailors, were also essential in Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, for the Battle of Trenton. Glover was promoted to Brigadier General on February 23, 1777. While General Glover was stationed in Rhode Island, his wife died on November 13, 1778. After the war, Glover returned to Massachusetts and was elected to the state legislature in 1788 and 1789. He died in Marblehead on January 30, 1797.

Here’s one last bit and a fun fact: Lewis Morris tried to convince the newly found nation to make Morrisania the Capital of The United States in 1790…but we know how that went.

Check out MORE Bronx Facts here!