Welcome to the end of the South Bronx as we know it.

The first market-rate luxury high rises have begun construction along the South Bronx waterfront in Port Morris.

But in a surprise twist to many, they’re not the ones originally proposed by Somerset Partners and the Chetrit Group who planned a 1,300 unit development across 7 high rising towers along the waterfront and attempted to rebrand the area as the Piano District.

This is a completely different developer.

It’s located at 198 and 200 East 135th Street directly in front of the Major Deegan Expressway (like practically on top) and the site is on the same mega block where Brookfield acquired the old Somerset and Chetrit’s development site earlier this year.

Once complete, the two 25 story buildings will have 465 apartments spread across both buildings with a total of 346,632 square feet.

According to a department of building sign at the construction site, scheduled completion date for these monstrosities is in 2021.

They will join the Joinery Condominiums on the other side of the highway on 138th Street where apartments are going for as high as in $890,000+ range as more and more market rate continues to rise in the Lower Concourse Rezoning area of Mott Haven and Port Morris which was rezoned under the Bloomberg administration in 2009.

The foundation for one building is already under construction and the second building’s foundation is being excavated when we stopped by to check in on the progress.

Although these market-rate luxury buildings are coming, we keep asking ourselves, who is going to want to live on top of a highway let alone having to go across dangerous intersections just to get to the nearest subway?

Cars and trucks are speeding by the construction site as there are no traffic lights for several blocks on which leads to vehicles racing by just to make it to Third Avenue before the light changes.

If the nearby Crescendo, the luxury addition to the Clocktower is any indication, it will take a long time to fill these units up. That building has taken over 18 months to fill and it’s still not fully occupied.

At any rate, we are witnessing the end of the South Bronx as we know it. Luxury market-rate housing is being built in the country’s poorest congressional district creating a tale of two cities right within our own borough.

The world’s most famous Christmas tree lighting event at Rockefeller Center is tonight and although the tree isn’t from The Bronx, one of its donors is.

Shirley Figueroa, who grew up in the Bronx the Mott Haven section of the borough purchased a home last year in upstate New York with her wife Lissette Gutierrez where the tree came from.

According to The New York Times, this is the first  tree in Rockefeller Center’s history that is donated by a Latina couple (both are Puerto Rican) as well as a same-sex couple.

As always, folks from The Bronx continue to shake things up in the world.

Despite the agonizing commute millions of New Yorkers experienced with many sleeping in their cars overnight on highways or enduring 6, 8, 10 hour commutes that typically would take an hour or much less, NYC Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia insisted that they were prepared for yesterday’s storm in an interview today.

Garcia went on to even say that The Bronx was ahead of the other boroughs but that wasn’t the case as reports have been streaming in from across our borough from residents who never saw a plow or trucks salting roads all day.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is no better who also lied by saying that the plows were out salting the road and that that wasn’t the problem in an interview with 1010 WINS.

But New Yorkers all know that is a flat out lie. Had the roads been salted, had the MTA properly prepared their buses we wouldn’t have had as big of a nightmare that crippled not just The Bronx but the entire region.

Fire Commissioner Kathryn Garcia for negligence and Mayor Bill de Blasio should either admit to his and his administration’s mistake or he should just resign. A real leader knows when to admit when they’re wrong and clearly de Blasio is incapable of owning up to his mistakes.

The Bronx and the rest of New York will never forget this day.

Please RSVP to this important meeting! If you’re concerned about nightlife in The Bronx, whether you’re a business owner or resident, this meeting is for you!

Via NYC Office of Nightlife:

On Thursday, November 15 at 6:00 p.m. at the Repertory Theater at Hostos Community College in the Bronx, the Office of Nightlife will host the fourth stop of a five-borough listening tour to hear comments, concerns, and ideas for strengthening New York’s distinctive nightlife. Established earlier this year within the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the Office of Nightlife serves as a central point of contact between City agencies, nightlife business owners, residents, employees, and patrons, promoting a safe and vibrant nightlife scene beneficial to businesses and communities across the five boroughs.

Led by the Office of Nightlife’s senior executive director Ariel Palitz, this listening session is designed to inform the Office of Nightlife as it pursues policy recommendations and long-term solutions to ensure the vitality of New York’s nightlife. The Office of Nightlife welcomes all New Yorkers to share feedback on topics such as quality of life, safety, regulations, enforcement, and the role nightlife plays in fostering creativity and social cohesion.

RSVP to Katarina Mayers at kmayers@media.nyc.gov.

WHAT:          Office of Nightlife listens to New Yorkers and their comments, concerns, and ideas for strengthening the City’s distinctive nightlife

WHO:            Ariel Palitz, Senior Executive Director of the Office of Nightlife

                        Representatives from City agencies that have an impact on nightlife

WHEN:          Thursday, November 15, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

                        Press check-in 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.

WHERE:       Repertory Theatre at Hostos Community College/CUNY

450 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY (map)

Welcome2TheBronx broke the story today about a white supremacist hate group flyer appearing throughout Woodlawn.

Now, Bronx elected officials are speaking out against the despicable and cowardly call for racists to “demonstrate White Strength” against an invasion of “Black thugs and radical Islam”.

Below is the press release in full from various representatives including Councilman Andrew Cohen who represents the district.

BRONX ELECTEDS DENOUNCE WHITE SUPREMECIST HATE GROUP FLYER: “THIS IS NOT WHO WE ARE”

After flyers promoting regular demonstrations of “white strength” were posted in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx, local elected official were quick to condemn the racist message being promoted.

Bronx, NY – The rise in boldness of white supremacists has run into a brick wall of opposition in the Bronx. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Congressman Eliot Engel, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and Councilmember Andrew Cohen were quick to denounce the attempted creation of a new hate group in Woodlawn, which had raised concern among local residents after several flyers were posted in northeastern Van Cortlandt Park at Healy Field, along Nursery Road, and at the Woodlawn Dog Run. The flyers were quickly taken down and it is unknown if other flyers were posted and also taken down before anyone noticed them. The flyer called for public displays along Katonah Avenue on pre-designated days in order to demonstrate “White Strength.”

Corresponding with the rise in popularity of Donald Trump since 2015 and his apparent unwillingness to condemn supporters who espouse racist views, there has been a startling increase in amateur hate groups in and around New York City. Prior to this flyer, which identifies their group as “White Excellence,” there was an incident over the summer at Fort Tryon Park involving a group called “Identity Europa.” Both groups have used similar language, calling on men of European heritage to defend their history and espousing xenophobic views which often accuse immigrants of trying to replace them. Perhaps most prominently, such groups were on display at a 2017 hate rally in Charlottesville, VA which resulted in the death of one counter-protester. President Trump at the time refused to denounce the hate groups involved, instead saying he thought “there is blame on both sides.”

The Woodlawn neighborhood has long been a respite for New Yorkers who are looking for a more secluded neighborhood, attracting a rich tapestry of residents. The neighborhood’s commercial activity is mostly centered around Katonah Avenue.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said: “I am disgusted at whoever created this flyer and there is no place for racism and bigotry in our community. This is not an issue of first amendment rights, no matter how much racists would like it to be, but rather is an attempt to intimidate other people. In my opinion, the person or people responsible have been ginned up by Donald Trump and his supporters who would rather see our country return to the days when only land-owning white males were allowed to vote. I believe that when a President calls himself a nationalist, it is a signal to racists, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, and other haters that he is with them. Hatred must always be condemned and I know that the good people of Woodlawn would be disgusted by these racist losers.”

Congressman Eliot Engel said: “This type of despicable behavior is becoming more and more prevalent in our society, and the Bronx is not immune. Anyone who doesn’t see a correlation between these acts of hate and the type of vile rhetoric we’re hearing at the very top of our government is kidding themselves. All of us must be united and clear in our condemnation of racism, anti-Semitism, and hatred of any kind. This vile, divisive garbage has no place in our community.”

“Hatred has no place anywhere in our borough or our city. Given recent incidents motivated by hatred that have taken place across this nation it is important that we come together as elected officials and community leaders to denounce such revolting conduct in all its forms. I stand with Assemblyman Dinowitz and my colleagues in government to denounce this flyer and its message, and to urge our constituents to rip these flyers down when they see them. We will not tolerate hatred, racism or discrimination in The Bronx or anywhere else,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

“This is another vile display of hate occurring our community. It is clear that intolerance is on the rise across the country, but to see such a horrendous display of bigotry and intimidation in our loving Woodlawn community is absolutely appalling. The persons responsible for this disgusting act are in no way indicative of the values and sentiments shared by the members of our community. We must recognize the impact that this type of divisive rhetoric can have and collectively condemn such occurrences. I remain fully committed to fighting against all acts of hate in our district.” said New York City Council Member Andrew Cohen.

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