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Brooklyn Man Declares Best NYC Pizza is In The Bronx (Duh)

Ed García Conde
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Brooklyn Man Declares Best NYC Pizza is In The Bronx (Duh)

Writing for Chowhound, Ian Levenstein declares that NYC’s best pizza is not in Brooklyn but in The Bronx.

Where exactly? Pelham Bay to be exact and he lists many past Welcome2TheBronx reader favorites.

But we’re sure this will set off another pizza war.

So which joints did this Brooklyn guy go gaga for? Which did he think are worthy of the best NYC pizza declaration?

Mangia’s, Crosby Pizza (duh), Joe’s Pizza, Louie and Erie’s (double duh) & Frank’s Pizza all are on the list.

“Personally, I feel that the diversity, the variety, and the quality you’ll find in Pelham Bay will leave you satisfied, and hopefully wanting more.” 

You’re probably wondering how Levenstein even found these spots.

Well according to his article it’s all about love as he recently began dating a woman who lives in Pelham Bay.

In his article he writes:

“Growing up, I was taught that Brooklyn had three things going for it: pizza, bagels, and Jewish delis. I was under the assumption that what you found there was going to be better than the rest of the five boroughs by default, outside of a spot here and there. As a registered New York pizza snob, I simply was not expecting the abundance of quality, nor the quantity that I have received in one of the far corners of The Bronx. But lo, here it is. Getting off the train at Buhre Avenue, you’re immediately taken by how different the area looks from “The Big City.” Buildings are smaller, the train is overhead instead of underground. But most importantly, there are at least five different pizza options to choose from within walking distance of each other. Makeshift pizza walking tour, anyone? I’m down if you’re down.”

“To anyone thinking to themselves, “Self? Is this too much pizza for one afternoon?” I think that’s up for you to decide. Want to do one of these five and call it a day, or two, or three, or four? Be my guest! But whatever you decide, the trip to the near-end of the Pelham line of the subway is absolutely worth the adventure. These pizza places all exist for a reason, as some poignant final words from Vincent Leo elaborate on. “One of my friends used to say, ‘If everybody likes your pizza, there’d be nobody else in business! You’d be the only guy making pizza.’” Personally, I feel that the diversity, the variety, and the quality you’ll find in Pelham Bay will leave you satisfied, and hopefully wanting more.”

Read the entire account of his journey over at Chowhound.

17 US Presidents Who Visited The Bronx

Ed García Conde
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17 US Presidents Who Visited The Bronx

Here’s a wonderful historical post by Olga Luz Tirado, executive director of The Bronx Tourism Council on US Presidents who visited The Bronx. Our borough has a rich presidential history that you may not be aware of!

 

17 U.S. PRESIDENTS WHO VISITED THE BRONX
By Olga Luz Tirado

On February 12th we celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and a week later on the 19th George Washington’s. Both presidents have some tie (albeit a little bit of a stretch for Lincoln) to The Bronx. We decided to ask some of our favorite Bronx-centric folks, historians, and tour guides and counted 17 presidents who had visited The Bronx.

Not only was General GEORGE WASHINGTON the first President of the United States, he was also the first Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. It was in this capacity that he visited Van Cortlandt House, first in October of 1776, according to Laura Myers, the Van Cortlandt House Museum’s Executive Director. Washington’s final documented visit to Van Cortlandt House took place in November of 1783 when he and his entourage stopped overnight on their way in to Manhattan to take possession of the island back from the defeated British Army. This was a considerably more festive occasion than his first visit.

Traveling south on Boston Post Road from his estate in Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, President JOHN ADAMS learned that a yellow fever epidemic had broken out in Philadelphia, which was then the temporary site of the nation’s capital. Angel Hernandez of the Bronx County Historical Society, tells us that Adams decided to stay at the farmhouse of his daughter and son-in-law, Abigail and Col. William Smith. The property was located in the area we now know as Conner Street and Boston Road. The 2nd U.S. President corresponded with officials, governing the country. Thus, for two weeks in October 1797, the center for the executive branch of the U.S. government was in The Bronx. Today car dealerships and auto repair shops occupy this historic site.

There is no evidence that the 16th President ABRAHAM LINCOLN visited The Bronx, but the Lincoln Memorial located in Washington, D.C. has roots in the borough. Sculpted by a family of renowned marble carvers who emigrated from Italy to The Bronx, the Piccirilli brothers played a role in the design and development of the impressive sculpture.

Gen. Farragut’s final resting place

On October 1, 1870, the 18th President of the United States, ULYSSES S. GRANT, visitedThe Woodlawn Cemetery. Grant, a hero of the Civil War, was among the distinguished guests who rode the funeral train that transported United States Navy Admiral David Glasgow Farragut’s remains to his final resting spot. Some Bronx historians have rumored that it was one of the largest funeral processions of that time.

Jacob Lorillard was a very wealthy leather merchant and owned land in the Belmont section of The Bronx, according to Susan Birnbaum of Susan Sez Walkabouts. As the land was being developed he needed to designate streets with names. Of course, Lorillard Place was a given, but his niece, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, was a big fan of CHESTER A. ARTHUR, so she implored her uncle to name one of the streets Arthur Avenue after the 21st president. Today Arthur Avenue is synonymous with “the real little Italy” and was named Best Street in America by the American Planning Association in 2016.

A very curious twelve-year-old known as TR or “Teedie” among his family members, was already a young naturalist and taxidermist, collecting specimens for his own “natural history museum” when they summered at Wave Hill, according to a historian there. He would pay children from the neighborhood to bring him interesting specimens and when he wasn’t on the premises, one of his sisters had to accept the offerings, something she didn’t particularly enjoy. Little TR, or THEODORE “TEDDY” ROOSEVELT grew up to first become Governor of New York State then the 26th President of the United States of America.

Financier and philanthropist Cleveland Dodge lived in the Riverdale section of The Bronx and was very active in politics, according to Bronx historian Lloyd Ultan in his book “The Northern Borough”,published by The Bronx County Historical Society. On October 12, 1918, Ultan writes, 28th PresidentWOODROW WILSON attended a rally and parade in New York City when he received a note from Germany indicating it was willing to accept peace terms based on the president’s Fourteen Points. The next day, he and the first lady rode to Riverdale to have lunch with Dodge and the two drafted Wilson’s reply to Germany. It was the first step to ending World War I.

In 1959 31st President HERBERT HOOVER threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers went on to beat the Kansas City Athletics 3 – 0.

Among the other presidents that have been awarded an honorary degree from Fordham University, (Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, and John F. Kennedy) was FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. The 32nd U.S. President came to deliver a speech at the college campus in October of 1940. Roosevelt also campaigned in The Bronx.

While on the 1948 campaign trail, HARRY S. TRUMAN came to The Bronx to appeal to supporters in his successful bid to be elected the 33rd president of the United States.

Although his Bronx residency was short, when running for the presidency in 1960, JOHN F. KENNEDY followed a proven path for success which brought him to the Concourse Plaza Hotel located on 161st street and the Grand Concourse, according to Sam Goodman a city planner with a penchant for Bronx history and who hosts walking tours of the area (see tours). To be sure, the Concourse Plaza was a “must stop” for any Democrat, given the borough’s staunch support for Democrats and the fact that in those days every Bronx voter made it their business to participate. As he would often do, the 35th president knew how to appeal to his audience as he remarked, “I said up the street that I was a former resident of The Bronx. Nobody believes that, but it is true….Now Riverdale is part of The Bronx.” He lived on 252nd Street and Independence Avenue.

On October 5th, 1960, then Vice President RICHARD M. NIXON gave a speech at the Bronx campus of Fordham University. He had already received an honorary degree from the institution. Nine years later he became the 37th President of the United States of America.

In 1977, President JIMMY CARTER made what he called a “sobering” visit to The Bronx in the aftermath of the devastating fires. The 39th U.S. President’s motorcade toured the rubble-strewn streets of the South Bronx. The president walked along the route meeting and greeting people along the way. There was a lot of optimism from the communities after this visit that Federal funding would come through to help rebuild.

Three years later almost to the day, RONALD REAGAN made his rounds and, as not much had changed, was not received well. The community blamed the White House for inaction and the 40th President accused Carter of breaking his vows to the borough.

It would be nearly another 20 years before a sitting president visited the borough, and the story was much different than the ’77 and ’80 visit. In 1997 President WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON lauded The Bronx as a model for urban renewal. By that time the urban blight Carter and Reagan witnessed a decade prior gave way to tree-lined streets and landscaped homes. The 42nd president was quoted as saying “Look at where The Bronx was when Ronald Reagan came here…look at The Bronx today.”

43rd President GEORGE W. BUSH threw out the first pitch in game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium. The New York Yankees beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1, but ended up losing the Pennant. It would have been their 24th World Series win. They finally achieved 24 in 2009.

It would be nearly another decade before a sitting president would come to The Bronx. In May of 2015 President BARACK OBAMA arrived by helicopter and much fanfare, landing on Harris Field. The 44th president was giving a speech at Lehman College to announce the formation of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a non-profit organization established to address issues faced by boys and young men of color.

 

Our Lady of Pity Church in Melrose is Slowly Being Demolished

Ed García Conde
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Our Lady of Pity Church in Melrose is Slowly Being Demolished

Our Lady of Pity Church, which was deconsecrated by the Archdiocese of New York last November, is being demolished. Not even its former school and rectory will be spared.

The parish of Madonna del Suffragio was founded in 1908 by Italian immigrants from Ponza, an island off the coast of Italy halfway between Rome and Naples.

In 1929, the current church was built to serve the fast-growing community of Ponzese living in the neighborhood.

For decades, Our Lady of Pity Church and School served the Italian community even as the fires roared through the South Bronx.

Our Lady of Pity Church

Even after the parish was merged with nearby Immaculate Conception in 2007, the faithful Ponzese congregated each June 20th on the feast day of Ponza’s patron saint, San Silverio.

I can easily recall the first time I heard the sounds of trumpets along Morris Avenue. I must have been 8 when we first moved to Christopher Court and I ran down to the street to see what it was all about.

There were hundreds of Italians marching proudly in the middle of the South Bronx on Morris Avenue and across 149th street making their way around the neighborhood as they carried the statue of San Silverio.

Eventually, through the years, I would march with them and even helped out several years.

Our Lady of Pity Church
Every religious article has already been stripped away including the murals that once adorned the church.
It was a small but beautiful church. This picture was taken on June 20, 2014 on the Feast of San Silverio, the last time the church was opened for this service. Image via Thomas Coffey/Facebook

I attended Sunday mass with my mother for almost 10 years until we began to go to mass over at nearby Immaculate Conception.

It was here at Our Lady of Pity that I began my passion for learning foreign languages.

Each Sunday I would look through the Italian missalette reading this foreign language that was so similar to Spanish yet different enough to get my curiosity going.

I went on to learn Italian and took 3 years in high school over at Cardinal Spellman and 2 years at Iona College becoming fully fluent in the language.

During the summers of ’92 and ’93 I was a camp counselor for the Mark Bavaro Children’s Camp that was founded by the church along with the football superstar.

Each summer we’d take the local kids up to Andover, MA to get them out of the South Bronx and into the country just to get away from the tumultuous streets. It was those years that crime was at its highest and gunshots rang through the neighborhood on a daily basis.

Taking the kids out even if for 1 week was 1 week we could keep them safer.

San Silverio, patron saint of Ponza / Via Vince Tricoli/Facebook
Our Lady of Pity Church
The statue of San Silverio stood here for decades even as the local Italian population dwindled. The fact that the church was built by the Ponza immigrant community of Italy was ever present even if only a handful of Italian parishioners were left.

The Past and an Uncertain Future

Walking through the church today, or the shell of a building, was an emotional journey through my childhood. I never thought I’d cry over a church.

I’m no longer a practicing Catholic or Christian but something about entering a building from your childhood that’s being demolished that makes your life flash before your eyes.

I was that little kid, once again, attending mass with my mom as Father Peter Nuzzo gave the homily or when we attended Christmas mass which was in Italian, Spanish, and English.

The fate that has befallen Our Lady of Pity is the fate of many houses of worship across The Bronx (and New York City for that matter). As populations shift, so do worshipers.

The Bronx once was the most Jewish of boroughs in NYC. To this day not even Brooklyn has the percentage of Jews that The Bronx once had. Those synagogues fell into disrepair and were eventually abandoned and demolished or converted into Christian houses of worship.

In Morrisania we saw St Augustine Roman Catholic Church demolished and an affordable housing development rise in its place.

Perhaps this is what’s going to happen here at Our Lady of Pity given that the lot is of considerable size. Mayor Bill de Blasio is rushing to fulfill his promise of “affordable” housing for all so it’s the most probable scenario.

This church was the last and most visible monument that the Ponzese community left behind.

Today was a sad farewell to the past.

To those of you who had memories here too, cherish them close to your hearts forevermore.

In the end, that’s all were’ left with; memories and a pile of dust and eventually those too shall fade.

Bronx Tsunami Warning for Throggs Neck and Coastal Areas Was Only a Test

Ed García Conde
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Bronx Tsunami Warning for Throggs Neck and Coastal Areas Was Only a Test

Bronx Tsunami Warning

Residents of Throggs Neck and coastal areas of The Bronx were shocked and sent into a panic at 8:30AM this morning when AccuWeather issued a Bronx Tsunami Warning for those areas and was sent to users of its app.

The alert stated that the tsunami warning would be in effect until 9:28AM.

But it was only a test which the warning neglected to states. The correction only came minutes after people scrambled to social media and Twitter in disbelief.

Bronx Tsunami Warning
A Bronx Tsunami Warning for Throggs Neck and other coastal areas across The Bronx and NYC was issued earlier this morning before notifying residents that it was only a test/Image courtesy of Valerie Santos of The Bronx

Another person on Twitter asked if the same guy from Hawaii was hired.

Residents of that state received an alert of an incoming ballistic missle last month.

Clearly someone will be fired for this, I mean whatever happened to the warning, “THIS IS A TEST, THIS IS ONLY A TEST”? before these alerts?

Did you get one? What were your thoughts?

From Escaping Genocide to Becoming The Queen of Bling

Ed García Conde
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From Escaping Genocide to Becoming The Queen of Bling

So how exactly did Jenny Bui, probably the most famous nail artist become the ‘Queen of Bling’? How did she get clients who fly in from all over the world to get their nails done by her?

A New Lease on Life

Jenny Bui escaped the Cambodia with her family as they fled the Khmer Rouge genocide at the age of 14. She lived with her family in Montreal, Canada for 8 years until she got married at 22.

Shortly after getting married, she moved to The Bronx where her husband was from and although she didn’t like our borough then, she loves The Bronx now according to her interview in Cosmo.

Bui eventually opened up her first nail salon in The Bronx which stayed open for about 3 or 4 years. Sadly, due to lack of business, the salon shut down and that’s when she ended up in Harlem.

Jenny Bui The Queen of Bling / Image Via her Instagram Account, NailsOn7th
Jenny Bui, The Queen of Bling

The Queen of Bling

It was in Harlem where she began putting diamonds and bling on the nails of her customer after being inspired by a Japanese catalog and although folks thought her nails were “ratchet”, eventually folks came to love it to the point that “now everybody does it” as Bui tells Cosmo.

Around 2012, in walked a “regular, degular, schmegular” girl from The Bronx aka Cardi B.

This was before Cardi became famous says Bui.

The Queen of Bling and Cardi B

Jenny tells Cosmo:

The first time Cardi B came to my Harlem salon was five years ago, back when she danced, before she was famous. She wanted me to do her nails, but I was too busy, so one of my nail technicians did it for her instead. Cardi didn’t like how they looked at all. She was like, “This doesn’t look anything like the ones on your Instagram.”

It was true, they didn’t look nice.

She came back a second time though and waited on the couch. My husband recognized her and noticed it was her second time there and asked how he could help her. She said, “I really want Jenny to do my nails, but I think she’s busy, so someone else can do it.” My husband told me, “Honey, this is this girl’s second time here. Do you want to do her nails? Because she says she really likes your nails.”

When people tell me they really like my work, I want to do it for them. I don’t care if you have money or not. Cardi didn’t have nice clothes back then, but I don’t care what someone looks like when they come in. I look at the people who respect me and my art. If someone doesn’t have money, I work with them and do as much as I can for what they have. That day, Cardi told me I could do whatever I wanted, and when I finished, Cardi screamed all over the salon. I still have the video posted way back on my Instagram of her screaming, “Oh my god! You made my day! I’ve never had nails like this in my life!”

“Lately a lot of people have been telling me I changed and asking me if i work with regular people or only famous people, to be honest i work with anyone as long as you make your appointment I’ll never change”

Cardi always does stiletto nails. People send me stuff hoping that I’ll use it on Cardi, but if it’s a rhinestone and not real Swarovski crystal, Cardi can tell the difference. She’ll say, “Jenny, why isn’t this bling right here shining? They’re not Swarovski, right?” And I’ll say, “You already know.” She gets her nails done by me once a month. Even if it’s just a small event, she doesn’t let anyone else touch them. She always comes to the salon too. I’ve only gone to Cardi to do her nails twice, and once was the Grammys this year. She rarely asks me to go because she knows I’m busy, and I have to support my kids who are still in school. She’s very respectful of my time.

Respect

She pays me now, but there would be times back then when she’d want to pay me, and I’d say, “It’s OK, I won’t charge,” or, “I’ll charge you half price.” I did that because I really liked her and because she gave me a lot of respect. She treats me like I’m a special person, like I’m not just a nail tech. I look at her like she’s my daughter, and she looks at me like I’m her auntie.

People would always give her bad comments and talk crap about her when she was dancing, so I’m very happy for her now. Before she was on VH1, I told her, “Cardi, you’re going to be really big one day. Bigger than Nicki Minaj,” and she said, “Oh my god, I don’t think so.” And look now. I told her when she got big, she would forget about me and she told me, “No, Jenny, I’ll never forget about you.”

Shortly after Cardi started posting her nails and tagging Bui on Instagram, Bui began getting even more followers. Now she has clients who fly in from around the world just to get their nails done by her.

Back to The Bronx

Last October, The Queen of Bling opened up shop again in The Bronx in the Fordham Road section of our borough and of course it’s all blinged out too.

But is she too famous now? Well one recent Instagram post seemed to answer that where she wrote: “I want to give my special shout out to my supporters i wouldn’t be where i am today with out you guys . I want to give a special shout out to my girl Cardi .Lately a lot of people have been telling me i changed and asking me if i work with regular people or only famous people, to be honest i work with anyone as long as you make your appointment I’ll never change”

Not bad for someone who escaped so much in life and built her own little empire.

Read her full interview: The Astonishing Life Story of Jenny Bui, Cardi B’s Nail Artist

 

Exhibition to Turn Claremont Village Into a Night Gallery

Ed García Conde
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Exhibition to Turn Claremont Village Into a Night Gallery

Images documenting everyday life in the Claremont Village neighborhood of The Bronx will light up the neighborhood in an exhibition by members of the Bronx Photo League.

Called ‘Claremont Illuminated’, the outdoor exhibition will be projected throughout the neighborhood onto spaces such as vacant lots and public stairwells with the assistance of artist Ethan Vogt.

“Mother and Child,” part of the Claremont Illuminated project. (Photo: Adeline Lulo, courtesy of Bronx Photo League)
“Mother and Child,” part of the Claremont Illuminated project. (Photo: Adeline Lulo, courtesy of Bronx Photo League)

According to an article in NextCity:

The images are already being captured by at least a dozen photographers, says Rhynna Santos, coordinator of the Bronx Photo League and a member of the Bronx Documentary Center, which is presenting the project, called Claremont Illuminated. Once the photographers are done shooting, the Center will work with the artist Ethan Vogt to create illuminations that will be projected on to empty spaces, like vacant lots or public stairwells. The illuminations may range from projected digital photos to lit-up prints to audio and video interviews—whatever technology will allow, Santos says.

Some of the artists are focusing on senior citizens living in the extensive public housing projects in the neighborhood. Others are zooming in on community health issues, or schools, or fatherhood, or, as Santos says, “the horrible issue of rats.”“It’s functional art,” says Santos. “It’s not just going to be, hopefully, thought-provoking and beautiful, but also useful for the community.”

For far too long, The Bronx had its stories told by outsiders without the knowledge and histories of our neighborhoods nor the nuances and fabric that makes up our vibrant borough.

It’s important for our communities to be able to tell their own stories and this exhibition is one of them.

A “Cross Bronx Expressway Park” Will Save Lives & Money

Ed García Conde
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A “Cross Bronx Expressway Park” Will Save Lives & Money

A Cross Bronx Expressway Park?

Imagine a Cross Bronx Expressway Park. A report by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health states that decking over portions of the Cross Bronx Expressway would not only save money but also lives.

Creating a new park over the Cross Bronx Expressway over a 2.4 mile stretch across the borough would impact the lives of almost 230,000 Bronxites by adding almost 2 months to their life expectancy.

The park itself would stretch across 4 sections over neighborhoods like Throggs Neck, Parkchester, Castle Hill, Soundview, Tremont, West Farms, Morris Heights, and Highbridge.

According to the case study, “Deck parks can produce multiple health benefits. Most notably, they remove contact between pedestrians and automobiles. In doing so, they not only reduce accidents but they also encourage active, pollution-free transportation such as biking or jogging. Deck parks also place vehicles in a tunnel, thereby reducing noise and air pollution in surrounding neighborhoods. Finally, deck parks provide green space in which people can exercise and relax. In doing so, deck parks have the potential to reduce diabetes, heart disease, mental illness, cancer, low birth weight, and death associated with accidents.They can also have positive impacts on property values.”

Cross Bronx Expressway Park
Imagine a Cross Bronx Expressway Park across our borough.

Creating such a deck park over The Cross Bronx would cost $757 million according to the paper. This would restitch Bronx neighborhoods destroyed by Robert Moses but also provide a major public health benefit.

A Public Health Benefit

Senior author of the paper, Peter Meunnig, MD, MPH said, “The Cross-Bronx Expressway, which is heavily used by trucks, cuts through neighborhoods with some of the worst air pollution and highest rates of diabetes, obesity, and asthma in the city.” He added, “Turning sections of this highway into a park is a unique opportunity to reverse this damage.”

32 year old Bronx resident and member of Transportation Alternatives, Nelson Beltran, agrees with this study. He has been a strong and vocal advocate to decking highways in general.

“Decking the Cross-Bronx makes perfect sense, in light of The Bronx’s asthma problem (though I’d prefer getting rid of it entirely).” said Beltran.

He added that, “The Cross-Bronx alone is slated to cost NY about $1.7 billion over the next 10 years due to pollution, wasted time, and gas (according to INRIX); as such, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t pursue this project.”

There’s no denying that the expressway destroyed The Bronx by severing it along with neighborhoods in half.

Imagine a day in the future when you can walk across a park instead of a highway spewing deadly pollutants?

 

 

 

Watch: Bronx Hip Hop Hall of Fame Coming to Port Morris

Ed García Conde
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Watch: Bronx Hip Hop Hall of Fame Coming to Port Morris

Port Morris – Last night during Windows of Hip Hop 2018 Element Awards, it was announced that The Bronx Hip Hop Hall of Fame along with a Tower of Hip Hop is coming to The Bronx.

Hip Hop pioneers like Big Daddy Kane, Doug E Fresh, Kool DJ Red Alert, Swizz Beatz and Lisa Evers who were honored during the award ceremony held at Pier 132 were all on stage when the big announcement was made as they and the crowd all cheered.

The Tower of Hip Hop will be built atop Pier 132 in Port Morris the site of last night’s event.

The Tower itself is interestingly designed to look like a microphone with the top floors rounded out. It will contain not just The Bronx Hip Hop Hall of Fame and Windows of Hip Hop School.

Bronx Hip Hop Hall of Fame
The Tower of Hip Hop (right) will rise above Pier 132 and House the Bronx Hip Hop Hall of Fame along with the Windows of Hip Hop School. The tower on the left will be a hotel.

A second tower will rise and serve as a hotel.

Another Bronx Home for Hip Hop

Recently Bronx Point was announced to be constructed along the Harlem River and will house the Universal Hip Hop Museum. Sadly, this is slated to be constructed on what was supposed to be the Mill Pond Park Extension.

Considering that The Bronx is the birthplace of Hip Hop, I’m pretty sure that there’s room enough for two institutions dedicated to the preservation of what has become the most popular genre in the United States as of last year.

Perhaps once the two are built, there can be a shuttle connecting them.

Pier 132 is located on 132nd Street and Willow Avenue next to the Randall’s Island Connector. It is also located behind Port Morris Distillery and Gun Hill Tavern.

No official timeline has been given for the project.

Old Whitestone Cinemas to Be Demolished This Spring & Make Way For Massive Distribution Center

Ed García Conde
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Old Whitestone Cinemas to Be Demolished This Spring & Make Way For Massive Distribution Center

The old 20 acre Whitestone Cinemas site, which was sold last year for $75 million, will be demolished this spring according to Real Estate Weekly.

The site will be developed by the new owners into a massive 840,000 square foot multi-level “last mile” distribution center which will be the first of its kind in the East Coast and according to the article, perhaps “…just the second such facility in the entire country.”

You may recall that just a few years ago the site was proposed to be mega outlet mall but those plans fell through.

Whitestone Cinemas
Demolition of the old Whitestone Cinemas is slated for this Spring to make way for a massive distribution center.

Last mile distribution is pretty much what it sounds like; getting products from distribution hubs to the customer.

While all this sounds great on paper and aims to get goods to consumers quickly (we still don’t know what types of tenants will occupy the space once constructed).

How will this impact traffic?

Vintage Whitestone Cinemas Drive in
When Whitestone was a drive in theater.

The Whitestone Cinemas site is located right next to major thoroughfares like the Cross Bronx Expressway, Bruckner Boulevard, and the Hutchinson River Parkway making it a prime location for deliveries throughout our borough and beyond but what of the toll on pollution and already exacerbated asthma rates?

This land is much better suited for much needed and truly affordable housing not something that claims will bring jobs but will also just dump more trucks onto our streets.

A distribution center will replace the old Whitestone Cinemas
A rendering of the distribution center to replace the old Whitestone Cinemas.

We already had FreshDirect shoved down the community’s throat against major opposition which will bring thousands of truck trips through the South Bronx, can we really afford the same to be done to the East Bronx?

We’ll be keeping an eye on this development as it proceeds so stay tuned and make sure you sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss a story!

Watch: Bronx Teacher Melissa Salguero Wins Grammy Educator Award

Ed García Conde
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Watch: Bronx Teacher Melissa Salguero Wins Grammy Educator Award

Melissa Salguero, who teachers music at PS 48 aka the Joseph R. Drake School in Hunts Point has won the Grammy Educator award along with a $10,000 honorarium beating out music teachers from across the country.

Since 2010, Salguero has been teaching over at PS 48 and is no stranger to recognition as having won Lincoln Center Teacher of the Year award in 2013.

Melissa SalgueroThe Grammy Website writes:

On the most important piece of wisdom she wants to pass on to students, she reminds them that not only is practice key, but it’s always a rehearsal for a performance.

“You’re gonna practice is the way you’re gonna perform, that’s my motto,” said Melissa Salguero. “When you’re in the practice room and you’ve got bad posture, that’s how you’re going to perform. Every time you pick up your instrument is like if you’re on the stage. Being a musician is about habits and building that endurance and all the things you need to be successful.”

“This is one of the most epic moments of my life,” said Salguero. “My dream was to teach in a city that loved and cherished music. To be honored in New York City as a New York teacher, this has been one of the most amazing experiences in my life.”

When Melissa Salguero started teaching back in 2010 at PS 48, there were no instruments at the school let alone funding for any music programming.

But that didn’t stop her and she eventually raised $150,000 for the music program according to an article over at The Bronx Times.

She is the kind of teacher that we love in The Bronx, a teacher who doesn’t give up on our kids and shows them possibilities they probably never imagined in but most importantly she also believes in her student.

Thanks Miss Salguero!

 

South Bronx Saviors or Sellouts?

Ed García Conde
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South Bronx Saviors or Sellouts?

South Bronx Gentrification

How do we continue to improve our borough without becoming part of the problem and spurring gentrification? That’s the basic question I answered as honestly and as best as I could in a recent interview in The Village Voice.

From the Gentrification Queen of the South Bronx, Majora Carter, to Bronxites like Michael Hamlett Jr. of The Bronx Brand who’s staunchly opposed to gentrification, several of us were interviewed on the subject so check out what we all have to say on the matter.

Below is the snippet of what I said but be sure to read the full article over at The Village Voice.

101 Lincoln Avenue was recently demolished to make way for luxury market rate apartments…1,300 across to lots to be exact in 6 towers ranging as tall as 25 stories.

Ed García Conde

“It’s tone-deaf. It’s bullshit,” says Ed García Conde when I ask him about Carter’s term. “What the fuck is ‘self-gentrification’? People who are for gentrification somehow want to romanticize it and say, ‘Well, there are good things about gentrification.’ No. By definition, gentrification is displacement. That’s all it is.”

García Conde, 42, is a Bronx-born Puerto Rican journalist and activist with years of experience as a real estate appraiser. He founded and runs the blog Welcome2theBronx, which provides exhaustive coverage of the major forces and events in the borough. He expresses disappointment with pretty much every entrepreneur I’ve interviewed, viewing them as complicit, to varying degrees, in the South Bronx’s gentrification.

“I’m not anti-development. I’m not anti-progress,” he insists. But “any job that’s a small business — I don’t care how small it is, it could be a dollar discount store — it’s important. It’s no less important than putting in a bank, than putting in an office building. You’re destroying someone’s livelihood, a family, who are most likely homeowners.”

He does, however, find common ground with Carter on one key point. When I ask if gentrification is an accidental result of community organizing, he doesn’t blink. “Always,” he responds. “It is.”

García Conde points approvingly to hybrid buildings in Manhattan that feature ground-level business spaces that the business owners can buy as condominiums, with co-op living units above. He cites local businesses that he thinks are doing a good job of listening to and working with the community and giving back, such as Porto Salvo, an Italian restaurant on East 161st Street run by two business/life partners who also own two restaurants in Hamilton Heights. And he introduces me to his friend and fellow activist Mychal Johnson, a black Chicago transplant who has lived in the South Bronx with his family for the past fifteen years and also has a background in real estate. Johnson co-founded South Bronx Unite, which has created a list of ethical principles for private development that the group hopes to pressure real estate developers to pledge themselves to.

For a final community-based economic development model, García Conde brings me to the Third Avenue Holiday Market, a project of the local Business Improvement District, of which he has recently become a member. He sees the market as an example of businesses owners working together to serve the existing community, instead of just potential future investors. Located in a curtained-off front corner of a former Walgreens in the roiling center of Mott Haven, the small market features a handful of local vendors who have paid nominal rents to sell clothing, baked goods, and other gifts. Christmas carols play in the background. There’s a DIY feel and a true sense of community as García Conde greets friends and strangers in both English and Spanish. Like many of the businesses I’ve visited, there are some customers, but not many.

Head over to South Bronx Saviors or Sellouts via The Village Voice for the full story.

Bronx Rents Rising with Highbridge Asking Rents Up 22% as Overall NYC Declines by 3.4%

Ed García Conde
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Bronx Rents Rising with Highbridge Asking Rents Up 22% as Overall NYC Declines by 3.4%

Zumper just released its annual NYC Rent Map showing how rents have increased (or decreased) over the course of the year and the results are quite surprising (or not) with overall NYC rents dipping by 3.7% but The Bronx showed the biggest increases in all of NYC with rents jumping by 22% in Highbridge with an average of $1,525 for 1 bedroom apartments.

Although rents are down in NYC overall by 3.7%, the Bronx rental market is showing an increase in asking rents with six Bronx neighborhoods in the top ten list and four of those at the very top. (But gentrification isn’t happening according to some folks!)

Here’s the list via Zumper:

 

It’s interesting to see that despite all the fuss and focus on Port Morris with all the luxury market rate housing being constructed that rents actually took a dip. Is the Port Morris buzz wearing off?

 

 

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