Regional Plan Association is calling for major fixes of the subway and transit situation across the New York City region and is proposing to extend the 2nd Avenue subway into The Bronx as well the much needed Triboro line that would stretch from Co-op City to Sunset Park in Brooklyn.

The plan even calls for the creation of a “pedestrian district” on 149th Street from the 145th Street Bridge to the Bruckner making it an automobile free zone and decking over parts of America’s Parking Lot aka the Cross Bronx Expressway.

Oh, and they’re also recommending that our subway system no longer offer 24 hour service and instead shutting it down from 12:30AM to 5AM so that during that time critical repairs and work can be conducted.

Overnight services would be replaced with buses mimicking the subway routes.Pipe dream? Perhaps, but we need to dream big to fix this mess we’re in thanks to the dysfunctional MTA although we’re not in agreement whatsoever to shutdown the system.

NYC is a 24 hour city and to shut out the services late night would disproportionately impact low-income New Yorkers who are the ones often traveling the belly of the beast going to from work.

RPA recommends that the 2nd Avenue subway connect with 149th Street and Grand Concourse at the 2/4/5 subway line and then run up the Concourse connecting along with the B and D line which is heavily underutilized. This would provide direct connection to the East Side for Bronxites who currently have to make the switch at 161st Street to the 4 line.

The plan also mentions extending the D line into the East Bronx as well.a

As for the Triboro Line, it would stretch from Co-op City along the same rail lines planned for the four Metro North East Bronx expansion line going over Randall’s Island and the Hell’s Gate Bridge into Queens and running down straight through the middle of that borough and Brooklyn before veering west and ending in Sunset Park.

The 22 stations have been identified throughout The Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn of which half would intersect existing subway lines connecting the Triboro Line to 17 other subway lines.

It would be constructed along existing abandoned rail lines that are full intact requiring minimal improvements to make this a reality and the estimated price tag ranges from $1 billion to $2 billion which is considerably less than the nearly $4.5 billion it cost to build the 2nd Avenue subway which, in our opinion, was a waste of money because its impact is minimal compared to the 100,000 residents the Triboro line would benefit not to mention the majority of job creation is occurring in the outer boroughs.

In fact, the cost of the Triboro Line is siginificantly less than the second phase for the 2nd Avenue subway line which would extend it from 96th Street to 125th Street and Lexington at a cost of $6 billion.

The savings in commute times alone would be worth the price tag not to mention the open access to jobs Bronxites may not take due to the current layout of our Manhattan-centric subway system which can add well over 30 minutes to a trip from The Bronx parts of Queens and Brooklyn.

According to the data, a Bronxite traveling from the proposed Hunts Point station would save over 30 minutes commuting to Middle Village and adjacent areas in Queens and the same for those traveling to Flatbush. At the very minimum, commuters would potentially save over 5 hours commuting a week.

This isn’t just about commuting but one’s quality of life when you have time to free up to do other things than be crushed like sardines in a subway car.

Creating a more robust transit system would help serve the 59% of Bronx residents who do not own a car.

(Scroll through the map to see the entire proposed route from The Bronx to Sunset Park)

At the Hunts Point Station there would be a transfer to the 6 line seamlessly moving passengers from one line to the other.

The plan also calls for a short connection from the Hub at 3rd Avenue and 149th Street on the 2 and 5 line utilizing the abandoned Port Morris line that runs under St Mary’s Park providing not only residents in the Melrose and Mott Haven neighborhoods with a direct connection to Queens and Brooklyn but also to the hundreds of thousands of passengers who utilize the White Plains Road and Dyre Avenue lines.

The Hub’s importance as The Bronx’s transportation nexus would also increase with the revival (of sorts) of the Third Avenue El.

Since service ended on the Third Avenue El on April 29, 1973, it left a gaping hole in the heart of the South Bronx creating a transit desert which sped up the devastation and abandonment of the area which by 1980 saw the loss of almost 400,000 residents in The Bronx. 44 years later we have climbed back to our peak population of 1970 and projections show that it will only continue to increase as residents flee escalating real estate prices in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

But we don’t have the transportation network to support our current population how are we going to accommodate even more residents?

RPA proposes reactivating Third Avenue via a new tunnel underneath for a Metro North express track to relieve congestion on the rails running up and down Park Avenue and of course, 3rd Avenue and 149th Street at The Hub would also have a direct connection to this regional network.

With the creation of this tunnel, RPA then suggests that the Metro North line running along Park Avenue be utilized to provide access as a sort of high speed subway rail line to alleviate the lack of reliable transit service along Third Avenue.

Speaking of 149th Street, RPA also proposes the creation of a pedestrian district along the busy street from the 145th Street bridge to Bruckner Boulevard where only essential vehicles would be allowed. Private vehicles would be prohibited from utilizing this now overly congested thoroughfare.

Another part of the plan calls for the decking over major stretches of the Cross Bronx Expressway which would create dozens of new acres for development and open spaces (preferably truly affordable housing) and to remove part of Mosholu Parkway and Gun Hill Road that runs through Van Cortlandt Park which would create safer east/west connections in the park.

Sadly what’s missing is one of the most important things Bronxites want and that’s a cross Bronx subway line or light rail to make crossing our borough easy in a borough where all subway lines run North/South.

The recommendations set forth by RPA are quite ambitions and maybe none of them will ever get done because no one in government dares to dream big and long term but at least it’s starting, or rather continuing, a conversation we all need to have if we truly care about the future of our city and region.

What are your thoughts?

This past Wednesday, November 29th at The Bronx Museum of The Arts, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr, along with The Bronx Jewish Historical Initiative, celebrated the induction of this year’s honorees to the Bronx Jewish Hall of Fame.

“The Bronx Jewish Hall of Fame showcases people who have made extraordinary contributions not just within the community but also throughout our great borough,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.



Diaz further added, “I want to thank this year’s class, folks from all walks of life from sports to finance to public service, for all that they have done for The Bronx and beyond.”

This year’s honors went to WPIX-TV anchor Marvin Scott, former New York Yankee Ron Blomberg, famed architect Daniel Liebeskind, former New York City Councilwoman June Eisland, playwright Miriam Hoffman, illustrator and designer Joel Iskowitz, Executive Vice President & CEO for the Jewish Community Relations Council Michael S. Miller, and Bernstein Global Wealth Management’s Jeffrey Wiesenfeld.

Many don’t associate the Jewish community with The Bronx but our borough was once home to the largest Jewish population in NYC. To this day there isn’t a borough that comes anywhere close to the historic high of when our borough was called “the Jewish Borough” with 49% of the population of Jewish decent in 1930.

READ:The Miracle of Intervale Avenue: The Story of a Jewish Congregation in the South Bronx (Morningside Books)

In the South Bronx, the number was closer to 60% and it’s not uncommon today to see many former synagogues throughout our borough now converted to Christian churches of various denominations.

Mazel tov to all the honorees!



 

The Mitchell-Lama Park Lane Apartments at 1965 Lafayette Avenue in the Soundview section of The Bronx is slated to get new neighbors as the City Planning Commission has approved a rezoning of the the site to convert a parking lot and basketball courts into two buildings with 425 units of affordable housing, one of which will be for seniors.

City Land NYC reports that the two buildings will be 14 stories in height with 292 affordable housing units in one and 133 units of affordable housing for seniors in the other with both buildings connecting in the basement with a new 67-space parking garage.



The development will also include outdoor recreation as well as a new replacement basketball court and an indoor fitness center.

Since this lot will be rezoned under the new Mandatory Inclusionary Housing zoning text mandate, a portion of the units, once constructed, will remain permanently affordable.

Depending on which option is chosen by the developer, that can mean that 25% of the units will remain permanently affordable to residents making 60% of the area median income (AMI) (which we know is a lie because it’s always inflated and doesn’t truly reflect the actual immediate area median income) and 10% of units for households making 40% of the AMI.

According to City Land NYC, another option would be  30% of the units remaining permanently affordable making 80% of AMI.

No exact time frame has been provided for construction and completion of this proposed project.

YIMBY has revealed renderings for an alleged luxury building coming to Port Morris just 2 blocks from the Randall’s Island Connector but there’s only one catch: The lot isn’t zoned for residential and was left out of the 2004 rezoning of the area.

The proposed site is actually comprised of 3 separate lots with the main address of 767 E 133rd Street at the corner of Willow Avenue just around the corner of Port Morris Distillery and a block from the Randall’s Island Connector. For whatever reason, with the exception of one lot, they were carved out of the rezoning back in 2004.

According to YIMBY, the building will be 115,600 square foot building with 126 units (19 studios, 66 one-bedrooms, 22 two-bedrooms, and 19 three-bedroom units) with an address of 111 Willow Avenue (much cuter than 767 E 133rd Street). The building will also feature ground floor residential.

Further research by Welcome2TheBronx reveals that the properties are owned by Bronx-based developers, the Altmark Group but their website doesn’t list any plans for the site and in fact has a listing for leasing of all four floors.

A search of New York City Department of Building records do not show any filings for demolition of the properties or work filed for new construction leaving us to question whether or not this is a pipe dream or is actually happening because YIMBY states that the development is estimated to be completed by 2020, however, with no plans filed nor applications for rezoning the property, 2020 is an impossible target date

Furthermore, any rezonings will be subject to MIH, or Mandatory Inclusionary Housing which guarantees a portion of any residential units created on lots that are rezoned to be permanently affordable.

We’re waiting to hear back from the Altmark Group for further clarification and will update this page accordingly so feel free to bookmark.

Of course, there are those who continue to deny that gentrification is occurring in the area. Tell that to the folks who currently rent apartments in the houses along 133rd Street.



 

The Bronx Italian American History Initiative at Fordham University is seeking Italian Americans from our borough to create an online archive of personal stories of Italians and Italian Americans, the Bronx neighborhoods they settled and lived in as well as worked.

According to the BIAHI:

“Italian immigrants and their children made lasting contributions to the texture of life in the Bronx. They built churches and movie theaters, formed sports organizations and social clubs, and established small businesses that continue to thrive today. They are an essential part of Bronx and Fordham history.

We want to tell Italian American story: our interactive, public archive will showcase the complexity of the Italian American experience from a multiethnic perspective. Working with the Bronx African American History Project, our goal is to establish Fordham as a leader in community oral history and research.”

Also, they are currently raising funds to cover the costs of this wonderful project documenting one of the many ethnic communities that make up our wonderful borough so any donation helps.

If you want to be a part of this project and are interested in being interviewed, click here to fill out their form.

The interviews take place at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus Mondays through Fridays September through April and generally lasts about 1-2 hours. According to the BIAHI, the interviews just like having a normal conversation where they will ask you anything from religious traditions, to foods, to language and other things revolving around daily life.

These sessions are recorded via audio and video and if you agree, it will be made available online for but public and scholarly use.

We can’t wait to hear your stories!

On December 8th, late Bronxite and DeWitt Clinton alumni Bill Finger and co-creator of Batman will have justice with a Bronx street renamed after him.

For years, many only knew Bob Kane as the creator of Batman but it was actually Bill Finger who gave Bob Kane not only the idea of how Batman should look but also created his origin story and wrote many of the stories during the beginning of the rise of the Dark Knight.



Born Milton Finger in Denver, Colorado on February 8, 1914, eventually he and his family moved to The Bronx where he was raised and went to DeWitt Clinton High School (where Bob Kane went as well).

Kane was trying to come up with a character to compete with the craze created by Superman but was stuck in a rut when he asked Bill Finger for some advice. The two would meet up at Poe Park on the Grand Concourse to come up with ideas and it was Finger who told him to change his costume into what became the Batman we know today.

But Bill never received any credit for this. The struggle to give him the credit he deserved even became the subject of a documentary on Hulu

Sadly, he passed away in 1974 so he never got to receive the credit or fame for his contribution but at least history has been corrected.

So it’s only fitting that E 192nd Street at Grand Concourse, just at the southern end of Poe Park, will be renamed for Bill Finger to honor yet another great Bronxite. Someone who helped create a character loved by millions.

Hey. I was born in 1975 and am a child of the 80s. I LOVE the 80s. But John-Paul Annunziato of Morris Park in The Bronx takes his love to an obsession that has cost him over $100,000 as he continues to splurge on 80s memorabilia.

Annunziato has filled his one bedroom apartment with over 30,000 gnarly items like Atari video games and consoles to cereal boxes. Even cans of Aquanet (remember those big hair days?) can be found in his collection. Heck, even Cliff Notes!!! If it’s from the 80s, you name, he probably has it.

According to his website, 80sthen80snow.com, his obsession began after his tragic (and apparently violent) death of his parents in 2009 which he claims set him on a path to recreate his childhood.

This led to his humongous collection that he claims is museum worthy and is historic but Guinness Book of Records denied his application saying that the collection was too broad in scope to be considered as an entry.

Anywho, shout out to John-Paul for his collection. One day, I’d like a tour and go down memory lane myself.

Check out his Facebook Page or website.

As expected, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr voted in favor of the controversial Jerome Avenue Rezoning (with conditions), a 92-block swath of the West Bronx, paving the way for the destruction of a working-class neighborhood by fueling gentrification with the rezonings. Rezonings such as this planned one result in gentrification in NYC…this isn’t hyperbole. One needs only to look over at Harlem, Williamsburg, and yes, The Bronx in Port Morris and Mott Haven. (READ HIS FULL TEXT HERE-WARNING, PDF)

The Jerome Avenue Rezoning Area, which was originally branded Cromwell-Jerome Study Area but since changed due to backlash by the community at the mere thought of another neighborhood name change, was also approved by community boards 4, 5, and 7 with conditions.



New York City Department of City Planning and everyone who has been pushing this agenda have done so without any regards to what residents actually want despite their insistence that this was a “community led” action.

No it was not.

The community never asked for a rezoning, it was Mayor de Blasio and his cronies who decided that this area of The Bronx “needed” to be rezoned to accommodate an ever expanding city.

But at what cost?

We already know these rezonings end up causing displacement and shifts the economic make up of working class neighborhoods as speculative prices begin to rise ever upwards.

Department of City Planning cites the area as being well-served by mass transit but what they neglect and fail miserably in truthfully disclosing is what we already know: That those subway lines are at capacity and cannot take any more people.

How many people have to sometimes wait and let a train or two pass by before they can actually get on? Straphangers are already crushed like sardines by the time they get to 149th Street and Grand Concourse, another area that is experiencing a population boom thanks to the 2009 rezoning of the Lower Concourse.

How are we supposed to house people with promises of good transit options when we know that’s a lie and the MTA system is collapsing before our very eyes?

What about the long time mom and pop businesses along Jerome Avenue including the autoworkers that are facing displacement once rezonings are approved? These critically needed blue color jobs are at risk and so are the livelihoods of thousands.

The city cannot continue to rezone at will whenever they please as our infrastructure crumbles around us. Why are we catering to a population that isn’t even here and neglecting our own who are struggling day-to-day?

Make your voices heard Wednesday, November 29th, at the City Planning Commission public hearing at 10am located at 22 Reade Street in Manhattan.

I can already taste the challah or the black and white cookies!

Zaro’s Bakery is reopening its doors in Parkchester tomorrow almost 2 years after they shut their doors, much to the neighborhood and the borough’s disappointment, where they once stood for 56 years.

And they’re reopening is JUST in time for Thanksgiving and the holiday season!

Back in April, Welcome2TheBronx first broke the story that they were returning to our borough, now we’re glad the day has come.



Occupying a much smaller space just a couple of doors away from their original location, the reopening marks the return of their retail presence in our borough where the company was founded 90 years ago.

As part of their coming back to the community, Zaro’s has pledged to donate 25% of tomorrow’s Reopening Day sales at their new 1309 Metropolitan Avenue location to ongoing humanitarian relief efforts for Puerto Rico following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.

“We’re thrilled to be back in the old neighborhood and to see so many warm and familiar faces again. As we heat up the ovens once more we do so tomorrow in aid of our friends and family in Puerto Rico who are dear to so many of our valued customers – in Parkchester and throughout the City.” said Brian Zaro, executive vice president of Zaro’s Family Bakery in a press release.

I’ll definitely be there tomorrow to welcome them back, hope you can stop by at some point and support a great cause and Bronx institution at the same time!

A study by Point2 Homes shows that despite The Bronx’s median home sales price of $251,000 being under the national median of $258,300, our borough is the 12th most unaffordable housing market in the nation and 16th in North America due to a low median household income of $34,299.

The Bronx is considered severely unaffordable with a median multiple of 6.7 which is derived by the median home sales price divided by the median household income.

Earlier this year, another report showed that 71% of Bronx residents are at risk of being displaced―the highest rate in the New York region.

Nationwide, Manhattan took the #1 spot with median multiple of 15.6, Brooklyn at #3 with a median multiple of 13.1, and Queens at #10 and a median multiple of 7.9. Staten Island was the only affordable borough using those parameters.

Overall, New York City’s 5 boroughs ranked as the 4th most unaffordable city in the nation at 12.1.

This affordability crisis in our borough is one of the reasons that Bronxites are at greater risk of being displaced as gentrification continues to push through inflating home prices even further out of reach of residents.

One of the ways to combat displacement is through home ownership but even that is almost impossible for the average Bronx resident.

We must do better for our communities and instead of pandering to developers we should be developing our workforce to be able to get higher paying jobs.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has awarded a Bronx nutrition scientist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine a $4 million 5 year grant for a year study on the potential impact of a healthy diet of foods rich in anti-inflammatory properties on lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s as well as cognitive decline.

Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, PhD, RD, will lead the study which will recruit over 300 middle aged Co-op City Residents between the ages of 40-65 due to the neighborhood’s large and ethnically diverse population.

There have been previous studies that indicate diets rich in anti-inflammatory foods like olive oil, fish, and a variety of leafy green veggies appear to slow down cognitive decline and improve overall brain health like the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) diets.

According to Alzheimer’s Today:

“A key aspect of the study is using the Multicultural Healthy Diet, which is built on a base of known anti-inflammatory foods, including whole grains, fish, lentils, nuts, beans, and herbs and spices,” Dr. Mossavar-Rahmani said. “Many of the foods in this diet are widely available and used in cuisines around the world, rather than emanating from one specific region.”

“The beauty of the study is that we’re assessing diet and cognition in real time rather than having participants travel to a clinic for every cognitive assessment,” said Mossavar-Rahmani. “And we’re looking at an ethnically diverse population of middle-aged and older people. Perhaps we’ll learn that we can change the course of cognitive decline with this diet or reduce risk for mild cognitive impairment that leads to Alzheimer’s disease.”

We’re looking forward to see the data that comes out of this since this is rather personal for us. On my father’s side of the family it’s rare that a family member does NOT get diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and we’ve had many loved ones perish from this terrible disease.

BREAKING―New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres of The Bronx, who chairs the Committee for Public Housing and who oversees New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), just issued a statement requiring that disgraced NYCHA Chairwoman, Shola Olatoye, “…to appear before a City Council oversight hearing in early December.” according to a press release issued by the office of the councilman.

This comes just days after a report by the Department of Investigation showed that NYCHA had lied and been sending in false reports to the federal government that the agency was in compliance with checking over 55,000 apartments which must be visually inspected for lead paint, something which Olatoye knew to be false but continued to submit the reports anyway.

NYCHA, which is already crumbling and in disrepair, has willfully put our children and residents at risk by not carrying out the necessary inspections for lead paint.

Olatoye needs to be fired. There is no questions about it nor any point to a hearing at this point and should have criminal charges thrown at her for what she has done to our most vulnerable residents.

Incidence of lead poisoning in our children has continued to decline in New York City and The Bronx has an overall lower incident rate than the rest of the city, but this is an unacceptable act of violence towards our residents who deserve better.

How is this any better than what has been happening in Flint, Michigan where the entire population of over 100,000 people were exposed to high levels of lead yet the government knew and did nothing about it?

New York City Public Advocate Letitia James is right in calling for new leadership at the failed agency that is NYCHA. This recent scandal with lying about lead paint inspections is just one of the many issues plaguing the agency as the infrastructure of over 2,600 buildings is rotting away.

According to the Observer, James came to the conclusion that Olatoye needs to resign after meeting with her and not receiving neither a real explanation of what and why it happened nor what the agency planned on doing to rectify the problem.

Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio is on the wrong side of the fence and defending Olatoye rather than pushing for further investigations or just forcing her to resign.

What is there to defend? The report was quite clear which stated:

” In its Report, DOI shows that despite its senior staff being made aware that NYCHA was out of compliance with City lead laws in 2015, and its Chair, Shola Olatoye, being told in 2016 of non-compliance with both City and Federal rules, certifications were still submitted to the federal government. As a result of this investigation, and three additional DOI investigations that revealed other serious safety hazards and breakdowns over the past two years, DOI is recommending that a monitor, reporting to DOI, be appointed to ensure future compliance with inspections in areas including lead paint, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.”

Councilman Rafael Salamanca, Jr of The Bronx called for the appointment of an independent monitor and just today visited an apartment at Melrose Houses to show the deplorable conditions residents are living with lead paint.

These issues are above politics. It’s a reality that too many in the BX are living in unsafe conditions in @NYCHA units w lead paint. pic.twitter.com/Itl3CT5Pq8

— Rafael Salamanca, Jr (@Salamancajr80) November 17, 2017

“In the past 36 hours I have reviewed the Department of Investigation’s report multiple times,” he said. “I have also spoken to tenants and others knowledgeable on these issues. I believe there is no justification for why lead paint testing and abatement wasn’t completed and reported properly. This was incompetent at best, negligent at worst.” said Councilman Salamanca Jr

And what Salamanca said in his tweet is correct, “This issues are above politics…”

We demand better. We demand Shola Olatoye steps down and let someone who is competent and has the morals to do what is right.

Read more: Mayor de Blasio admits city failed to perform lead paint inspections, backs NYCHA boss after lie exposed – NY Daily News

Cuomo Considering Monitor for NYCHA Amid Lead Paint Scandal – NY Observer