Sorry Brooklyn, but according to AOL’s Lifestyle section, The Bronx’s New York Botanical Garden is one of the 17 most beautiful gardens in the world but this isn’t surprising for us who enjoy the beauty of this world-class gem in our home borough.

In fact, AOL must have loved NYBG so much that they chose it as the only garden to write about as an introduction to their list while all others were just noted in photographs.

AOL Lifestyles writes:

“There is, however, a peaceful, green oasis in the city complete with lush rain forests, towering cacti and orchids elegantly dripping from hanging pots — and it can be enjoyed even during the most dreary winter days.

Today, the 250-acre estate offers a little bit of everything to visitors. There is a garden home to over 650 varieties of roses, filling the summer air with pure perfume. The rock garden, which trims a meandering stream with alpine blossoms, feels like a piece of Switzerland, instead of a subway ride away from Times Square. There is also a perennial garden filled with an ever-changing kaleidoscope of vibrant flowers.”

And they’re not wrong one bit.

Soundview―The Bronx is Filming.

Two years after announcing their expansion to The Bronx, York Studios finally broke ground for their 350,000 square foot studios in our borough on Lafayette along the Bronx River in a 10 acre lot purchased for $7.2 million by the company in 2012.

Construction will be done in two phases with the first including five sound stages with a combined total of 170,000 square feet and an expected completion date of October 2018.

Once completed, York Studios will join Silvercup Studios located in Port Morris which opened up last year in a borough that last had film and television studios in the 1970s.

All of this great news for The Bronx but only if it actually will directly benefit our residents with jobs and our local mom and pop shops can benefit from the millions being poured into our borough, otherwise, it’s just the same old deal where big business sets up shop in our borough just to save a few bucks vs doing business in Brooklyn or Queens.

When the news was first announced that York Studios was coming to The Bronx, Edwin Pagán, filmmaker and former board member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) told Welcome2TheBronx, “Film production has deep historical roots in the Bronx and the concept of a major film studio being built in the borough is a very intriguing proposition, and could, potentially, become a catalyst for long-term economic revitalization in the region.”

As like many others who have been talking about York Studios settings shop in our borough, Pagán raises the important issue of how such a project can really impact our youth and community.  He says:

“The creative medium of film, with its varied disciplines and vocations, would provide an excellent opportunity for apprenticeship programs for the local community, especially youth and the many filmmakers who call the Bronx home. It would be great to see the studio create “shadow” training initiatives where young people are linked with mentors and receive hands-on production experience in set-building, lighting, makeup, wardrobe and other production crew responsibilities, with the ultimate goal of having them become part of the related unions and can build careers in the industry. We hope the investors have this kind of vision purpose-built into their overall long-term plans.”

We know how our borough is full of talent and the arts in all disciplines and not least of all the television and film industry with Woody Allen, Joy Bryant, Alan Alda, the late Lauren Bacall, George A Romero, Penny Marshall, Tracy Morgan, Regis Philbin, Sonia Manzano, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Stanley Kubrick, and so many others either born here, raised here, or both.

Let’s hope this can be an important catalyst for all.

A new study released yesterday by the Association of Housing and Development (ANHD) documented the variety of risks to affordable housing throughout all of New York City’s neighborhoods and The Bronx takes the lead with Community Board 4, home to the Jerome Avenue Rezoning Plan.

But it’s not just confined to the West and South Bronx. East Bronx neighborhoods of Morris Park, Bronxdale, Parkchester, Baychester, and Soundview are on the list. (Only two Bronx community districts/boards had little to no risk: CD 8 covering Riverdale, Fieldston and others and CD 10 covering such neighborhoods as Throggs Neck, City Island, Westchester Square, Country Club–all neighborhoods with high homeownership rates versus

The ANHD study looked at risk factors such as unemployment, percent with rent burden, percent with severe overcrowding, families with children applying for shelters, price per square foot change in residential sales, and number of affordable units set to expire within 5 years.

7,928 apartments are at such risk of losing their affordability status in The Bronx between 2017 and 2023 as Low Income Housing Tax Credits begin to expire. Once this happens, building owners can rent out these units at market value.

As Mayor de Blasio’s administration seeks to steamroll through neighborhoods across the city and rezone for higher density, these neighborhoods are already experiencing increased pressures as speculative purchases are driving up values artificially based on the possibility of the zoning actually being approved.

CityLimits points out that out of the 11 neighborhoods currently under proposed rezoning or have been rezoned, 4 are in the top ten with the most threats to affordable housing (Jerome Avenue and Southern Boulevard included).

Some other points highlighted by CityLimits are:

• Four zoning neighborhoods—parts of Southern Boulevard, Jerome Avenue, East New York, and Inwood—are among the top ten neighborhoods in the city with the most households using housing vouchers. East Harlem, Bay Street, and Far Rockaway are among the top 20. ANHD considers a high rate of voucher holders a threat because dependency on vouchers means residents could be vulnerable to federal budget cuts.
• Of all New York City neighborhoods, Jerome and East New York are home to the most residents applying to live in shelters. The explanation is simple: If you’ve been priced out of East New York or Jerome, where can you go next?
• East New York, the Lower East Side, and the Rockaways rank among the top ten neighborhoods with the most at-risk Mitchell Lama Units; southern Jerome Avenue and the Lower East Side rank among the top neighborhoods with expiring Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units; parts of Southern Boulevard, parts of Jerome, and East Harlem rank at the top for at-risk HUD units. Such statistics might be useful in determining what kinds of housing assistance each of these neighborhood will need to prevent a loss of exiting affordable units.
• Despite the Bronx’s reputation as the last haven for affordability, ANHD’s metrics place the Jerome Avenue neighborhoods at the top of the charts, with the most housing risk factors in the city. It’s home to some of the city’s most severe rent burdening, overcrowding, and housing litigation rates (though the last could be a sign of strong tenant organizing). It also ranks among the highest for small-home foreclosures and tax delinquency.
• Neighborhoods like East New York and Southern Boulevard also have some of the highest number of threatening factors, suggesting that the triple problem of rising rents, increased demand from renters displaced by elsewhere, and historical disinvestment makes for a perfect storm of housing instability in these neighborhoods.

It is clear that the city has a lot of work to do to actually make an impact on the affordability crisis and when we say affordability, we’re talking about TRUE affordability for we already know that the housing built in Bronx neighborhoods are anything but affordable for the residents living in the area who need it the most.

We cannot afford to continue displacing the most vulnerable (or anyone for that matter) as gentrification continues to march its way into The Bronx.

So the New York Daily News has issued a 5 minute challenge to see how many of The Bronx’s 62 neighborhoods can you name in 5 minutes.

We’ll be honest, a bunch of them aren’t actual neighborhoods per se and just some random weirdness from City Planning but overall still a good test of your skills so click the link and see, “How many neighborhoods in the Bronx can you name?”

PS, thanks to Bronxite Nick Leshi for the heads up on this quiz!

Ever since the popular Citi Bike bike sharing program launched in NYC back in 2013, Welcome2TheBronx has been highly critical of initially avoiding low income and communities of color.

But for months we’ve known that Citi Bike has been in talks with Bronx organizations to finally bring the service to our borough and we’re finally glad that we can share the news with you.

Each year as Citi Bike announced future expansion plans, The Bronx was never a part of their plans and to add insult to injury, New Jersey got them before us.

Let that sink in: New Jersey.

Now, there are plans for as many as 2,000 bikes to hit our streets after much pressure from our communities, politicians, and organizations such as The Third Avenue BID which has been in discussion with the company for several months now.

“The entire Bronx, and more specifically the South Bronx, deserves transportation equity.” said Michael Brady, executive director of the Third Avenue BID in Melrose.

“For decades our communities and neighborhoods have suffered from community disinvestment, now we must rally and demand equal opportunities for transportation alternatives. The Citi Bike program has proved that if communities are given access to transportation alternatives that are operated by a consistent and safe bike share company those same communities become healthier and thrive. The conversation surrounding Citi Bike expansion is exciting and the Third Avenue BID welcomes it to the South Bronx.” added Brady.

And indeed it’s about equal opportunities for our neighborhoods and for the residents of the South Bronx who are in the poorest congressional district in the nation, this may be an economic relief for many who are seeking alternatives to public transit.While annual membership is $163 per year for unlimited access with the first 45 minutes of your trips at no extra charge, residents of NYC’s public housing at NYCHA pay only $5 a month or $60 for an entire year.

Considering the cost of a ride on the bus or subway system with ever increasing failures, riding a bike becomes much more attractive.

As for the health aspects, The Bronx already suffers from the worst health outcomes in the state putting us at the bottom as the 62nd and unhealthiest county of New York State.

Bicycles aren’t all that affordable especially when you start to factor in basic maintenance so for low-income New Yorkers and especially NYCHA residents, this is an excellent opportunity for them to be able to enjoy the health benefits that come with bike riding along with the convenience for a fraction of the cost.

And to the people who immediately complain about their “tax dollars subsidizing” such programs, think of the long term: Better health. The Bronx has been stuck in a rut as the unhealthiest borough in NYC and county in the state!

Further north in Fordham, Daniel Bernstein, Deputy Director of the Fordham Road BID told Welcome2TheBronx, “Fordham is the largest shopping district in the Bronx with so many stores and people coming here by different modes of transportation like the subway, bus, and with a bike lane along The Concourse, it makes 100% sense for Fordham and other areas to have access to Citi Bike. I’m very excited to see it happen for The Bronx. “

Transportation Alternatives, an organization founded in 1973 to promote bicycling, walking, and public transportation over automobiles has been extremely active in creating a broad coalition across not just The Bronx but NYC to make sure everyone has access to this service.

In a statement issued to Welcome2TheBronx, Transportation Alternatives Bronx Organizer Erwin Figueroa said, “We’re pleased to learn that Motivate, operator of Citi Bike, is in discussions with the de Blasio administration in regards of expanding Citi Bike to all 5 boroughs. The proposal to bring 4,000 bikes to the Bronx and Staten Island would help provide a foundation for the system to expand to currently unserviced areas and will help address the transportation inequities faced by these two boroughs. Making cycling more accessible to residents of the Bronx will also help improve the borough’s health outcomes and gives residents another transportation option.”

At this moment, exact locations of where the service will be available has yet to be made public but we do know that they have been actively scouting locations and meeting with local organizations, including the Third Avenue BID in Melrose.

When asked further about the what Citi Bike would mean for the Third Avenue BID at The Hub, Michael Brady added, “Imagine a future that efficiently and safely connects Randall’s Island to Mott Haven and Hunts Point, to the bustling commercial district of the HUB, to community assets like Lincoln Hospital, Hostos Community College, and the Bronx County Court Offices. It should be noted that the Bronx will not be a pawn in a NYC experiment where a lower grade operator facilitates bike shares in the outer boroughs. We will not accept anything other then the high quality bike share program that is currently offered to our Manhattan and Brooklyn peers. ”

“This is not the time for City government to dilute the quality of bike share programs by bringing in currently illicit bike share operators for the sake of closing a better deal. The South Bronx will not accept anything less then our equitable right to transportation services.”

While clearly the entire Bronx will not be covered in the first phase, this is a step in the right direction so that we can eventually have an entire city covered with this alternative means of transportation.

For the past 15 years Henry Weinstein, the owner of the landmark Beaux-Arts Old Bronx Borough Courthouse in Melrose, has been searching for the right tenant. Deals have come and gone but none stuck but after 2 years of negotiations, he told Welcome2TheBronx, the building is set to re-open in late Summer 2018 as a charter school.

Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts has signed a 20 year lease for the entire property at 161st Street and Third Avenue where the borough of The Bronx was born in 1914 as the 62nd County of New York State as the mainland officially split with New York County aka Manhattan.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal was made possible thanks to a large contribution by John Paulson, a billionaire hedge funder and philanthropist.

“Forty years ago, this building housed prisoners waiting for trial,” Eva Moskowitz, the CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, said in a statement. “That space will be transformed into beautiful, modern classrooms and a historic house of learning. Success is quite literally transforming the school-to-prison pipeline to a school-to-college-and-prosperity pipeline.” posted Curbed.

In 2015 the art organization No Longer Empty, which creates art installations in vacant or underutilized spaces that speaks on community histories and issues held their 3 month residency at the space bringing thousands of community members and youth through the doors of the landmark building for the first time in since its closing in 1977.

The transformation of the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse is the one of the last pieces of the puzzle in the urban revitalization set forward by Nos Quedamos in Melrose as WHEDco’s Bronx Music Heritage Center is rising just 2 blocks away on the last large remaining track of land in the Melrose Commons area of the neighborhood.

We Stay/Nos Quedamos fought hard to acquire the property in the 1990s but in typical former Mayor Rudy Giuliani petty fashion, his administration instead chose to sell the property off at a city auction to spite then Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer with the organization—and The Bronx ending up the ultimate losers.

Although many in the community would have much rather seen the building turned into something that the entire community could utilize, at the very least it will no longer be a derelict, vacant monument to government failure and neglect and will instead serve to as an institution of teaching rather than incarcerating our youth.

Make no mistake: New York City’s attempt to take away land dedicated and mapped as parkland in The Bronx that was slated for Mill Pond Park expansion on Pier 5 will set a precedent that will make it only easier for NYC and New York City Economic Development Corporation to take away parkland anywhere in the city.

That’s why we MUST take a stand regardless of where you live because this is something that will impact our city of over 8.5 million residents and our precious green spaces.

If this were Manhattan, we wouldn’t be having this discussion because parkland would not be taken away but because we are The Bronx and more specifically the South Bronx in a community of color in the poorest congressional district without access to monies for expensive attorneys, NYCEDC and the City think they can just do whatever they want with OUR PUBLIC LAND.

This is not private land, this is public land that New York City DEDICATED as parkland and since Welcome2TheBronx caught them with their pants down last year when they announced their intentions to turn over the land for “affordable” housing that’s not affordable for our community, they began a campaign of DELETING any mention of Pier 5 as part of their expansion.

But unlucky for them, we kept a record of everything.

Please sign the petition and let the city and state know that this theft of land is NOT acceptable!

Between 2010 and 2016, the feeding frenzy by developers and investors of Bronx apartment buildings totaled a record $9.6 billion in transactions with many properties sold at speculative prices as all eyes turned on the borough as the last frontier.

Now, The Real Deal reports

“In over half of apartment building transactions between 2009 and 2016, market prices grew at least three times faster than building net income – a disconnect pointing to investor speculation that the fundamental value of buildings will catch up to their sticker price as rent rolls in the borough increase. The assumption, though, may not pan out, and depending on the terms of investors’ debt, overpriced acquisitions may put investors in a difficult position.”

Many of these investors and developers are hoping that rents continue to increase in our borough, something which will just push displacement and homelessness in our borough up as well but the question remains if the market will continue to support every increasing rents in The Bronx.

The Real Deal continues:

“But some community groups are concerned for how this speculative buying will impact tenants in a borough where a majority of apartments are rent-stabilized and incomes rest at citywide lows. The fear is that all the activity could displace the area’s residents and landlords might resort to predatory behavior in order to boost returns.

The average speculative transaction between 2010 and 2016 comprised buildings where 83 percent of residential apartments are now rent-stabilized, according to June 2016 property filings. Rent-stabilization laws limit the amount landlords can charge tenants, and in the last two years the mayor-appointed board tasked with setting annually allowed increases opted to freeze rents for stabilized tenants signing one-year leases — although a preliminary vote last month suggests increase are coming this year.

Landlords can also raise rents after making improvements to the apartment or building – or after a tenant moves out. Some community groups argue these exceptions provide an incentive for landlords to push tenants out to increase rents.

Sheila Garcia, deputy director of Bronx-based tenant organizer Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA), said she has seen cases of landlords trying to “intimidate people in order to displace them.”

Community groups like CASA refer to speculative purchases and subsequent tenant removal techniques as “predatory equity.”
Last June, Bronx city Councilmember Ritchie Torres introduced a bill that would create a watch list for so-called predatory equity landlords, partially defining the practice as taking on more debt than the building’s income can initially support.

“We’re seeing landlords still try to go to extremes to be able to push the limits of the law and illegally harass tenants out of their apartments as well,” said Alejandra Nasser of Stabilizing NYC, a coalition of tenants’ rights groups. Speaking at a public meeting last month in front of the Rent Guidelines Board, Nasser said that the coalition has worked in what she defined as “predatory equity buildings” throughout the city.

Predatory or not, investors continue to speculate on the Bronx, and judging by the trades in the first quarter, are likely to keep upping their bets. But to what end?

“Everybody’s looking for the next Williamsburg or Bushwick,” said David Schwartz, a principal at Slate Property Group, which said it intends to steer clear of the Bronx for now. Williamsburg saw sales prices double from the second quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2016, from $668,956 to $1.3 million, according to Miller Samuel data. In that same period, average monthly rents in Bushwick jumped 70.6 percent, to $2,643.

Investors may be hoping that Bronx neighborhoods follow a similar trajectory and push property values skyward.

“I don’t know if that’s the right assumption,” Schwartz said.

Read the full story: The Bronx is bubbling: Investors are placing huge bets on the borough – but the numbers may not pencil out

MELROSE―The Bronx is getting another co-working space as Bronx FlexSpace gets ready to open their doors officially next week.

Like Bronx Coworks, which opened up last month, Bronx FlexSpace, which is located at 452 E 149th Street between Brook and Bergen Avenues just doors down from The Opera House Hotel, will offer various levels of services like private offices, dedicated spaces, and shared spaces.

But that’s where the similarities end.

Bronx FlexSpace will offer a “cyber cafe” where you can rent a computer station by the hour which is a necessity in The Bronx considering many families in low-income neighborhoods do not have access to the internet or a computer.

A key component is also programming at the space which will be held on Sundays which owner Evangelina Sosa says will be, “…to feed the soul” and envisions hosting poetry readings, writing workshops and other arts and creative events.

Members will be able to take advantage of these and more such as financial and computer literacy seminars which they plan to offer to the community as well.

Sosa told us that they decided to open up a co-working space after they kept hearing a common question: “Are you renting desk space”.

This led to the decision to create an environment and fill the need in a community where Bronx FlexSpace sees plenty of residents who are business owners but more importantly Evangelina Sosa added, “The best way to nurture a community is to work together and do it for each other and that’s what we’re going to do.”

“We want to be able to give the existing community in The Bronx a jump start.” she added.

While both Bronx Coworks and Bronx FlexSpace are co-working facilities, they are not in direct competition with each other but rather complement each other well providing the community with even more options for our borough’s entrepeneurial spirit.

Yesterday during an excursion to Westchester, I ended up at Empire Casino in Yonkers (Don’t judge me) and my father introduced me to a 92 year old Bronx man who was born in Puerto Rico and came over on a ship in 1942.

But what caught my attention was that this man DANCES salsa for HOURS! Here is this 92 year YOUNG man and he’s dancing the night away ever so casually. Once the live music began at 8PM, he told my father, “Excuse me but my therapy has begun!”

Anyway, hope you enjoy the video as much as I did watching him dance! This man is such an inspiration!

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio prides himself on being a mayor for all boroughs and ran a campaign on the disparities of a “Tale of Two Cities” yet four years later since his campaigning began, we are no better in many aspects than under the previous Bloomberg administration.

The city thought they could quietly take away a promised plot of land for the expansion of Mill Pond Park along the Harlem River north of 149th Street but thanks to Welcome2TheBronx who first broke the story last year, we were able to put them on notice that we are watching.

Last year, the New York City Economic Development Corporation announced issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for the vacant 4.7 acre plot of land that was promised and destined to be part of the people’s waterfront park.

After we pointed out that this was indeed dedicated parkland, NYC Parks quietly attempted to remove traces of the promises by removing the 4.7 acres from Mill Pond Park’s webpage on their site—but not before we were able to take screenshots.

Last week Bronx residents and activists met with staff from NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who’s district covers the park, to ask her to put a stop to this land grab.

Let’s face it: If this were in Manhattan, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion because the people would not let it happen but because it’s The Bronx, we’re still living in a tale of two cities where the city does whatever it pleases.

The only reason the city wants the land is to develop “affordable” housing which shows just how desperate de Blasio is to show he’s actually doing something with the affordability crisis we’re facing—but he’s not.

But there may be a saving grace.

Paula Z. Segal, an attorney who has dedicated herself to the preservation and creation of open, green spaces, commented on the legality of what is going on here:

“In order to convey parkland to a nonpublic entity, or to use parkland for another purpose, a municipality must receive prior authorization from the State in the form of legislation enacted by the New York State Legislature and approved by the Governor. “Once land has been dedicated to use as a park, it cannot be diverted for uses other than recreation, in whole or in part, temporarily or permanently, even for another public purpose, without legislative approval.” United States v. City of New York, 96 F.Supp.2d 195, 202 (E.D.N.Y. 2000). This clear law has been applied consistently since 1871.

The question is: what is parkland?

The term “dedicated” is often used in referring to municipal parkland subject to State alienation requirements. Common phrases include “lands dedicated for park purposes” and “dedicated parklands.” The dedication of parkland may be formal through an official act by the governing body of the municipality.

Dedication can also be implied. This may occur through actions which demonstrate that the government considers the land to be parkland or the public used it as a park. Examples include: a municipality publicly announcing its intention to purchase the lands specifically for use as a park, “master planning” for recreational purposes, budgeting for park purposes, or “mapping” lands as parkland. Kenny v. Board of Trustees of Village of Garden City, 735 N.Y.S.2d 606, 607 (App. Div. 2nd 2001)(property acquired for recreational purposes and used for recreation was instilled with public trust even though never officially dedicated).

Here is the State’s handbook on alienation: http://nysparks.com/publications/documents/AlienationHandbook.pdf“

Although it would seem that the law is indeed on our side, NYCEDC insists that what they are doing is completely legal.

We are asking NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to save our public land. By allowing the EDC to go forward with this, it would set a dangerous precedent for other parkland throughout the city.

Maybe Public Advocate Letitia James can step in and help our community as well? Either way, we can’t and must not let this happen.