Recently Zumper.com reached out to us with data showing how rents for 1 bedroom apartments had dropped 9.1% across NYC typically hot neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, LIC, Hell’s Kitchen, and the West Village.
But that isn’t the case for South Bronx neighborhoods of Hunts Point, Melrose, Mott Haven which saw over 11% increase in similar 1 bedroom listings with Hunts Point leading at 15%.
Of the top 5 neighborhoods in NYC where rents went up according to data provided by Zumper, 4 were in the South Bronx. (A total of 5 made the list).
As more and more people are priced out of Manhattan and Brooklyn, thanks to gentrification, The Bronx is becoming an option to those displaced seeking relief from excessive rents elsewhere.
Several years ago, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr said that there was no gentrification going on in The Bronx but with each passing month, we’re seeing more and more indicators manifesting in our neighborhoods.
25 years ago I predicted that the South Bronx would eventually become a target for gentrification and developers due to its proximity to Manhattan and its employment centers and commuted roughly 15 to 20 minutes.
Sadly, it is a prediction I hoped would never come true but here we are now at the front lines.
Of 31 counties across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in the New York region, a report issued by the Regional Plan Association places the Bronx at the top of the list indicating that 71‰ of The Bronx is at risk of displacement of which 44% are currently located in areas shifting towards a higher housing market. The Bronx was also listed as having highest rate of rent burdened households at a whopping 56% across all income categories and is defined as households paying more than 30% of income on rent.
The 355,420 Bronx households at risk do not include residents Section-8 housing or public housing in NYCHA.
The report, titled ‘Pushed Out: Housing Displacement in an Unaffordable Region‘ which sought to find where gentrification is likely to happen, looked at various issues like economic vulnerability of residents, characteristics of neighborhoods which make them attractive to higher income individuals—such as walkability to employment, good transportation networks—and increasing real estate prices of properties over $500,000 and rental properties over $2,000.
Areas in gray are at little to no risk of displacement, light yellow at risk of displacement, and dark yellow areas are at risk of displacement due to significant increase of property values over $500,000 and rents over $2,000/ Pushed Out | Regional Plan Association
Several key findings from the report are:
Low and moderate-income residents are being replaced by wealthier populations in walkable neighborhoods with good access to jobs
Despite this shift, most low and moderate-income residents still live in these walkable, job-accessible neighborhoods
These residents are mostly people of color
Many of these walkable, accessible neighborhoods are seeing a shift to more expensive housing
Displacement risk a problem throughout the region, not just in New York City
The issue of race is at the forefront as New York ranks as one of the most economically and racially segregated areas in the United States.
In the region, only 19% of white residents are at risk of displacement versus 81% of residents of color (28% Black, 41% Latino, 10% Asian, 2% other) showing just how centuries of systemic racism and oppressive policies in America has created conditions still impacting people of color today in 2017.
“Taken together, the results indicate that non-white residents are significantly more likely to reside in the areas deemed at risk than white residents. This is unsurprising.Segregation by race and income is not an accident; racism and bias stemming from the country’s long legacy of discrimination has persistent effects still felt across the United States. For instance, a typical white household has 16 times more wealth than a typical black one, and a black young man is more likely to go to prison than attend college or serve in the military.
Segregation also persists spatially. When compared with other large metropolitan areas, New York ranks highest in income inequality and continues to rank as one of the most racially and ethnically segregated regions in the United States.
The concentration of communities of color in the central, walkable areas is a direct result of the redlining and housing discrimination of the past, when suburban living was considered more desirable. Now that walkable areas closer to the urban core have become increasingly more valued,we have a unique chance to rectify these past injustices by ensuring that current residents can continue to call these areas home.”
The crisis of gentrification in The Bronx has never seemed harsher. We’ve known that it is already taking a foothold in our borough especially in vulnerable communities of the South Bronx and this report further solidifies what we know and are experiencing.
Forging ahead, the report recommends several strategies that can be implemented to minimize displacement:
Limit evictions through access to legal counsel for low income residents
Prevent sudden, sharp rent increases and keep homes safe and healthy
Low-Income Housing Subsidy
Use vacant government-owned landto create permanently affordable housing
Incorporate Displacement Risk into Decision Making
We know the issues, the dangers, and even possible solutions, the question now is, how do we begin implementing them?
Last year, 24 year old law student, Imelme Umana, took an internship at The Bronx Defenders, a non-profit organization of public defenders fighting for the rights of Bronxites.
But little did she know that she would eventually become the president of the Harvard Law Review—a title once held by former President Barack Obama, who in 1990 became the first black president of the prestigious journal which boasts the largest circulation for a legal journal in the world.
Born in Pennsylvania to Nigerian immigrants, her story is that of America, a nation of immigrants struggling to define and carve out their place in our country.
Unlike the vast majority of graduates of the nation’s top law schools, Ms. Umana says she has no interest in joining a high-paying corporate firm. Her dream for now is to become a public defender, a goal she set after an eye-opening internship last summer in the public defender’s office in the Bronx. She plans to work this summer with the public defender in Washington.
She may not be from The Bronx but it was here where Umana decided to become a public defender thanks to her internship at The Bronx Defenders.
Last year, 24 year old law student, Imelme Umana, took an internship at The Bronx Defenders, a non-profit organization of public defenders fighting for the rights of Bronxites.
But little did she know that she would eventually become the president of the Harvard Law Review—a title once held by former President Barack Obama, who in 1990 became the first black president of the prestigious journal which boasts the largest circulation for a legal journal in the world.
Born in Pennsylvania to Nigerian immigrants, her story is that of America, a nation of immigrants struggling to define and carve out their place in our country.
Unlike the vast majority of graduates of the nation’s top law schools, Ms. Umana says she has no interest in joining a high-paying corporate firm. Her dream for now is to become a public defender, a goal she set after an eye-opening internship last summer in the public defender’s office in the Bronx. She plans to work this summer with the public defender in Washington.
She may not be from The Bronx but it was here where Umana decided to become a public defender thanks to her internship at The Bronx Defenders.
REGISTRATION IS A MUST DUE TO LIMITED SPACE! You can register by going here or calling 718-993-3512
Since it’s inception 4 years ago, The Bronx Gentrification Conference hosted by The Bronx Documentary Center has grown larger each year.
This Sunday, at the 4th such annual event, it will be held at Immaculate Conception School in Melrose just down the block from the BDC with opportunity to attend various workshops that cover the breadth of gentrification issues.
4th Annual Gentrification Conference
by Bronx Documentary Center
Free
REGISTER
Share this event
DATE AND TIME
Sun, March 5, 2017
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM EST
Location
LOCATION
Immaculate Conception School (ICS)
378 E 151st Street
Bronx, NY 10455
View Map
Event description
DESCRIPTION
Practical Information, Concrete Steps
Join us for the BDC’s 4th Annual Bronx Gentrification Conference bringing together community residents with leading experts in zoning, tenants’ rights, investigative practices and much more.
Sunday March 5th, 1-6PM
Immaculate Conception School, 378 East 151st Street, Bronx, NY
Bronx residents and workers only. Limited workshop seating is available–you must pre-register.
This year’s conference will focus on a series of workshops that will provide residents an understanding of gentrification in the Bronx and the organizing tools to push back and/or mitigate the effects. Each workshop will take place in three 30-minutes sessions, giving participants the opportunity to attend in three workshops during the conference.
Information is Power
We will have workshops in:
Creating Diversity in City Planning
Landlord Harassment Tactics/Tenant Defenses
Creating Land banks and Land Trusts
Understanding the Zoning Process
Urban Renewal, Redlining, Rezoning and Race
Investigating Development
Gentrification and Health Equity: Strategies for Community Wellness
Home Ownership: How to Prepare
Activist Oral Histories
Artists Against Gentrification: Examining Strategies
We’ve always said that The Bronx never stopped creating, we’ve been a force in the world of the arts regardless of what discipline and last night victory came to The Bronx by way of the film ‘Moonlight’ winning the Oscar for best movie.
And his name is Jharrel Jerome, the 19 year old actor and Bronxite who plays the younger adolescent Kevin, one of the leading characters in Moonlight, a movie chronicling the life a black, gay male, Chiron.
A late-night spliff is passed between an adolescent Chiron and his only apparent friend Kevin (played by Jharrel Jerome), as the two engage in a dreamy exchange at the beach. By the time their high sets in – halfway reeling from the hard realities of living in the ghetto – Kevin pulls in for the kind of embrace Chiron has always yearned for but knew wasn’t culturally accepted. It’s the second stage of Barry Jenkins’ brilliantly tender film Moonlight, and Kevin – outwardly machista and cis hetero – is presented for the first time as someone queer or bisexual. In this space, neither one struggles with identity and both slip into more liberated versions of themselves—however fleeting. Kevin later emerges a complicated character, one who ultimately betrays Chiron to keep from being treated an outcast.
Jerome, who was raised in the Bronx and is of Dominican descent, initially grappled with connecting to his character. As someone not from Miami, and more, who identifies as “straight,” Jerome was tasked with finding other portals to Kevin’s heart. The nuance and duplicity of his on-screen persona, it turns out, is something the 19-year-old is far too acquainted with as a black Latino from the inner-city, coming up in a less familiar world of performing arts.
I realized that it was my job to fill Kevin’s shoes. I realized that I’m out here to tell a story for people who need to hear this story. —Jharrel
“I was that Latino kid in school. I grew up as the kid wearing the baggy pants and the hoodies. I was from the Bronx, you know, but speaking that Spanish dialect, and these people from Manhattan—they’ve never heard that before,” says Jerome, whose arrival at LaGuardia High School in the Upper West Side was initially met with a sense of displacement.
In the rest of the interview he discusses about some of the struggles of growing up in The Bronx and how his family was his bedrock that provided the nurture he needed to chase his dreams and not get caught up in the drama that is so easy to do in our borough.
Bronx Actor Jharrel Jerome (left) with his co-star Ashton Sanders in the Oscar winning ‘Moonlight’ for best picture.
What’s truly refreshing about Jerome is to see that despite his wanting to escape The Bronx, he’s constantly mentioning his roots on social media shouting out that he’s a proud Bronxite.
Well, we’re proud of you too, Jharrel, and we wish you nothing but the best and look forward to the day you receive your very own Oscar!
It should come to nobody’s surprise that when Majora Carter and crew are met with opposition, she stoops to bullying and flat out harassment.
Recently, she began an attack against a Bronx feminist group, Odiosas, for alerting a group that was scheduled to appear at her Hunts Point cafe on Carter’s policies on pushing polluting industries on our communities and her pro gentrification stance.
We, as South Bronx Unite, issued the following statement: South Bronx Unite Stands in Solidarity with Hydro Punk and Las Odiosas – Attacked for Principled Stance against Self-Gentrification
Recently, HydroPunk, in coordination with local feminist group, Las Odiosas, withdrew from a scheduled appearance at Majora Carter’s Boogie Down Grind coffee shop in Hunts Point in objection to Majora’s “self-gentrification” initiatives. The groups have now described harassment by Majora and her husband, James Chase, in response to their position.
South Bronx Unite has, likewise, experienced the aggressive tactics of the Majora Carter Group and affiliated entities in connection with our opposition to a $140 million subsidy to FreshDirect to relocate to Mott Haven-Port Morris, adding 1,000 additional diesel truck trips through our “asthma alley” neighborhood every day and relying on a 21 year old environmental impact statement.
Majora and James told us they would charge $500/hr to talk with us about environmental justice in the South Bronx, while chasing FreshDirect for a contract to assist in the diesel trucking company’s entrance into the community.
They created a shadow twitter account called “South Bronx Untie” to confuse our followers.
They tried to foment division by dangling opportunities for access and visibility (ie TedX) and setting up private meetings between local EJ orgs and the FreshDirect CEO without inviting us. Most of this was unsuccessful – even Majora’s own Sustainable South Bronx wound up supporting our position.
And they bullied and threatened lawsuits against community members critical of Majora’s role with FreshDirect.
Ultimately, Majora’s one year contract wasn’t renewed with FreshDirect, but the damage and division she carelessly fostered for her own personal gain remains breathtaking.
Hydro Punk made a conscious decision to withdraw from hosting their event at Majora’s business, and that should be respected.
*****
FreshDirect Hires Majora Carter to Round Up Local Support
for Bronx Move (DNAInfo, 10/1/12) – “Carter spent several weeks this summer
“kicking the tires” at FreshDirect before signing a one-year contract to help
the company”
FreshDirect hires
Majora Carter (Mott Haven Herald, 9/28/12)
“Carter has a one-year contract to consult with FreshDirect
said Chase [Majora’s husband]. He bristled when asked how much she was being
paid. ‘They’re a private company and so is the Majora Carter Group. It’s
nobody’s business,’ he said.” http://www.motthavenherald.com/2012/09/28/freshdirect-hires-majora-carter/
Hero of the Bronx Is
Now Accused of Betraying It (NYT, 4/4/13)
“Because she [Majora Carter] had started her career fighting
truck traffic, he [Mychal Johnson] believed she would share their concerns
about traffic and pollution from the relocated fleet of delivery trucks. But as
he waited on the sidewalk to ask for her help, an office worker opened the door
just wide enough to tell him to put his request in writing. More than a week
passed after Mr. Johnson and his group, South Bronx Unite, sent an e-mail
inviting Ms. Carter to meet. Then the answer arrived. She would be happy to
meet — for her usual rate of $500 for new clients.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/nyregion/a-hero-of-the-bronx-majora-carter-is-now-accused-of-betraying-it.html
‘Environmental
racism’: Bronx activists decry Fresh Direct’s impact on air quality
(Guardian, 3/9/15) – “White and minority Americans breathe different quality
air, with the latter exposed to 38% higher levels of nitrogen dioxide. And it
is decisions like the one to place trucking operations for Fresh Direct in the
Bronx, says activist group South Bronx Unite, that exacerbate the problem.”
The Opera House Hotel, The Bronx’s first luxury boutique hotel opened in August of 2013 in Melrose on 149th Street at the old landmark Bronx Opera House just a block from The Hub and is now expanding with a new 9 story 31 room addition.
444 E 149th Street, directly adjacent to The Opera House Hotel where Mexicozina Restaurant once thrived, was purchased by the owners of the Opera House Hotel last March for $500,000. (Sadly the beloved restaurant with the amazing space was displaced <aka gentrification > but at least they were able to stay in the neighborhood just 4 blocks away also on 149th Street near Lincoln Hospital). Plans were filed last week for a 9 story, 31 room extension to the successful Opera House Hotel.
Back on August 2013 when the hotel opened, many were skeptical that a hotel would thrive in the area and feared that it would become just another homeless shelter, or drug and prostitution hotbed.
But occupancy determined that indeed there was a need and market for a hotel of this caliber in the South Bronx not just for tourists both domestic and international, but also for those visiting families in The Bronx—and yes, even Bronxites looking for a staycation.
Since the Opera House is a landmark building, it will be curious to see the renderings for their extension and if it will blend in with the original architecture or just another modern wing.
I guess all this hotel activity in the area will be able to accommodate the flock of tourists expected after The New York Times declared the South Bronx as One of 52 Places to Go in 2017. <insert sarcasm>
Much like the borough named after it, the Bronx River’s revival over the past several decades has been the result of activism and good old fashion rolling up of sleeves and countless hours of volunteer work by Bronxites.
Next week in Washington DC on February 17th, NYC Parks and The Bronx River Alliance will receive the 2017 Audrey Nelson Award from the National Community Development Association in recognition of the hard work turning around the environmental quality of a river that was inhospitable to life to one that saw the arrival of the first beavers in New York City in 200 years (aptly named José and Justin).
In 1974, The Bronx River Restoration Project was born as a result of residents seeing the long neglected river in desperate need of cleanup.
The group began the arduous task of cleaning the river with the help of everyday Bronxites willing to chip in.
While chaos reigned supreme as the fires of the 70s burned, residents were pulling out garbage such as tires (15,000 of them!), refrigerators, and a plethora of other debris.
Even more significant was and continues to this day is the presence of people of color taking charge of the environment and being in the front lines of the reclamation of the river.
WATCH: The Annual Bronx River Flotilla
Too often people of color are overlooked as stewards of our environment so to see documentation showing this side of all the work that was begun decades ago by community residents is a particularly important chapter of this continuing journey.
Since 1989, the city has been providing Federal Community Development Block Grant funding to the cleanup of the river.
12 years later in 2001, The Bronx River Project was born as a collaboration between community stakeholders, businesses, who shared the vision of seeing a vibrant river and ecology along its length.
Since then, according to a press release on the award,
The Bronx River Project has created 19 new acres of parkland and improved another 25, providing waterfront access for many in the South Bronx. The Bronx River Project has:
Opened Hunts Point Riverside Park (2007) and Concrete Plant Park (2009).
Renovated and extended Starlight Park (2013).
Begun the renovation of Muskrat Cove Park (2008) and Shoelace Park (2010).
Made substantial progress on the Bronx River Greenway, a series of waterfront parks and trails that will stretch across the river’s entire length in the Bronx.
Many Bronxites assume that the decline of the Bronx River was something recent that occurred with the planned urban decline of the borough beginning in the 60s and 70s (I say planned because the city literally abandoned The South Bronx in hopes of reducing the population and eventually rebuilding it for the middle and upper class).
But the decline of the Bronx River stretches back well over a century when it was often referred to as an open sewer thanks in part to Westchester County using it as such as part of their network and industry along the length of it as well.
Today, the Bronx River is probably as alive and the cleanest it’s been since before the Civil War.
Hiking along the river you’ll find raccoons, turtles, bats, and according to sampling data, some 30 species of fish have been identified calling the Bronx River home.
There’s even a fish ladder now to help alewife herring to go spawn further upstream beyond the 182nd Street Dam—the first time they’ve been able to do so in over 300 years!
While there’s much more work to be done, it’s refreshing to walk along the river and see the transformation it’s been through since my childhood.
What was once a place off limits now beckons you to partake and be one with nature.
A tree may grow in Brooklyn, but a mighty little river runs through The Bronx.
This vacant lot in Melrose at 368 E 152nd Street has been purchased by ArtCondo to develop into artist condominiums
A consortium of New York City artists, tired of being pushed out of neighborhoods across the city as they gentrify, banded together—along with their finances—and purchased a prime piece of real estate in the South Bronx neighborhood of Melrose for $1,150,000 last month to develop a vacant lot into a 7 story condo for artists.
The lot, located at 368 E 152nd Street is just 3 short blocks to the 2 and 5 line at 3rd Avenue and 149th Street and sits adjacent to a NYCHA building with a senior center.
Michelle Gambetta, founder of ArtCondo who also happens to be a real estate agent, says they’re hoping to break ground as early as April on the 20 unit condominium development that will also include workspaces for artists in the basement and a community facility of undetermined use as of yet.
According to the organization’s website,
“ArtCondo is a community-driven real estate enterprise that helps creative individuals purchase and develop buildings collectively, in partnership with neighborhood residents. We help creative workers leverage their collective buying power and sweat equity to create mixed-income creative communities which are effectively interwoven with surrounding neighborhoods.
ArtCondo’s overall purpose is to help New York City’s working artists to become financially stable property owners anchored in their communities, so they can continue to enrich the city’s cultural heritage without fear of losing their housing and/or workspace.”
Right now, depending on size, the units were looking at a price tag of $175,000 to $700,000 which is above anything else selling in the area with the exception of BronxBricks, the first condo conversion in The South Bronx back in 2007.
Gambetta’s hope is that this approach can somehow help artists get spaces as gentrification continues pushing prices up but at these price points for the units, which still isn’t a definite, it will be out of reach for most Bronx artists.
Prospective qualifying purchasers will be required to put down an all cash down payment.
As it currently stands, the original artists who pooled their resources aren’t from The Bronx (although Michelle Gambetta’s family goes back three generations in our borough) and many local residents question who is this really for? Who will it benefit at those prices?
Gambetta wants as many local artists and creatives to inquire on how to get in on the development.
While the concept in theory sounds great, this will only speed up gentrification and continue to push values above market rate at speculative prices and in turn, further out of reach of Bronxites.
To learn more, head on over to ArtCondo’s website and feel free to reach out to Michelle Gambetta.
This article was corrected 2/9/2017 at 2:29PM EST to reflect that the lower price is $175,000 not $300,000.
A powerful voice for women but Gjonaj voted against the Women’s Equality Act.
A politician who lies about their record? In The Bronx?
That would never happen here, right?
That’s precisely what Democratic New York State Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, who’s running for City Council this year, did in a mailer touting his “…fight for women’s rights,” and a “…powerful voice for women and families.”
This shouldn’t be a surprise as he’s supported Republicans like Senator John McCain with $7,000 in campaign contributions and he also contributed $1,000 to then Congressman John Sweeney’s campaign in 2006 where he lost to now Senator Kristen Gillibrand.
Gjonaj’s contributions to John McCain and Sweeney
In the 2000 presidential election, Sweeney was referred to as “Congressman kick ass” due to his roll in shutting down the Miami-Dade ballot recount in Florida handing presidency to Bush.
John Doyle, who’s also running for the same city Council District 13 seat being vacated by the term-limited Jimmy Vacca as Gjonaj said to us, “Today’s news is just another example of why we shouldn’t look to Albany for leadership on any issue but particularly those related to women’s health. Bronx voters are as smart as they are tough; they see through this double talk.”
Doyle, a well known activist and established community leader from City Island added in a statement to Welcome2TheBronx that, “My record is clear, I’ve worked throughout this state to elect pro-choice State Senators in areas throughout New York where such a position isn’t always popular.”
John Doyle, candidate for City Council District 13
When asked what he’d do for women’s rights and equality, he added, “Other candidates in this race have donated to the opponents of women’s equality. That’s a clear choice and I’m running for City Council to expand on our progress- to fully fund Planet Parenthood if President Trump and Congressional Republicans threaten Planned Parenthood’s operations, I vow to fight for for full contraceptive coverage options for all women…”
He also understands the need for more balance in government with more women representation.
“I support and know the dire need to promote qualified women running for office, that’s why I’ve made financial contributions towards two of my colleagues in government who I feel have the experience to make a difference. We need proven grassroots leaders who are committed to protecting and expanding opportunities for women.” said Doyle on the issue.
In a crowded race, it will be interesting who emerges from the primaries later this year.
John Doyle isn’t part of the establishment, he isn’t the status quo,and has a proven track record as a grass-roots leader trusted by the community which is why we happily support his campaign.
The Gerard Ave Hotel is being constructed directly in front of NYC’s Homeless Intake Center
Amidst all the “affordable” housing and market rate developments going up in the South Bronx, it’s the rise of hotels that is starting to saturate the market.
The property at 646 Gerard Avenue at 151st Street is slated to be a four story hotel 18,000 square foot hotel with an undisclosed number of rooms directly facing New York City’s Homeless Intake Center.
Its proximity to 149th and Grand Concourse subway station on the 2,4, and 5 lines makes it attractive to barging hunting tourists who don’t want to pay the high cost of lodging in Manhattan. .
First of course there was Mi Casa Tu Casa Bed and Breakfast followed by another at The Andrew Freedman along the Grand Concourse.
Then came The Opera House Hotel, The Bronx’s first luxury boutique hotel followed by yet another luxury boutique hotel, The Umbrella, both in Melrose.
Comfort Inn in Mott Haven on Third Avenue and 135th is nearing completion followed by another yet to be named hotel on 146th Street and Exterior which is also almost complete.
Construction already underway at the Gerard Ave Hotel
These hotels don’t only cater to tourists but to families as well visiting from out of town.
I guess if the South Bronx is one of the 52 Places to Go in 2017 according to The New York Times, there’ll be sufficient lodging in the area.
