They actually voted to keep the base fare for buses and subways at $2.75 however, unlimited and express unlimited will see an increase and the bonus will be significantly less.
Effective this March 19th:
7 day weekly unlimited is going from $31 to $32
30 day monthly unlimited is going from $116.50 to $121
7 day express bus plus metrocard from $57.25 to $59.50
Access a Ride will remain the same at $2.75
Purchasing a new card will still cost you just $1.
Bonus of 11% with a $5.50 purchase will drop more than half to 5%.
The MTA seriously needs to look into increasing revenue from advertising spaces and get creative on how they go about it.
I’d rather see a train shrink-wrapped in an ad than having to shell out more for a fare.
From detonations to gunfire, these intrusive sounds from Rodman’s Neck disrupt the relative tranquility of the quaint island neighborhood of City Island just on the other side of Eastchester Bay.
Now the city has announced that it’s planning on $275 million in upgrades to this NYPD training ground tucked away in the northeast Bronx inside Pelham Bay, the city’s largest park.
This is an increase from $150 million proposed back in late 2014 and a lot of it has to do with substandard infrastructure which hasn’t been updated since the city took it over in the 1960s.
But for City Island residents, the most important upgrade will be the noise reduction.
For decades, local residents from Country Club to City Island have been fighting the city to do something about the noise pollution from the detonations and firing exercises that plague the communities surrounding Eastchester Bay.
“I’m very happy that the City is going to upgrade Rodman’s Neck.” said City Island resident Tommy Breen.
“It’s exciting for residents and visitors to the area that sound baffles will be installed after decades of pressure. The noise from the range reaching City Island and other nearby neighborhoods is very unpleasant and unnecessary.” added Breen.
John Doyle, City Island resident and a candidate for Councilman Jimmy Vacca’s seat in the 13th District, said, “While the latest pledge from City Hall is encouraging, Bronx residents who live along Eastchester Bay realize it’s only the latest in a string of broken promises over the last twenty-five years.”
In 1993, former Mayor David Dinkins had signed a memorandum of understanding with New York State legislature that sound baffling would be installed to mitigate the noise pollution from the range within a year—something which clearly never came into fruition.
And since 2009, the NYPD and Councilman Vacca had told the community that the range was moving from Rodman’s Neck.
However,during a 45th Precinct Community Council meeting,Mr Doyle pressed then NYPD Commissioner William Bratton who admitted that the range would not be moved into a new police academy in Queens due to budget constraints.
“Until a shovel hits the ground, these are only words.” said Doyle.
“I’ll personally be watching these plans as closely as possible and I would encourage all levels of City government to set up a transparent and open process so Bronxites can keep informed.” he added.
In the meantime, there’s a petition started by Doyle circulating for the city to keep its promise so feel free to add your name to pressure them.
Rendering of the new 40th Precinct designed by architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group
After almost a year since the latest round of plans and renderings for the new 40th Precinct to be constructed in Melrose at 149th Street and St Ann’s Avenue, plans have finally been submitted to New York City Development of Buildings.
The $50 million facility will be the first of its kind in the city combining a precinct with a community space with a separate entrance.
Police and community relations in the 40th are strained thanks in part to years of the NYPD’s abuse of stop and frisk tactics (one of the highest uses of the controversial tactic in NYC).
This social experiment will be interesting to see how it plays out combining the public and NYPD in this state-of-the-art building.
Designed by Danish architectural firm, Bjarke Ingels Group, the building will be almost 50,000 in size representing a 475% increase in size from the current 10,000 square foot station house on Alexander Avenue and 138th Street in Mott Haven.
The current landmark precinct is simply too small and was built in 1924 to serve a much smaller population.
Hopefully they’ll be able to fill up the space with more detectives in an area that is severely undeserved in this department.
According to the New York Times, “And across the Bronx, investigative resources are squeezed. It has the highest violent-crime rate of the city’s five boroughs but the thinnest detective staffing. Nine of the 14 lowest-staffed precinct detective squads for violent crime in the city are there. The borough’s robbery squad is smaller than Manhattan’s, even though the Bronx has had 1,300 more cases this year. And its homicide squad has one detective for every four murders, compared with one detective for roughly every two murders in Upper Manhattan and more than one detective per murder in Lower Manhattan.”
Also part of the design will be the first ever green roof for an NYPD precinct.
The new 40th Precinct will have multiple green roofs thanks to its stacked design by Bjarke Ingels Group
Still, many question the price tag and necessity of building a new precinct especially one with such a rough history with the community.
Some folks have even suggested the money can be put to better use by investing it in badly needed NYC’s public housing NYCHA repairs.
Moving the 40th to 149th Street puts it more geographically centered to its boundaries but it will be interesting to see what impact it will have on rapidly gentrifying Mott Haven and Port Morris.
The current precinct is surrounded by NYCHA developments along with dozens of landmark townhouses, market rate condos, and a slew of new buildings rising within a 5 block radius including Somerset’s 25 story towers at the foot of the Third Avenue Bridge.
Applications are still being accepted for hundreds of apartments around The Bronx for newly constructed “affordable” housing developments and renovated buildings.
Of course we still say “affordable” because we know that far too often, folks who live in the areas end up not qualifying due to not meeting the income requirements—but that’s an entirely other conversation.
The following buildings are currently still accepting applications:
74 West Tremont Avenue Morris Heights
1 & 2 bedroom units with rents ranging from $1,292-$1,458 for 1 to 4 people households with incomes ranging from $44,298-$72,480. Application Deadline: 01/26/2017
Who Should Apply?
Individuals or households who meet the income and household size requirements listed in the table below may apply. Qualified applicants will be required to meet additional selection criteria. Applicants who live in New York City receive a general preference for apartments.
1544 Boone Avenue
Crotona Park East
Studios, 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units with rents ranging from $822-$1,224 for households of 1-6 people with incomes ranging from $29,520-$63,060. Application Deadline: 02/07/2017
Who Should Apply?
Individuals or households who meet the income and household size requirements listed in the table below may apply. Qualified applicants will be required to meet additional selection criteria. Applicants who live in New York City receive a general preference for apartments.
1825 Boston Road
Crotona Terrace Building B
Studios, 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units ranging in rents from $368-$1,740 for households of 1-6 people with incomes ranging from $14,503 to $105,100 Application Deadline: 03/15/2017 Who Should Apply?
Individuals or households who meet the income and household size requirements listed in the table below may apply. Qualified applicants will be required to meet additional selection criteria. Applicants who live in New York City receive a general preference for apartments.
A percentage of units is set aside for applicants with disabilities: mobility (5%) and vision/hearing (2%).
Preference for a percentage of units goes to residents of Bronx Community Board 3 (50%) and municipal employees (5%).
Grand & Rogers Apartments
1171 Clay Avenue, 1183 Clay Avenue, 1202 Clay Avenue, 384 Grand Concourse, 1129 Morrison Avenue, 1038 Rogers Place
These newly renovated apartments throughout The Bronx include studios, 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms with rents ranging from $822-$1,875 for household sizes of 1 to 6 people ranging in comes of $29,520-$105,100 Application Deadline: 02/27/2017 Who Should Apply?
Individuals or households who meet the income and household size requirements listed in the table below may apply. Qualified applicants will be required to meet additional selection criteria. Applicants who live in New York City receive a general preference for apartments.
It’s the kind of story we don’t like to write about but it would be irresponsible not to report on the human trafficking of our young girls right here in The Bronx.
Sadly, it appears that Councilman King was right despite the erroneous report of the previous missing girls.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark reported that her office is cracking down and taking these missing young women seriously most of which are Latina or African American.
News 12 The Bronx reports:
Clark says her office currently has 34 pending cases involving 53 defendants and 27 open investigations involving what she calls “modern day slavery.”
“It could be as simple as someone right here in the Bronx, a troubled teen that ran away and gets involved with the wrong people, who move to exploit them and take away their freedom,” Clark told News 12 The Bronx.
According to Psychology Today, 200,000 youths are estimated to be sexually exploited a year right here in America from an estimate of 244,000-325,000 American youths at risk for such exploitation and:
Domestic trafficking victims are often young girls—even as young as 10 or 11 years old—who are desperate to find someone who will love and take care of them. Traffickers are masters at manipulating and exploiting at-risk girls. These traffickers, who can be regarded as pimps, groom their victims, gaining their trust and loyalty by preying upon their vulnerabilities and showering them with praise or even gifts. Many times, the girls who become victims believe that their trafficker loves them, will stay with them, and even protect them from the law. The victims are eager to believe their traffickers’ assurances that they are a “couple.” Soon, the victims are coerced into having sex with strangers for money that their “boyfriends” keep for themselves.
“An FBI agent was interviewing a pimp, and so he said, ‘Where do you find your girls?’ He said, ‘I go to a shopping mall, and I look around for a girl who’s by herself. I say, ‘You know, you have really pretty eyes.’ And if she looks him back in the face and says, ‘Well, thanks!,’ he said, ‘I just keep going.’ And if she looks down at her feet and says, ‘No, I don’t,’ he said, ‘I know I’ve got her.'”
The most important way to prevent traffickers from finding new victims is ensuring that our girls value themselves. It is critical to promote young girls’ self-esteem and to make sure they know about the recruitment strategies of traffickers. We also have to ensure that there are resources and services available to at-risk youth who have already left home. We must let these girls know that there are people that care about them and organizations that can offer them help.
We will continue to keep you updated as more develops from this story, in the meantime, hug your children, your daughters and speak with them on the issue.
If founder of Nos Quedamos/We Stay Yolanda Garcia were alive today, she’d probably be smiling that the final piece of the puzzle of a massive urban renewal plan in the Melrose neighborhood of The Bronx broke ground today.
After years of delays, WHEDco’s Bronx Commons and Bronx Music Hall affordable housing development is officially under construction.
The 426,000 square foot, 305 unit development will include The Bronx Music Hall, a 14,000 square foot, 300 seat concert hall dedicated to not only preserving The Bronx’s vast and rich music and cultural history but to foster a new generation of music artists as well.
“The memories are still vivid,” said Nancy Biberman, founder and president of WHEDco, a nonprofit housing organization that has developed other residential projects in the borough. Ms. Biberman said that the goal of the venue will be to celebrate that past—she plans to feature an exhibit about Bronx musicians within the hall—but also to encourage a new generation of artists who call the borough home.
Musicians from outside the Bronx will appear at the hall as well, Ms. Biberman said: “It will be run like a world-class performance venue.”
Mark Naison, PhD, Fordham Professor and founder of the Bronx African American History Project, told Welcome2TheBronx that, “The creation of the Bronx Music Hall is the culmination of years of research, conducted by many people, documenting the Bronx’s history as the site of more varieties of popular music than any place in the world.”
“In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, the Bronx not was a place where mambo, doo wop, be bop, salsa and funk were performed and created, it had as many music venues as Manhattan and great music programs in Bronx schools. What the Bronx Music Heritage Center has been doing, and what the Bronx Music Hall will take to new heights is highlight not only music once created in the Bronx, but all the great music being created today, much of it the product of new immigrants from West Africa, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and South Asia.” added Naison
Bronx Commons will offer deeply affordable units for residents making 30% of the area median income mixed together with middle income residents. Income for eligible tenants will range as low as $4,000 and as high as $115,600 for middle income tenants as well as units set aside for formerly homeless individuals and families.
Included in the square footage is 22,000 of retail space that will line the 163rd street side leading into 161st street which will close the retail and commercial gap between 3rd and 163rd all the way to Yankee Stadium and 161st creating one long contiguous corridor for the first time in decades since the fires of the 70s and 80s.
The development will also include an open plaza and amphitheater for programming live events, a green market and the ability to utilize the exterior of the building for “large and small scale artwork”.
Resisting Gentrification Before It Was A Buzzword
Located at Brook Avenue and 163rd Street at the northern boundaries of Melrose, once complete, it will be the last development in the 30 block Melrose Commons urban renewal plan culminating 24 years of visioning thanks to Yolanda Garcia and the community’s resistance.
Long before many of us understood what gentrification was and let alone even heard the word, the New York City administration had set its eyes on what was left of the South Bronx and came up with an ambitious plan that would have displaced those who remained.
An original plan called The Bronx Center Project and spanned a massive 300 block area, left residents out of the planning process and in the dark and also at risk of being displaced. The Bronx Center Project spanned Third Avenue in Melrose all the way to the Harlem River, encompassing Yankee Stadium and Melrose’s Civic Heart on 161st Street where the borough’s court system is located, and The Grand Concourse.
Thanks to Yolanda Garcia and the founding of Nos Quedamos, residents resisted this original plan declaring that they will not sit and wait to be displaced as what was left of the area was to be demolished to make way for new middle class homes and family—displacing the few thousands that stayed behind during and after the fires and had begun the process of rebuilding the area.
Melrose almost fell to gentrification before Harlem and Williamsburg had it not been for Yolanda Garcia’s tenacious spirit and will to hold on to the neighborhood along with other activists in the area.
Since 1993, Melrose has added over 3,500 units of new construction affordable housing rental units, 2-3 family townhouses, and condos representing over $650 million in development costs alone and most of this activity was concentrated within the 30 block Melrose Commons area with the exception of Via Verde and St Ann’s Terrace, both developments directly outside on the boundaries of the zone.
By 2010, Melrose added thousands of new residents boosting the population from 3,000 in 1980 (after dropping from
These numbers do not include the upcoming massive La Central in Melrose directly south of Via Verde down to Westchester Avenue which will have almost 1,000 units of low to middle income “affordable” units of housing, a YMCA, BronxNet Studios and other amenities.
Once La Central is completed sometime in the early 2020s, Melrose will have added close to 5,000 units representing $1 billion in development. This does not take into account Triangle Plaza at 149th Street and two luxury boutique hotels in Melrose—The Opera House Hotel and The Umbrella Hotel.
Besides sustainable building practices, the criteria to achieve this status also takes into account transportation and walkability. With the 2 and 5 train station at 3rd Avenue and 149th Street taking residents to midtown within 15-20 minutes and a Metro North station and highway access, the area benefits from the best access to public transportation and access to employment centers than any area in The Bronx and far superior to the much hyped accessibility of Mott Haven.
Also under construction is the long promised and delayed Melrose Commons Park on Melrose Avenue between 159th and 160th Streets. The modest 1.07 acre park is scheduled to be completed by 2019.
Once La Central is completed, Melrose will be whole once again but what will the future hold for us once the many thousands of “affordable” housing apartments lose their protections and can potentially turn into market rate?
Perhaps all we did with Nos Quedamos is delay gentrification of Melrose by 30 or so years.
This also serves to bring attention to areas that are in danger of losing their character with encroaching development and to that end, Mott Haven in the South Bronx has been selected as one of the six along with Hart Island, the world’s largest potter’s field off City Island.
As developers continue to descend upon the South Bronx like vultures, it’s important that we’re able to not only preserve our community and the people that reside there but also the beautiful architecture that has survived the turn of the centuries and the fires of the 70s.
Countless people have dedicated their lives to Mott Haven’s preservation for it to be lost due to callous developers who don’t care about knocking down historically significant buildings and places.
HDC says about Mott Haven:
After decades of neglect, investors and developers have turned their gaze toward Mott Haven, and tourism and business has followed. The neighborhood has three designated Historic Districts: Mott Haven, Mott Haven East and the Bertine Block, all of which boast beautiful and intact rowhouses, as well as houses of worship. To celebrate the historic and architectural contributions of the neighborhood and explore the powerful role they play in the future of the area, the Mott Haven Historic Districts Association formed in 2016 to ensure that long-term residents (and buildings) have an active, inclusive stake in the neighborhood’s renaissance. The group will launch an annual “Decorators’ Showhouse,” host walking tours and establish a strong organizational presence in the neighborhood to cultivate stewardship, foster conscious citizenship and guide new investment sensitively to this gem in the South Bronx.
Bertine Block Historic District in Mott Haven, 1 of 3 such districts in the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, over in the East Bronx off of City Island is Hart Island, New York City’s potter’s field where over 1 million people are buried (literally this is America’s largest public cemetery although not quite public since access is virtually prohibited).
A lot of attention has been given to Hart Island, and rightfully so, as groups seek out to provide better access to the general public especially to loved ones who would like to pay their respects without having to go through so much red tape to even get there.
John Doyle, a local resident who’s running for city Council District 13 which covers Hart Island said, “There’s a great deal of history on Hart Island. It’s sad that the Department of Corrections has allowed buildings that were still in use as late as the 1970s on Hart Island to deteriorate beyond recognition.”
“Hopefully this designation serves as a catalyst to bring resources to preserve the area.” added Doyle about Historic District Council’s recognition of Hart Island.
HDC writes:
Unbeknownst to many, the largest public cemetery in the United States lies within the Long Island Sound just a stone’s throw from City Island in The Bronx. In existence since the Civil War era, over one million people are buried on Hart Island, but visitation is strictly limited, thus keeping the island shrouded in mystery. Working to uncover its historic significance, The Hart Island Project formed in 1991, incorporated in 2011 and has made immense progress to provide awareness, access, burial records and maps. In addition to advocating for public access and, ultimately, to transform the island into a park, the group is also working to illuminate the island’s history through public programming and a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
Check out these videos below on Hart Island and as always, we love to see any feedback!
Last year, 352 permits were issued for filming in The Bronx representing a drop from 397 in 2015 however, according to a statement provided to Welcome2TheBronx by The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, it is still dramatically higher than 5 years ago.
And now The Bronx has Silvercup Studios up and running so it will be interesting to see what impact that will have this year.
The Bronx offers a diverse range of locations from the urban streets of the South Bronx to the New England nautical nature of City Island to the bucolic estates of Fieldston mansions in Riverdale.
Selina Kyle aka Catwoman played by Camren Bicondova on the set of ‘Gotham
Earlier last year we had the pleasure of being on the set for a taping of Gotham at the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse in Melrose. We also ran into the filming of The Get Down too.
Despite all this attention for the filming industry here in our borough, we’re not yet capturing some of the over $8.7 billion in economic revenue the industry generates in New York City.
When we come across many of these film locations, almost all are catered by companies outside of The Bronx and there should be a genuine push by elected officials to encourage using our amazing range of Bronx restaurants who also offer catering services.
Difficult People
Inside Amy Schumer
Madam Secretary
Divorce
The Mysteries of Laura
Gotham
The Americans
Elementary
The Get Down
Girls
Bull
The Affair
Time After Time
Homeland
The Blacklist
Billions
Law and Order SVU
Power
What are some of the shows filming in the area you’ve stumbled across? Thoughts on filming in our borough?
The Bronx has seen a surge in foreclosures during 2016 accounting for the biggest increase from 2015 in New York City according to data released by PropertyShark, one of the most comprehensive real estate data sources in NYC.
Pelham Parkway South, parts of Morris Park, Parkchester, Castle Hill, Wakefield, and Edenwald in the 10466 and 10462 zip codes (both are tied with 65 each) had the most foreclosures listed with a total of 130 of 478 total properties entering in default.
These neighborhoods account for over a quarter (27%) of The Bronx’s foreclosures for last year.
Geographically speaking, the East Bronx also led foreclosures in The Bronx and in the West Bronx, Riverdale led the list.
Interestingly enough, foreclosures in the South Bronx were pretty scattered throughout without one area being as concentrated as 10462 and 10466 zip codes.
One of the most important and often neglected tip on avoiding foreclosure or dealing with it is to communicate with your bank or lender. It is imperative that they know what’s going on and generally they will work with you to help you as best as possible.
Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant sits along the Hudson River just 25 miles north of The Bronx /image Via Wikipedia
After decades of activists fighting to shut down a nuclear power plant just 25 miles north of The Bronx, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced a deal that would close the controversial energy plant by 2021.
Just last year we wrote about Indian Point possibly being America’s Fukushima as reports revealed leaks at what the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission listed as the most dangerous nuclear power plant.
Adding to safety concerns, the plant sits atop a faultline placing it at further risks for a disaster that could impact millions of people.
Mr. Cuomo claimed the long-sought shutdown as a victory in the State of the State speech he delivered in the city on Monday, the first of six speeches he is scheduled to deliver around the state. He has argued for more than 15 years that it is unsafe for nuclear reactors to operate on the edge of the most populous metropolitan area in the country.
The plant has been the target of protests by local residents and environmental groups, but its supporters have argued that there are no adequate substitutes for its high output of low-cost, carbon-free power. Indian Point’s two reactors can produce more than 2,000 megawatts, or about one-fourth of the electricity consumed in the city and in Westchester County
“For 15 years, I have been deeply concerned by the continuing safety violations at Indian Point, especially given its location in the largest and most densely populated metropolitan region in the country,” Mr. Cuomo said in a prepared statement before his speech. “I am proud to have secured this agreement with Entergy to responsibly close the facility,” which could have remained open for another 14 years.
Now, more than ever, we need to push for cleaner, renewable energy in our state and country. There is so much potential yet we’ve only scratched the service.
Since the 1980s, the Bronx Zoo began a major campaign to turnaround the nature of zoos from simply holding animals in captivity to recreating habitats where they could roam more freely while at the same time contributing to conservation of species facing extinction.
Not everyone is excited about the upcoming show as many animal activists are decrying the “poor” conditions of animals at The Bronx Zoo.
A group on Facebook, CompassionWorks International, responded to the show by posting the following:
The Bronx Zoo just announced that Animal Planet is airing a show this February on the ongoings at the zoo. We bet they’ll leave out Tundra’s plight enduring 90°F heat through the summer months, the tigers who continuously pace in their tiny enclosures, the camels who are forced to give rides, and Happy the Elephant, who lives in solitary confinement.
Clearly the zoo has come a long way and yes there are still concerns with the treatment of the aforementioned animals but there’s no denying that The Bronx Zoo is doing great work in preserving so many species as we face the largest mass extinction in 65 million years.
In the 113 years since The Bronx became the 62nd county of New York, a lot has changed yet plenty has managed to still remain the same.
Between 1900 and 1930, The Bronx exploded with 1 million new residents, thanks largely due to the expansion of NYC’s nascent subway system.
Apartment buildings sprung up like weeds along corridors where the subway lines snaked up and down.
Former estates and farms were subdivided to create neighborhoods like Morris Park, Allerton, and many others.
Then the Cross Bronx Expressway happened as Robert Moses unapologetically tore open a gash across our borough destroying Homes, neighborhoods, and ultimately lives.
Not too long after, the arson came from unscrupulous landlords trying to unload properties as African-Americans and Puerto Ricans moved in.
We’ve recovered a lot since then and most of it through grassroots efforts to revitalize communities by those who stayed behind during the worst of it all.
New buildings once again are rising, changing the face of The Bronx once again.
Using the New York Public Library’s Digital Collections archives, we’re able to sift through over 5,000 images providing a window into our past.
Below are some we think you’ll enjoy and if you want to see more, let us know.
“Bronx – Westchester Avenue – Soundview Avenue – Morrison Avenue”Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1933.
Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Sports Of Winter: Skating On Van Cortland Park Lake, New York City.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1894.
“Bronx: 231st Street (East) – White Plains Road”Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1929.
“Bronx: Allerton Avenue – White Plains Road 1930”Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library.
“Bronx: Allerton Avenue – White Plains Road”Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917.
“Bronx: Andrews Avenue South – Tremont Avenue (West)”Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library.The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1928.
“Bronx: Burke Avenue – Cruger Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library.“Bronx: City Island : a tent colony on east shore.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library.“Bronx: Morris Park Avenue – Bronxdale Avenue” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library.
