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The northern part of Grand Concourse around Bedford Park/Moshulu was still pretty nice when I lived in the Bronx (2003). Doormen buildings and co-ops. Some neighborhoods, even throughout the years and shifting demographics, don't change. I thought that area was one of them.
There are plenty of colored professionals who live in and around the lower concourse area and thats why it gives the impression that the demographics has not changed even though some improved their class status, invested their money in thecarea instead of moving upstates, across the Hudson or down south.
Where I work I get a lot of customers who live in the 160's and Sheridan area. I've had a few tell me how they have been victims of robbery right on those step streets. This is right of the Concourse, and being how it is close to the courthouse and everything, I would consider it Yankee Stadium area. Go a little west to the west 160's and Ogden/Shakespeare/Nelson area, and you'd find yourself in an area which has seen no gentrification, still has boarded buildings and is packed full with drug dealers on corners. I don't know if any of you have frequented the Highbridge/Concourse area in the summer, but it is the definition of a zoo. This area has a long way too go.
Highbridge and the greater Grand Concourse has it's problems but I'll say this:
•Those streets with new construction were once weed-strewn lots. There are still some left, but most have since been redeveloped on. Most vacant buildings have been renovated, often quite nicely.
•The drug activity was once much more visible, and much more aggressive. In 1993, it was much more common to find junkies on rooftops and back alleys. Even stairwells and lobbies of occupied buildings. A lot more wondering then streets too.
•Talking about aggressive drug activity, there was way more drug crime. Homicides were commonplace on virtually every street, every year throughout the crack era. Home invasions were much more common, along with street robberies.
•The community was more run down. I recall that most buildings had a series of significant code violations. Walking into any random lobby and it resembled a graffiti art gallery. Much more trash on the streets, and in buildings.
•There was a lot more hopelessness. No one thought things would ever improve.
The changes over the years have been significant. The area has it's problems but quality of life has seen an improvement. A lot of buildings have been cleaned up pretty well. I don't see a difference in those versus anything average i've seen downtown. For some, conditions might remain then same but for most things have improved.
The Grand Concourse and surrounding neighborhoods make up probably some of the most picturesque areas of NYC. The quality of Art Deco apartments are second to none and the hilly terrain adds depth to the scene. The mass transit options are terrific, and the opportunity for quality retail is good thanks to mixed zoning/ground level retail and regular commercial cross strips like Burnside and Fordham Road in a dense environment.
It's only a matter of time before the greater area sees gentrification. Slowly but surely. It's already begun. I feel this is the Bronx money maker right here.
Nykiddo, some very valid points. In 1990 in the 44pct which covers the area around there they had 89 homicides. In 2012 it was 13. It's not the UES but it has come a long way. The area needs middle class and upper middle class people to start moving in. Hey no one would of expected Red Hook or Bed Stuy to become upper end areas.
Nykiddo, some very valid points. In 1990 in the 44pct which covers the area around there they had 89 homicides. In 2012 it was 13. It's not the UES but it has come a long way. The area needs middle class and upper middle class people to start moving in. Hey no one would of expected Red Hook or Bed Stuy to become upper end areas.
The Grand Concourse had and still does have among the highest violent crime incidents per square mile in NYC and the country. Even considering that, violent is still concentrated at particular locations within the neighborhood. Violent crime is also highest among particular demographics, depending on what it is. For instance, murder victims are almost always Black or Latino (of any race) males, between the ages of 18-30, often with their highest educational achievement a high school diploma and a lower income socioeconomic background. Add a record of criminality and the odds soar. For anyone else, you much more likely to die getting hit by a car or crashing during a car accident. Robbery is by far the most common stranger on stranger crime, although the Grand Concourse has a high rate of robbery you can reduce your odds with some common sense. Walking alone at night, intoxicated, while holding a valuable item (iPhone) could get you mugged on Times Square...
I am not trying to downplay the issues, but I find it ridiculous how some people fear this neighborhood the way they do.
149th Street in the South Bronx, including the intersection in the South Bronx, has some interesting older office buildings. I think if they got corporate investment in these buildings, that could help a lot.
I don't see the Bronx getting a Williamsburg. I think that only happened because Williamsburg had a lot of warehouses and empty factories. The Bronx has gentrified, sort of, if you count immigrants moving in and open businesses ,and services opening up to cater to them (more grocery stores, bank branches,etc). But I think whites generally don't seem to move into that many neighborhoods with immigrants. A few people, yes, but in mass, no.
In terms of walking around drunk with an Iphone, that's just what people do these days, and yes, in places where you're mostly with affluent people, its basically safe as they aren't opportunists looking to rob at the first opportunity.
If you've opportunists looking to screw people at the first opportunity around, its not an environment where people will feel safe in doing anything.
I will add that Shakespeare Ave, though the housing needs some works, has some cool architecture - almost as if a series of country wood houses were mixed in with the more typical sstuff. There is also a wonderful community garden. The area of Shakespeare I wrote of is what you hit if you cross from Washington Heights on 181st over the Washignton bridge into the Bronx. There are a few dull spots over the bridge but as I turned on Shakespeare I loved the feeling of being transported to a different world seeing some of the wooden houses and the wonderful community garden. As I headed down to oneof th main thoroughfares, I encountered a few apartment buildings quite grand and beautiful.
I continued walking down to Yankee Stadium to enjoy the lovely new park, a nice shaved ice. I believe on jerome or near the subway (yes where there were muggings) I found a great Dominican restaurant to refresh myself.
I would say that would be a great urban walk - get off at 181st Street on the A or 1 in Manhattan, walk toward Yeshiva and then down toward the edge of Highbridge Park to cross the Washinton Bridge. Walk down a large thoroughfare and then turn onto Shakespeare to see the wooden houses and grand apartment buildings. Continue to Yankee Stadium to Mullaly Park and then hop on a subway.
THe only disappointment of the area is I was told 20 years ago some of the area was in better shape than now. Maybe the person I spoke to meant 40 or 50 years ago.
Well worth the trip if youa re into architecture and urban landscapes.
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