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Old 07-15-2018, 09:32 PM
 
Location: Manhattan
8,906 posts, read 4,692,634 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bxlover View Post
Its a shame that area had some of the biggest apartments. What happened in the Bronx was horrible. Im surprised the City does not have a musuem to document what happened there and in Harlem and Brooklyn areas as well
Didn't Robert Moses play a part in that? Destroying The Bronx, that is. I read "The Power Broker" a long time ago (it was required reading in college) and I think the book goes into great detail regarding his special role in the dismantling and disemboweling of The Bronx to what we know it as today.
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:38 PM
 
Location: New York, NY
12,741 posts, read 8,166,435 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aeran View Post
Didn't Robert Moses play a part in that? Destroying The Bronx, that is. I read "The Power Broker" a long time ago (it was required reading in college) and I think the book goes into great detail regarding his special role in the dismantling and disemboweling of The Bronx to what we know it today.
He most certainly did. The Cross Bronx Expressway destroyed several neighborhoods and could be considered a catalyst for further destroying large parts of the Bronx.

The communities protested but it didn't matter. I think a lot of people don't know how powerful the rich were back in the old days here in NYC. They had their way with the shaping of NYC, and Robert Moses is an extremely important figure in the shaping of the not just the five boroughs but outside of New York City too. He constructed bridges and expressways that served to destroy neighborhoods, but also ensured that people of color didn't gain easy access to certain neighborhoods either. For example, he's been accused of ensuring that the bridge height limits were such in certain areas so that people who used public transportation couldn't gain access to places like Jones Beach with ease. If we look at the shaping of the Bronx, Moses had a huge hand in building several expressways, many of which didn't help the borough.

He's been said to be very car centric and racist. One article talks about how he even shaped the Rockaways:

http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/n...-city-planning

https://boingboing.net/2016/08/22/ro...uring-rac.html
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:39 PM
 
11,445 posts, read 10,384,414 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shizzles View Post
If you walk around/take a bus through the South Bronx you can generally get a good feel for what is original and what is replacing what was destroyed. I do agree with most people here that the further west you went the less arson. The area along the 4 seems to have far, far less damage than along the 2/5 which at times you can tell whole blocks were simply wiped out. Good telltale signs are rowhomes that have vinyl siding, buildings with newer windows, taller/shorter buildings than the average 5/6 floor walkup. It seems the worst areas were Melrose, Morrisana, Longwood, Mott haven, Soundview, West Farms and parts of Tremont.
The vinyl siding rowhomes are mostly prewar. But other than that I agree. Rowhomes with minimal design detail, green/red awning, and front driveways, midrise buildings with no fire escapes, etc. are signs of newer construction.

And I also mostly agree with the worst hit areas, except Soundview seems to have been hit less hard than the rest on that list. Most of those rowhomes look original to me due to the lack of front driveway.

And yeah, the 4 train and D train neighborhoods look far, far more intact even if some of them also had issues.
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:40 PM
 
Location: Bronx, NY
5,720 posts, read 19,986,119 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bxlover View Post
Its a shame that area had some of the biggest apartments. We had a huge apartment on Grand Ave around 182 st.. I recall how my relatives would recall that apartments sheer size and comfort. My parents moved out as they sensed trouble coming and sure enough a few years later a former neighbor called to tell us the building was gone. My parents always said that neighborhood was the best they lived in before it fell to hell. They recalled being able to walk over to so many stores on Burnside or Fordham or Tremont. The 6 and D trains and buses all close by. My mother recalled having Greek, Jewish, African American, and Irish neighbors who all looked out for another. They lived there like 8 years and well that period was soon taken from them as it was for tens of thousands of people. What happened in the Bronx was horrible. Im surprised the City does not have a musuem to document what happened there and in Harlem and Brooklyn areas as well
Just crazy how bad W 181st Grand / Aqueduct/ University areas were hit. Looked like Charlotte street

Grand ave Between Burnside and W Tremont
DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_02869_0139



DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_02869_0159





DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_02870_0001



W 181st
DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03193_0013



Grand avenue Btween W 180th and Burnside
DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03193_0009




Between W 181st and Clinton Pl

DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03195_0001



Between W 182nd and W 183rd
DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03196_0005




DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03196_0007




Aqueduct avenue off W 181st

DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03210_0075



DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03210_0080





The real bad stuff stopped here, atleast on the West side.
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:47 PM
 
Location: Bronx, NY
5,720 posts, read 19,986,119 times
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Harrison avenue off W 181st:

DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03206_0041



DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03206_0039




DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_03206_0041




Davidson avenue just below W Tremont ave was wrecked big time:

DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_02861_0067




DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_02862_0037



DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_02862_0041




DOF: Bronx 1980s Tax Photos: dof_2_02862_0045




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Old 07-15-2018, 09:48 PM
 
Location: New York, NY
12,741 posts, read 8,166,435 times
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This says a lot about the decay of the Bronx:

Robert Moses and the Bronx:

1. The Cross Bronx Expressway


The “Cross Bronx,” as it is known colloquially, was the brainchild of Robert Moses. But historically it has been blamed for bisecting the Bronx roughly in half causing a migration of middle and upper class residents to the north and leaving the south portion to become an underserved slum of low-income residents. It displaced as many as 5,000 families when an alternate proposed route along Crotona Park would have only affected 1-2% of that amount. Robert Moses is accused of favoring “car culture” placing an importance on building highways instead of subways in order to grow the city. This can be seen as a segregationist ideology since it ignores the needs of the large population in NYC that can not afford a car. Also the construction of large highways like the CBE shelved greater NYC Transit projects including the Second Avenue Subway. Not only did it have these ill effects, but to this day the expressway remains a headache for commuters with stacked and entangled roadways such as the Highbridge and Bruckner Interchanges. This MIT report has a few more examples of Moses’ failures associated with the CBE as well as a few more of his projects Massachusetts that were shelved after his reputation plummeted in 1968.


He essentially played a huge role in gutting the Bronx of its middle class and upper class residents. That likely explains why even today the Bronx has very few upper class residents.

https://untappedcities.com/2013/12/1...-robert-moses/
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:49 PM
 
33,748 posts, read 16,749,502 times
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Fordham Rd, early 80s, business arsons were common.
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:53 PM
 
11,445 posts, read 10,384,414 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrooklynJo View Post
A lot of rowhomes were Nehemiah houses. They also built the rowhomes you see all over Spring Creek!

I know for a fact that program did all the rowhomes in East New York and Brownsville
ENY and Brownsville have a lot of old school rowhomes too, though. But is it just me, or do the Nehemiah rowhouses look way more out of place in South/Central Bronx as opposed to Eastern Brooklyn?

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrooklynJo View Post
Dangerous how again?
Because it turns the whole block into an active driveway. Meaning, higher chance of pedestrians being hit by cars backing up

Quote:
Originally Posted by Relaxx View Post
I agree. Those rowhouses aren’t the most attractive.
Yeah they're fugly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMario View Post
http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-y...est-bronx.html

I did alot of research on this. Look at the above thread.

All of Morris Heights/Highbridge and University heights up to about W 181st was destroyed. After W 181st you had pockets of abandonment until you got got to Fordham road were it became less noticeable.

About 80% (my best guess) of the buildings on University Avenue from about W 174th up to W 181st were either abandoned shells or vacant lots.
But even the renovated buildings are a huge step up from what you see in Longwood and West Farms. The overwhelming majority of the architecture West of Webster Ave looks original to me. The neighborhoods you listed still have walls of prewar buildings throughout the neighborhood (with exceptions)

But thanks for the thread, I will read it in depth later
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:54 PM
 
Location: Bronx, NY
5,720 posts, read 19,986,119 times
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If you consider University Heights north of Burnside up to W fordham, then the red outlined area was where the heaviest decay was in the neighborhood (basically the lower half), and like I mentioned before, my 1980s west Bronx thread has a few more photos.

So yeah Highbridge, Morris Heights, and University Heights all went through significant decay. In fact, if you google street view Aqueduct ave from W 181st up to W 184th, you still have today like 4-5 boarded up abandoned private houses, demonstrating the white flight the area went through.

You can go to this website :

NYC Municipal Archives

and view any NYC block in the 1980's.
Attached Thumbnails
Which Bronx neighborhoods were hit hardest by the arson wave?-e12757ea.png  
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Old 07-15-2018, 09:56 PM
 
Location: New York, NY
12,741 posts, read 8,166,435 times
Reputation: 7052
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobNJ1960 View Post
Fordham Rd, early 80s, business arsons were common.
Funny. I always thought of Fordham Rd is sort of being the buffer, despite it not looking the greatest in parts (stuck in a time warp).
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