Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Piper
Sha83,
Just curious, how do you like the area? (Highbridge) What would you say are the pros and cons?
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In terms of what, exactly? It's like living in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, the Grand Concourse, and the courts. At times I feel like I am living almost in a Potemkin village of sorts because many who come to go to a ballgame or to the courts or simply pass through via the Concourse think this area is just like what they se on the larger boulevards. In the morning when there are people out and it's busy there is a good neighborhood feel to the area. However, after all the students, judges, lawyers, cops, and Yankee fans leave, sometimes it can be pretty depressing. When business hours are over, so are many of the services in this neighborhoods, like the restaurants and delis that are there only because of the courts and stadium. That's kind of a slap in the face.
It's really curious how you can walk up and down the Concourse between 149th St. and maybe 167th St. or 161 St. between Morris Ave. and Yankee Stadium and everything looks "upright", middle-class, clean, floral, green, and sparkling and then you turn a block or two off and it looks just like the rest of the South Bronx. A few blocks from "SoBro" or the "Downtown Bronx" there are empty lots, garbage, abandon buildings, and crack addicts just like anywhere. I can say, however, that the area has improved drastically in the last 10 years or so. You used to walk past Joyce KIlmer and see crackheads, addicts, bums, and winos hanging in front of the fountain and McDonald's after dark, but many have seemed to disperse.
This area is on the upswing and will continue to be, but it's not going to be any Upper Eastside for quite a while, if ever. The area looks a little better everyday, but again, one has to wonder if these services, renovations, and efforts are actually for us, the people of the neighborhood, or to hide to fact that this is a poor neighborhood so that Connecticut-bound ball fans don't have to see or think about what's beyond the stadium. Not to sound dramatic, but in some ways this is similar to the decals placed on abandoned buildings to make suburbanites believe that the area is actually middle-class.
I don't dislike the area, certainly, but things like noise (people see no issue with blasting 50 Cent at 1 AM and having loud conversations outside), police seem apathetic, and people seem to take these things for granted. As far as the South Bronx goes or the more blighted, harder hit areas of the Bronx, this isn't that bad. You definitely need street smarts to get buy. You also might want to keep late night strolls to a minimimum. What can I say?
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