South Bronx continues its upswing (Morris, Hillside: fit in, sales, apartments)

[SuperMario]

Originally Posted by NYCwoman

Here we go again....I'm soooo bored with SuperMario's "The Bronx is horrifying" posts. Consider the source, everyone.

Oh, and Kingofthehill - "long commute"?!?! It's ONE STOP into Manhattan. It takes me 15 minutes to my job on on 57th Street. It took me longer than that when I lived on the UWS!

Ok, we get it. The Bronx is a wonderful place to live. No crime, poverty, homlessness and drugs.

And Mott Haven is it's best neighborhood.

[NYCwoman]

I have said time and time again - The South Bronx is NOT for the faint of heart. It IS raw, "NOT FOR TOURISTS" and is the epitome of urban grittiness. (So, Supermario, ONE of your past arguments - that you are a chivalrous Boogiedowner looking out for the Doe-Eyed-Just-Off-The-Bus-White-Chick-From-The-Mid-West...well, I am in agreement with you. If you fit the above-mentioned Supermario-definition of the frail white, naive female who would just wither-and-die (or, as SM predicts, instantly be a crime victim) if you were to cross the border separating Manhattan from (again - gasp!) the Bronx, then yes, I agree, stick to the other "safe" boroughs...)

However, for those of you not so easily swayed by "certain types" of naysayers (and I urge you to check out all of SM's past posts and kitchen-sink justifications for wanting to keep newbies out of the Bronx)...(but I digress)....Mott Haven DOES remind me of what Williamsburg looked and felt like to me when I lived there in the nineties....cool fringe, up-and-coming, artist-friendly...not a place to bring your "white-bread" friends...

However, that being said, I HAVE brought my "white-bread" friends in the last few months to MH and, though they would NEVER want to live there, they had a great time, not believing in their wildest dreams that all the cool stuff they were experiencing was in the dreaded (gasp!) South Bronx.

Anyway, back to the Bronx Trolley Tour - I will post a few photos in the next few days of all the artist-enclave hot spots to be found in the South Bronx that you can visit if when you hop aboard the trolley.

[NYCwoman]

Here are just a few of my random (and out of order) shots from the the various art displays and venues along the Bronx Cultural Trolley Tour trail...

[NooYowkur81]

Originally Posted by King0fthehill

Why would someone move there though

It's far/long commute, has a ton of crime, zero diversity, heavy low income, heavy gang presence and severely lacking in amenities (such as grocery stores).

Doesn't sound too flattering.

I can't really disagree with most of what you said. But your off on the far thing. It's not far at all. It just sounds far as hell.

Usually the way it works is people move for the cheaper rent and the hope an area will get better then the improvements and the rest of the stuff comes.

[NooYowkur81]

Loving the art. Cool stuff! Where is that stuff?

[NooYowkur81]

Originally Posted by NYCwoman

I have said time and time again - The South Bronx is NOT for the faint of heart. It IS raw, "NOT FOR TOURISTS" and is the epitome of urban grittiness. (So, Supermario, ONE of your past arguments - that you are a chivalrous Boogiedowner looking out for the Doe-Eyed-Just-Off-The-Bus-White-Chick-From-The-Mid-West...well, I am in agreement with you. If you fit the above-mentioned Supermario-definition of the frail white, naive female who would just wither-and-die (or, as SM predicts, instantly be a crime victim) if you were to cross the border separating Manhattan from (again - gasp!) the Bronx, then yes, I agree, stick to the other "safe" boroughs...)

However, for those of you not so easily swayed by "certain types" of naysayers (and I urge you to check out all of SM's past posts and kitchen-sink justifications for wanting to keep newbies out of the Bronx)...(but I digress)....Mott Haven DOES remind me of what Williamsburg looked and felt like to me when I lived there in the nineties....cool fringe, up-and-coming, artist-friendly...not a place to bring your "white-bread" friends...

However, that being said, I HAVE brought my "white-bread" friends in the last few months to MH and, though they would NEVER want to live there, they had a great time, not believing in their wildest dreams that all the cool stuff they were experiencing was in the dreaded (gasp!) South Bronx.

Anyway, back to the Bronx Trolley Tour - I will post a few photos in the next few days of all the artist-enclave hot spots to be found in the South Bronx that you can visit if when you hop aboard the trolley.

Plus a lot of White people need to stop believing they are more likely to be victims of crime simply because they are White. I'm starting to get a little tired of the I'm white and I'm scared to move into this neighborhood threads If you are a young Black or Hispanic male your chances of being killed or being a victim of a crime are much higher in this city.

[Jrock247]

It seems as if the rent and purchase prices are pretty high for what you get. I'm sure it appeals to some, but it seems that there a cheaper neighborhoods in the bronx that have less crime and more amenities.

BUT.... the commute isn't half bad, but its even better from Harlem, where according to papers condo prices are falling rapidly.

[NYCwoman]

A) My posts when replying to Supermario are, I admit, a bit faciscious NooYowkur81. I am only responding to his prior posts (that he is "worried" about white woman coming innocently into the Bronx) that make me crazy!!! I am a white, middle class female supporting all the great stuff going on in The Bronx and have debated (time and time again) on this thread the Supermario "types" who want to keep newbies (white and otherwise) out of the Bronx. It is getting really tiresome...I walk around taking photos and talking to Bronxites nearly every weekend and have never had an ounce of trouble (despite SM's contention that had I spent as much time in the South Bronx as I claim to have had, I would necessarily have been a victim of crime). Please do not think that I am seriously saying that white women or men will have any problems in the Bronx if they exercise the usual NYC caution and awareness...

B) I will post re: the various art scenes going on in the South Bronx (mostly Mott Haven) tomorrow....

Night!

[Andysocks]

@NYer

As a really pastey (albeit half-PR) guy who has never been scared to venture into black neighborhoods (then again, I grew up near a military housing complex on LI so most of my friends were black in grade school), it boggles my mind how scared a lot of white people are of black neighborhoods. sometimes I get an odd look, but it's probably mostly because all other white people avoid the neighborhood so much I stick out like... oh, I dunno, a green hat with an orange bill.

On the other hand, my girlfriend is Puerto Rican, looks it, and completely refuses to enter a black or hispanic 'hood, even if I'm with her. I've gotten into a million arguments about it (mostly when I'm in the mood to go to the beach, since that would require taking the bus to Jamaica station) but she always finds a way to say something to make me throw up my hands and give up. I don't think she's ever been south of Hillside on this side of the city line.

[NYCwoman]

The photos were taken along the Trolley Tour - Bronx Blue Bedroom Project (the creator, Blanka, is pictured), Haven Arts, Longwood Gallery, Bronx Museum Annex, The Gallery Lounge, Bruckner Bar & Grill...

It's a lot of fun and all the stops are really hospitable (offering snacks, wine, etc.) and everyone is really jazzed to be taking part.