Central Bronx Appears to be Turning Around (bankrupt, to live)

[rlrl]

i know, 2 years ago we drove the Bedford Park and Fordham Bedford topic into the ground with our old friend who is no longer here (I liked reading his posts he had charisma)

I got sidetracked because I have been biking thru BP and have experienced the area from outdoors rather than behind the wheel of a car and i wanted to share my views, forgetting the point has been rammed home for months

sorry guys!

[DAS]

i think it is good to continue to discuss all of these areas because they seem to be changing from month to month. i know also read post about harlem and they describe some block or area the way it was 6 months ago and now it is totally different. i made several complaints concerning pathmart on 145 street and the produce section and this week i'm happy to report that the selection and presentation was varied, fresh, and could rival any of the produce stands in morningside heights.

now i'm off topic but just an example of how things change and the good changes should be reported.

[Curiousguyeducator]

Originally Posted by DAS

otherwise you are all over the place and people reading these threads, that are new to the city, and/or have never really been to the bronx, except maybe right across the bridges, from manhattan, and those areas right across the bridges, may not be attractive, will just get turned off of the entire bronx.

you would want people to come and venture into other areas.

only if you are familiar with the bronx will you be able to know which areas most of you are referring to.

this thread has mentioned bedford park, moshulu parkway, fordham, kingsbridge, highbridge, and morrisania, and university heights. all quite different from mt eden.

some of these areas are attractive, safe and good for people that are looking for reasonably priced neighborhoods. this is just a suggestion. the bronx is coming back up, and people need to know more about it, so make it easier for them to understand it.

Thanks, Daz. There is so much truth to what you're saying.

[Mr.Triny33]

http://www.nydailynews.com/real_esta...gs.html?page=0

Good Read on Happenings in the Central and South Bx.

[Bronxguyanese]

The only change i see happining in the The Bronx is the south Bronx. Anything below 167 street is being developled or redeveloped. Yupphies and hipsters are creating enclaves around the yankee stadium area also around the old court house on 161. Grand councourse and 149st is going to be redevoloped with condos. Also on bruckener boulevard has changed alot with hipsters from the midwest. I see many hipsters at my local supermarket pioneer and mets and also at the 3rd ave subway station. Even a winbar cafe opened up on Alexander Ave. Theres even attempts to change Around Hunts Point like that old currency printing press factory which is now being rented out as a loft. I havent seen much change in the central bronx besides taht new best buy by fordham road. Everything else looks much of the same. Central bronx still suffers from alot of crime, poverty and disesase. The only nice part of the central bronx part to visit is probably little Italy.

[Curiousguyeducator]

I agree that much of the big improvements occurring in the Bronx are taking place south of 167th street and north of Fordham. However, I don't believe people should flat out ignore the small improvements taking place in the Central Bronx, which are many. (Again, notice how I said "small" improvements.)

Take a stroll around the neighborhood; save for a couple of side streets, of course. Speak to the locals. Hear what they have to say about the neighborhood, and how things have improved exponentially; how the quality of life has improved. Crime is lower and more middle class residents are coming in.

Listen, the Bronx has a stigma and many people on this board and beyond have a hard time looking past it, more often than not choosing to preserve it with all their fear-mongering. Just because you don't see many yuppies in the Central Bronx does not mean that good changes are not happening. They are. I can tell you from FIRST HAND experience.

As a former resident of Washington Heights, I can tell you that the Mt. Eden area by the hospital (save for a few side streets, of course) is not that bad. In fact, it reminds of the Heights of the late 90s--predominantly Dominican, drug infested, but not that violent. If you're hispanic, you won't be messed with. Just don't go taking a stroll around the park by yourself when it's late at night. And if you're not, say you're a yuppie, you still won't encounter problems if you mind your own business.

Case in point, there's a building on Walton by the Bravo on Mt. Eden. As you know, Walton is rough. But check this out, my babysitter lives there. The building is not well-kept and the outside is always teeming with some sketchy-looking (nothis how I said "looking") characters, akin to the type of characters that you'll see on some gangsta rap video. But you know what, a few yuppies (hospital employees) live there, and I've noticed that they don't even raise eyebrows when they walk by.

Now, because I mentioned the two yuppies, does that mean that neighborhood is up-and-coming? No. Is it noisy? Yes, of course. Dirty? Ditto. And how about that ubiquitous drug dealer? He's there, chilling, the same way he's everywhere, including Bedford Park, University, Kingsbridge, and Morris Heights, and even by the Concorse Village. But is it as violent as it was back in the days? No way. I know because I went to school in the Central Bronx. Just yesterday I querried a cab driver, who for years has been living and working in the neighborhood, what the neighborhood is like. "You know," he said, "it's gotten a lot better. It's fairly safe." He then went on to say that he could even leave his car parked by the park and no one has ever broken in.

If you're going to choose to share with the forum what a neighborhood is like, please be careful with what you say. What you observe as you bike through a neighborhood, or what you may have heard or seen a couple of years back, may not be as in sync with the present reality. The only way to get the truth is by speaking to a neighborhood's residents.

The Bronx as a whole has ways to go. But it's the not the Bronx of the 90s. It's not the Bronx of the 70s. Buildings aren't burning and there are fewer impact zones than they were a year ago. Furthermore, not everyone living in the Central Bronx is low-income. Not every kid you see qualifies for a free lunch. Many teachers, nurses, and social workers live here. It's not the bombed-out mess that people make it out to be.

To be certain, I would not send my kid to a school around here. Not even the Washington Heights or Inwood. Too many low-income families. I would most likely send him to a private school. But I would not be a fear-monger and drive away prospective middle-class newcommers. Otherwise, the Central Bronx will never attract those type of people. The fact is, I think the Central Bronx is not that bad of a place to live in, and, in fact, believe--no, in fact know--that it's only going to improve.

[DAS]

Originally Posted by Curiousguyeducator

Listen, the Bronx has a stigma and many people on this board and beyond have a hard time looking past it, more often than not choosing to preserve it with all their fear-mongering. Just because you don't see many yuppies in the Central Bronx does not mean that good changes are not happening. They are. I can tell you from FIRST HAND experience.

The Bronx always had a stigma, even when the Mt Eden area and all of the Grand Concourse was the Park Ave of the Bronx. Even when large sections of the Bronx had White residents. Only Riverdale escaped this stigma.

The reason for this is that the Bronx after it started developing it's farm land was always the place that poor newly arrived immigrants started going to instead of the lower east side. It has always had a stigma.

Now the stigma is that it is a place for the city dump the poor. I wouldn't worry about the stigma. It truth is the Bronx has and always will be the place where the average NYer can own a place to live, or rent a place, and have their hard earned dollars stretch farther. Now the residents have to come together to make the quality of life better.

[Munich]

Originally Posted by Elvira Black

There's a certain charm in working class/poorer hoods and more street life, variety, etc. If I lived in the midwest, I think I'd be pretty bored, but probably more "safe" (though that also depends on the area.)

Just my two cents.

Couldn't agree more - those overly gentrified areas are usually not my cup of tea anymore.

[sxr71]

Originally Posted by SuperMario

Yeah it's like a zoo. I recall reading an article about the area in the late 80's, and it was about that over half the shootings and homicides in the infamous 46th precinct occured in a 4 block radius, centered on 183rd and Morris. And literally, there was a shootout everyday. People were used to it, as you could tell from the article.

I think the problem was the Jamaican drug cartels strangle hold on the area. The cops placed a NYPD camera on Jerome, Walton, Morris, and Creston all on 183rd. But it did little to nothing. But if you pass through now, the west side is much more intimidating. 183rd intersecting with Grand and Davidson...*shudders*....that's where alot of the Jamaicans are now...on Davidson.

Andrews and Davidson are bad. I heard that they're even worse on 175th.

But to me, the absolute worst blocks in the areas are the once around E 183rd and Valentine.....stroll down Thebout ave and you literally start fearing for your life. Ughh and the block is so narrow.

I haven't even mentioned 183rd in east Tremont. I can personally vouch for 180th and Hughes. I just think the whole 180's are a mess of blocks.

I've taken the time to view each of those neighborhoods on Google Maps street view, and I have to say Thebout was scary to imagine walking around at night because of the the way the ave. overlooks a whole area of more scary looking construction (at least at night it would be).

But really the one that stands out is 180th and Hughes. That one looks like it would be scary during the day.

[rlrl]

it looks like Creston between Kingsbridge and 198th is definitely better than what you all describe further down