Living around Arthur Ave/Belmont? (garden, nightlife, good)
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i love all the phoney romantic stories about Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. The place I grew up was not that safe.
police were paid off not to arrest or file reports. I am 2nd generation New Yawker and found the neighborhood to be full of violence, racism, bigotry. My own sister was murdered in the Bronx. god knows how many people who lived in the neighborhood lived in fear of the thugs who live there or control the neighborhood.
Real Italian herioes are not the wiseguys or mafia thugs. Real heroes are people like former Mayor of NYC Rudy Giuliani.
A man who stood up to the criminals. My biggest memory is racism against blacks and hispanics. Also how families were destroyed by organized crime.
The relationship between corrupt Democrats, unions and the mafia has created a city of inequality, corruption and layers of workers who do nothing but pick up a paycheck. Blacks ahve been relegated to the projests, along with Hispanics. This poverty pimping has now been in place for over a half century. While corrupt politicians rake in money from every illegal source imaginable
Originally Posted by SobroGuy View Post
Little Italy/Arthur Ave is the best Hispanic neighborhood for Italian restaurants owned by Albanians in all of NYC!
I live in this area so let me share a little knowledge. I moved here because I got an offer I couldn't refuusse to borrow a cliche from mob flicks...
A lot of the business on Arthur Avenue, I would say most are still owned by Italian people. Now that does not mean most of the staff at these places is Italian, cuz it isn't. If your expecting Vinny behind the counter, your more likely to get Jesus. Albanians have their presence on Arthur too, as they have several cafes and restaurants in the area. Some of the Albanian places look mobbed up if you ask me but I digress...
It's an interesting area. It can vary block by block. Arthur Ave is a very nice street. They (the businesses) do an excellent job of keeping it nice and attractive. It is easily one of the nicest streets to stroll through in the Bronx. So it's a nice perk to live nearby and have that available. Weekends it's crowded with tourists, people who used to live here long ago, and students with their families.
Some blocks are really quiet. Honestly on some of the blocks the biggest QOL issues are because of the students. They party hard all night sometimes and it's not uncommon to hear them screaming drunk in the middle of the night. On Saturday or Sunday morning it's not uncommon for me to walk out of my building and see vomit puddles. Compared to much of the areas west of there I would say it's a better area. There is definitely room for improvement and potential. But housing stock is shoddy. Lots of buildings and single family homes in bad shape. There is actually a complete apartment building for sale on 187th near Arthur, if anyone is interested, big for sale sign on it and everything. In all my life living here in NYC I had never seen a for sale sign on an apartment building.
Future outlook for this area. I dunno, I think the areas relatively close to Arthur Ave and Fordham will see some improvement. Lots of Mexicans moving here though so I don't know. Not that Mexicans are bad but they are not a sign of imminent gentrification let's put it that way. The area will always have a different vibe because of the transient student population and Arthur Ave...
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 06-11-2012 at 07:27 AM..
I was interested to see this thread because I had the same sad impression when I visited a couple of months ago, for the first time since the 1980s. I lived in Manhattan, and still do (not for long), and I went up there once or twice back then to see what Arthur Avenue was like, because of my Italian heritage. I bought a lovely handmade lace tablecloth and some tiny fluted glasses, whether meant for liqueurs or espresso I'm not sure, but they were Italian-made and like so many Italian things, simple and beautiful. I still have these things.
This time, I went up for a different reason—to see whether I might consider the area for relocation when I leave Manhattan later this year or early next. "Little Italy" ca. 2012 was completely unrecognizable—nothing clicked into my memory from before. (The coffee and pastry at my first stop were none too impressive either, notwithstanding the fabulous vintage neon sign that sucked me in.)
My conclusion after several hours of walking around the area: Probably not. After the visit I was whining to my neighbors in the elevator about how Arthur Avenue was being decimated just as Manhattan's Little Italy has been, and one said she'd grown up there. She volunteered, "I think most of the Italians who own businesses around Arthur Avenue have moved to Westchester." Sigh.
Ohh Italians haven't lived in Belmont for a while, but there are still quite a few quality Italian owned businesses there. Not all are worth the price of admission sorta speak though. Quite a few are tourist traps. I know for one Morrone Pastry is pretty good, also Ann and Tony is a decent restaurant although a bit pricey for what it is. Also Teitel Brothers is good and has authentic quality products if you can get past how cramped and smelly it is, lol.
Palombo Pastry Shop and Blue Moon Pizza are nothing special. Palombo for one traps a lot of people because it's on a corner and it is a very nice looking place but the stuff there is average at best and very overpriced. Blue Moon is very average. Arthur is lacking a definitive pizza place. If a good pizzeria moved in there it would kill!!!!
You have to go several times and see what's good and what's not...
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 06-12-2012 at 11:39 AM..
I've gone up to Arthur Ave a few times since moving back to NYC. I know there are a lot of problems with crime and such but I had expected to see more revitalization, especially considering other areas that have improved. Why isn't the area around Arthur Ave more desirable? You have the shopping district, parks, the Botanical Gardens, Fordham...the commute's not that bad. The housing stock is decent enough. In other words, I've seen neighborhoods with a lot less to work with get a lot better. Is Belmont THAT dangerous? I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts but I'm particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has lived there.
Don't go below E 185th street. You'll be in East Tremont and in serious trouble.
Thanks @NooYowkur81. Just because someone lives there doesn't mean they know their cannoli from their stracciatella, but your observations sound 100% right based on my experience that day. I thought Ann & Tony looked very appealing, if a bit antiseptic compared with my mental picture of the kinds of places I was hoping to see that day. Morrone is where I stopped in the evening for some pastries to bring home, and theirs were respectable—much better than the one I ate when I first arrived at some place the name of which I think begins with an "E," can't remember exactly and too lazy to look at my photos, I'm sure you know the one. On 187th. I was tempted by Palombo but guessed exactly what you said about it. And I had a slice at Blue Moon, after much agony over whose pizza to try. Yep, totally forgettable. As for Teitel Brothers, I lasted about 2 minutes in there.
Oh, and I meant to ask: What about Mario's, how is their food?
Thanks @NooYowkur81. Just because someone lives there doesn't mean they know their cannoli from their stracciatella, but your observations sound 100% right based on my experience that day. I thought Ann & Tony looked very appealing, if a bit antiseptic compared with my mental picture of the kinds of places I was hoping to see that day. Morrone is where I stopped in the evening for some pastries to bring home, and theirs were respectable—much better than the one I ate when I first arrived at some place the name of which I think begins with an "E," can't remember exactly and too lazy to look at my photos, I'm sure you know the one. On 187th. I was tempted by Palombo but guessed exactly what you said about it. And I had a slice at Blue Moon, after much agony over whose pizza to try. Yep, totally forgettable. As for Teitel Brothers, I lasted about 2 minutes in there.
Oh, and I meant to ask: What about Mario's, how is their food?
It has a high Yelp rating and high Zagat, I have not tried it yet though...I know the pastry place you are talking about but it's on the tip of my tongue...
How's this block? Is this still considered part of Belmont?
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East 185th Street between Park and Washinton Aves
