Tag: Parks

After Decades of Neglect, St Mary’s Park to Receive $30 Million For Major Improvements Along With 4 Other Parks in NYC 

St Mary’s Park, the largest park in the South Bronx serving the Mott Haven and Melrose communities for over a century has remained a neglected eyesore for the residents who have lived here for decades—it is a stark reminder of a tale of two cities where economically depressed communities such as these, were left with little to no resources to keep up with even the most basic of maintenance of these parks.

Today, at a press conference at the park itself, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, announced $150 million in capital funding for 5 parks across the city—one in each borough as part of the administration’s Anchor Park program—where over 750,000 New Yorkers love within walking distance of these spaces.

Bronx Residents Seek Expanded Waterfront Access Along The Hudson River

Although The Bronx is on the mainland, as a peninsula, we are surrounded by water yet access to our waterfront is limited especially in the West Bronx.

Now a group is pushing for greater access to the Hudson River in Riverdale by expanding a small 600 foot park by 2 miles all the way north to the Westchester County border at the City of Yonkers.

Changing The World With Art, From The Bronx to Broadway, & Best Hiking Spots in Our Borough|Bronx PM Links

The DreamYard Project is nurturing Bronx youth through the arts in hopes of changing the world, some of the works of the late Tony Award-winning Bronxite Boris Aronson who began his career in Yiddish theatre, and the greenest borough’s best hiking spots, all in this evening’s Bronx PM Links.

Bridge Park Officially Opens in The Bronx Adding Another Along The Harlem River

Today the people of The Bronx celebrated its newest park as a ribbon cutting ceremony was held for Bridge Park with NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver along with local politicians and school children.
The park offers beautiful vistas of the Harlem River and the many scenic bridges that cross over it into Manhattan including the soon-to-open Highbridge which will have a celebration on both sides of the bridge on July 25th of this year.

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito Provides Funding For Major Capital Improvements to St Mary’s Park

St. Mary’s Park in Mott Haven, the recreational heart for thousands of residents of the South Bronx, is getting a face-lift thanks to $1.5 million in funds allocated by New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito who’s district covers the park.

The monies will be used to reconstruct the western playground area along St. Ann’s Avenue and the community is being invited to contribute their visions and ideas for their park on Wednesday, March 4th between 6pm – 8pm at Heketi Community Charter School.

Camping along the Bronx Riviera: 10 Lucky Groups Win A Chance To Sleep Under The Stars In City’s Largest Park

Over 500 folks signed up to win one of only ten coveted spots to get to camp in Pelham Bay Park at Orchard Beach this past Saturday.

Unfortunately I didn’t win but fortunately my friend and neighbor did and was gracious enough to extend two of four spots allotted per group to us. Naturally I said yes.

We arrived at Orchard Beach at the appointed time of 6PM, unpacked our car and trekked our way towards section 1 just outside the entrance that leads to Twin Island and Two Tree Island. We were greeted by our rangers for the evening, Deli, Nick, and Mel, who gave us our tents and provided some basic assistance on how to set them up. You know, being city-slickers, such knowledge isn’t quite innate to our kind.

Afternoon Bronx News Roundup: Roberto Clemente State Park, Buying Italian Ingredients on Arthur Avenue, And More…

Here’s a list of some of Bronx-related news making the rounds on the internet and in the papers:

The New York Daily News reports that Roberto Clemente State Park will be getting major improvements and upgrades due to damage from Superstorm Sandy.
Chris Crowley of Serious Eats serves up the ‘Ultimate Guide to Buying Italian Ingredients on Arthur Avenue’
Van Nest residents are fed up with a wave of graffiti tagging that has been ‘plaguing’ the neighborhood since the neighborhood is no longer represented by Senator Klein who had a graffiti removal program. The area is now represented by Senator Gustavo who doesn’t have a plan in place for such issues.
The New York Times reports that JLo’s homecoming to The Bronx was long overdue according to fans (including Welcome2TheBronx who was interviewed for this article on Jennifer Lopez and her return).

Gardens of Melrose: A. Badillo Garden

One of the many great things about living in Melrose is our abundance of community gardens which are a substitute for the lack of actual parks in the neighborhood.