For decades, the Andrew Freedman Home, described by the New York Times in 1999 as, “… the Grand Concourse’s grandest building, a broad limestone palazzo…”, sat in relative obscurity between 166th and McClellan Streets – local residents and passerby alike wondering what the history of this seemingly out of place mansion was. The home, was built in 1924 as a retirement home for the formerly wealthy who had fallen on hard times. Talk about an “only in New York moment”.
Now the non-profit group, No Longer Empty (NLE) , has turned 30 rooms of the old mansion into a new and exciting exhibit called “This Side of Paradise“. NLE describes the presentation on their site as:
“On April 4, 2012, the gates of the Andrew Freedman Home will open to the public. The Home was once built to be a haven, a paradise, for the rich elderly who had lost their fortunes. Bequeathed by millionaire Andrew Freedman, the Home provided not only food and shelter but all the accoutrements of a rich and civilized life style – white glove dinner service, a grand ball room, a wood-paneled library, billiard room and a social committee who organized concerts, opera performances and the like.
Referencing this quixotic history, This Side of Paradise will reference the past and reconnect the vision of Andrew Freedman to today’s Bronx and its realities. The exhibition and its extensive public programming onsite and offsite will draw together the economic and social history of the Home with the present day realities of the Bronx and its residents.
The selected artists’ will work in a site-specific manner and will respond to such issues as memory, immigration, storytelling, aging and the creation of fantasy that the original concept of the Home “being poor in style” suggests. This Side of Paradise will celebrate human ingenuity, the strength of the human spirit and the resilience needed to fashion beauty, hope and rejoicing.”
Tomorrow’s opening reception is not to be missed as it will be an important moment in Bronx history. Check out NY1’s video of the exhibit.
Opening reception is on Wednesday, April 4th at 6pm to 8pm followed by a speakeasy fundraiser beginning at 8:30pm and the exhibit runs through June 5th, 2012. Throughout the two months of the exhibit there will be over a dozen programs related to “This Side of Paradise” including Easter related events for children on April 7th. The Andrew Freedman Home is located at 1125 Grand Concourse at the corner of 166th Street and is easily accessible via the B, D and 4 trains to 167th Streets and bicycle valet will be available.
Our borough’s very own culinary ambassador, Baron Ambrosia – a latino of Dominican roots, won a New York Emmy yesterday for Best On-Camera Talent: Performer/Narrator for his show hit show on BronxNet, Bronx Flavor.
The Baron has been gracing us with his antics since January 2007 in his wildly popular culinary podcast, The Underbelly which was subsequently picked up by BronxNet executive producer Michael Max Knobbe and rebranded as Bronx Flavor. Through his colorful yet knowledgeable exploration of the borough’s richly diverse ethnic neighborhoods, Justin Fornal, aka Baron Ambrosia, has taught us about cultural delicacies typically unheard of outside of their countries of origin let alone on dinner plates in these off the beaten path restaurants in the Bronx.
On his win, the Baron had this to say on his Facebook page:
“[Bronx Baron Ambrosia]…is thrilled to win a New York Emmy for Bronx Flavor on BronxNet Television. Victory is a decision. No matter how hard your circumstances might be, when you are working two jobs to barely pay your rent and your phone is disconnected, true victory lies in the decision to never stop doing what makes you feel alive. In these moments when conventional success seems a complete impossibility, look around and see who is still standing beside you. These are the people who truly love you. These are the samurais who love the challenge of battle, and not just the spoils of victory. When other networks looked at me with confusion or fear, BronxNet Television gave me a time slot, a budget, and creative license. What we lacked in resources and funding we made up for with hard work and passion. Thank you to everyone in the beautiful Bronx and beyond for supporting me. The dream can be adapted but it will never be compromised! ”
As you may recall, we have had the distinct honor and privilege of being a part of several of Baron Ambrosia’s shows and antics including an evening at the Old Bronx Courthouse where we feasted on such delectable delights as squirrel, raccoon, and silkworms (I stopped at the waterbugs!).
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Baron as well as everyone after BronxNet who continues to portray the Bronx in a positive light where so many other networks have failed. Baron Ambrosia, you truly are our ambassador and we are proud to call you one of our own.
Don’t forget to catch the latest episodes either online or:
NYC Life Television – Wednesday 9 PM Late Night Showings at 12:30 AM on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday Verizon Fios, Comcast, RCN, Time Warner Cable: Channel 25 Cablevision: Channel 22
One of the lesser thought of means of getting to Melrose and the surrounding neighborhoods is via good ole fashioned sweat power – the bike. With its unparalleled access to Manhattan via FIVE bridges (Third, Willis, Madison Avenues, 145th Street and Macomb Dam Bridges) biking is one of the best options available to the community, employees and visitors alike.
The blog, Starts and Fits, just recently published two Google Maps of over 400 bike racks in the South Bronx in the area below Fordham Road giving you not only the exact location but also the type of bike racks you will find.
Next time you wanna visit and eat at Xochimilco, the best Mexican cuisine in the South Bronx, you may want to bike it to stave off the calories you’ll ingest!
“Chulito” a term of endearment in the latino community meaning little cutie, is the title of a book by Bronxite Charles Rice-Gonzalez – co-founder and executive director of Bronx Academy of Art and Dance and explores what it means to be gay and coming of age in the South Bronx.
Read what Maite Junco of the Daily News has to say about this exciting novel. It’s wonderful to know that Hunts Point is in the nation consciousness for things other than prostitution and poverty.
The 149th Street bridge over Metro North, between Lincoln Hospital, The Bronx Post Office, and Hostos Community College is currently a wasted potential.
Both north and south of the bridge, there is a great potential to do the same that is being done at the Hudson Rail Yards and possibly build much needed affordable housing on it with office towers on either side of the bridge.
This would fill in a gap that is heavily trafficked by both cars and pedestrians in this section of Melrose.
Furthermore, Metro North should consider a new Metro North station at 149th Street since this is where all 3 lines converge. With the Yankee Stadium 153rd Street station now open for several years, a new station at this location would widely open up access to passengers from the Harlem and New Haven lines heading to the games by simply transferring at 149th Street and going back up one stop with a special shuttle train to the stadium station.
A new Metro North station at this site would open up easy access to the area residents to their places of employment downtown and up north to Westchester County and Connecticut.
The Bronx blogosphere just got bigger! We’d like to welcome Bronx Matters, the latest endeavor by Jordan Moss, former Norwood News editor. This is exciting news as we have more and more voices joining the scene.
Looking forward to the possibility of collaborating in the future!
Our mothers are a bit more sensible here in the Bronx than those mothers in that other borough – you won’t catch these moms buying “babyccinos” for their wee ones.
Babyccinos are the latest hipster fad to hit hipster-infested Brooklyn…little cappuccinos for their toddlers. These Riverdale mothers speak out on the trend and let us know what they do with their kids.
My only question is, do these moms know about BronxMama?
Late last week, the Riverdale Press reported that Trader Joe’s will be joining BJ’S at their soon to be built second location in Kingsbridge at the site of the old Stella D’Oro factory.
Once the new mall is completed at the old site, Petco, the superstore for pet needs, will also open its first Bronx store.
Whilst perusing the morning digest of Bronx related news, this story made me do a double take. Someone is actually suggesting that the Middle East should look to the Bronx for inspiration on tolerance?
As the Jewish population of the Bronx dwindled to just under 50,000 from a high of over 600,000 when the borough was considered the most Jewish of the 5 counties that makes up New York City, many synagogues have closed and eventually reopened by various Christian sects.
Young Israel Congregation of Parkchester was one of the many that have lost their homes however, the story does have a happy ending thanks to the Muslim community of Parkchester.
Upon further research to locate the original article that the author was referring to, I found it in Tablet, a digital journal on Jewish news, life and culture.
Near the corner of Westchester Avenue and Pugsley Street in Parkchester, just off the elevated tracks of the No. 6 train, Yaakov Wayne Baumann stood outside a graffiti-covered storefront on a chilly Saturday morning. Suited up in a black overcoat with a matching wide-brimmed black fedora, the thickly bearded 42-year-old chatted with elderly congregants as they entered the building for Shabbat service.
The only unusual detail: This synagogue is a mosque.
Or rather, it’s housed inside a mosque. That’s right: Members of the Chabad of East Bronx, an ultra-Orthodox synagogue, worship in the Islamic Cultural Center of North America, which is home to the Al-Iman mosque.
After reading the rest of the story then it dawned on me that I shouldn’t be surprised that the other gentleman would suggest to look at the Bronx to see how it’s done. We are a borough of immigrants and many faiths, often times living in the same neighborhoods. People who back in their countries were taught to fear the different. Here in the Bronx they are exposed to each other and old prejudices begin to peel away like the layers of an onion.
We are far from perfect, that we know, but it’s stories like this that makes me proud to be from the Bronx. If we can overcome such obstacles, there’s no limit to what we can do when we are united.
Last week Bronx residents, including myself, were caught off guard by the announcement in the New York Daily News that “Fresh Direct will receive $130 million in grants, tax breaks and tax credits from the Cuomo and Bloomberg administrations and Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.” Why were we so surprised? Simply put, we were left out of the process regarding the future of our public lands (almost 100 acres on the waterfront) and $130 million of our tax dollars. I would like to ask you why, Mr Diaz, was this done so sneakily behind our backs? Why weren’t we part of the process as is our right? Sadly, had this been 100 acres in Manhattan, Brooklyn or any other borough we would not be having these issues because it would NEVER have been done behind the residents’ back.
You recently called the opposition out (which includes myself) on your personal page on Facebook as well as the group created by your office, “Bronxites for FreshDirect“, and asked us “To those people who continue to say that they don’t want Fresh Direct here, my question to them is, ‘do we say no to the potential of 3,000 jobs?'”–Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.” That is a poor and cheap tactic pandering to the heartstrings of Bronxites who already suffer from the highest employment rate in the city. What potential of 3,000 jobs? There are already almost 2,000 employed at FreshDirect and the estimates are that 1,000 jobs will be created by 2020. That’s pretty far into the future when Bronxites need jobs NOW. Not 8 years from now. The first of the jobs wouldn’t even begin until 2015. Again, that is 3 years away and 3 years too late for people who need jobs right this minute.
But it doesn’t just end there. We also need QUALITY jobs. You have been quite an outspoken proponent of living wage jobs for Bronx residents and even wrote an editorial for the New York Daily News. Remember that? I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting and boldface type the pertinent quotes from your eloquent letter as a fighter for fair wages for Bronxites.
What the Kingsbridge Armory needs for a successful redevelopment is a considerable public-private funding partnership, similar to those at the High Line and other city armories. The High Line got more than $100 million in taxpayer support; that kind of investment could surely help lift up my borough.
In December 2009, the City Council voted to prevent the development of a retail mall at the Kingsbridge Armory, a former military outpost with a footprint larger than two football fields, near Fordham Road.I supported that decision because the developer didn’t ensure that employees would’ve been paid a living wage.
I have approached the discussion on the future use of the armory with only one aim: to expand access to opportunity and upward mobility through a responsible, community-focused investment and development strategy that yields a much higher rate of return for the taxpayer dollar. My critics have stated that my work to defeat the proposed retail mall was irresponsible, but I know we made the right decision.
A mall would have devastated local businesses – at taxpayer expense. And we cannot say that the project would have created the number of jobs promised, anyway.
When the Related Companies constructed the Gateway Center Mall near Yankee Stadium in 2005, executives promised that the mall would employ more than 2,300 full-time workers. As of last year, the mall has created the equivalent of just 986 full-time jobs, less than half of what was proposed. We cannot accept at face value the claim that Related would have created 1,200 new retail jobs at Kingsbridge, given its disappointing track record.
The Gateway Mall is the hallmark of Mayor Bloomberg’s approach to job creation: provide developers with city land and/or public assets at deep discounts, then subsidize site conversions with millions of taxpayer dollars in cheap financing, tax breaks and far-below-market rents in order to create poverty level jobs.
The growth of the local retail industry is a driving force for these jobs. More low-wage workers in New York City are employed in retail than in any other sector of the economy. Three in five retail workers earn an hourly wage of $13 or less and 44% earn less than $10 an hour. The prevalence of low-wage jobs and the retail sector’s fast growth, make these projects poor candidates for public subsidy.
What we need is redevelopment that would not just awaken the empty hull of the armory but also create new business and social activity throughout the neighborhood. The space could be used for a sports arena, a recreation facility, a film studio or a number of other options. With the help of City Hall, we will solicit proposals that meet those requirements.
Such redevelopment will likely require a significant public-private partnership, especially given the poor shape of the building and the inability of most interested parties to finance such a large undertaking.
Other armories in the city – Park Slope, Fort Washington Ave. and Park Ave. – have seen significant taxpayer investment in their redevelopment in addition to private fund-raising. Rather than becoming malls in competition with neighborhood merchants, these armories were developed with recreational use in mind. Each has become a cornerstone of its community.
It is inconsistent to presume that a public-private partnership would be unfeasible for the armory, given the extent of public dollars invested in relatively smaller projects around the city.
The city should look at its success at the High Line, which has become a major amenity to the West Side of Manhattan largely due to considerable public investment and replicate that model at the armory, emphasizing the redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood over direct job creation.
Taken as its own entity, the High Line has created a mere handful of jobs – not enough to justify more than $130 million in taxpayer investment in a small strip of parkland. At such spending levels, one has to wonder what, if any, was the city’s direct return on its investment.
The real benefit of the High Line is the significant investment it has spurred in the surrounding community, investment based on the draw of the High Line as an attraction to not just New Yorkers, but to visitors from across the globe.
There is no reason that a similar model could not be implemented at the Kingsbridge Armory. I am ready to work with Mayor Bloomberg to put forward a new request for proposals, one that not only focuses on the need for community-minded redevelopment but also does not shy away from significant public investment. If such investment is appropriate for the High Line, then it is appropriate for the Bronx.
Diaz is the borough president of the Bronx.
So after reading the beautiful letter which you wrote I ask you, what is so different from the FreshDirect deal that is so deserving of our $130 million in grants and tax subsidies? These jobs, that you are touting as if we should be grateful, are jobs that are barely above minimum wage. 38% of FreshDirect employees make less than $25,000 a year which is far below what is necessary for a single parent with one child to survive in the Bronx. What of our waterfront? Is it not worthy of protection as Manhattan’s waterfront or any other borough? As you know from personal experience in the Bronx as you stated in the above editorial, promised jobs are just that: Promises.
We all know too well that as the old adage goes, promises are made to be broken.
Check out this story from the Daily News on a family business that outgrew its old headquarters and moved to the Bronx – without having to burden tax payers with a sweetheart deal of $130 million deal in city and state tax breaks and subsidies.
