Real Estate

Press Release: Exhibition opens at Old Bronx Borough Courthouse on April 23

New York, March 20, 2015 – No Longer Empty (NLE) is pleased to present When You Cut into the Present the Future Leaks Out at the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse. Curated by Regine Basha for NLE, the exhibition is one of seven projects to receive the Neighborhood Challenge Award. Built 1905–1914 and attributed to architects Michael John Garvin and Oscar Florianus Bluemner, the Courthouse, once boasting granite floors, lavish stairways, and bronze doors, remains adorned by a statue of Lady Justice. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Bronx County, the Beaux Arts-style building has been shuttered for 37 years.

Mapping the Crucial Developments That Will Reshape the Bronx – Development Watch – Curbed NY

Welcome2TheBronx teamed up with Curbed to help identify several major projects in The Bronx that are considered to be game changers in our borough.

For decades, the Bronx has been ignored in the larger conversation of a changing New York City. But as big developers like Chetrit Group and Greystone turn their eyes north, and Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. announces his lofty desires for creating a Brooklyn Bridge Park-style public space along the Harlem River, it seems like momentum is starting to build around the fledgling borough. “The South Bronx has experienced an unprecedented amount of capital flowing in the past years over some major developments,” Ed García Conde of Welcome2theBronx tells Curbed.

WATCH: Two Part Series on BronxTalk Explores the Jerome Ave Study Area With City Planning & Community Organizations

One of the hottest topics in Bronx real estate is the proposed Cromwell-Jerome Avenue Study area which has the potential to transform a 73 block area which overlapping two community districts and multiple neighborhoods.

Gary Axelbank, the host of the long running BronxTalk, help a two-part series of discussions on the issues with the first having aired Monday, March 10 with Carol Samol on the show to talk more about the process and the study. On Monday, the second air showed which gave community groups such as CASA and Local 79 a chance to present their thoughts and ideas on the situation at hand.

Watch the videos on the conversation and let us know what you think.

Despite Weather, Hundreds of Bronxites Gather to Unite Against (Cromwell) Jerome Avenue Study Area

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Planning have a rough road ahead with Bronx residents.

Last night, hundreds of residents from within the Jerome Avenue Study Area (estimates had the crowd at at least 400 attending despite the weather), gathered to join in solidarity against a rezoning that the community feels is not about them or with them. Residents and community groups are so concerned yet so organized they have even formed a group and an umbrella alliance of all stakeholders calling themselves ‘Bronx Coalition for a Community Vision’.

Bronx BP Proposes Development Over Several Rail Yards

About 3 years ago, Welcome2TheBronx wrote about the possibility of having the Metro North rail yards in Melrose at 149th Street decked over much like the Hudson Rail Yards and have it developed into office space and affordable housing. Today, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr made a similar proposal along with two other Bronx locations stating that since Queens didn’t want it to happen at the Sunnyside yards, The Bronx would be happy to take those monies.

The other 2 locations identified are the 4 train rail yards by Lehman College in Bedford Park just west of the Grand Concourse and the 1 train rail yards just west of Broadway between Riverdale and Kingsbridge.

After Over 3 Years Since Designation, Grand Concourse Historic District Signage is Finally Being Installed

In October of 2011, after almost two years from being calendared for consideration, of community meetings, historical studies, and testimonies from residents, homeowners and landlords alike, the New York City Landmarks Commission created the Grand Concourse Historic District stretching from 153rd Street and the Grand Concourse, all the way up to 167th Street.

Now, over 3 years later since that designation, the terracotta colored street signs with white lettering which mark a historic district, are finally being installed with signs at 161st Street and Grand Concourse and west on 161st and Walton.

City Islanders, Friends Pack The Alehouse to Celebrate Curbed Neighborhood Cup Victory

From the size of the crowd at the City Island Alehouse Saturday, Feb.7th, you’d think that they were giving away free food.

Oops! …they were.

Despite the snow, ice and frigid temperatures, City Islanders and their friends came by the hundreds to eat, drink and rock and roll, all in celebration of City Island winning the 2014 Curbed Cup Neighborhood of the Year award, sponsored by Curbed, a prominent online magazine serving the real estate industry.

Community Rallies In Anticipation of (Cromwell) Jerome Rezoning

When the Cromwell-Jerome Study Area Jerome Avenue Study Area (City Planning has since changed the name) was announced last year, it stirred a lot of controversy as residents saw it an attempt to rebrand existing neighborhoods of the West Bronx and pave the way for gentrification via rezoning — a tool often used by the previous administration often without regard to community residents who lived in the areas. The study area grew from 57 blocks to a massive 73 blocks.

Now, as the Jerome Avenue Study Area was announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio as one of the 6 areas slated for rezonings, community groups and even local elected officials are getting residents together to discuss the future and fate of their neighborhoods at a meeting scheduled for March 5th — after all, these are the very people who will be impacted by any zoning changes the city eventually will implement to increase density.

A Rejected Artist in NYC: Who Really Wins Affordable Housing Lotteries?

In the summer of 2014, 53,000+ people applied to live in 89 affordable apartments at Artspace PS109. This has become an all too common scene in New York City’s housing market. Decades of public subsidies and assistance for luxury development in NYC have increased property values and rents all across the city. This rise has led to the displacement of working- and middle-class families. The main “community benefit” in return for publicly assisted displacement has been the opportunity to enter an affordable housing lottery and hope Yolanda Vega calls your number, allowing you to remain.