Bella Abzug (née Savitsky) was born on July 24, 1920, in The Bronx to Russian Jewish immigrants who went on to become the first Jewish woman elected to Congress as well as the first woman elected to the House of Representatives on a platform of gender equality and women’s rights.
Famous Bronxites
Born in 1904 in The Bronx and attended St Anselm’s Roman Catholic school on Tinton Avenue, Helen Clare Schroeder would eventually become the inspiration for one of the most iconic and lasting cartoon characters, Betty Boop.
Little did Helen Kane, a German-Irish Catholic woman from The Bronx (as she later became known), know that her likeness would set the globe ablaze as one of the first and most famous of all sex symbols in all the world of animation.
36 years ago in 1980, Immaculate Conception Church in the Melrose neighborhood of The Bronx, along with its convent, rectory, and priests’ residence was calendered for landmarking by New York City’s Landmark Preservation Commission but nothing happened.
Until this past Tuesday.
LPC removed 65 properties from the calendar, many of which sat for decades waiting for action, but kept Immaculate Conception and prioritized for designation as a landmark by year’s end pending further hearings and a vote.
It was a hot summer day on August 11, 1973 in the Bronx at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue as DJ Kool Herc and his sister held a party in what would become known as the birth of Hip Hop—a genre which has transcended cultural, national, and many other boundaries by leaps and bounds.
Now, the New York City Council, thanks to the leadership of Councilwoman Vanessa L. Gibson, has passed a resolution to co-name to stretch in front of 1520, ‘Hip Hop Boulevard’ further solidifying The Bronx’s importance in the creation of the genre as the birthplace of Hip Hop.
Last year Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr gleefully had actress and Fox News Commentator, Stacey Dash, inducted into The Bronx Walk of Fame despite her controversial stances on major issues.
The actress, who ironically is best known for her role in the hit movie, ‘Clueless’, is now calling for the abolishing of Black History Month.
207 years ago today, one of The Bronx’s most notable residents was born—the poet Edgar Allan Poe who once lived in what was known as the Village of Fordham in what was once Westchester County.
The famed writer and poet, one of the most important in American history, moved to The Bronx when his wife Virginia became ill from tuberculosis and he thought the fresh country air would help her condition.
It’s been almost a year since Netfilx and Baz Lurhman announced that they were embarking on producing a series based in the South Bronx in the 1970s as hip-hop was emergency, disco was reigning supreme alongside Salsa, and of course—The Bronx was burning. Now here’s a sneak peek at the series as Netflix puts out the first trailer for ‘The Get Down’.
Netflix simply writes, “Told through the lives and music of a ragtag crew of South Bronx teens, The Get Down is a mythic saga of the transformation of 1970s New York City.
Baron Ambrosia and Bronx Flavor presents a holiday special video, ‘Thankschriskwanzaakah’ so get ready to watch what happens, “When Awesome-Mart combines all the holiday’s in order to make more money, a terrible curse is unleashed on the Bronx.”
Baron cleverly mixes many of our wonderful cultures in one of the most diverse boroughs of New York City—The Bronx.
Watch Puerto Rican born, Bronx raised Rita Moreno talking about her legacy as she takes a walk through The Bronx with CBS News as she’s set to receive Kennedy Center Honors this Sunday, and a new express SBS bus service to speed up travel between The Bronx and Queens.
Bronx Immigrants Share Their Stories, Deer Crossing Signs, Mary Higgins Clark, & More|Bronx AM Links
This morning on Bronx AM Links, you’ll read about Bronx immigrants who recently shared their migration stories at the Bronx Documentary Center, the move to have deer crossing signs installed on Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park, and Bronx born and raised author and queen of suspense, Marry Higgins Clark, still has it. You’ll also find how a rise in African immigrants in our borough has led to an increase in demand for interpreters, and an Upper West Side veterinarian who spays and neuters Bronx dogs and cats for free.
Today was a special day in The Bronx at Joyce Kilmer Park on 161st Street and The Grand Concourse. Local school children gleefully joined residents, elected officials, NYC Parks employees to celebrate the millionth tree which was planted last month at the park as part of the MillionTreesNYC program initiated by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
When the millionth tree was planted last month at the park, it was 2 years ahead of schedule as 2017 was the target date for completion of the project to green up New York City—especially the areas which lacked greenery and green streets such as The South Bronx where the ceremony took place.
The Bronx actually received the 2nd most number of trees with a total of 276,600 adding to the greenest of the five boroughs of New York City. Queens received the highest number of trees but only by a little over 8,000 more trees at 284,755.
On Bronx AM Links we have stories on standing proud of being from the South Bronx, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and how she almost pulled away from the confirmation process, and Councilmember Ritchie Torres on controversial plans for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) plans for infill at public housing to create market rate and “affordable” housing on its properties.