On a hot summer day on August 11, 1973, Kool Herc hosted a party at 1520 Sedgwick that went down in history as the birth of Hip Hop.
Now, 43 years and a day later, Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down on Netflix is finally out which chronicles the beginnings of this Bronx-born genre that took the world by storm.
After speaking with Swizz some more, we agreed to collaborate on a future event that will be curated to include Bronx artists as the highlight and to hold it at a more neutral location that doesn’t have such charged up negativity around it.
No date or logistics is set for this event but the will and commitment are there by Swizz Beatz because he wants to not only give back to the community but to be able to do something for the very very concrete for the community he came from.
Several of the concerns voiced to Swizz was the fact that it’s being held on Rubenstein’s property which many feel and agree is a sort of ground zero for the gentrification that is occurring throughout the South Bronx—an event such as this would only help further the developer’s agenda and also show the precarious world artists have to navigate and often find themselves being used as pawns by said developers.
No date or logistics is set for this event but the will and commitment are there by Swizz Beatz because he wants to not only give back to the community but to be able to do something for the very very concrete for the community he came from.
In response to the gentrification “No Commission Art Fair” that claims to be “bringing contemporary…
We just found out that the Gentrification Art party hosted by Swizz Beatz and Bacardi, the “No Commission Art Fair” we reported on yesterday is being hosted by Keith Rubenstein of Somerset Partners at one of his properties.
If you’ve been following Keith Rubenstein, you constantly hear or read that he claims he wants to be a part of our community yet in the meantime, he’s installing his own little businesses (well not his but handpicked by him) throughout Port Morris to create HIS vision of OUR neighborhood.
You would think that after all the negative press he received after October’s Macabre Suite “Piano District” party, he would have learned something but clearly, it has fallen upon deaf ears.
As if last year’s gentrification party by Keith Rubenstein wasn’t enough, Bronx-born Swizz Beatz is…
Resilient.
If there’s one word to use to describe Bronxites it’s resilient. We’ve been through proverbial hell and back and by the grace of our community members and leaders we’ve lifted ourselves from the dark days.
On Wednesday, Libertad Urban Farm was vandalized and burglarized erasing years of hard work put in by its founder, Tanya Fields of The Blk Projek.
Tanya put out a video where she was in tears and devastated by what had happened which soon went viral.
The next day, Bronx residents rallied to rebuild what was lost.
Community that sticks together is stronger together. Check out the video below:
Bally’s gambling complex proposal at the former Trump Links in Throggs Neck relies on getting state approval to alienate parkland, but lacks local leaders’ support as the legislative session winds down. By…
PLEASE RSVP HERE!
As we reported several weeks ago, New York City somehow decided that it could take away land mapped and slated for parkland development, which was promised to the community, and now hand it over to developers so that they can construct “affordable” housing along our waterfront.
The lot, now known as Lower Concourse North, is sandwiched between Mill Pond Park and the 145th Street Bridge at 149th Street and was promised as part of the extension to Mill Pond.
The city has issued a request for interest expressions of interest (RFEI) and has stated that they will rezone the lot to accommodate up to a 40 story tower and a 26 story tower on the lot.
Although The Bronx is the greenest borough in all of NYC with 25% of our land dedicated to parkland and open spaces, The South Bronx has one of the worst access to green spaces and every acre added matters and is important for our health and well-being.
Fact is, we can’t breathe concrete!
So come out tomorrow and let folks know how you think this land should be developed, after all, it is public land and yes it was promised and slated for development as park land so you should have a voice in the matter. Don’t forget to RSVP!
17 months after it was first announced that Hollywood director, Baz Luhrmann was teaming up with Netflix to produce a musical series based on the 70s in the South Bronx and the nascent days of hip-hop, we were finally treated to the finished product at the world premiere screening of the first episode right here in The Bronx.
After watching the first episode, I can confidently say that it was worth the wait and they got it right. Not perfect, but the look, the feel, the vibe, the music, every little thing seemed just right as I remembered the late 70s to be.
From the fires to the rubble but more importantly to the LIFE that was going on amidst the devastation, it was captured beautifully as one would expect Baz Luhrmann to do. From the opening scene to the landscape of the South Bronx of the 70s brought to life on a big (or small) screen gave me goosebumps and was a very emotional journey for me to witness this.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr utter the words ‘New Bronx’, something we’ve been vocally against along with legions of Bronxites.
But he doesn’t have to, the damage is done and it’s already embedded in the psyche of people from billionaire developers of the oligarchy to the working poor who make our beautiful Bronx run.
The Village Voice published an article titled, ‘Brooklynizing The Bronx: Will The Boogie Down’s Boom Leave Thousands of Workers in The Dust?’ which examines, among many things, Ruben Diaz Jr’s ties to real estate interests and his lack of advocacy for the auto workers of Jerome Avenue who are facing displacement and loss of thousands of jobs as the area faces rezoning.
Gentrification full speed ahead!
A townhouse on E 134th Street has been listed for sale by Corcoran for $995,000 and other than a major renovation, there is nothing special about this home to justify such an outrageous price way above actual market value.
Please join community residents and leaders at The Bronx Documentary Center today, Monday through July 25th at 6:30PM to be a part of a coalition to face gun violence in our neighborhoods by creating a gun-free zone in the South Bronx.
What this will entail and look like is up to YOU, our local neighbors and residents so PLEASE spread the word and bring a friend.
In case you haven’t been following the saga of the “Piano District” attempt to rebrand an existing neighborhood for the benefit of developers, Keith Rubenstein of Somerset Partners has just snatched up yet another Port Morris property this time for $7.5 million to create a food hall much like Chelsea Market. “Bruckner Market”, as Rubenstein…
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