LATEST NEWS

A Hunts Point Walk – Morgan Powell’s Last Tour

Early last month, the late Morgan Powell invited me along with several other of my friends to help him document a run through of a tour on Hunts Point he had been working on for 5 years. Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts I couldn’t make it but I was told it was quite the informative tour and really well done.

Shortly after the tour, Morgan asked that I publish the tour on Welcome2TheBronx for all to enjoy so below, in its entirety, is Morgan Powell’s Hunts Point Walk, the culmination of 5 years of work and research. Bookmark this page and take the walk that Morgan so lovingly designed with you all in mind. Take a journey into the real Hunts Point; learn about the rich history of an oft maligned and misunderstood neighborhood that has been the brunt of exploitation, environmental injustice and environmental racism for far too long. The history which Morgan wanted everyone to make sure they knew.

Baron Ambrosia Swims Again; This Time Camden’s Cooper River

Baron Ambrosia has swum yet another river against all odds.

Last year Baron was the first person in recorded history to swim the entire length of The Bronx River and now he’s the first known person to have performed the same feat in Camden’s Cooper River.

Mott Haven & Melrose Get A Little Bit Fancy With New WalkNYC Signs

WalkNYC street signs have finally landed in The Bronx providing residents, employees and visitors of the Melrose and Mott Haven area with a map to the immediate area. The signs, which debuted last year in Chinatown, Herald Square/34th Street, Long Island City and Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, provide pedestrians with a wealth of information, including average walking distance to various landmarks and subway stations.

Tell Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to Make Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan A Reality!

As we reported yesterday, New York State has proposed the prioritization of the Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront plan. The issue has been picked up by Curbed (with a readership of over 1.5 million visitors a month) and The Real Deal (with a readership of over 1.375 million a month).

For those on twitter, make sure you tweet the following and let’s have our voices heard!

Sonia Sotomayor Brings Salsa, Trouble to the Supreme Court – US News

America may have its first celebrity Supreme Court justice, author Joan Biskupic says.

It was fairly early in the writing process when author Joan Biskupic, the biographer of Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Antonin Scalia, heard about Justice Sonia Sotomayor and “the salsa incident.”

As the story goes, it was June 2010 and the Supreme Court justices and their law clerks were celebrating the end of term with the clerks performing skits for their bosses. For Sotomayor, who had joined the high court in August 2009, it was the first of such occasions. “Here’s what you should know: By tradition, the clerks perform, the justices watch,” Biskupic explains to Whispers.

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LATEST NEWS

RIP Morgan Powell; Beloved Bronx Activist, Environmentalist Found Dead

The Bronx Chronicle has just reported that beloved Bronx activist and environmentalist, Morgan Powell was found dead in Brooklyn (the circumstances of which have yet to be provided). Powell, founder of the Bronx River Sankofa which “celebrates the 350+ years journey of African Americans with an emphasis on ecological culture & history along the Bronx River”, was a powerful force for change in The Bronx and how we viewed our own history through his walking tours.

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Video: Bronx Artist Wants To Live The ‘Good Life’

You may remember earlier this year when we interviewed Bronx born and raised artist Christopher Estrada when he launched his first single and video. Well almost 9 months later, he’s getting ready to launch his first album titled ‘1414’ and In anticipation of the album, he’s launched the video for his song, ‘Goodlife’ and it’s definitely a keeper. Filmed entirely in The Bronx — in Co-op City to be exact — the video is a fun, upbeat, and playful montage of Estrada just being himself and having fun.

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City Planning Wants Bronx Residents & Community Involvement in Cromwell-Jerome Study Area

New York City Department of City Planning recently made headlines with the announcement of the Cromwell-Jerome Study Area that straddles the Bronx neighborhoods of Highbridge, University Heights, Morris Heights, Mount Hope, and the Concourse. The study encompasses a massive 57 block corridor with Jerome Avenue as its spine.

DCP invites the public to join Community Walking Tours of the study area. The first tour is scheduled for Saturday, October 18th from 11AM-12PM and will provide a general overview of the study area. The second tour is scheduled for Saturday, October 25th from 11AM-12PM and will focus on transportation and parks in and around the study area. The tours will begin at the NW corner of the Grand Concourse and East 167th Street in front of the High Life Deli and Grocery.

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The Bronx Artist Documentary Project Needs Your Help!

From our friends at The Bronx Artist Documentary Project: Imagine a book filled with beautiful photographs taken by Bronx photographers depicting Bronx artists at work — right now — right here in the Bronx! The Bronx Artist Documentary Project exhibition (100 photographs on view now at the Andrew Freedman Home) deserves to  live on for…

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Yay or Nay on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown Bronx Episode?

So finally we got to see The Bronx on CNN for Anthony Bourdain’s popular Parts Unknown series. The show focused on some expected cultures and cuisines and lacked in others that represents the borough. Overall, based on twitter feedback and social media, many folks liked the show but others absolutely hated the portrayal of our Bronx in the episode. Personally, I loved the episode despite its flaws and it was a fun journey to parts KNOWN to this and many other Bronxites.

Watching our legendary Bronx Borough historian, Lloyd Ultan, aka the Professor, wax nostalgic about the birth of hip hop and various other Bronx Facts was a delight as well as watching our culinary ambassador, Baron Ambrosia join forces with Bourdain.

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