LATEST NEWS

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.

Seats Still Available at New School in Mott Haven

Family Life Academy Charter Schools III is a new school located at 296 East 140th Street in the Lower Concourse area of Mott Haven. The school currently has two (2) open seats for Kindergarten children and twenty (20) seats for First Graders.

The school offers rigorous curriculum by certified teachers and features iPads in every classroom for student educational uses. Dance programs as well as health and wellness programs are available for all grades as well as balanced and nutritious meals.

For more information, contact Ms Jeanette Iglesias at 718-665-2805 Mon- Fri from 8:30AM – 4:30PM

Life And Death On The Avocado Trail – A Story Of A Bronx Mom & Pop Shop

“In December of 2013, Denisse Chavez and her husband were stopped by two unmarked white cars while driving north on the highway out of Reynosa in the Tamaulipas state of Mexico. The vehicles had been tailing her own car, a worn-out 2002 model that her mechanic’s tools permanently called home, for four or five miles. It was a scene she had witnessed many times before.

A small-time importer and business owner in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, Chavez, forty-nine, had been traveling by car from New York to Puebla, driving over 5,000 miles each trip, for almost six years. Along the route she’d seen gunfights break out before her eyes, as well as robberies and kidnappings. But she always escaped unscathed. Typically, she made the trip to stock her Bronx bodega, El Atoradero. This time, she had gone to Monterrey to purchase equipment for her then-forthcoming restaurant.

Anthony Bourdain Tells WNYC: ‘The Bronx Is a Magical Place’

Anthony Bourdain was intereviewed by WNYC just in time for Sunday’s premier of his Parts Unknown Bronx Episode. He told WNYC that about The Bronx that, “…for no reason at all I know so little about it…I was and still am largely ignorant of this awesome space filled with good stuff.

Listen to his interview as he talks about eating Garifuna delights and watch yet another new sneak peek of Sunday’s episode featuring our official Bronx Borough Historian, Lloyd Ultan:

9 Ways To Get To Know The Bronx According to CNN

In anticipation for this Sunday’s premier of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown Bronx episode, CNN’s Kat Kinsman — managing editor of the channel’s Eatocracy and writer and editor for CNN Living — has written a piece on 9 ways to get to know The Bronx.

She writes:

“About 8.4 million people can rightfully call themselves New Yorkers, according to 2013 census data. There are no official numbers to back this up, but it’d be a pretty solid bet to say that an awful lot of them have never spent much time exploring the Bronx beyond Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Zoo, the Bronx Botanical Gardens and maaayyybe going out for a plate of manicotti and some tiramisu on Arthur Avenue.

And that’s a friggin’ shame.

First Case Of Ebola In United States History Diagnosed In Texas

The deadly virus known as Ebola has been diagnosed for the first time in US history in the state of Texas. While this may seem faraway from The Bronx, along with the African countries where the epidemic has broken, it is important to remember and be sensitive to the fact that our borough is home to the largest population of Africans in New York City.

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LATEST NEWS

New Development Breaks Ground In Melrose

There’s no stopping development and construction in the Melrose neighborhood of The Bronx. From the early planning stages, to actual construction, a quick walk through the area reveals a flurry of activity in the borough’s fastest growing neighborhood and 3rd fastest in the city.

655 Morris Avenue at E 153rd Street is the latest development under construction and will rise 15 stories providing 175 affordable units for low and middle income families.

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News 12 The Bronx Anchor, Matt Pieper Fired After On-Air Snafu

Last week we reported about News 12 The Bronx anchor Matt Pieper and reporter Amy Yensi’s on-the-air snafu while they thought they were on commercial break. During the incident, there was an exchange which many found offensive where Matt Pieper was relaying a message to reporter Amy Yensi and said, “David wants you to also mention that parents do their [f—ing] jobs and walk their little kids and not rely on everyone else kind of like people rely on government assistance for their entire lives, bye Felicia.” Then he said he, “added that part of government assistance but it’s true. Then Amy Yensi proceeds to say, “Hashtag EBT!”

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Update: Plans For Melrose Development on 161st Street FINALLY Filed After 4 Years Since First Announced

Our friends over at YIMBY have revealed plans filed for one of the last remaining tracts of land in the Melrose Commons redevelopment area to be developed by Briarwood and Phipps Housing in conjunction with The Bridge. The development has changed considerably since it was first announced 4 years ago and probably the most significant change, besides the renderings, is that it will contain 60 units in a separate yet connected building of supportive housing for low-income veterans (Check out the old renderings here).

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New Hotel Under Construction In Castle Hill Has Some Residents On Edge, But Is There Cause For Alarm?

Another hotel is rising in The Bronx, this time in Castle Hill at 2338 Bruckner Boulevard. The Days Inn Hotel, which is scheduled to open some time next year, will have 60 rooms, a conference/meeting room for business travelers and a breakfast / lounge room for guests.

But some local residents are not happy with the location of the hotel, fearing it would turn into another hot sheet motel like the infamous Capri Motel which recently shuttered its doors and is now serving as a homeless shelter.

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Bronx Solar Energy Company To Invest $7 Million To Create Tech Hub In The Borough

Bronx-based company OnForce Solar, who specializes in — you guessed it, solar energy — is partnering up with Bronx Community College to create a technology hub that will train Bronxites in the ever-expanding green tech industry. The company has the largest operation of its kind in the industry in all of New York City right here in the Bronx, according to the company’s website.

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