Tag: Melrose

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In The Bronx’s Oldest Shopping District, Dozens of Vacant Store Fronts Dominate The Area as Gentrification Tightens Its Grip

The Hub—The Bronx’s oldest shopping and commercial district located in the South Bronx neighborhood of Melrose is going through the most profound changes since the 70s and 80s when the neighborhood burned around it and its main train line, the Third Avenue El was put out of service and torn down.

Since its beginnings over a century ago when the borough was experiencing a population boom adding over 1 million residents in a span of 30 years, Melrose and The Hub, attracted residents from all over The Bronx due to it being an excellent transportation nexus—and still does today.

New “affordable” housing developments have been constructed surrounding the area and adding over 3,000 apartments and tens of thousands of new residents—with thousands of more units in various stages of construction or planning to come.

As gentrification tightens its grip on the South Bronx, long-time businesses are closing their doors as landlords either are not renewing leases or simply the new rents are too high to keep up.

La Central, The Bronx’s Massive 992 Unit Development in Melrose, Is Finally Approved by City Council

After almost three years since it was announced, the mega project La Central has moved one step closer to reality as New York City Council approved this development yesterday.

With 992 units planned, a 50,000 square foot YMCA, 10,000 square foot television studio for BronxNet, and also an astronomy lab and observation deck among many other features, La Central is one of the biggest mixed residential and commercial developments coming to The Bronx.

How Prince Helped The Bronx & His Little Remembered Concert at Lehman

Prince was a larger than life entertainer loved by millions who felt a deep connection to his music and joie de vivre but now fans have something else to celebrate in this man and perhaps take a page from the book and pay it forward.

“Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince;
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”—William Shakespeare’s, Hamlet

Plans Filed for Yet Another Affordable Housing Development in Melrose

Development doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon in Melrose, The Bronx’s unofficial downtown neighborhood.

After a lull in construction for a few years, developments are either in the process of breaking ground, in the middle of construction, almost complete or just filing applications in the neighborhood.

Popular East Harlem Bakery Opens Bronx Location in Melrose

In the heart of El Barrio aka East Harlem is Capri Bakery on 116th between Lexington and 3rd Avenue since 1984.

Now, after working on opening their second location for over a year, Capri is open for business and is already a hit having only opened this past Thursday.

As I sit here eating a typical Cuban and Puerto Rican pastelito de guayaba con queso—guava filled pastry with cheese—and a nice warm cup of tea, dozens of people have come and gone happily after purchasing their fresh baked delights.

Immaculate Conception Church in Melrose Prioritized for Landmarking After 36 Years Since First Introduced for Preservation

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.