Real Estate in the South Bronx is heating up.
A tiny 4,100 square foot lot in the Lower Concourse Rezoning District of the Bronx is currently listed for a whopping $3,000,000. The property at 100 East 149th Street at Exterior Street is located just across from the the Special Harlem River Waterfront District and at the foot of the 145th Street Bridge into Manhattan. With a zoning of M1-4/R8A, the site can be developed into a 10-12 story residential building.
The Environmental Defense Fund stated last week that Latinos are 3x more likely to die from asthma than any other racial or ethnic group.
We must ask ourselves why, then, our Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr and other Bronx politicians aren’t demanding an environmental impact statement be done on FreshDirect’s planned move to the South Bronx — and instead are relying on an outdated environmental impact statement.
The Mix Pop Up Coffee Shop opened yesterday in Mott Haven as a 3 day social experiment to engage the community and talk about race and identity — over a cup of coffee.
Immediately when you walk into the cafe you are asked, ” WHAT ARE YOU?” by big stenciled letters along the walls. This is one of the most common questions asked to people of color, especially folks who’s ethnic identity isn’t ‘readily apparent’.
The other day I decided to take walk around the Lower Concourse Rezoning District so that I can document the area before it starts changing and buildings are either demolished or converted.
What struck me the most was the number of available signs for entire buildings or lots to be developed that weren’t there before. It seems that owners are starting to pay attention to the media coverage and beginning to market their properties.
A listing for a condo loft in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx has broken a record with an asking price of $900,000.
Located at 305 East 140th Street at Bronx Bricks Condominiums, a converted building constructed in 1904, the 2,350 square foot apartment originally sold for $712,775 in 2007 at the peak of the market.
This article in the Daily News clearly shows what a tale of two cities we are. Manhattan and Riverdale residents, along with elected officials are battling LG’s plan to build a 100+ foot tower in the Palisades that will tarnish the pristine views along the Hudson. Meanwhile in the South Bronx, residents are battling against the State of New York and FreshDirect, demanding that they deserve better than a 21 year old impact statement which the company is relying on to move into the neighborhood.
On Sunday, local residents gathered in Melrose to discuss the next steps in the creation of the South Bronx Farmers Market to be located on 138th Street between Willis and Alexander Avenues in Mott Haven.
Yesterday, on Thursday, March 27th, the Appellate Division of New York ruled in favor of FreshDirect and, “Bloomberg-era Industrial Development Agency decision to provide $80 million in subsidies to Fresh Direct to move its trucking operation to a South Bronx waterfront flood zone…without any requirement to assess or address the environmental impact of an additional 1,500 daily diesel truck trips on our asthma-plagued community.”
Dear Mayor De Blasio, Council Speaker Mark-Viverito, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr, New York City Council members:
The Center for Disease Control has just published a study in the April 2014 issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine citing a deep connection between a rise in incidents of childhood leukemia and pollution in high traffic areas — traffic pollution which already exists in the South Bronx that contributes to children having 8 times the national rate of asthma.
Can we afford FreshDirect with thousands of more truck trips barreling through our roads in the South Bronx, worsening the traffic situation? Is the empty promise of jobs worth the risk of exposure to our children — a company with dubious labor practices where they are currently being sued by their own drivers? Do we sacrifice our future over corporate greed and over $130 million in tax breaks and subsidies?
On Wednesday, March 19th, delivery workers for FreshDirect have filed a class action lawsuit against the firm over gratuities they are losing due to misleading company policies.
It is not the first time FreshDirect is under fire for its dubious labor practices and once again solidifies even more why the majority of residents do not want FreshDirect to relocate to our waterfront.
Back in 2007 FreshDirect fired scores of immigrant workers because of a pending unionization vote.
This week, Mayor De Blasio’s ambitious plan to reduce pedestrian fatalities, Vision Zero, began in the Bronx with Operation Move Along on 138th Street (between Third and Jackson Avenues) by cracking down on double parking. Officers from the 40th precinct slapped educational flyers on double parked cars but on March 16th they will begin issuing summonses for illegally parked vehicles.
The East 138th Street corridor is one of the South Bronx’s busiest roads with trucks and traffic already roaring across it to get from one end of the borough to the other.
Saturday’s 1st Annual Bronx Gentrification Conference was successful in starting the conversation about the issues surrounding the turbulent topic and it is one that we, as well as the Bronx Documentary Center will be keeping tabs on.
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