Tag: South Bronx

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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.

LISTEN: 4 Ways The South Bronx Is Gentrifying—WNYC Wants to Hear From You

Welcome2TheBronx joined WNYC on a discussion about gentrification in The South Bronx centering in on Mott Haven and the surrounding areas for this long-term project on the housing affordability crisis.

(If you live or work in the South Bronx, WNYC wants to hear from you and journalist Sophia Paliza-Carre will be stationed at the Mott Haven Library on E 140th Street and Alexander Avenue a few hours each day. Reach out via email to: spalizacarre@wnyc.org or via social media using the hashtag #motthavenspeaks)

As Mother Teresa is Canonized, We Remember When a Saint Visited The Bronx

Today, 19 years after her death, Pope Francis officially declared the Albanian Mother Teresa a saint as many remember when she visited The Bronx.
On one of those occasions, Saint Teresa of Kolkata, as she is now known, was visited by her friend, Princess Diana of Wales who flew in from DC just to meet up with her at the Missionaries of Charity’s order on 145th Street in Mott Haven—the first in North America of the order which she founded in 1950.