The Bronx

Seniors who identify as LGBT often experience housing discrimination, but dozens of affordable openings at one of New York City's first subsidized developments targeted to this vulnerable population aim to create a different experience. Non-profit developer HELP USA partnered with advocacy group SAGE to create the mixed-use development at 775 Crotona Park North in the Bronx, which will combine low-income housing with an LGBT-oriented Senior Center on the ground floor. Starting Tuesday, individuals or households that have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older and who qualify for Section 8 can apply for the 57 available units. Eligible residents will pay 30 percent of their income for rent.
Here's everything you need to know to apply

Affordable Housing

94 affordable units up for grabs in the South Bronx, from $748/month

Photo by Fletcher6 on Wikimedia

October 25, 2019

94 affordable units up for grabs in the South Bronx, from $748/month

Ninety-four newly constructed units are up for grabs at 985 Bruckner Boulevard in Woodstock, the Bronx. Non-profit Community Access worked with Think! Architecture and Design on the project, which spans across ten floors and 170,000 square feet and includes 215 residential units and a 70,300 square foot community facility. Qualifying applicants earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for units that range from $748/month studios to $1,148/month two-bedrooms.
Here's everything you need to know

Affordable Housing

400 bus stops in the Bronx to be cut as part of major network redesign

Photo by Adam Moreira on Wikimedia

October 23, 2019

400 bus stops in the Bronx to be cut as part of major network redesign

Four hundred local bus stops in the Bronx will be cut as part of a major system redesign, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Tuesday. The large reduction is an attempt to speed up travel times by moving bus stops further apart, from an average of 882 feet to 1,092 feet between them. The new plan also brings two new local routes and an express route to the borough, providing commuters better peak-hour service between north Bronx and Midtown.
Details here

Photo by Tim Rodenberg on Wikimedia

October 18, 2019

NYC Council approves plan to replace Rikers Island with four new jails

The New York City Council on Thursday approved a plan that would close the notorious Rikers Island complex and replace it with four smaller jails across the city. The nearly $9 billion proposal, released by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017, pledges to shutter Rikers in 10 years by dramatically reducing the city's jail population. It involves housing inmates in new facilities in Lower Manhattan, the South Bronx, Downtown Brooklyn, and Kew Gardens that are better integrated with the surrounding communities, as well as located closer to court systems.
Learn more

Policy

The East River prison barge, intended to be temporary, draws ire amid plans to close Rikers

Photo via Wiki Commons

October 10, 2019

The East River prison barge, intended to be temporary, draws ire amid plans to close Rikers

The Vernon C. Bain Center, an 800-capacity floating jail in the East River, costs $24 million a year to operate and was supposed to be permanently shut down decades ago. Opened in 1992 to help with an overcrowded prison system due in part to the crack epidemic, the 625-foot-long motorless barge has been docked along New York City's shoreline since then, the New York Times reports. And as the city plans to shut down Rikers Island, overhaul the criminal justice system, and create more humane jails with fewer inmates, advocates say the barge has to go. The city has pledged to close the facility once the City Council votes on the prison reform plan; both Rikers and Bain would close by 2026.
What happened to 'temporary?'

Policy

Take a 102-year-old subway to playoff games at Yankee Stadium this weekend

Photos by Marc Hermann, Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum

October 4, 2019

Take a 102-year-old subway to playoff games at Yankee Stadium this weekend

New York Yankee fans headed to the Bronx this weekend can get to the stadium on trains that were in service during Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth's tenure with the team. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will run an express vintage 1917 Lo-V train on Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5 from Grand Central to 161st Street, kicking off the Yankees' postseason run in historic fashion.
All aboard

Transit

Listing photos courtesy of Halstead Real Estate

October 1, 2019

Old-world Victorian decor fills every inch of this $325K Bronx co-op

By Dana Schulz

Located in the University Heights section of the Bronx, this co-op could easily pass for a Victorian period museum. From House of Hackney wallpaper to reclaimed 19th-century doors to a painting that is Louvre-approved (literally!), nearly every inch of the 1,250-square-foot home is filled with old-world furniture and decor. And even if this isn't quite your style, the two-bedroom, two-bathroom layout and $325,000 price tag will surely grab your attention.
Even the bathrooms are worth checking out

Plans for new Metro-North stations in the Bronx move forward with first community meeting

Aerial view of Co-op City via Wiki Commons

September 30, 2019

Plans for new Metro-North stations in the Bronx move forward with first community meeting

Plans to develop four new Metro-North Railroad stations in underserved areas of the Bronx are moving forward and beginning to engage the local community in the process. Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. and Westchester county executive George Latimer hosted the first Community Council meeting for the project last week, providing an overview of the broader Penn Station Access plan and kicking off discussions with key stakeholders. The council is composed of representatives from civic organizations and local businesses from the East Bronx and Westchester.
More information

Transit

Live near Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, from $1,075/month

Photo by Steven Pisano on Flickr

September 27, 2019

Live near Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, from $1,075/month

A lottery will launch next week for 36 middle-income units in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx. Located at 3470 Fort Independence Street, the newly constructed building sits about a ten-minute walk from New York City's third-largest park, Van Cortlandt Park, and steps from Jerome Park Reservoir. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 70 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, which range from $1,075/month studios to $2,388/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

September 26, 2019

Cuomo breaks ground on Belmont Park arena; see new renderings of Islanders’ future home

In a ground-breaking ceremony that included the New York Islanders, National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman, local leaders and hockey fans, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo this week heralded construction of the New York Islanders' new arena at Belmont Park. The arena will anchor the $1.3 billion Belmont Park redevelopment project that promises to create 10,000 jobs and generate $2.7 billion in economic activity for the region. The new 19,000-seat arena, which will host the hockey team and other events, is part of the governor's effort to transform 43 acres of parking lots into a top destination for sports, hospitality and retail, with a 250-key hotel, a retail village and office and community space to come.
More new renderings, this way

As Hart Island nears capacity, city seeks new public cemetery sites

Photo by cisc1970 on Flickr

September 25, 2019

As Hart Island nears capacity, city seeks new public cemetery sites

The city is looking for land to build a new public cemetery for residents who were unclaimed or unable to afford a burial. The city's Human Resources Administration on Tuesday issued a request for information (RFI) from private burial companies to develop ideas for new cemeteries, citing concerns over the lack of space on Hart Island, land located off the Bronx where more than one million people have been buried since the Civil War. The RFI comes as the City Council recently finalized a package of bills to reform the Island, as well as the city's process for public burials.
More here

Policy

Rikers Island, photo by Tim Rodenberg on Wikimedia

September 3, 2019

City Planning Commission approves plan to build four borough-based jails as Rikers replacement

The City Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a plan to replace the Rikers Island complex with four new jails across the city. The plan, unveiled by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017, would close Rikers by 2026 by moving inmates to new, smaller facilities in Lower Manhattan, the South Bronx, Downtown Brooklyn, and Kew Gardens. Despite disapproval from four community boards, three borough presidents, and criminal justice advocates, nine CPC members voted in favor of the plan, with three opposed and one abstained. The proposal will move to the City Council on Thursday for a public hearing.
More here

Lottery launches for 169 affordable units near Fordham University, from $475/month

Photo by Kristine Paulus on Flickr

August 29, 2019

Lottery launches for 169 affordable units near Fordham University, from $475/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 169 newly constructed affordable apartments in the Bronx neighborhood of Fordham Manor. Located at 2519 Creston Avenue just half mile from Fordham University's campus, the building sits on a corner overlooking St. James Park. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 50, 60, 80, 90, and 110 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, ranging from a $475/month studio to a $2,158/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Did you know the country’s only floating pool is in the Bronx?

Photo by Danny Avila for NYC Parks

August 2, 2019

Did you know the country’s only floating pool is in the Bronx?

By Nicole Mondrus

Although it's technically safe, you may not want to swim in the East River. Swimming on the East River, however, is an entirely different story. The Floating Pool Lady is not just a pool. It’s a floating pool located in a retrofitted barge that’s currently docked in Barretto Point Park in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. Best of all, it's the only floating pool in the country.
Jump in

Architecture And Design

This weekend, take a trolley tour of the Bronx’s breweries with Woodlawn Cemetery

Photo via Bronx Brewery

July 31, 2019

This weekend, take a trolley tour of the Bronx’s breweries with Woodlawn Cemetery

By Nicole Mondrus

Tours of breweries in NYC are nothing new. But if you’re looking to shake things up, consider taking a tour of Bronx breweries that takes place on a trolley and starts at one of the largest cemeteries in the city. This Saturday, Woodlawn Cemetery, in partnership with the Bronx Historical Society, is offering a trolley tour that delves into the history behind the borough's beer-brewing legacy and takes guests into some of the Bronx’s newest breweries and beer halls.
Read more

A Bronx street will be renamed in honor of comic book legend Stan Lee

Google Street View of Stan Lee’s childhood home at 1720 University Avenue in the Bronx

July 26, 2019

A Bronx street will be renamed in honor of comic book legend Stan Lee

Stan Lee—the comic book writer and Marvel publisher who brought us Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the Fantastic Four among other classics—will soon be commemorated with a street naming in the Bronx. According to the New York Post, City Council voted this week to co-name University Avenue between Brandt Place and West 176th Street as “Stan Lee Way." The proposal was brought by City Council member Fernando Cabrera, who represents the area, and will become official as soon as the mayor signs it.
More details

Celebrities

Construction of affordable housing complex on former juvenile jail site in Hunts Point set to begin

Rendering courtesy of WXY Architecture + Urban Design and Body Lawson Associates

July 19, 2019

Construction of affordable housing complex on former juvenile jail site in Hunts Point set to begin

The first phase of a project that will bring more than 700 units of affordable housing to the Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point will get underway in the coming weeks, developers announced Tuesday. Dubbed the Peninsula, the mixed-use complex will rise on the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, which closed in 2011 after the city recognized its awful conditions and treatment of children. The first phase, costing about $121.5 million, includes the construction of 183 affordable units by 2021.
Get the details

July 16, 2019

Citi Bike reveals new expansion plans that keep Queens, Bronx, Upper Manhattan waiting on wheels

Citi Bike has revealed details for the much-anticipated rollout of the popular bike share program with plans to double its reach with docks in the Bronx and more of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. But according to maps and information released in a Tuesday morning meeting obtained by Streetsblog, large swaths of the city won't see the blue bikes for four more years. As the NY Post reported, some see the Citi Bike rollout as heavily weighted toward more affluent NYC districts, which prompted a letter from several New York City Council members to the NYC Department of Transportation asking for assurance that expansion plans include low-income neighborhoods.
Where will the next blue bikes be?

Transit

328 new affordable apartments available at Compass III residences in the Bronx from $331/month

The larger Compass Residences via Dattner Architects

July 11, 2019

328 new affordable apartments available at Compass III residences in the Bronx from $331/month

The lottery has just launched for 328 newly-constructed Compass III residences at 1560 Boone Avenue, Crotona Park East and 101 East 173rd Street in Mount Hope, Bronx. In 2011 the West Farms Redevelopment Plan for the 17-acre, 11-block former industrial area in Crotona Park East by Dattner Architects became the largest Bronx rezoning ever passed. When complete, the complex will offer 1,325 units of affordable housing along with retail and community facilities. The new building's 328 units are available to households earning between 30 percent and 100 percent of the area median income, ranging from $331/month studios to $1,921/month three-bedrooms.
All the details

Affordable Housing

Yayoi Kusama’s polka-dot pumpkins are coming to the New York Botanical Garden

Kusama with Pumpkin, 2010 ©YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo / Singapore / Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London; David Zwirner, New York

July 9, 2019

Yayoi Kusama’s polka-dot pumpkins are coming to the New York Botanical Garden

Over the next year, celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama will have a big moment in New York City. In addition to the forthcoming exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery this fall—which will include some of the artist’s insanely popular Infinity Rooms—the New York Botanical Garden has just revealed that its blockbuster 2020 exhibition will be dedicated to Kusama. The exclusive show will include a range of works, old and new, that shed light on the artist’s lifelong engagement with nature, including everything from her famous polka-dot pumpkins to her signature Infinity Rooms.
More information

Events & Things To Do

July 5, 2019

For $1.9M, this tranquil Tudor on the banks of the Hudson is surrounded by greenery and views

In a gorgeous wooded corner in the Bronx neighborhood of Spuyten Duyvil (just south of Riverdale on the banks of the Hudson River), this charming Tudor home at the aptly-named 3033 Scenic Place has breathtaking views from just about every corner. Asking $1.85 million, the four-bedroom home boasts the hand-crafted finishes often found in the area's classic Tudors including wood paneling and hand-hewn beams, while picture windows offer a front-row seat to the surrounding woodlands
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Live in an affordable Bronx building with a rooftop garden and greenhouse, from $883/month

Rendering of the Bedford Green House courtesy of Edelman Sultan Knox Wood/Architects LLP and Hollister Construction Services

June 21, 2019

Live in an affordable Bronx building with a rooftop garden and greenhouse, from $883/month

A Bronx affordable housing development with lots of green perks launched a lottery this week for 46 units. Dubbed the Bedford Green House, the 13-story building at 2865 Creston Avenue offers its residents unique amenities that center around healing through nature, a concept called biophilic design. Bedford Green House, located within the Bedford Park neighborhood, will have a rooftop aquaponics greenhouse where residents will be able to raise fish, grow fresh produce, and participate in healthy cooking demos. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, ranging from $883/month studios to a $1,148/month two-bedrooms.
Do you qualify?

Low-income senior housing lottery opens for 83 units at Perkins Eastman-designed building in Mott Haven

Rendering of Mill Brook Terrace courtesy of NYCHA

June 20, 2019

Low-income senior housing lottery opens for 83 units at Perkins Eastman-designed building in Mott Haven

By Dana Schulz

As 6sqft recently reported, "More than 17 percent of New Yorkers are over the age of 60." Recognizing the need to provide adequate affordable housing for this population, last year, the city committed $500 million to build 1,000 new apartments for low-income seniors. Though the plan has moved slower than hoped, there are new opportunities taking shape, such as this lottery for 83 low-income apartments in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. The one-bedroom units are available to one- or two-person households in which at least one member is 62 years of age or older, who qualify for NYCHA's Section 8 program, and who earn between $0 and $42,700 annually. Those who are eligible will pay 30 percent of their income to live in the building at 570 East 137th Street, a new project from Perkins Eastman.
Learn more here

Affordable Housing

New York Botanical Garden’s largest exhibit to date will honor Brazilian designer Roberto Burle Marx

Photo courtesy of The New York Botanical Garden

June 5, 2019

New York Botanical Garden’s largest exhibit to date will honor Brazilian designer Roberto Burle Marx

Brazilian modernist artist, landscape architect, and plant conservationist Roberto Burle Marx will be the subject of the latest exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden, opening on June 8. Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx will not only be NYBG's biggest exhibition ever, but it will also be the first to bring Burle Marx's horticultural visions to life in an immersive way. Alongside a gallery of his paintings, drawings, and textiles, visitors will also be able to walk through lush gardens inspired by his designs.
All the details

Events & Things To Do

Apply for 63 affordable studios at new La Central development in the Bronx for $650/month

Rendering of 626 Bergen via FXCollaborative

May 31, 2019

Apply for 63 affordable studios at new La Central development in the Bronx for $650/month

A new housing development in the Bronx launched a lottery this week for 63 studio apartments. Located in the South Bronx, the La Central complex will include five buildings with 992 units of mixed-income housing, a new 50,000-square-foot YMCA, a television studio, landscaped courtyard, and a skate park. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) can apply for the $650/month studios.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

NYC Council considers turning mass gravesite on Hart Island into a city park

Photo of Hart Island via Flickr

May 31, 2019

NYC Council considers turning mass gravesite on Hart Island into a city park