The Bronx

The spacious, laid-back architect-designed modern home at 5253 Arlington Avenue in the Hudson Hill section of Riverdale near Wave Hill was built in 1940 on one of the neighborhood's deepest plots (79 feet by 323 feet). The cedar-clad four-bedroom home, asking $2.599 million, is surrounded by private flagstone patios, rolling lawns, and lush plantings. The residence has been well-maintained and tastefully updated over time, but there's potential and space for significant expansion if you're looking for even more room.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

December 2, 2019

Iconic Bronx Kosher deli Loeser’s faces an uncertain future

Street View of Loeser's in August 2017; Map Data © 2019 Google Usually, when we talk about historic mom-and-pop businesses closing up shop, it's due to a rent increase. But in the case of Loeser's Kosher Deli, the issue comes down to a potentially faulty gas pipe. As the Riverdale Press tells us, the Department of Buildings issued a violation to the 60-year-old Bronx establishment and a shutdown notice as of November 20th. Now, facing high repair costs and loss of business, the fate of Loeser's seems uncertain.
The whole story

Food & Dining

Take a tour of the NYBG’s Holiday Train Show, now with a new Central Park section

All photos by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

November 26, 2019

Take a tour of the NYBG’s Holiday Train Show, now with a new Central Park section

The New York Botanical Garden's 28th annual Holiday Train Show is back for the season, and this year it has an entirely new Central Park section, featuring iconic spots like Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Terrace, and the Bow Bridge--all made entirely from natural materials including bark, seeds, berries acorns, and cinnamon sticks. 6sqft took a special tour of the exhibit, which features a total of 175 New York landmarks, and went behind-the-scenes with Laura Busse Dolan, President and CEO of Applied Imagination, the design firm that works all year long to make this whimsical show a reality. From the exhibit's 2,000 plants to its 25,000 pounds of cedar bark and 200 boxes of moss, Laura fills us in on all the fun and little-known facts about the Holiday Train Show.
Take a tour

New mixed-income development brings 435 affordable housing units to Soundview in the Bronx

Photo courtesy of L+M Development Partners

November 22, 2019

New mixed-income development brings 435 affordable housing units to Soundview in the Bronx

Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday, L+M Development Partners and Nelson Management Group opened the doors to their new mixed-use affordable housing developments in Soundview, the Bronx. The two buildings at 1520 and 1530 Story Avenue will bring 435 units of affordable housing and a 15,000-square-foot facility for Easterseals New York that will offer early childhood education. Roughly half of the units were up for grabs through a lottery held earlier this year.
More info

The most expensive site in the Bronx gets a name and new renderings

Renderings courtesy of ArX Solutions

November 21, 2019

The most expensive site in the Bronx gets a name and new renderings

Last fall, Brookfield Properties bought two sites in Mott Haven for $165 million—the most expensive transaction on record for development in the Bronx—from Somerset Partners and Chetrit Group. On Thursday, the developers revealed a $950 million plan for a 4.3-acre mixed-use development that will bring more than 1,350 apartments to the South Bronx neighborhood, of which 30 percent will be affordable. Branded as Bankside, the project will also include a public waterfront park and promenade, as well as ground-floor retail and community facility spaces.
See it here

City Council votes to make Hart Island, nation’s largest public cemetery, more accessible

Photo of Hart Island by David Trawin on Flickr

November 15, 2019

City Council votes to make Hart Island, nation’s largest public cemetery, more accessible

On Thursday, the New York City Council approved legislation that transfers ownership of Hart Island, the nation's largest public cemetery where over 1 million people are buried, to the city's Parks Department. The 101-acre island off the coast of the Bronx contains a potters field that has been the final resting place for destitute New Yorkers as far back as the Civil War. The island is currently operated by the Department of Correction (DOC), with Rikers Island inmates paid $1 an hour to bury bodies there. This week's vote comes after a years-long fight to end the onerous process required of visitors who wish to pay their respects to loved ones buried there; its intent is to make the island more accessible to the public and improve its dilapidated conditions.
Find out more

Policy

November 14, 2019

161 affordable apartments available in the South Bronx, from $331/month

In the Melrose section of the South Bronx, a new building is now accepting applications for 161 affordable apartments. Located at 735 Cauldwell Avenue, just a couple blocks from the 2 and 5 trains at Jackson Avenue, the building has a part-time attended lobby, roof deck, fitness center, party room, and laundry. The units are available to households earning 30, 50, or 100 percent of the area median income and range from $331/month studios to $1,910/month three-bedrooms.
See if you qualify

Affordable Housing

$52M supportive housing complex with health-focused amenities opens in the South Bronx

Rendering by Peter L. Woll Architect, P.C; Courtesy of Community Access

November 13, 2019

$52M supportive housing complex with health-focused amenities opens in the South Bronx

An affordable housing complex with health and wellness perks officially opened in the South Bronx on Tuesday, after breaking ground more than two years ago. The $52 million building at 111 East 172nd Street in the neighborhood of Mount Eden contains 126 apartments, with 60 of them set aside for those living with mental illness. The units are affordable for households earning 60 percent of the area median income.
More here

Affordable Housing

The city introduces a new branding initiative to unite NYC’s public markets

Photo of the Arthur Avenue Retail Market by Leonard J. DeFrancisci via Wikimedia Commons

November 11, 2019

The city introduces a new branding initiative to unite NYC’s public markets

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) last week unveiled a new brand strategy for the city's network of six public markets, which includes a multilingual ad campaign, a dynamic new website and social media presence, direct mail campaigns and more, all of which are designed to consolidate a network of historic markets under one city-wide brand. It's all part of the organization's comprehensive initiative to promote NYC's public markets--including Essex Market, the Bronx's Arthur Avenue Market, and Williamsburg's historic Moore Street Market--as "world class destinations for both local residents and tourists."
See what's in store

City Living

November 5, 2019

Best of the Bronx: What to do and see in the northernmost borough now

You're probably familiar with the big attractions in the Bronx: Yankee Stadium, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo. But the borough has a lot more going on, from historic and cultural treats and treasures to new breweries and restaurants and acres of beaches, parks, trails, and gardens. Read on for a collection of destinations in the city's northernmost, greenest, and most diverse borough that are worth the trip, wherever you’re coming from.
More to do in the Bronx, this way

Affordable housing complex at former Bronx juvenile jail site breaks ground

Rendering by BLA and WXY

November 5, 2019

Affordable housing complex at former Bronx juvenile jail site breaks ground

The city on Monday broke ground on a five-acre mixed-use project that will bring more than 700 affordable apartments, open space, and manufacturing space to the Bronx. The Hunts Point complex, called the Penninsula, will sit at the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, which closed in 2011 following reports of cruel conditions. Construction will now kick off on the project's first phase and includes space for industrial and light manufacturing businesses and 183 deeply affordable housing units.
Get the details

Apply for 52 mixed-income units near Lehman College in the Bronx, from $736/month

Photo by Tdorante10 on Wikimedia

November 4, 2019

Apply for 52 mixed-income units near Lehman College in the Bronx, from $736/month

A housing lottery launched this week for 52 mixed-income units in the Bronx neighborhood of Bedford Park. Located at 16 East 204th Street, the building, dubbed "Villa Gardens," sits just east of Jerome Park Reservoir and the 37-acre campus of Lehman College. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60, 90, and 100 percent of area median income can apply for the apartments, ranging from $736/month studios to $2,066/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Lottery launches for 57 low-income units for LGBT seniors across the street from Crotona Park

Photo via CC on Wikimedia

October 28, 2019

Lottery launches for 57 low-income units for LGBT seniors across the street from Crotona Park

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

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