Satan's Laundromat: South Bronx

South Bronx

09/08/03

Chained-down trash can lids

House with two numbers
Mott Haven, The Bronx

decrepit funeral home

RIP Black Jesus

Pizza Chicken dot com
Melrose, The Bronx

stencil: All persons must leave when draw gong sounds
Willis Avenue Bridge

At Glowlab, "a new photo series of the faces that quietly watch us from lamp posts, street signs and shadowy doorways."

8:30 PM | Comments (149) | TrackBack (0)

Comments

Wow! Just a little worse than my city.

Posted by: Nyke at November 9, 2003 08:29 PM

Hey what about the Good parts of the South Bronx?

Very Interesting pics though
I was born and raised in the South Bronx
I dont live there anymore and havent since the late 80's so it is interesting to see these web sites of happenings in the old neighborhood.

Posted by: Denise at March 19, 2004 04:17 PM

The Bronx isn't as bad as it was back in the 70's-eraly 90's. I grew up in the Bronx

Posted by: Danny at October 4, 2004 04:10 PM

I grew up on 139&140th and cypress from 1960 to 1981. I love the bronx and always will. There's no other place like it. I go back every so often. My husband, yogi also grew up in 139 and cypress.

Posted by: yolanda at December 26, 2004 03:03 PM

I grew up on 137th & Cypress but left in 1956. No longer live in the city. Went to St. Luke's.

Posted by: John at February 11, 2005 10:29 AM

Great pictures. I have visited S. Bronx only for Yankee games. By the looks of the previous posts, it seems like the Bronx is pretty safe after all? I want to explore around but all my friends tell me I'm insane.
Any thoughts?
Thank you!

Posted by: Steve at February 14, 2005 09:49 AM

What areas are okay for white people in their 30s to live? I read that Pelham, Throggs Neck, Riverdale and Parkchester were okay. What does anybody know or recommend?
'preciate it.

Posted by: Wayne Drozd at February 16, 2005 01:32 PM

Hey!
I Live directly across the street from Rush Funeral Home. I love the Bronx. I grew up in Melrose Projects and it's alright. It's full of people wanting something better out of life and sometimes that starts with a person like you coming to our neighborhood and showcasing whats there without stating your opinion but instead allowing others to draw their own conclusion. Seeing this has doubled my efforts to make the Bronx a financial District to some degree because when you travel on the 2 or 5 train the first stop is the South Bronx and I want people that visit to want to come back and not just for no Yankees Game either. I guess I have said enough, Thank You, ONE LOVE....LIVE!LOVE!LIFE!

Posted by: jessie at February 26, 2005 12:05 AM

This site is so great, I love to read what people are writing.

My wife and I are going to be in town this weekend for a Secret Machines show, and we're definitely planning on hanging around the South Bronx and taking it all in.

This time, I'm not even gonna look at Yankee stadium, just the neighborhoods!
THank all of you very much for such great information.

PS - does anyone have any 'must-do' suggestions? We're only going to have Sunday to look around.

THanks again.

Posted by: Steve at February 27, 2005 01:26 PM

things to do.
1. Get coffee at Pitusa's bakery on Prospect and 149. The BEST ever.
2. Have lunch at Venice, 149 and Wales. OK food, Killer drinks.
3. Beware of "clubs". They are usually ethno-centric, and unless you are from, say, Paraguay, you wont have a good time.
4. G-bar is a good place, and great soul food right across the Concourse, I think its called "sam's"
5. The best Tacos on the east coast is on 153 and Elton, right in the Hub. Mexicano authentico! And righteously clean.
6. To get sloshed... Glackins on 138th and Gerard? Shots are juice glasses.
7. To shoot pool, and feel like youre in Manhattan... The Bruckner Bar. Under the Willis ave Bridge. Great food, friendly staff, artsy-fartsy, angry ar daddy clientelle, but surrounded by industrial zones and Projects. Dont go alone.

Posted by: sped at August 8, 2005 08:40 PM

Thanks for the great pictures of the Bronx. I grew up there in the late 60's to mid 80's when gang fights were just that. I went to Lehman High School and used to hang out down by the pizzeria at the bottom of the hill by the L until class started. Theres nothing like eating a slice on a cold winter day!!! Well I haven't been back since 97 and your site is great as memorabilia and to show friends my stomping grounds.

Posted by: Raymond at August 15, 2005 12:48 AM

Great Pictures, i love the Bronx my grandmother use to live there. I would go every summer and spend 2 weeks there.

I would love to go back and see what it is like now to me it is so interesting.

Posted by: CATHI at September 25, 2005 02:03 AM

The South Bronx is very safe. Check out the Art and Antique district. Bruckner Blvd between Lincoln Ave and Willis Avenue. I work for a not for profit whom is re-building the South Bronx. we suffer from an image problem and a perception that ita bad and should be avoided. On the contrary I feel safer here than any other part of New York City.. Check us out www.sobro.org

Posted by: mario bodden at September 28, 2005 11:04 AM

I grew up on Bedford Park Blvd and the Grand Concourse. I raised my family there as well. I moved to Huntington, Long Island in 1999. My mother knew Penny Marshall when her mother had the dance studio on VanCourtlandt and Jerome Aves and they lived on Villa Ave. She went to school with Ralph Lauren (Lipschitz) , yup the designer, and also knew of Calvin Klein from the same Mosholu Parkway/Grand Concourse area. In the 1970's and early '80s the area became a terror. Some say it's better now. I still feel safe when I go there to visit old friends. It's different when you're from there... it will always be home. Long Island is dull, and the people are just.... not the same.

Posted by: Scott at October 24, 2005 10:42 PM

I am a student live Brooklyn. I am doing my thesis on south bronx about creating safer environment and social connectivity, to proliferate hopes for development and lifes.

I need information regarding social networks of people and type of development needs in the neighborhood. Since Most of you live and were living in this area for so long. Help me .

anne

Posted by: anne at November 16, 2005 05:17 PM

I grew up in the south bronx and lived at 390 E 153rd Street on Melrose Ave. I remember going to Danny's Pizzeria. left the area in 1969 when I graduated HS.
would live to see pictures of the area if you have any especially Elton Ave, Morris Avenue and Cortlandt Ave.

I went to Immaculate Conception School on 151st street 1957 to 1965

Posted by: Maureen at November 21, 2005 12:05 AM

MELROSE COMMONS did you know that starting August 2006 there will be a new construction coming up. There will be a college, housing, highschool and businesses. How do you feel about that? It will take place in the old court house (the brick house)and the surrounding area. Do you think it will bring some form productivity to the community?

Posted by: sonya at December 15, 2005 12:21 AM

Hey everybody,

I just wanted to say "thank you" to everybody who posted and also sent me emails. I greatly appreciate it.

Let me also say I've had the chance to visit the south bronx now on 4 occasions since I last wrote. My girlfriend and I love it! I can't believe all the terrible hype about it...it's so nice, full of the most interesting things I've ever seen. I would also say that I never felt "unsafe." And we were on foot the whole time.

Thanks again everybody, I can't wait to come back!

Posted by: Steve at January 5, 2006 10:08 AM

I grow up in Seabury Place of Boston Rd, right in front of our block was Herman Ridder, J.H.S 98. Everybody went there. It was the best growing up there. My best memories as a kid was there. Playing stick ball, of the wall, swimming in Crotona Pool. Then my family moved to Garden Street of Southern Blvd by 180th. I remember how crowed the area was during the summer because The Bronx Zoo's old entrance used to be right across the street.

Posted by: Hector at January 9, 2006 05:12 PM

You love the South Bronx? So the urban decay, graffiti, housing projects, crime rate, and high rate of poverty are something to love?

The South Bronx is a mess, the whole place is rehabed NYCHA buildings and the old highrise housing projects. It's one big concentration of projects. No wonder the Bronx is the poorest county in the country. A whole section of the borough is on section 8, welfare and other forms of gov't assistance.

As for unsafe, there is no such thing as an unsafe neighborhood. Well unless you are a rival crack dealer, an rival gang member, or have problems with people in the area. That's just typical fear from outsiders. Fear that still exist today.

Posted by: Jose at January 24, 2006 03:05 AM

I'm so glad I found this website for Bronxites. I LOVE the BX. And even though I moved when I was a child, I make a point of visiting several times a year. I may move back when I finish school. I'm from Theriot Ave. I'll be back in May. So anyone in the area, get at me!

Posted by: Krystal at March 6, 2006 10:21 PM

To everyone on this website and other websites that want to talk about places like the South Bronx and Parkchester and most of the Bronx, well lets be honest, the South Bronx and Pakchester is nothing more the a Human Toilet, and lets look at the trash that have just ruined the area and for the most part, they have very little respect for anything and just would rather blame others for there own mess. I would not let my dogs use the place for a bathroom..

Posted by: masterdaddy at March 15, 2006 12:21 AM

For the record, the Bronx is NOT the poorest county in the country. It is NOT even in the top 100 poorest counties in the country. Those dubious distinctions belong to counties far west of the Hudson.

The Bronx IS among the poorest counties with more than 250,000 people, which is about the size of Madison, Wisconsin's state capitol, and New Orleans, prior to Katrina.

http://www.answers.com/topic/lowest-income-counties-in-the-united-states

Posted by: brivetting at April 9, 2006 12:01 PM

I love New York and I have lived in the bronx my whole life and the Bronx is a shit hole. 75 percent of the people are uneducated criminals. 30 percent are hard working good people. The mayor is a asshole and does not do anything to help because most of the people living in the bronx are black, hispanic and white trash. There are too many drugs, guns and violence on the streets. If it wasen't for the cops it would be even more dangerous, they do a great job but there is only so much they can do. Not a day goes by that I don't witness a crime. But living in the bronx makes you tougher and you have to respect the bronx. If you want to see the real New York City visit the bronx and brooklyn at your own risk.

Posted by: Malcom at May 20, 2006 05:26 PM

That adds up to 105 percent. So we can conclude that at least 5 percent of Bronx residents are hard-working, uneducated criminals who are also good people. Hmm.

Posted by: Mike at May 20, 2006 08:33 PM

The South Bronx Congressional district 16 is the poorest district in the USA. Bronx County was also named the poorest county (Population over 250,000) in the United States.

It makes sense with public housing projects everywhere.

The area has a lot of problems and real estate people are trying to hype it up. Just tonight there were 2 seperate police shootings in the Bronx. One cop got beat up with a blunt object and he proceed to fill him up with 9mm rounds. The second was a cop who got car jacked in near the Grand Concourse. That doesn't even count the numourous shootings, stabbings, robberies, and homicides. Especially tonight being a warm saturday.

The Bronx needs a lot of changes.

Posted by: Jose at May 21, 2006 01:49 AM

The bronx is bad everbody knows that.Stop saying its a wonderful place.Its misguiding visitors.May be there should be less housing development there.And there should definitely be more police presence and resources.

Posted by: ML at May 31, 2006 06:49 AM

BEEN THERE DONE DID IT ALL...IT WAS ALL GREAT!
PS 61 (ANNEX)
HERMAN RIDDER JHS98
RAMONA RIVERA,JANETTE RODRIGUEZ,FRANKIE COTTO AND BROTHERS,IVAN ?,JUDY
CHARLOTTE STREET,SEABURY,INTERVALE AVE,TIFFANY STREET,ETC..IT BURNED WE MOVED LIKE EVERYONE DID...LOL
354 CYPRESS AVE LAST STOP BEFORE MOVING OUT
NAZARIO (JR),MIGDALIA,OLGA,JOEY,OZZIE,CHINA,MARITZA,LILLY
ANYWAY...MORE SITES LIKE THIS ARE NEEDED
GO TO MIGENTE.COM AND SIGN UP THEN LOOK FOR ALLTIME2BEST HE HAS GREAT PICTURES OF THE BRONX
HIS NAME IS FRED OLSCHOOL
WELL..
I'M STILL BLESSED AND SEND BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL
MEMORIES ARE GREAT!

Posted by: DEBBIE at June 11, 2006 02:40 AM

I just was in the Bronx shopping on fordham Ave.Thats all I really got to see other the the drive through the bronx and the projects. I liked the Bronx because it was different then any other place I had ever been.In Vancouver where I am from we have projects and poor areas too. It's a latin community so of course I saw many latinos. The fact that it is a latin and blck community has nothing to do with the reason why it's poor. When I was there I can litterrally say I never saw any white people..It was a great expirence and it isn't as dangerous as people put it out to be. Of course just like any other place...there are good areas and bad areas. If you walk around in the wrong place at night alone...yah you better watch ya step. But thats the same way in Lower east side Vancouver. I def. think that brooklyn is worse. If you wanna shop go to Fordham ave. ..great deals. But don't go to the Bronx just because it's a famous ghetto. People in the Bronx don't feel you for that, they actually despize that. It makes you look like your going there to see their suffering. I mean..comme on' you all know if you didn't grow up in the Bronx it's not safe to just up and move there. For me I wouldn't mind visiting..but living out there and not knowing a damn person...I wouldn't feel safe. I'm just being real. Hopefully the govern. can take an interest in The BX and help step up the community..I think all the residents would like that.

Posted by: Ma B at June 13, 2006 05:11 PM

I recently moved away from the bronx about a year ago and i must say, I miss it in a way that the average person living anywhere else would not understand. I lived in a complex named stevenson commens located in the corner of white plains road and lafeyette ave. Although the bronx has gotten alot of crap from people who have no clue what it feels like to live there for almost 30 years and then move to a hole in the wall in cleveland. Yet i've noticed {see malcom} that alot of so called bronxites give there own area a bad rep... Yes theres crime and drugs... if you know anywhere thats crime and drug free, please send me the address because i'd like to try the kool aid they're serving in that part of the world. My point is, have some pride for your hometown instead of dragging it in the mud..

Posted by: Roche at June 14, 2006 04:52 PM

I grew up in the Bronx back in the late 50s.
My address was 1571 fulton ave. Crotona park was right accoss the street. Went to PS2 or 4 grammer school. Remember the days of playing stick ball; punch ball with the good old rubber spalldean.
Making carpet guns out of a short 2x4. Playing skullzies in the street with bottle caps.
A slice of pizza coat 10 cents.
Those sure were the good old days. I wish I could make contact with some of my old friends like fatty and skinny; shotgun and so many more.

Posted by: Ralphy at June 15, 2006 03:23 PM

i also grew up in the bronx 140th and cypress, my comment is that back in the 80s and 90s the bronx was a war zone its not anymore but i wouldnt say that its a great place to live either

Posted by: jedaveli at June 17, 2006 07:14 PM

stevenson commens is a sh-t hole. place has shootings all the time. its dirty, gangs, drug infested, all kinds of problems. no wonder you moved out. a good amount of the housing there is accually section 8.

and you know what we mean. no place has drugs like in NYC, where there are buildings full of poor and tons of people selling and plenty of customers or crime with all the people. no place has density like nyc in the usa and no place in the usa has 5-6 story tenements and 20 story projects full of poor, block after block. very intense.

the south bronx was worse at one point a couple of years ago, the crack epidemic (80's and 90's) and through the late 60's and 70's. but in the last few years its just been getting worse and worse. I continueally hear of people from my neighborhood getting killed or shot. drugs are still everywhere and there are too many guns. The area still has way too many problems. problems that just wont go away. it comes with poverty.

and Ma B, fordham road is a shopping strip, lots of cops and people mind their business. go one block north or south and drugs are everywhere. as a matter fact last week 4 people were shot one block from fordham road in a single incident. since then numorous people have been shot, stabbed or more commonly robbed since then.

As for danger, the same danger today is the danger that has always existed. mind your business and you are okay. worst that will happen is you get robbed or jumped if you take the wrong block. it happends to all Bronxites every once and a while. with the poverty you have these wild street kids that have nothing better to do.

as of now, the Bronx needs a lot of help. there is too much violence, too many drugs, too many problems. kids dont come to school. familes broken. everyone is poor. people solve everything with fights and guns. police violate rights of the youth. at the same time there aren't enough police. drug addiction and diesese is everywhere, people are hooked. drugs are the only way to make cash through the eyes of the youth. nothing for the kids but the streets. very sad.

Posted by: Bronxite at June 20, 2006 02:30 AM

Hey everyone. Im from kansas and im traverling to the Bronx to watch a Yankee game soon. Can anyone tell me if the stadium is a safe place to go on matchdays?

Posted by: Lee at June 23, 2006 10:33 AM

REcently I drove back to my old neighborhood in Pelham Bay and Country Club. While I was there, my heart began to ache....the Bronx was calling me back. the condos that I looked at on the waterfront are spectactular...a far cry from my apartment building on Bruckner Blvd. I am planning to come back and resettle there.
Kevin

Posted by: Kevin at June 28, 2006 11:15 AM

I have visited New York City almost every year since the mid-1980s. Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in the 80s and Chelsea in the 90s. But, I've come to stay and settled in Norwood last January 2006. Since then I've been biking, visiting the neighborhoods of the Bronx from my area, west to Riverdale, east to City Island, north of Gun Hill Road, south of Pelham Parkway, to Country Club and Throgs Neck. My conclusion so far is that the Bronx does not deserve its reputation.

My next biking trip will be to the South Bronx, of which I've read good things. It still may be recovering but genetrification is ongoing.

If you ask me, the Bronx is the best kept secret of New York City. And, that's from a relatively new comer who has seen 15 vacations of what Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan has to offer.

I think I've become a Bronxite at heart.

Posted by: Gary at July 4, 2006 07:49 PM

lived in the 41st and 42nd precinct in the '60's and '70's. public housing project at 170th and Washington Ave. Have traveled to many places since moving out of the projects in 1978. The Bronx has a undeserved bad reputation. It was the worst place to live in the '60's and '70's but that's over 25 years ago! People still shudder when I say I'm from the Bronx to this day who didn't live there.

Posted by: cecil g. at July 7, 2006 06:19 PM

da south bx was worse during the 80's and early 90's then the 60's and 70's. The people changed thanks to crack. that ghetto, don't give a f-ck attitude remains in the bx today.

as a bronxite, the gentrification has not hit the bx the way it has harlem. it's good and bad thing for us. the only construction going up in the south bx is low income housing and high density, cheap rowhouses.

this is good becuase the people are not getting pushed out of the area, however a lot of the old problems are coming back as the neighborhoods build back up.

people forget why the bx burned in the first place. still a lot of poverty and criminal activity. the old elements remain. sadly its been getting worse lately but the positive is there is a lot of new construction to create new homes for struggling familes. thats wat matters in the end.

Posted by: bx at July 11, 2006 11:49 PM

oh and to da guy from kansas.

do not driveto the stadium, they love to break into cars around there during the yankee games. take the train, lots of cops in and around the train station during the games.

Posted by: bx at July 11, 2006 11:53 PM

hi i grew up on southern blvd i went to st thomas aquinas and to monsignor scanlan the best of the bronx is the hills i walked everywhere or took the bus or the train. aurthur park, crotona park the bronx zoo the botanical gardens.

Posted by: lisa at July 28, 2006 05:09 PM

Are there still any streets of ruines/burned down houses left ? Where can I find them ?

Posted by: Mike at August 8, 2006 07:40 PM

hello, i just wanted to say hello to all my homies from the south bronx, my name is. my father drove the bus on southern blvd.he was a black puerto-rican named pipe, or pepe. we lived in 941 simpson st. the building on the corner next to the liquor store. if there is anyone that remembers me, my brothers mario, reynaldo, vidal, and steven, get back to me.

Posted by: Paul at August 15, 2006 06:50 PM

Lived in the 60's and early 70's at 281 E. 153 St. (Melrose Projects). Like most typical families we moved from one building to another within the same projects, several times. Friends like Ruben, Tuti, Ricky, Hector, Little Tito, China, Miguel, Elizabeth, Little Man, brothers Robert and Israel, Manny and Domingo. Jesus Christ loves you all; now preaching the Gospel in Texas.

Posted by: Lowie at August 28, 2006 08:20 PM

hey im nt frm america n ive neva been 2 da bronx but ive always wanted 2 visit da place im frm a very ruff area in england yet its crime is exaturated n der r so many talented ppl ere i wanna go 2 da bronx 2 c if its da saym im nt sure tho cuz i realise i aint frm der n fings can "go wrong" lol! if ur nt frm da block hope 2 c a improvment in da fings dat matter c ya l8r frm lotti

Posted by: loretta brown at September 14, 2006 05:33 PM

Well I found the Bronx fine when i went up there. In fact its a lot safer than alot of places in Wichita where i come from and when i went to LA for a week. I will hopefully be returning soon to watch my beloved yankees play again.

Posted by: Lee at September 25, 2006 09:10 AM

Hey, I grew up in the Bronx in the 60s, wnt to Herman Ridder98, lived in southern blvd, it was a bad neighborhood. Lived in front of the train, anybody remember Hector and Roberto?

Posted by: Yvette at September 26, 2006 07:40 PM

"Well I found the Bronx fine when i went up there. In fact its a lot safer than alot of places in Wichita where i come from and when i went to LA for a week. I will hopefully be returning soon to watch my beloved yankees play again."

Oddly the chances of a crime happening before your eyes in the Bronx are higher, due to the fact there are more people. More things going on. Hmm...

I've been to L.A.'s worst and the Bronx. Both are dumps. I wouldn't call the Bronx fine though. I would take a detached house in Compton any day over a run down building in the Bronx. I doubt you explorered anything besides Yankee Stadium if that's your attitude.

Posted by: jj50 at October 23, 2006 01:41 AM

south bronx.... it has a reputation, and alot of people value that reputation for being tough. Alot of people who live in south bronx(anywhere below fordham) have lost hope for a future. If only some of you all knew how hard it is living in a project with a mother who does crack, kicks you out everyother day, only to be abandon to the streets. Where the school systems dont care if you fail in life, when your pressured from everyone else to sell drugs, when gangsters hangout on the corner and jump you for no reason. All you ever see is the negative, feeling hopeless, like you have no where to turn, no one loves you. Thats when you give up, and say fuck the world. Only then will you understand how hard it is to live here

Posted by: carlos at November 20, 2006 12:24 AM

I grew up on 182nd and Morris(west bx.).... well regarding the south bx.Had never really gone south of the stadium much. Then in '68 I think it was ,I grabbed the wrong train in Manhattan , and took the Jackson av. line. I think Simpson and Intervale were on there. I remember my eyes were popping out of my head.A rough area would be the understatement of the century.Then i think later that year our 8th grade class went to see Romeo and Juliet....Was the theatre called the intervale?Ground up glass on the street...like sand at the beach.Went to All Hallows high school in 1970(164th and Walton.) Closer to high bridge than s.b.Last time in the south bronx,Oct.'79. Took a pleasure cruise in a '69 Cutlass down St. Ann's Ave.to St. Mary's Park.....Yes the Bx.does have a rep.There's no place like the Bronx.

Posted by: Richard at December 9, 2006 10:47 PM

I grew up in the south bronx 1018 East 163rd Street. next to Simpson Street on Southern Blvd. also known as Hunt Point. I left the Bronx in 1973 and moved to Puerto Rico. I went to P.S 60 and P.S. 61. I was only 10 years old went I left the Bronx. If you lived in the Bronx in the 1970's and went to these schools please email me (Jcorc2004@aol.com).I have a class picture from P.S. 60 in 1973. I have not been in New York for about 13 years.

Posted by: Julio Corchado at December 15, 2006 12:20 AM

Hello, first i want to wish everyone a great Holiday Season. I see nothing has change much up in the shit hole Bronx, I would say the only thing that has change is the the Animals are still there and crime has gone up a bit. I think the only thing that can help the bronx, is to just get rid of the human scumbags that are just bleeding the system dry and do nothing but sit back and get a free check, rob and rape and kill people. And they still keep breeding and just bringing more little animals into the world.

For the small amount of hard working people that are trying to do the best they can and are trying to bring up there kids the best they know how, I wish you nothing but the very best and I wish that you can get the hell out of the shit hole.

MASTERDADDY

Posted by: MASTERDADDY at December 19, 2006 05:57 AM

WOW! I don't think I've read SO MUCH GARBAGE in such a short posting in my life, MasterDaddy!

You know what? YOU totally express yourself like you are a "human scumbag that has bled the system dry and did nothing but sit back and get a free check, robbed, raped and/or killed people" and don't think other readers didn't notice this! Did you put ANY thought into what you wrote, you ignorant fool? How dare you refer to human beings that way? Don't you know any better? Have you no respect for life, or God and how HE wants us to be? You're no better than ANYBODY, man...

PLUS...your comments are those of someone who has NOT been in the South Bronx for some time. The things you said happened way, way, way back when...back when YOU YOURSELF probably contributed to the South Bronx's bad rep!

Now...shut your foul mouth and read, or get someone to read TO you, so you can actually gain a little bit of accurate information-- I can't helpl you with your lack of education, though...so go find that elsewhere:

READERS OF THIS POST...

Approximately 25 years ago (circa 1980), a metamorphosis began to take place in the South Bronx.

Suburban-style ranch homes were built in an area that was once depressed and ridden with crime: along Boston Rd. (a predominatly black neighborhood) extending from the "EL" all the way down to easternmost part of Crotona Park: we're talking about 12-15 blocks worth of restructuring and rezoning and beautification. The ranch homes were purchased primarily by professional hispanic couples -- the majority of which are NYPD/NYFD and Board of Ed employees.

5 years from that point -- to 20 years ago, when the remaining abandoned/empty buildings were purchased and renovated: no more abandoned buildings ANYWHERE BEYOND THAT POINT.

Fast forward another 5 years after that-- putting us at 15 years ago, when the largest grouping of empty lots and an abandoned (huge) public school were leveled, giving way to the development of approximately 300 Tudor style townhomes and 3-story Tudor-style condominium buildings! They were sold for about $ 80,000.00 15 years ago but are now appraised at $ 305,000.00.

Fast forward to present day, more specifically to about 4 years ago when the 2nd largest grouping of empty lots were leveled to develop about 200 3-story/3-family solid concrete, cinder block and brick brownstones: 2-bedroom apartments rent for no less than $ 1,400.00 per month in the South Bronx, 1-bdrms go for about $ 1,200.00. At these prices, really only professionals are owning and those who cannot own in the area, RENT in the area.

The "brownstone" project caused a 2nd chain reaction: everyone now wants to live in the South Bronx; the demand for real estate is STAGGERING. There are too many interested potential buyers, and really NOT ENOUGH real estate to speak of. My neighbors and I get canvassed by real estate offices wanting to purchase our properties, or representing inquiries from buyers WANTING to live on my block.

The solution? Building 10-12 story luxury condo buildings (there are 9 going up almost simultaneously today) featuring ALL stainless steel kitchen appliances, bamboo flooring -- just features that are found in much taller Manhattan luxury buildings! These will go for $ 325,000.00 for a 3-bdrm/2-bath apartment.

Much to YOUR dismay, MasterDaddy...if you should one day decide to come back to the "shit-hole," I wouldn't be surprised if you were SHUT OUT OF THE MARKET because the pricing is already out of control down here. Plus...it's becoming more polished, and somebody like you probably wouldn't be considered after the interview process!

There are also 22 (the last 22, that is) 3-family brownstones in progress. These have been tentatively priced at $ 800,000.00 but will probably go for $ 750k, as is the current trend.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON IN THE "SHIT-HOLE?"

- New Yankee Stadium being built.
- Surrounding Yankee Village also being developed, comprised of 4-5 blocks in every direction.
- Gateway Center "mega-mall" has already broken ground: Banana Republic, GAP, AeroPostale, Armani Exchange, H&M clothing retailers have already expressed interest. So have Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and other retailers. The Gateway Center will also get several restaurants such as an UNO's, Chili's, Applebee's, and there's a rumor that Legal Seafood has inquired. PLUS other non-chain restaurants... and a bunch of other stores.

- Hey, the "shit-hole's" new Court Plaza on E. 161st Street is scheduled to open it's high-tech doors for business in early January 2007!

Do you understand the implications of all this, "MasterDaddy?" It all proves that THAT bad element you "think" still exists in the South Bronx on the SCALE that you illustrate REALLY DOESN'T. It all went away 25 years ago...and any undesirable characters that may have found a way to stick around, won't be here for long-- because there simply is no room for that element in the South Bronx anymore. NOBODY will open their arms to such people.

Plus-- I (as do most people) associate criminal or problematic personality types with poverty. It's been proven. And the poverty issue in the South Bronx has reduced dramatically. Not because they've all won the lottery, but because poorer families have been replaced by working families. Who else could qualify to purchase properties valued from $ 300,000.00 to $ 750,000.00 MasterDaddy?

And we'll see the number of instances of crime drop down even FURTHER, now that ALL Mitchell-Lama
buildings (housing for extremely low-income families) are scheduled to go Condo or Co-Op! The City of New York says there are over 1,800 units that will be completely gutted: new boilers, incinerators, new elevators, new windows AND the apartments will have new wood floors installed, modernized kitchens/baths... and sold off. A 3-bdrm in one of these will go for, what has been reported as, "the 225-250k range."

To you, MasterDaddy, that reduces the number of "scumbags, animals and baby animals" to 1,800 families LESS. To me? It means 1,800 poor families will be displaced to God knows where in the name of satisfying an ever-growing real estate demand. It also marks a very sharp DROP in crime and undesirable happenings because, as I said, there is a direct correlation between poverty and crime.

I, however, would NEVER presume to call anybody a "scumbag" or an "animal," and certainly would never refer to poverty stricken children as "little animals." They have no fault that they were born to poor parents. They have no fault that the education system caters to middle-income TO upper middle-income families. They have no fault in the fact that they have so much stacked against them from birth until the time of their death; many of them will not make it without the proper guidance. But nobody, has the right to consider them "shit" nor call their place of residence a SHIT-HOLE just because THEY live there.

I've never insulted anybody, but MasterDaddy, who ever the hell you are and wherever the hell you are: you are garbage. You are a piece of shit -- and remember that God doesn't look fondly upon hateful people like yourself: people who thrive on the misery of others and feel superior to others.

MasterDaddy... you are a prime example that "you can get the boy out of the ghetto, but you can't get the ghetto out of the boy." YOU are crap, no matter WHERE you live or WHAT you do.

I will make it known that this posting was designed to inform everyone of the great things that are happening in the Bronx. Things are NOT the way "MasterDaddy" says they are. He's full of gas.

Also...it is designed to deliver a virtual "KICK UP MASTERDADDY's ASS" for being such... a scumbag animal for referring to people and especially innocent children the way he has: what a low-life, plebe you are, sir. You can't possibly have an ounce of self-respect. It would be a waste for one of these children you talked about to SPIT in your face. You're a master of nothing, you hatred-spewing devil.

Posted by: Rob SanInocencio at December 26, 2006 03:38 PM

Jesus... also (jj50):

I haven't seen a run-down, dilapidated building in the Bronx in AGES. And we shouldn't really generalize so much.

The Bronx has other neighborhoods with virtually no issues. There is Pelham, Morris Park, Riverdale (who decided on that name in the 50's to drive real estate pricing upward), Indian Village (part of Pelham Parkway near Jacobi Hospital), etc.

I think that when we talk about places with a bad reputation, yes...the SOUTH Bronx has a bad rep-- but I don't believe that the neighborhoods I mentioned above have bad reps.

If anyone watches the news, however, 75% of things (crimes, etc.) happens in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey. You seldom hear about horrible things happening in the Bronx, these days.

Things will definitely get better. For those of you want to stay in touch with Bronx issues, you can go to http://www.BronxTimes.com/. They have a local paper distributed weekly, but they also update their site with material from their publication and usually discuss major Bronx-related news, like current/future development plans, etc.

They also have a "Police/Crime Blotter" for those who are curious as to what happens on the "criminal" side of things.

Posted by: Rob SanInocencio at December 26, 2006 03:54 PM

I am a former member of a streetgang called the Bronx Ministers, the baddest white gang back in the early 70s. today it's no longer a black , latino, and white thing, but it was back then. i didn't make the rules, i just lived by them, didn't have much of a choice.i remeber the Savage Skulls, the Black Spades, the Savage Nomads and many others. If anybody wants to converse, send me an e-mail. my phone number is 413-499-7729.

Posted by: bobby d. at December 26, 2006 05:13 PM

WENT TO LEHMAN H.S. IN THE BRONX BETWEEN 1977-1980.USED TO HERE ABOUT THE BRONX MINISTERS FROM GUYS I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH THEIR OLDER BROTHERS WAS IN THIS GANG.YOU GUYS WAS ALLIES WITH THE BRONX ALIENS AND THE GRATEFUL DEAD.YOUR TURF WAS ON CASTLE HILL IN THE BRONX IN THE EARLY 70S.YOU GUYS USED TO FIGHT THE BLACK SPADES.SAVAGE SKULLS.SAVAGE NOMADS.YOUNG SINNERS.SEVEN IMMORTALS.OTHER BIG WHITE GANGS I REMEMBER WAS THE GOLDEN GUINEAS.THE 5 CORNERS. THE HENCHMEN.WARPIGS.WHITE ANGLES....THEIR IS A GANG SITE CALLED NYC STREET GANGS.IT HAS EX GANG MEMBERS TALKING ABOUT THE OLD DAYS.... .

Posted by: raymond m. at January 29, 2007 01:36 PM

Rob SanInocencio you need to calm down. You are really hyping the Bronx WAY more then what it is. The South Bronx area is still VERY poor. Crime is still a big problem, not to mention all the other issues ghetto poverty brings along.

As for abandonded buildings. There are way less but they are still scattered around. Also many of the occupied buildings are in shit state.

The South Bronx is still a ghetto but some things have gotton a little better. Lots of buildings are now occupied thanks to immigrants, expanding the city housing, and other gov't programs. Crime is only also down when compared to the crack era, but in reality crime is still a big problem in the Bronx.

BTW, the crime blotter doesn't cover shit. They only list a few random crimes for each borough. On an average day the Bronx has more crime then most major cities (population+boroughs concentration of poverty). You really don't know what your talking about.

Posted by: I live in the BX at February 22, 2007 11:27 PM

Also:

The ranch style homes on Charlotte Street are no where near 15-20 blocks. Mabey 5 square blocks max and they were a big experement. The rest of the homes after that built in the South Bronx1 are townhouses style (rowhouses with driveways) and multifamily.

Most of the townhouses are subsidized and the other units are to help the buyers pay them off. This keeps people in the community. They townhouses are built in undesireable areas (across the street from public housing, run down tenements) so it's usually locals who buy these homes. Moving out of the projects but to stay in the area.

The high rent for the brownstones is typical downstate NYC metro bullshit. The South Bronx doens't have to many Brownstones though. Most were razed for public housing. There wasn't much to begin with.

And the New Stadium. Great for Yankee fans but how about the poor kids in Highbridge who just lost a ton of parkland.

To add, Court Plaza (another place to package and store our Bronx youth) is a dud. Numorious construction defects. Place is operational but it's already damaged. Add the years of city work it will go through and that place will look worse then the bx courthouse.

Make no mistake, there are some nice areas in the Bronx like Pelham Bay and Riverdale, but the South Bronx is the ghetto.

Posted by: I live in the BX at February 22, 2007 11:38 PM

The Deep South (Bronx): 140th street between Cypress and Jackson Avenues, through 1965, when I was 16/17.

Back then, the "South Bronx" didn't extend any farther north than the border of St. Mary's Park: 149th street.

Folks may not believe it, but for most of those years, those neighborhoods (Cypress; St.Ann's; Brook; Willis Avenues) were chock full of hard-working white Catholic immigrant Irish, Italians, Germans, Poles, Jews from all over Europe, and a small smattering of Chinese, Puerto Ricans, and Negro "immigrants" from the real "deep south".
("Black" wasn't PC back then - but "Colored" was.)

I was a tiny kid, there, in the 1950s - when the shopping district strung intricate Christmas lights across 138th Street to welcome shoppers (from St. Ann's Ave. all the way to Willis).

It was a tough part of town even then - though nothing at all like it became in the '70s.

The first part of the area's decline occurred when they tore down the 3rd Avenue El, up to 149th street. The brownstones and other apartment buildings on BOTH sides of 3rd Ave. were condemned by the city (too close to the El for safety during its demolition, they said) - but the empty buildings just sat another five years after the El came down, before the buildings were demolished.
"Crack dens" and "shooting galleries" were unknown back then - but the homeless squatters came in droves.

BTW - many of the street scenes for the old movie musical "West Side Story" were filmed using those empty buildings as sets. (That's why you never see many people in those scenes...)

The really violent decline in the S. Bronx started in the mid-1950s, when they knocked down ALL the buildings south of 137th street (to the triborough bridge entrance) and put up those dreaded cinder-block Kleenex boxes-on-end, the Projects.
The human roaches immediately infested the place.

Soon, they put up more of those Project monstrosities around the periphery of St. Mary's Park - and more human vermin came. (No, NOT poor people; everybody there was already "poor" by today's standards; we just didn't know it. The human vermin were the slackers/criminals/druggies of every color and national origin.)

The Jews were the first to flee the area; they were gone before 1960. Most of the Irish and Italians were right behind them though; almost none were left by 1965 or so. Where'd they go?
Uptown, mostly; to the 170's and 180's along Jerome Avenue, the Concourse, and beyond the Bronx River on the Pelham Bay subway line. Some even qualified for Parkchester...

No one who can afford to leave a crime-ridden area stays very long.

BTW - I went to PS 65 on 141st for kindergarden; St.Luke's (on 139th) for grades 1-8; and Hayes for HS. I married "the Dutch girl next door" in the last year of the '60s decade (though she had moved to Brooklyn from 140th street years earlier).

I never returned to 140th Street after 1965 - until 2001, when I just had to show the place off to some of my (adult and teenage) kids, visiting my older brother in Westchester.

I was absolutely amazed. The old (and empty for decades) Loral factory still stood on the corner of 140th and Jackson - but the stately six-story apartment building of 691 E. 140th st. was a vacant lot. The block-long (139th to 140th) truck garage that dominated Jackson Avenue was now an empty lot, too - but covered in six feet of trash.

The *marble* halls of huge Lincoln Hospital (141st and Bruckner/Southern Blvd.) - and its massive *residential* Nursing School were completely gone!
The neighboring Wonder Bread factory was still there, but apparently empty.

The White Castle hamburger joint on the triangle where Jackson, Bruckner, and 138th Street meet was now apparently an abandoned gas station.

The bars were devasted; all closed and shuttered. The Eire and the Shannon View, gone. The A&P supermarket (right next to the Cypress Ave subway entrance on the south side of 138th street) was now a Spanish-language church!

But the biggest shock was the apartment buildings along Cypress Ave and along St. Mary's Street - where many childhood friends had lived - that had disappeared! They had been replaced by little row houses!

I couldn't believe it: gentrification had come to the (deep) South Bronx during the 35+ years I had been gone.

I wish them luck; it was once a great place to live and grow up; maybe it will become that once again. (They'll have to tear down those damned projects, first!)

I wonder, though. I also once saw the South Bronx as a great place to leave ...

************************

Memory jogs:
- I knew the kid who burned PS 9 (on 138th street) to the ground. (WAY too many old brown Christmas trees piled up against the walls, then set on fire. It was unintentional, by the way.)

- Ward LaFrance Fire Engines were assembled in a single-story factory building on the east side of Jackson Ave and 139th street, through about 1960. Surprisingly, the building is still there.

- There was a Sabrett hot dog factory on the East side of Bruckner at 138th/137th. Their factory store sold them CHEAP, by the pound. (You could buy them at 7-8-9-10-11 and -12 to the pound; your choice.)

- Just south of the Sabrett place, on 136th, was a potato chip factory. You could buy a 12x12x12 in. corrugated-cardboard box full of fresh, still-HOT potato chips for 90 cents. By the time you got it home, the box was dripping grease.

- I remember when one could stand on the corner of 140th St and Jackson Ave, and have an unobstructed view of an oil tanker unloading at the big tanks three blocks away "down the river" (technically, Long Island Sound). A few years later, they built the Bruckner Expressway, which just ended in a sheer drop, way up in Hunt's Point. It remained without any traffic at all for more than a year; I used to ride my bike up there, the entire distance.

- The coolest thing, being a kid in the early sixties there? The little (free) ferry rides from 135th street past South Brother Island to Riker's and North Brother Islands, just offshore. Kids couldn't get off in either of those places, but they would let you ride. BTW - the twin ferry slips are still there, but obviously abandoned for many years. Today, the entire dock area (from the 130s to up beyond 149th) is behind a fence. In my day, guys would walk down to "the river" and go swimming, "BA" - that is, without a bathing suit.

- I once saw a naked dead guy in the water there, in the 140s; the late-20s man had dove off the Burns Bros. Coal Company loading chute (easily 50-70 feet above the water, located about 135th street) and drowned in the bad currents coming up from the Hell Gate. The Police boat just lassoed him around an arm and neck, and hauled him on board.

Posted by: John T. at February 23, 2007 04:59 AM

I grew up in the Bronx 50's -60s',in the Melrose Projects 681 Courtland Ave apt.7E with my two other brother'sRickey & Morris. I miss the olde gang; Harvey &Doris Winn,Micheal, Earl Greene,Yola, Herman ,Tito.Remember the "BigPark", sham battles with Paterson Projects?Cool'n off under the jonny pump (fire hydrant),FRANK'S STORE for a mission soda?, P.S.3, Junior High 38, Morris High?,Good Times!
Later,
Ronnie Burt

Posted by: ronnie burt at March 1, 2007 11:35 PM

I have to say I loved reading all of these posts about the South Bronx. When I was about 12 years old I was moved from Yonkers to the South Bronx (170 & Boston Rd) I lived there in the same run down building with no heat, hot water, no working stove, rats the size of cats and for a while with rigged up electricity cause the 2 buildings our lovely slumlord owened were on the verge of being condemmed, all this for about 4 years, all this stemming from an out of control drug habit my mother and father have fallen into years before. The building next door had a crack spot which was raided on a monthly basis. I became aquainted with all sorts of people from all walks of life. We all had one thing in common, drugs touched our lives in one way or another. For the most part, these were good hearted people who looked out for one another. When we were hungry they offered us food, they offered their homes and hearts, these were good people. I learned more about life and people in those 4 years than I could have ever learned from anywhere else in the world, I sometimes miss that world.

So, some might say that the South Bronx is a shit hole, and is for the most part occupied by mostly uneducated people who want nothing better in life. For those of you that say that, live there for several years, get to know the people, the way of life and the struggles that they go through on a daily basis. I thik you will have a new perspective on the South Bronx.

PS some of the best Fried Chicken ever was at "Mama's Fried Chicken" on Boston Rd right before 174th street ( I think the Mcds now sits in its place!!)

Posted by: JGirl at March 16, 2007 03:55 PM

i sore all the the writing on the bronx and felt this might help............

BRONX PICTURES.COM

NY STREET GANGS.COM

THE AMAZING BRONX.COM

BRONX BOARD.COM

FOR GREAT PICTURES AND STORYS check them out ....

l'm Danny Aiello (not the actor) who used to live in the bronx our father kept upgrading us....

530 oam sread ave castel hill ( around 1965 )
then
275 randall ave castel hill ( around 1967 )
then
layton ave throgg neck ( around 1971 )
then
268 balcom ave throgg neck ( around 1973 )

now at 49 live in florida

Posted by: danny at March 18, 2007 12:46 AM

In 1985 my roommate, a New York City native and I arrived in NYC at 4a.m. He said, "If we take that exit we'll end up in the South Bronx." I was NOT happy about that possibility.
Needless to say we went the other way and ended up in Greenwich Village, thank God.
It's called common sense. Deal with it.

Posted by: mike miller at March 20, 2007 12:20 AM

Well i don't know Bronx really only a person that leave there are.And I know he very different of the all this things bad,terrible.So...A marvelous person ONE,first!Cal Thomas.
I m brasilian woman...I know that all place difficult but,you has many things good in USA so..amercian you,please,no speak about Bronx bad,dark,dirt...etc.You are strong!
Good day for all.

Posted by: Claudia at March 23, 2007 09:50 AM

To Rob SanInocencio , as far as the South Bronx goes, yes there are changes being made, and yes there are nice things going up and being built, but as even you have said, the City are going to take some of the Human Animals and put them in another area?? and they like the Rats and Roaches are only going to take that place and bring it down that much lower, and most of them are Human scumbags and they breed and we know how the young turn out for the most part. And Remember this, as you seem not to understand this about 25 to 30 years ago, lots of property was bought for next to nothing and the Smart people just sat on it. Next and the big picture is, its time to move the scumbags out and bring New people with money in, and that is how you take a shit hole and turn it around. Remember this is not all being done for the scumbags and low life animals that live there now, lol, its for New blood. To bad we could not give all the animals a one way ticket to the middle east, and lets not just stop at the South Bronx, lets hit all the areas.. So you have a nice day..

MASTERDADDY

Posted by: MASTERDADDY at April 2, 2007 07:59 PM

I posted on here once before. The guy who caught the wrong train and saw all the burnt out buildings near Simpson St. circa 1968. Maybe it was '69.There seems to be a lot of arguing on this
site about how bad the Bronx is or whether it was worse in the '70's, '90's , or now. My uncle drove a telephone truck in the SB for years in the '60's and '70's.I can attest that yes it was very bad then. He smelled rotting flesh on many occasions from the poor junkies who od'd in cellars. The 90's must have been terrible with all the crack.....and now I know nothing about, except what I read. I guess the reason I wrote again is to say that the Bronx is not the only place in bad shape. Try East St. Louis or Baton Rouge. I drove down Canal St. In New Orleans(2003) and saw unbelievable poverty.(North of the French Quarter.)This is an American problem. So we can't say the Bronx is bad.I remember seeing the buildings burning and the street gangs of the '70's myself .The media picked up on the SB and it became a national symbol because of the abandonment and desolation.The crime, drugs , etc.were everywhere in America.I care about the Bronx and hope it will rebuild and give the people who live there a safe and prosperous life.Education and job opportunities are essential. People need hope. Here's to the New Bronx.

Posted by: Richard at April 8, 2007 01:39 AM

I was born in the 1961 in Fordham Hospital, which was already demolished by the time I was a youth. My first home (apt) was on Charlotte Street surrounded by Boston Road, Seabury Place, Simpson St. and a few other streets that escape me. I went to P.S. 61, Herman Ridder (98), and one year at Alfred E. Smith before changing to DeWitt Clinton. Althoug I spent most of my time hanging out at either Dodge, or Evander HS because that's where the girls were. Other places I lived were Boston Road, Coster Street (Hunts Point area) 192nd by Fordham Road and the Grand Concourse. I joined the Navy in 1979 and now live in the midwest. Some of the people I grew up with were Sandy Santos, Albert Maldonado, Marcus Alvarado (aka Poindexter)Louis Godreau and his brother Kelvin (Caveman). The Diaz sisters Gigi, PeeWee and Telly were part of my extended family as were. I remenber being in Judith (Judy) Vanga's sweet sixteen. She lived in the Throggs Neck area with her sister Rosemary Vanga and her parents Rosemarie and (Bull Dog) Pete Vanga. Was it the greatest experience growing up, probably not, but it got me ready for the world outside the five boroughs. As long as you can stay away from being caught between the Turbans and the Javelins whenever they rumbeld you were going going to be okay. If any of the names I mentioned should ever come across this post and remember me or the seven Cotto brothers, drop me a line and say hi. Wishing you all the best.

Posted by: Frankie Cotto at April 10, 2007 11:05 AM

I grew up in the Bronx, born in the old Fordham Hospital that use to be on Boston Road. We lived on Charlotte Street,surround by , Seabury Place and Boston Road. I went to P.S. 61, Herman Ridder JHS (PS98), and one year at Alfred E. Smith before making the mistake of transfering to DeWitt Clinton, I say mistake becuase I spent most of my time hanging out at either Evander or Dodge because that's where all the girls were. Apologies to Mother Cabrini and Fashion and Industry High Schools, that was another part of my life I want to keep to myself. Anyway, After Charlotte Street all but crumbled beneath our feet, we had to collect water from the fire hydrants and lug them up fou floors because the plumbing was non existant, we moved "up" to Boston Road (half a block away). Some of the people that I grew up with were Jesus (Sandy) Santos, Albert Maldonado, his brother Frankie Serrano, Marcus Alvarado aka Poindexter, Louis Godreau and his brother Kelvin (Caveman). We grew up staying out of the line of fire between the Turbans and the Javelins. You could actually sit on a rooftop and watch a rumble as if you were at a drive-in. When Boston Road was started to rot we moved down to Coster Street (Hunt's Point area) That lasted a few years before moving north to 192nd street near Forham Road and the Grand Concourse. I joind the Navy in 1979 and for all intent and purposes never looked back. Not that I regret growing up the way I did, not that I would wish it on any either, but I guess I turned out ojkay and maybe growing up in place as unforging as the Bronx, or new York for that matter, prepare you for life outside the five boroughs. To Judith Vanga, Rosemary Vanga, GiGi, Telly, PeeWee, Cynthia, Jeanette, Debbie, Manuela, Ruby, and Zoraida Peniero (forgive the spelling) who I secretly had a crush on at P.S. 61 and never had the nerve to say hi to, I still remember you all.

Posted by: Frankie Cotto at April 10, 2007 11:34 AM

i was born in the south bronx 39 years ago i lived in 140 between jackson and cypress then i move to 141 between jackson and cypress in 1973 went to elementary school PS 65 now called academy mother hale then 1982 i graduated from JHS named I.S 155 Elmer E Bogart which that school is no long name that name..

Posted by: Milly at April 17, 2007 08:40 PM

I grew up in the South Bronx, from 1958 to 1975. I was raised in the Millbrook projects on 137th Street (first 600 E. 137th St. and then 165 St. Ann's Ave).

I went first to PS 65 and then St. Luke's and later to Cardinal Hayes.

I remember thinking that the South Bronx was only where I lived, up to 149th Street but no further. It seems that as the poverty spread more of the Bronx became the South Bronx. Maybe I thought this because you couldn't get much deeper south in the South Bronx than where I lived.

I'm writing a book about growing up in the era. Tough times but also lots of adventure. People wanting to move and stay at the same time.

I remember the vicious nuns and the brutal Brothers of the Sacred Heart in St. Luke's. Of course, there's always teachers and people who care and I made a lot of good friends, some of the funniest and brightest minds I know.

I remember going to St. Mary's Park, Randall's Island, running track for PAL, playing Skellies and this card game called Knuckles.

I would love to hear from people who grew up in Millbrook and went to St. Luke's between 1964 and 1970. Names and impressions of teachers, favorite playground (mine was the Big Park). Names of the stores on 138th Street.

Any and all memories I'd love to hear them.

My name is David Perez, and have a brother named George Perez, a famous comic book artist. We grew up in that neighborhood and yeah it was tough and very scary at times.

But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Posted by: David at April 17, 2007 09:50 PM

I moved to the South Bronx in the late 60's, it has become my home base. I love "The Bronx" (the only borough that you have to use the word "The" in front of it) with all it's imperfections and beauty that it has. I was raised up in the "Hunts Point" area, I lived on Simpson St. across the street from the 41st Pct. also known as "Fort Apache", I lived on Home St., and last on Fox St.. I got married in the Bronx and owned a home on Home St.. I went to PS 54 on Intervale ave., Junior High School 136 on Jennings St., and finally Morris High School (for F--k ups where the school system sent you when the other schools didn't want you). I was in the "Seven Immortals" the main division a gang in the early 70's In the South Bronx. One of the things "The Bronx" has giving to the world which I was a part of was Rap music, I was with the L-Brothers (Mean Jean, Cordeo, The Grand Wizard Theodore and the MC's Robbie Rob, Kevie Kev, and Ruby Dee) and myself "DJ Apache". One of my best place to eat was "Johnson's BBQ" on 163rd St. boy oh boy that chicken and them ribs smacking. I now live in Manhattan which is the borough I was born in. I now work for the Federal Government. So in ending thank you South Bronx for making me a productive member of society.

Posted by: Luis E. melendez Jr. at May 6, 2007 09:58 PM

like to find a few of the old crew---kathy j---kathy minutier--tina--gail--keith kabna--from 220st...and duckies.. tim

Posted by: tim at May 16, 2007 06:11 PM

To David's Post on April 17:

Small World but different era's.

I grew up in Millbrook projects as well only during the late 70's until 1989. In fact, I lived in 165 St. Anns Ave. Apt 15I...

Ha - The Big Park...That was some memories. Went to Ps 43 up the hill on 136th street. Then went to P.S. 49 on Willis Ave.

I can still smell the Pizza getting off on Brook ave on the seldom used exit.

Great Times and thanks for the memories.

Posted by: Deon at May 20, 2007 12:47 AM

Good website. I've been looking for a site like this for some time. Takes me way back to the times in MillBrook. Played lots of b-ball in the Big Park in the corner of 620,640 and 169. I was born and raised living in 620. I went to P.S. 43 then to P.S.65. I remember ridding the back of the bus to I.S 155. Every trip my brother "Chipy" and I make back to the city, we make 137 ST. & Cypress Ave. our first stop. It would be nice to hear from some of the old crew.
Again thanks for the site, I'll be checking it to see who is still around.

IVAN

Posted by: Ivan Quinones at May 27, 2007 08:22 AM

I live in the south bronx in those very housing projects everyone seems to dread. The only problems you will come upon is people like myself who dont like the people who keep on coming into the neighborhood to take pictures and bash everything about it. Us "minorities" want to see white people in our neighborhood just as much as youd want to see us walking through your neighborhoods. Theres nothing good coming from you punk ass white people trying to get a cheap thrill out of walking through "the hood". I hope one day you get to experience the "thrill" of getting shot by a stray bullet, or mugged by crackhead or just preyed upon by a frustrated youth........My last words....love it or leave it, and for those who dont love it, FUCK YA'll!!! Boogie Down stand up!!!!

Posted by: Bronxite at May 31, 2007 09:36 PM

Wow, Bronxite, was that a racist post or what? lol

Most of us come to remember what a good life in a great city used to be. They take pictures not because they are curious, because they are homesick. Many areas are coming back, and I'm really happy for all those neighborhoods.

I lived in the Bronx until 1994, when I had enough of the "muggings, crackheads, flying bullets and frustrated youth", (your words) so don't give me that crap about us coming in "to take pictures" as if we are all tourists, lol. If your youth is so frustrated, clean up your own mess, and stop taking "white" tax dollars to help clean up your nabes if you hate us so much.

Posted by: Fordhamlady at June 4, 2007 06:48 PM

My time in the South Bronx was very short. I taught at PS 65 for awhile. I am from Arizona and have always taught in low income schools, but nothing compares to what I saw in the South Bronx. Children out of control in and out of the classroom. After school when I would walk to the train, I would see my students (kindergarteners) in the middle of the street, climbing up the sides of buildings, etc... Schools with too much apathy - "Well, it's always been this way..." How sad that no one expects more or wants more for these children. Our windows were often open in the class and all we heard, all day were car alarms, women outside on the corner yelling at each other, gunshots, sirens, construction, etc... To me it was very distracting, but the kids just worked through it because that was the daily background noise they were used to. Some of the kids there had horrific behavior, but I know that at 5 and 6 years old it is not their fault. They are doing what they know - what they have seen. As for the parents, they are doing their best, as they were probably raised the same way. I think these kids deserve better. Something has to be done for these kids. I think of them often and hope they will be able to break the cycle of poverty.
The area where my school was/is (141/Cypress) was pretty run down. I felt fairly safe during the day, but would never stay late. Lots of graffiti, trash, "thugs" on the corners. There were some nicer row houses near the school. I was glad to have made friends from the Bronx because if I had left there only seeing this neighborhood where I worked I would have not had many kind words, but I was able to explore the area more and there were nice areas where it was less industrial, green lawns/parks, nicer stores and restaurants. I guess it's like any big city -you are going to have the good and the bad. As for visitors to the area, I agree with the guy before - do not drive around the area if you are not familiar with it. It's not safe.
Good luck to those kiddos at PS 65!

Posted by: tj at June 5, 2007 03:48 AM

wow, the pic's bring back old mem of melrose ave, i lived at 412 east 154 st, hang out on 153 st and went to ps 1. back than the neorbhoods were mixed and peaceful,i grow up through the early 60's to the mid 60's then moved, but still manage to attent JHS 38 on st anns st :).still went back to the old to hang until the ealy 70's. man those were the days, anyway, moved to byant ave , fox., freeman, stabbin, boston rd, and finaly back near the yankee ball park. lived on sherman before joining the marine crops. i still go visit my home boys just to say there is still life after die, you can take me out the city but you will never take the southBx out me i will always be a ghetto child. it was nice to read some of your comments. just a little note to others that feel that the southbronx's is not safe you are right, but keep in mind i have traveled the world and the bronx is a walk though the park compare to the rest of the world. have a bless day :)

Posted by: ernie at June 12, 2007 03:21 PM

Hi. My son has been recruited by the Teach for America organization. He will be teaching at MS 223, The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology on East 145th St. He is looking for a place to live. Any suggestions as to neighborhoods to avoid or ones that would be more safe than others? Thanks!

Posted by: Martha at June 25, 2007 03:25 PM

Can anyone tell me more about Castle Hill? Cause it looks like that neighborhood is changing. I've been doing some work up there, and the neighborhood, doesn't look bad, it's not attractive, but it's got some great restaurants and some parts are pretty....

Posted by: La La at June 28, 2007 01:48 PM

Hi everyone, and especially David, Deon and Ivan Quinones,
I also grew up in 137st acroos from the projects, 600, 620. I grw up there in the late 50' all of the 60's until 1975. My hangout was the "Big Park" i loved playing handball and basketball there. I went to PS 43 and then to PS 9, i was there when it burn down, we sere happy about it at the time because we did nat have to go to school, then i went to Burger Jr. Hight in 141 st.
Reading your stories really brings back a lot of memories some were good and some bad. But the block (137st)was a good place to live. I was in a gang call the
Social Seven, our logo was painted on the wall of the handbaall court, we were Ray, little Angel, Hector, Boobie from 611, Moses (Mo), Tarzan snd Stevie who died. We would hang out in the benches and drink Colt 45 and other. If you would like to contact me e-mail me at ray_burg@yahoo.com. i really would like to hear from you. Thanks for the memories.

Posted by: Ray Burgos at June 28, 2007 02:42 PM

I CAME FROM 429 EAST 142ND ST.BETWEEN WILLIS & BROOKE AVE.
WE ALL HUNG OUT IN '''LIZZIE ANDERSON'S'''BUILDING
401===THE YRS. 1955 TO 1961. LOOKING FOR OUR OLD
CROWD. PINKY,FRANKIE.BILLY G, JIMMY Mc.,DENNIS
MILLET (from cypress ave). ANY ONE OUT THERE?
JERRY & FRAN. MO, JO,DIVINA.
PLEASE E-MAIL ME IF YOU REMEMBER?

Posted by: TERRY at June 28, 2007 06:36 PM

i was born in the south bronx 40 years ago i lived in 140 between jackson and cypress then i move to 141 between jackson and cypress in 1973 went to elementary school PS 65 now called academy mother hale then 1982 i graduated from JHS named I.S 155 Elmer E Bogart which that school is no long name that name..

Posted by: milly at July 3, 2007 11:12 PM

i grew up in the south bronx.....289 brook ave....now 285. i went to p.s.40...then to burger j.h.s. 139. we moved there in 1967 from 100th street in el barrio in manhattan. brook ave was my life, love and world..i'm 48 and i'm still a kid at heart running the streets of brook ave and 139th street.i ran with a tough crowd and on march of 1972 was arrested and sent to spofford juvenile center..now called bridges...then to up state to lincoln hall........i straighten out but brook avenue will always be home eventhough i reside in norfolk virginia.....don't ever be ashamed where you came from. any one from that era..or that world is free to e-mail me just to comment and bull shit about the good old days.

Posted by: abraham/abie. at July 12, 2007 08:13 PM

Hi..My name is Ronnie and I lived at 610 Waring Ave from 1955 to 1967. Hung out on The Wall on Pelham Pkwy.My girlfriend Hedy Ewaskov's mom owned the cosmetic store on Pelham Pkway (Tres Chic) We went to dances at Bronx House. Went to P.S. 96, 135, and Columbus HS, until I moved up to Yonkers, then on to Florida and now in Las Vegas. I have been looking forever for a dear friend of mine back then..We just drifted apart and I am sure she remarried and I can not find her. If anyone knows Lisa Conti (she lived on Barnes Ave, i think)and herwhere abouts please tell her I am looking for her and anyone who remembers me feel free to email me.Anyone remembering Milty Ritt, email me too...
I love The Bronx, miss those years growing up there and my quote is "You can take the girl out of the Bronx, but you can't take the Bronx out of the girl!!!

Posted by: Ronnie Ritt at July 13, 2007 10:59 AM

People say the strangest things up in this page. Safe? What part of the South Bronx were you in? Across the street from Yankee Stadium during the day, when a game was being played? Hmmmm...
I'm still here in the South Bronx, there is a lot of badness happenin'. But also there are some good peeps around also. Planning on visiting the South Bronx, go right ahead, but always be aware of your surroundings. Grow up here, and people have your back for sure. Peace and hair grease, Homies.

Posted by: Moebius at July 18, 2007 04:21 AM

Hi,
Can anyone tell me yhe adddress or street crossing of the old 41 pct nypd station house?
Thanks,
Matt

Posted by: Matt at July 21, 2007 11:45 PM

Old 41 is on Simpson Street just north of Westchester Avenue. Bad neighborhood, although the block the precinct is on is quiet. It's now the Detective Bureau for the NYPD.

Posted by: BX at July 27, 2007 02:36 AM

The Bronx safe??? My best friend lives in Co-Op City and has been robbed over twelve times at gunpoint and shot twice! No he's not a drug dealer or criminal, just an average joe. The midwesteners on here make me laugh! Saying they've been to the Bronx once and nothing happened to them, so it's safe??? Are you kidding me? The place is filled with drugs, guns and housing projects! I'm from Yonkers, but have worked in the bronx for several years.

Posted by: BX at July 27, 2007 03:15 PM

I enjoy the pics of the South Bronx. I was born and raised and still live there until this day. I see the Black Jesus mural everyday; it's right across the street from my girlfriend's building.

Posted by: Manny at July 28, 2007 03:55 AM

to the Bx
yeah i think, not sure on what you are asking, but here goes, the 41' was located on Simpson in between westchester ave and 167st one block off southern blvd. the 41's pct was call fort Apache. the 42 pct was located on third ave hope this helps

Posted by: ernie at August 7, 2007 12:29 PM

corection, i mean matt, sorry about that BX.

yeah i think, not sure on what you are asking, but here goes, the 41' was located on Simpson in between westchester ave and 167st one block off southern blvd. the 41's pct was call fort Apache. the 42 pct was located on third ave hope this helps

Posted by: ernie at August 7, 2007 12:33 PM

I still live out there..I was born and raised. Even though the bronx is the place for crime I would never imagine moving.

Posted by: Kamiyah at August 9, 2007 05:59 AM

I lived in the big apt building 390 E. 153rd Street, Bronx, NY
if anyone is from that block please email me I would love to hear from you and would love to see photos of the street too

Posted by: Maureen at August 12, 2007 10:10 PM

does anyone know where is a website that i can go that i could see pictures of the old lincoln hospital that was in brunkner blvd or have pictures please e-mail me thank you

Posted by: milly at August 12, 2007 11:40 PM

I think the dialogue on this page is very important and a wonderful thing. That said, those who are hating on others speaking positively about the Bronx: I think, if I'm understanding you correctly, I understand. If you're angry that, Yes, the Bronx is a dangerous place and there ARE bad things that do happen here, fine. But first off, if you're not from here, it's somebody's neighborhood. And if you ARE from here, it's YOUR neighborhood, so show some love! There are plenty of great and unique things about this borough. We've all rehashed the bad for decades. What's so bad about seeing the good, too? And if you've never set foot in the Bronx and for some reason you're up on this discussion talking about shit you don't know, please don't bore the rest of us with your ignorance.

Posted by: motthaven139 at August 23, 2007 02:35 PM

The Bronx was what pushed us together. Made our crews tight; our friendships solid. Our neighborhoods would never have been so great if what surrounded them wasn't so threatening. When you ventured out past your stop; it was like sailing across the ocean. I remember every one of them.
I'm almost fifty now; frauds at every level of life...friends only from the past. I live a good life and still I'd go back to then but not now.
There isn't a day my memories don't cover every emotion from good to bad....

Posted by: Mike B at August 31, 2007 07:52 PM

Just finished reading the book "gangbusters" and decided for the heck of it to GOOGLE "South Bronx" and came upon this board. I went to a Yanks game in'82 and drove down Jerome to get there. What I saw glancing up those streets off Jerome was indescribable, but at the same time made some eye contact with some of the most precocious kids playing on the sidewalk. We smiled at each other and waved - very cool. For those of you who escaped that, I tip my hat to you.

Posted by: creighton at September 8, 2007 09:50 PM

i grew up on cypress just like you all
and went thru the same thing gangs and drugs
but now its nice it changed,its better
it happens all over we just see it here
because we live here. life is what you make it
and stop talking about crack heads cant change
because i did it no program me and God
prayer can change i got 14 yrs
and a federal job.kid finish school got a job
and i got husband to go with it

Posted by: shay at September 8, 2007 10:59 PM

I have a question. Do you happen to have a photo of the old Fordham hospital that was on Fordham RD? I was born it that hosptial but by the time I grew up and was curious to see, they had torn it down and made something for the Unversity. I believe it was between Southern blvd and Crotona ave.

Posted by: mari at September 18, 2007 02:45 PM

Hello all, hope that you all doing well. I'll have to say this. If you do not like the bronx then do not come here, and stop talking shit. I am so proud being from the bronx, do u know why? cuz we invented hip hop, hip hop its originally from the bronx. Do you know why the bronx is poor? and still on wellfare? cuz if we get out from the wellfare and start to work, they will raise the rent much higher. then the money will not last. they do not let us to succeed. Not all the people commits crime here.. we have good people as well. for example, me. right now im in college. Im doing something with my life. It is true that the bronx is bad, is not just the bronx, is the whole nyc. that is why im leaving to virginia to be more calm etc.. thats going to be when i finish college. if anything just write to me to my email gilarma@gmail.com

Posted by: Bronx_rican_Guy at September 25, 2007 11:12 PM

Wow what a Great Blog! I found this blog when Googeling my old address 390 East 153rd Street
I grew up there in that building from 1964 to 1978. I went to the Immaculate Conception on 151 st and 1 year in Cardinal Hayes until we moved to Yonkers. Today I sell Westchester Real Estate with Remax. I was in the area 2 days ago because I listed a building for sale on 157th street and drove by my old building. I used to live in Apt 2J, and 3H. I was so tempted to go inside and ring the bell and ask if I could look around at my old apartment. I wonder if they would have let me in?

Posted by: John Kobeck at September 29, 2007 12:07 AM

was born in the south bronx 40 years ago i lived in 140 between jackson and cypress then i move to 141 between jackson and cypress in 1973 went to elementary school PS 65 now called academy mother hale then 1982 i graduated from JHS named I.S 155 Elmer E Bogart which that school is no long name that name..

Posted by: milly at September 29, 2007 07:36 PM

I lived in the Bronx from 1938 to 1953. 415 E. 143rd St. just off Willis Ave. I rode the old L to school every day. I have enjoyed the posts on this web site and consider the Brox my home town, but I think I'll stay in NH where it's wide open and safe.

Posted by: pcp at October 2, 2007 03:49 PM

Bronx will always be home to me. From baby til 10, I lived at 787 E. 175th near Prospect Ave. The building's long ago (garage is there now). I went to CS 44 until '77. Then my folks and I moved to Trinity Ave. and 149th (by St. Mary's Park). Parents still live there, 30 years later. That whole area's changed since the late 70s. Anyone went to St. Anselm's by Tinton? St. Pius on Courtlandt? I hated St. Anselm's...LOL! I graduated there in '81 and Pius in '85. I still in NYC - upper Manhattan (Inwood). I last went 'home' to see my mom for her birthday. Like I said, that whole area's changed so much. Lots of people are moving back too... ain't that something?

Posted by: Dana at October 11, 2007 11:05 AM

I LOVE MY BRONX. I WAS BORN AND RAISED AT 561 SOUTHERN BLVD. NEAR E. 149TH STREET, I WENT TO P.S. 161, IS 162 & JAMES MONROE H.S. I WORKED AT CASA BORIQUEN REOCRDS AND SUBWAY BAR/DISCO BACK IN THE 70'S. I GREW UP TO BE A TOUGH COOKIE BECAUSE YOU HAD TO BE. MY SISTER MARRIED THE LEADER OF THE BACHELORS - BLACK TONY. I HAVE SEEN IT ALL FROM DRUG O.D.'S TO SHOOTINGS. AND NO, I DON'T NEED COUNSELING. MY FAMILY WAS AND STILL IS THE ONLY WHITE FAMILY ON THE BLOCK. MY SISTERS STILL LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. I LOVE LOOKING AT OLD BRONX PICS. I SAW PRESIDENT CARTER COME IN 1977 AND HID FROM SON OF SAM. AHHH THE BRONX. I LOVE IT AND ALWAYS WILL...

Posted by: Patricia Geringswald-Mejias at October 18, 2007 03:53 PM

well i've lived in the Bronx all my life. just because those pictures make the Bronx look bad it really isnt. i've grown up so far in between 168 and 169 in Franklin ave. but goes to school in M.S.219.[yes the worse school ever] my aunt lives on 138th street on Cypress.[yes worse part of the Bronx] u have to be careful for the girls though. not to sound racist or anything but the Black girls. they're the ones that like jumping people because they're a different race. its happened to me[but they never got to] and some of my other hispanic friends. they wont except u unless u are their race. but other than the girls the Bronx is a great place to visit. all i think is that they should clean up the place a little more often.

Posted by: tiffany at October 22, 2007 05:11 PM

Wow, I use to live in the Bronx 1966 to 1981, at 1680 Crotona Park East and remember the park, handabll courts, the plato, etc. I was born and raised there and i have beautiful memories even though as I grew up I witnessed gang fights, shootings, etc. I love my hometown no matter what anybody says i will always remeber on winter sliding down the big hill with a piece of box just having fun!!! I went to P.S.61, herman ridder 98... I will always remeber my friends,gail janice,mike,junior paul,eddie,ronald and my late brothers friends gilbert,bobby,petie,and pete.... i havent been there since '86 someday i will take a trip and visit my old neighborhood.. thanks and god bless

Posted by: Lisa Montalvo at October 31, 2007 02:45 PM

Posted by: Lisa at October 31, 2007 03:07 PM

I’m looking for pictures of an abandoned lot along 156 streets & brook Ave. I heard their use to be a slaughter house for animals as well as a cemetery across the street. Has anyone heard of this or does anyone have photos or know where I can find some?

Meeka

Posted by: Meeka at November 1, 2007 03:32 PM

Hi All,
Lets keep this web alive I love the Bronx,
the people (the regular people) not the elite NY Yankees.

Posted by: Matt at November 3, 2007 02:06 PM

I grew up in St. Marys Park Houses at 595 Trinity Ave. and 149 Street, in the 1960's. I went to P.S. 5.
Back then it was a blast, I have not visited the old hood since 1984. Can't even imagine what it looks like now. All I cant remember is the EL rolling by the #2 and 5 train. Those were the days.

Posted by: Sharon at November 16, 2007 09:55 PM

I grew up in the so bx in a brownstone which my family owned since 1907. I went to PS9 and Wilton J.H. and then on to Walton High. I had many happy times there, but we left in 1953 and never went back.Some day when I am in NY again I would like to visit my home and see what it looks like and who is living there.

Posted by: judy at November 19, 2007 12:37 AM

I grew up on Hennessey Place and lived there from 1956 to 1966. It was a good place when I was there until about 65.The neighborhood was mainly Jewish and Irish.We had a community that took care of each other.I remember doing shopping for some of the older tenants.They would call you from an apartment window and drop a paper bag with a list and money. I would pick-up what they wanted and get a quarter. It was the kind of neighborhood where your mother knew you screwed up before you got home. People were looking out for each other. Then something happened, and the neighborhood changed. Many people moved to COOP city and the vacuum was filled by poorer people. Slowly but surely we saw signs of drug infestation and crime. I remember seeing paperbags that were hardened by people sniffing glue. Older residents were bring robbed and there apartments were being broken into. We moved a couple blocks away to 1895 University avenue. We needed a apartment with an elevator. We
had seven people living in a 2 bedroom apartment.
Things began to get even worse. We weren't safe anymore especially at night. I remember getting jumped numerous times and getting assaulted to and from school. My father had a Deli on Cedar Avenue and Fordham road across the street from Dale Oldsmobile. I remember my Dad got held up 3 or 4 times at gun point. Nobody ever got caught.
We finally moved out to L.I. in September of 1972.
I thought I was in heaven. I finally had some sense of safety. I think I had PTSD.Nobody believes me when I describe how bad it was back then

Posted by: jep at November 28, 2007 09:50 PM

^-it hasnt changed much. the same things you describe are still a serious problem. its a real shame for those fighting to climb out of the pit of poverty.

Posted by: anon718 at December 3, 2007 01:44 AM

I think it has changed some. I went on google earth and saw what the old neighborhood looked from the street. It has improved. I think the worse was in the late 70s. I drove across the cross-bronx expressway when I came home from England and the Bronx looked like it was bombed. I saw mile after mile of burnt out and abandoned buildings. I live in Texas now and most folks can't believe how bad it was.

Posted by: JEP at December 3, 2007 11:04 AM

The South Bronx as defined by the NYPD in 1955, is everything south of 149th St. Anything above that street is someplace else. Therefore, having lived from 1943-1956 at 134th & Willis, I am a true So. Bronx character. I thought it was one of the Murphys who burned down PS 9. It was no loss. Now the destruction of the statue of St. Jerome, that was a cultural catastrophe. I saw Eddie the Fish get shot on Willis Ave., next to old man Sherman's grocery. I was in the middle of a gun battle between some payroll robbers & NYPD in front of my house, #404. One cop sitting behind the wheel of his car, took a shot that hit a miraculous medal stuck behind the shield of his cap. Not a scratch on him. I dated his daughter in HS many years later. When he discovered that I saw his "incident" he never spoke a word to me again.

Posted by: boyo at December 9, 2007 01:15 AM

I went to St Anselms in 1964. Used to live in 584 Jackson ave. It was a brownstone in the corner of Trinity dead end going to St Mary's park. I still remember Victoria Velez (chucle)my elementary school sweetheart. I remember Sister maria Clotilde was the Principal, and she was terrifying. Her punisments were , "write 2000, I will do this or that or Will not do this or that". Im in Puerto Rico married with a magnificent woman from Honduras. I work with the Federal Govt. Anyone from my time and neigbourhood, please write.

Posted by: Edward Delgado at December 17, 2007 08:17 PM

@ jep

little has changed. new buildings have been built and there have been many renovations but that's all low income housing and senior buildings. so yes there are way less shells and lots but everything little else is different. the old social problems still remain. robberies, shootings, drugs, broken families, poverty, failing schools, ect i could go on and on all still a problem.

it would take major displacement to change the area for the better. no money in the world can change the state of the social problems in the south bronx.

Posted by: anon718 at December 27, 2007 04:34 PM

Anyone out there that was born or lived near St Francis Hospital on E142St and Brook Ave. I'm looking for photos or links with photos. Recently found out my Dad was born there, later lived at 790GCC back in the 40's.

Posted by: cjk1229 at January 3, 2008 02:10 AM

will always hold a spot in my heart for THE BRONX where is every one now ??? get in touch...

Posted by: tim nevins at January 5, 2008 10:09 PM

I am glad I found this website. I grew up on 139 Street between Cypress and Jackson. I lived in a building next to one which Willie Colon lived in the sixties. I also went to St. Lukes. I remember it was okay living there till the late sixties and early seventies. I remember the gangs, most notably the Cypress Bachelors in that area. I remember how the neighborhood quickly deteriorated with crime, drugs, and abandoned buildings in a few short years. I moved out in 1972 to Castle Hill then to Parkchester. I have not been back ever since 1976 or so. I one time attempted to visit 138 Street in 1990, but when I got off the subway in Brook Avenue and walked the streets a bit I was petrified by the atmosphere and went back on the subway.

I recall some people getting shot and killed on 138 Street near the Cypress Ave subway uptown station during the day, probably around 1966 or so. I also remember when a plane crashed in Saint Mary's Park around that time as well. I remember the black out of I think 1964.

I had two brother that died of hard living of drugs and bad company in the Bronx. Their names were Edwin and Oscar.

I highly recommend anyone living in a dangerous environment, especially with children to get out and move to a safe part of the country. There are so many nice areas in America where you can give your kids a chance for a nice life and you enjoying it with them. I would never put my child with what I had to contend with living there. The fear, gangs, drugs, concrete jungle--there are better places.

Posted by: Riggi at January 16, 2008 07:09 PM

Hi All,
Lets keep the Bronx alive 99 percent of our people are very decent I grew up and worked in the Bronx 26 yrs NYPD
Matt

I was not a elitest

Posted by: Matt at January 22, 2008 08:55 PM

I too,went to St.Luke's from 1966 to 1972. I know who Riggi is. You went to school with me. My maiden name was Matos and I hungout in St. Lukes with Miriam, Zenaida,Julianna and Carmen

Posted by: yoli at January 22, 2008 10:28 PM

Yoli, yes I do remember you! I remember Julie, Zenaida, Carmen, Miriam. Send me an email so we can catch up. I went to a St. Lukes reunion in 1994 or so. It was held near Castle Hill. I met just a handful of our class though. I briefly saw Father Ryan from St. Lukes. I read a NY Times article of 1995 that he celebrated 50 years as a paster there.

Posted by: Riggi at January 24, 2008 10:14 PM

ok lets get one thing straight here i have read alot of comments here about the bronxand i'm not to happy with alot of those comment's..i am the bronx!and alway's will be the bronx and i will die in the bronx...looking and searching for all savage nomads and savage skulls from the early 70's looking to have 35th birthday all o.g from those time's the best time's anyone from 174&walton ave please get in contact with me. my e-mail is nightmare1384@yahoo.com looking for to reach my ex-lady at that time china aka carmen still love you till this day..nomads forever-forever nomads!!!!!!!que viva puerto rico libre!!

Posted by: nightmare13 at January 26, 2008 03:20 PM

riggi, email me at yolanda_vrgs@yahoo. would love to catch up with old times.

Posted by: yoli at January 28, 2008 07:07 PM

riggi, email me at yolanda_vrgs@yahoo. would love to catch up with old times.

Posted by: yoli at January 28, 2008 07:07 PM

Yoli, I am having trouble emailing you. Here is mine rig6@bellsouth.net

Posted by: Riggi at February 3, 2008 12:02 AM

I grew up in Mitchell Houses on 138 and Alexander Ave after moving from Fox Street across from PS 62. Lived at Mitchell houses from 1966 (one of the first families there) to 1990. Went to PS 154 then to Clark J.H.S. on third ave. Remember as a kid playing skelys, crack top, hot peas and butter then later stickball, football and basketball. Played a lot of B-ball at the Mitchell Gym on 137 street. I hung out with a lot of guys that were into sports. PS 154 park was lit up during the summer nights where we played B-ball and danced while a DJ named Rookie came out with his turn tables and played music. There were a lot of gangs (Batchelors, Black Spades, Seven Immortals, Savage Skulls - to name a few) during the late 60's early 70's and a lot of drugs and violence. But sports kept me away from the gangbanging, and many gang members were good ball players as well so we respected one another. Not that there wasn't a problem every now and then but you dealt with it. I played football for the Millbrook Raiders in the St. Mary Park league, a guy name Turk was the coach.We played against teams like the Steelers, Vikings( had a quarterback named Porky) Rams (coached by Fat Ray). All in all it was a tough upbringing, (we were all poor and had to struggle) but I wouldn't change a thing - I loved the Bronx and had good memories listing to salsa and dancing hustle. It was all good.

Posted by: Nes at March 6, 2008 08:34 PM

To my fellow Bronites, I was born and raised on 151st St. and Prospect Ave.in 1950. It was the worst of times it was the best of times back in those days. The bad was the gangs Bachelors, Sinners, Social Sevens,Crowns and The Barbarian Knights and the Drugs that were just making their presence known.I remember playing in the streets,ringolevio, skelzies, tops,stickball,roller skating, P.S.25. I moved out in 1961and moved to Fteley Avein the Soundview Area. I went to J.H.S.123 and later attened and graduated from James Monroe H.S. in 1968. I then attended N.Y.C. Comm. College in Brooklyn and graduated with an Associate Degree in 1970. I then attended private Seminary School in La Puente, California and Graduated in 1973 with a Degree in Theology. I thank GOD for everything I've experienced in life, the good times and the badtimes. I lost my precious wife of 20 yrs. the mother of my two sons in 1994, but in all GOD has been Faithful. If any knows the whereabouts of Jose Melendez (PAPO) who grew up on Union Ave. near 149th St. Please contact me by E-Mail at MONROE68@AOL.COM ------GOD BLESS ALL WHO READ THIS>>>>>LOUIE H.

Posted by: Louis Hernandez at March 26, 2008 03:25 PM

hi everybody i don't care what people have to say about the bronx, but lived there all my life and i love it. i was raised at 726 prospect ave e 156 street came to live there in 1973 went to IS52 school across from kelly park graduated in 1981 and went to southbronx h.s and graduated in 1985, if there's anyone from that era please email me love to hear what u guys been up

Posted by: linda at March 28, 2008 02:15 PM

Hi Linda and all,
I too grew up in the Bronx (156 and Fox Street) graduating from Monroe HS in 1982. Prior to that I attended IS116 and before then CS50 on Vyse Ave. I have great memories of my youth and don't regret a minute spent in my beautiful Bronx.

Posted by: Ivan at April 2, 2008 01:04 PM

I am amazed at all I have read on this web aite. I t has been a thrill. I grew up on Cypress Ave betwwen 138th & 139th until 1964. Moved to Mitchell Projects, 177 Alexander, apt. 11J, graduated from, St. Lukes, yes those nuns were scary, and Cardinal Hayes. My first job was with the A&P on 138th Street. A cop from the 40th got me the job. I have fond memories of many good friends. Good people like the Torrence Family, the Gordon Family, one of their sons grew up to be a Minister. I remember playing B-Ball at the Mitchell Gym. Mr Hugh Evans was our coach, he is a retired NBA ref. I played on a team named the Mitchell Mustangs. I remeber Nate Archibald and Rick Sobers,from Paterson Projects I believe. I have so many memories in my head that I cannot put all of them down.
I just want to say to some who seem very bitter. My Mom was robbed, twice, in our building I am white, Irish. I also remember the "Bronx is Burning" years. I dearly hold on to the memories of friends, Black, Whire, Puerto Rican, it really does not matter who or what they were. They were friends. I live in an area outside of Buffalo, NY. It is a nice place. The Bronx will always be a part of who I am. It formed me, toughened me and because of my friends, left me with a world of happy memories. Good for all of you who care about where you live.

Posted by: Thomas Kiernan at April 17, 2008 06:12 PM

I lived on 760 Fox street in the early 1950's, when the Royals were the street clan. When the horse and wagon still brought fruit and vegetables to the neighborhood woman for .7 cent a pound. When Puerto Ricans and Jews lived side by side. When pumps were opened when it was over 100%.........I still love the South Bronx and all its history/herstory good with the bad......I remember the smells of Puerto Rican food in the air and the Italian bakery around the corner, fresh for .10 a loaf, ahhhhhhhh melted butter. The Ace movie on 149th street and Southern Blvd. I can go on and on.

Posted by: Mancha de Platano at April 19, 2008 02:42 PM

Hello everyone in the South Bronx,

My grandaunts lived at 421 East 140th Street, which I hear and read is a protected Street in the Mott Haven area. I've never been to New York I live in Ireland...my grandaunts emigrated to the USA back in the 1920s...they lived in this area all their lives. One married a man named James Donlan, had a daughter Eileen Donlan.He died and she then married P J Torpey. Was this community generally Irish back in the 1920s? Does anyone know where I can find photo of 421 East 140th street?....Thanks in advance

Posted by: P Browne at April 29, 2008 01:44 PM

My name is Nitza. I grew up on Wilkins Ave.I went to PS 61, Herman Ridder, and Morris High School. I still think of the beautiful Bronx and what a beautiful and safe childhood, we lived. Like Mancha de Platano said. It was Puerto Ricans and jews, living side by side, and how well we got along. I'm Puerto Rican, but all my friends were jews and italians. I was one of the few puerto ricans on Wilkins Ave.
I loved the Bronx, and the good old days, in Crotona Park and the 9 cents Pool.

Posted by: Nitza at May 4, 2008 11:45 AM

I was born and raised on 138 St and Cypress Ave.
LOVED to live and grow up there. As a Puerto Rican,
one could walk the streets any time, day or night
(I'm talking about the l950's and early l960's).
and never have any problems, all the neighbors looked
out for you and if you misbehaved, you could be sure
someone would tell your parents. Meet my husband many
years later, and another area of NY. When we began
talking, we found out he was born and raised on Brook
ave. and 136th street during the late l940-earlyl960's He has nothing but fond memories,
and we remember all the same people, same stores,
went to school and church with his cousins, everything fit perfectly. Still married and going
strong 41 years later and loving it. RIGGI, many, many people got shot and killed in our neighborhood, we had the Sinners, Dragons, Crowns,
etc. All were either with or without each other.
Many fights and of course you just had to know where to step so to speak. My husband went to PS 43, and I went to PS 65 on Cypress. Our lives were
shaped by our roots, and although the Bronx is
just not the same anymore, for us, in those days
it was truly heaven. Went to Orchard Beach or City
Island in the summer, Crotona or Astoria pools
also. St. Luke's school yard faced my back window,
so I could always see who was "hanging" and at what time, who was kissing who, and who was fighting who. St. Francis hospital, where my sister was born was actually on St. Ann's Ave.
going up towards brook. The hospital was run by
monks who walked around with brown robes and flip
flops, they were always ready to lend a hand, give
a kid a soda, take you home if need be and were
always to be counted on. Too many memories to list, but a great wonderful life back then.

Posted by: Jane at May 10, 2008 04:27 PM

Although I've lived in NJ now for 36 years, when people ask, I tell them I'm from the Bronx. We lived at 652 Southern Blvd until 1963 and then moved to the Moore Houses next to St. Mary's park. Went to PS 62, then 31 on the concourse, 7th and 8th at St.Anselms and then graduated rom Cardinal Hayes. Stickball, kick the can, Johnny on the pony, ringolevio, roundup.... man what great memories. Danny, Ricky, Speedy, Derrick, Sad Sack, all great friends.

Posted by: Bobby McManus at May 18, 2008 05:11 PM

anyone out there from 153rd street, Morris Avenue, 3rd Ave

I grew up in apt 2A in 390 E. 153rd street
Bronx and went to Immaculate Conception school.

would love hearing from you

Posted by: Maureen at May 20, 2008 04:56 AM

I was born and raised in the bronx. soundview, 1255 croes ave. for those who say the bronx is safe, look up your statistics. the bronx is one of the poorest areas in the country and one of the most dangerous as well. but there were alot of great memories from back home. it helped me grow up and work harder so that i dont have to go back to poverty. alot of good friends as well. i visit everytime i go home to NYC. i live in chicago now, and i would take almost any part of this city in terms of safety over the BX. but then again, i am cool when i am there cuz i know folks. but still, crime is very prevalent. but pehlam is actually a very affluent area with nice high income housing. I love the bronx, always will be home to me.

Posted by: BX Bomber at May 21, 2008 01:59 PM

By the way, anyone go to I.S. 174 when they were younger. P.S. 69 anyone? lots of great times. clason point, gunhill rd... no place like it.

Posted by: BX Bomber at May 21, 2008 02:03 PM

I grew up in the South Bronx during the early 50's through the 60's (957 Kelly St., between 163rd. St. and Westchester Ave) I'm the product of very hard working factory laborers, honest, humble folks, who not once accepted a single dime of any sort of charity, proud folks they were. We were dirt poor and we didn't know it. The same can be said of most people on our block.

Those were very different times back then. We settled most scores with our fists!! You were better off getting your ass kicked then punking out of the fight. You saved your rep and name that way. To pull a gun or knife was a cheap lowdown thing and would guarantee you a monstrous beatdown from from practically the whole block.

In the early 50's I remember that Kelly St. was like the United Nations. It wasn't just us Ricans, there was a liberal sprinkling of Jews, Irish, Italians and Blacks. For the most part we all got along fairly well. The majority of the storefront businesses were still owned by none Ricans in our area except for the few Bodegas. ther was a small storefront Jewish Synaguoge on the corner and a Jewish Deli a block away ( The best hotdogs on earth!!) The very best pizza was from the Cottage Bar and Restaurant on Intervale and Westchester Aves. which was Italian run and owned. There was the Valencia Bar and Restaurant on Intervale that my father would would take me to on Fridays. The Rican food was outrageously good there. Everyone shopped at the outdoor Marketas on Tiffany and Fox Streets. Then there was the commercial strips on Southern Blvd. and La Tercera. I remember Hearns Dept. Store. The Third Ave. El Train. There was Freedomland Amusement Park where Co-Op City now stands, Orchard Beach with its ethnically divided sections. If you had the money and time there was Palisades Amusement Park on the Jersey side of G.W. Bridge (I saw alot of the oldie DooWop concerts there MC'd by Cousin Brucie!!)

In my opinion, things started to change drastically for the worse when Co-Op City opened up. Suddenly there was a mass exodus by the Whites from our area to escape there and get away from us Ricans and our serious problems. They simply packed up there belongs closed up or sold what businesses they owned and left for the promise land of Co-Op City, a place that very few if any minorities could afford, or simply would not be accepted or wanted. Everyday there would be one or two moveing vans on the block moveing them away. The very few whites that were left were the ones that were as poor and as bad off as us Ricans. We started calling those Whites that were left left behind "Patty Ricans". The area suddenly started to become depressed. tenements became abandoned, squatters started moveing into to them. Whole blocks started to go up in flames. Drugs and serious violence took over big time. At night time the streets would be empty except for the predators, junkies and homeless. Gunfire, Screams and police sirens became all too common.

In 1968 I graduated High School(Haaren High in Manhattan) joined the Marines, did a tour and a half in Viet Nam. In the mean time my parents moved from Kelly St. to Elder Ave. Elder at that time was a very nice block and much safer place. I was never to see my Kelly St. ever again. A real pity in so many ways. I still miss Kelly St. to this very day and it saddens me to see what my old neighborhood has deteriorated to, but as the saying goes= you can take me out of the Bronx but you can't take the Bronx out of me!!!

I now live in South Florida. I don't consider myself a Floridian. I am just a transplanted Bronxite!! I miss the cold, snow, the noise, the hustle and the bustle, the Salsa blaring from open windows, the piragueros, the smells, even the nasty smells!!

I often reminisce and wonder what's become of my old buddies. The brothers Adolph and Peter Dapena, Tony "El Gangista" Rivera, Fernando "Tito" Torres, Domingo "Dom"
hernandez, Robert and his sister Evelyn Rivera, Martha David, brothers Alex and Larry Vares, Carlos Pesquera??? Anybody out there know? Let me know!! E-Mail: rasilk@guaguero.net

QUE VIVA MI GENTE Y MI SUL BRONX PARA SIEMPRE!!!

alex

gangista

Posted by: ralphy at May 25, 2008 06:50 PM

While there may have been many improvements in the South Bronx since the 80s and 90s, there are still many improvements that need to be made. It is great that people are visiting there and having a good time but raving about how wonderful of a place it is helps to mask the problems the Bronx still faces. The great part about it for visitors is that they typically come from a higher economic status and can therefore go to the Bronx and have a good time bu