Monday, April 12, 2010

Round'em Up

Here are some Bronx-related stories which we've rounded up for you, our lovely readers, while trolling the interweb with our horse and lasso this fine morning:

A few different Bronx neighborhoods are named as 'The Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York,' with Bedford Park squeaking in at #48 [New York Magazine]
BD Note: I was quite happy just to see some Bronx hoods represented on the list, but some others may have a different take on New York Mag's Neighborhood Report. I just received the following email from someone who saw the list: "I actually think it's kind of bullshit that the first Bronx hood wasn't until 38 and it was (predictably) Riverdale..."
Sam Dolnick hits Webster Avenue to find out how last week's huge sinkhole has affected businesses and residents along the usually bustling commercial strip [New York Times]

Runners gather at the new Joe Yancey Track & Field in Macombs Dam Park to reflect on the past (the original track and field sat where the new Yankee Stadium is now built) and look toward the future (the new space is a major improve to the old) [New York Times]

While at the grand opening of the Joe Yancey Track & Field, BP Ruben Diaz Jr. again promises to bring a major hotel to the Bronx [Welcome to Melrose]

Dozens of friends and relatives turned out for Saturday's memorial bike ride in honor of Megan Charlop [Daily News]

CITGO helps a number of organizations in the South Bronx through Petro-Bronx, a coalition of resident volunteers who decide how funding from CITGO will be distributed amongst active community groups [UpsideDownWorld.org]

A profile of Harold Maldonado Jr., the director of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in Castle Hill [Daily News]

~ErLu

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It won't matter how good the new track is if people still let their little kids ride around it the wrong way on the bikes while people are trying to run!

Jay Shuffield said...

There are some issues with the way they evaluated the neighborhoods in their ranking. Of particular concern is the designation of the neighborhoods. What they call Bedford Park appears to be all of Community District 7, which also takes in all of Norwood, and parts of Fordham, Kingsbridge Heights, and University Heights.

There is a huge inconsistency with including "Nightlife" without including noise complaints. Noise complaints are among the largest quality of life complaints in the city, and leaving them out can skey the results very much. (The Lower East Side, in particular, would likely have landed much further down the list.)

I also have serious reservations about the use of "creative capital" in particular. There is no objective fact that would suggest living next to a kid who works at an ad agency would improve livability more than, say, living next door to a school teacher or a carpenter. Some people may find having a hipster for a neighbor was more annoying, actually.

Anonymous said...

I'm a big fan of Nate Silver's, but any study that doesn't have Forest Hills as one of the best 50 neighborhoods in New York clearly isn't a well-designed study.

And if you look more closely at the component scores, there are a few head-scratchers: Inwood is the 2nd-best neighborhood for green space, but Riverdale is #30? Battery Park City #1 for transit?

Anonymous said...

I am down with any neighbor (hipster or not) as long as he or she does not park me in, picks up his or her trash on the ground, and picks up after his or her dog! I wonder how the ratings would change if these things were included in the NY magazine piece. Then again, I can't image Com. Board 7 moving up the list in regards to these areas!

Anonymous said...

Riverdale has few restaurants?
Excuse me? Basically all we have here are restaurants, more pizza joints than anyone will ever need. Thankfully we don't have a Mickey D's on every corner (yet). On one block, you have Chinese, Japanese, Thai, 2 diners, Indian, and a Starbucks. The neighborhood is quiet, safe, affordable, and child friendly.

Anonymous said...

anon 1:32 p.m., I believe the author of the study attempted to measure the quality of food services and restaurants, not merely their existence.

On that basis, I think Riverdale is lucky that it didn't finish dead last in restaurants, nightlife, and shopping.

Jonathan said...

I would have lost my head if they would have put HuntsPoint on the list. I live in HuntsPoint, and I'm tired of everyone calling it up and coming when it is not.

The neighborhood has everything you'll need including the best transportation, 3 subway lines, 5 buslines, but the people just ruin this neighborhood with their ghetto mind set. It is dirty, and full of crime, and this summer things are going to get worse when the residents start hanging out in front of their buildings sitting in beach chairs and doing bbq's till 2am while their kids run around the street.

Yes, I do hope to move one day.

Anonymous said...

Jonathan, on the author's own blog, fivethirtyeight.com, he specifically touts your neighborhood as being one that might be well-suited for investment:

"* Not to encourage gentrification, but if I were buying property as an investment right now, I'd look toward places that are cheap relative to those qualities that take the longest time to upgrade or repair -- particularly transit lines, and to a lesser extent greenspace and the quality of the housing stock. That might mean places like Long Island City and Sunnyside (Queens), Prospect Heights and DUMBO (Brooklyn), Washington Heights (Manhattan) and perhaps even some portions of the South Bronx near the train."

What's that saying? De gustibus non est disputandum?

Jonathan said...

Yes, HuntsPoint could be a good investment if half of the industrial area is rezoned or and or raized. I went down there for a walk while I was on vacation from work, a week day mind you. And I can't tell you the number of abandoned wearhouses, buildings for rent, and useless small businesses that take up prime space. The area is so vast you can build 6 football stadiums, not saying to do that but that is how much space there is in my opinion.

Furthermore, they would have to raise the rents and move out the lower class. They are the ones who really ruin this neighborhood with their self loathing behavior and the high crime rate in the neighborhood. I lived here all of my life, so I am just telling you what I see everyday. Oh, and rid of the useless monistary (excuse the spelling) It is right across from the Banknote building and brings zero to the area. If that was removed you could have space for a movie theater, bowling alley or so on.

Guywithacause said...

Jonathan it sounds like, as a long term resident, YOU NEED TO GET INVOLVED and make your community better. You realize you can get trees planted, work towards increasing green space, roof top gardens, mentoring, eliminating graffitti, increase garbage cans and collection.

You know how to do all this? Simply get involved, start an organization and see how quickly the changes occur. You would be surprised how much support you have all around you. There are more good people than bad..it just so happens the bad people are louder and more annoying...that's all.