With congestion pricing set to start in two months on June 30th this summer, it’s time that the MTA seriously considers reducing fares for Bronx residents who will seek alternatives such as Metro-North commuter rail to enter the congestion zone in Manhattan. When congestion pricing begins, drivers operating passenger vehicles will be charged $15 if they enter anywhere in the congestion zone below 60th Street in Manhattan, also known as Central Business District or the CBD, during the peak hours of 5AM – 9PM on weekdays, and 9AM to 9PM on weekends. Meanwhile, trucks and buses will be charged an ..read more

The Bronx beat Brooklyn in terms of new housing units completed in 2023, according to a new report issued by the New York City Department of City Planning, and it’s the first time to do so since 2011. New residential units completed in 2023 by borough/Via Department of City Planning Since 2018, the borough has been adding over 4,000 units of new housing but 2023 saw almost double the average for the prior five years. 27,980 residential units—both market rate and affordable—in new construction buildings were completed across New York City in 2023 with The Bronx accounting for 9,842—35% of the ..read more

After serving the residents of the South Bronx for over 30 years, Concourse Plaza Multiplex has announced that it will close its doors for good next month on May 28th. The closure will leave The Bronx—a borough of 1.4 million residents—with just one movie theater, the AMC Bay Plaza Cinema in Co-op City. Once upon a time, you could walk or take a short trip within The Bronx to go to the movies. Growing up in the late 70s and 80s, I recall taking trips to Teatro Puerto Rico on 138th Street to watch He-Man with friends when it came out in 1987. Moviegoing was an easy form of entertainment for ki ..read more

New York City is facing an affordable housing crisis and nowhere is this more apparent than in the northernmost borough of The Bronx. While the borough traditionally has had and continues to have some of the lowest median rents in the city, it is also a borough beset with economic hardships. Hardships that contribute to it also having the highest poverty rate in the city and one of the most rent-burdened populations where residents pay well over 30% of their income in rent which exceeds the recommended guidelines for one to be able to have enough to cover other expenses and be able to also sav ..read more

As millions of Americans across the country engage in Earth Day activities and celebrations to raise awareness on environmental issues such as pollution, environmental justice, and even more so as of late, climate change, The Bronx, unfortunately, takes center stage with being the borough that is plagued with many of these issued more disproportionately than any of the other five boroughs that make up New York City. Just a few weeks ago, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice released the first ever comprehensive study on environmental inequality across the cit ..read more

A decades-long dream to connect The Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn directly by a subway or rail was derailed last year when Governor Kathy Hochul dissed The Bronx by mandating that the Metropolitan Transit Authority begin an environmental review for the Interborough Express but only to connect Queens and Brooklyn. Proposed stops on the Interborough Express with only Brooklyn and Queens being considered/Via Governor’s Office As originally proposed decades ago, the then Triboro Rx line would’ve spanned 24 miles stretching from Co-op City in The Bronx down to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn without having to g ..read more

In a city as great as New York, it’s hard to believe that we don’t actually have a public observatory for the average resident to be able to stargaze and enjoy the heavens above. But that won’t be the case for much longer. The 12 foot observatory will soon call The Bronx home/Via Amateur Astronomers Association of New York Thanks to an aggressive push by the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York for the past few years, which we wrote about back in 2022, that is all about to change. After negotiations with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the agency has approved the i ..read more

Residents across The Bronx and New York City woke up this morning to a city blanketed in light snow with an inch of accumulation since midnight and finally ending the longest dry-spell of significant snow in history falling in a single day. It’s hard to believe but the last record of significant snow accumulation was February 13, 2022 when 1.6 inches of snow was recorded in Central Park. The 701 day streak shattered the previous record which was broken on March 21, 1998 when the city went just over a year with 400 days without significant snow recorded. A mother and child commuting in the snow ..read more

A brand new development in the Mott Haven is now accepting applications for affordable apartments. Located at 405 E 146th Street at Willis Avenue, Betances VI Family Apartments was constructed on NYCHA property that is part of the 1,000 plus unit Betances Houses of Mott Haven and replaced an underutilized 1 story commercial building was demolished to make way for the 15 story, 103 unit residential building. 405 E 146th Street aka Betances VI Family Apartments Because it was constructed on NYCHA land, the development gives a preference to applicants from within NYCHA and also has several units ..read more

MELROSE—The Bronx’s oldest commercial shopping district, The Hub is about to get its first luxury high-rise and it was only a matter of time before it happened given what’s been going on down by the Harlem River Waterfront. The Jacqueline, located at 2980 3rd Avenue at E 153rd Street, the 15-story building is the first market-rate and luxury development in the neighborhood and is nearing completion after construction began over a year ago. The Jacqueline, The Hub’s first luxury high-rise Once complete, which should be by the end of the year or very early 2024, will feature 69 apartments rangin ..read more