Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Does the Bronx Need a Slogan?

Spurred by the proposal by two businessmen to erect a huge red sign that reads, "YES, The Bronx," the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC this morning invited callers to suggest other potential slogans for our borough.

Many of the callers (and emailers) in to guest host Errol Lewis were not from the Bronx. Still, there were a few decent suggestions (the green borough; the bronx: cheer; the bronx is better; and a few variations on the boogie-down) but a number of really bad ones. (My own suggestion: The Bronx - just barely getting by.)

A caller and an emailer (neither from the Bronx, of course) both brought back the old Ogden Nash line, "The Bronx, No Thonx." This quote reminds me of an old article on Anne Devenney, long time Northwest Bronx Coalition member and "mother," which juxtoposes Nash's line with her own saying: "We’re not movin’. We’re improvin’."

All of this makes me wonder about this whole idea of inorganically creating a slogan for the Bronx, a borough that has been through many highs and lows and has pulled through thanks to grassroots efforts in many neighborhoods.

For those who stuck around and fought the good fight to improve the Bronx over the past 30 years, how do you feel about this naming process? Does the Bronx need a slogan? Do we really need/want to sell ourselves to folks from the other boroughs or suburbs? Plus, with such a tight housing squeeze already, do we really want to try to attract more people here?

Posted by Gregory Lobo Jost at 12:06 PM
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1 comments:

  1. It is not surprising that an absurd and ludicrous proposal, such as erecting that silly sign, would draw so much attention in the city media. It is helpful to recall that some places are still sane, as in Vermont, where billboards are prohibited from despoiling the view of real life. But, alas, the location selected for the yesmen sign is an inaccessible waterfront location, where the South Bronx has not enjoyed public acess for decades, despite written language in the lease agreement to the Harlem River Rail yards stipulating such. besides that, power plants, a fed ex depot subsidized by us. and , dont forget, the Waste Management facility that handles over 30% of the City's waste stream by diesel truck. After we obtain public parks on our South Bronx Waterfront, reduce the proportion of waste we handle, achieve borough self sufficiency, then maybe a temporary sign would be warranted. How about, "Ya Basta!".
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