Bronx News Roundup, August 10

ProPublica, a nonprofit news organization, found that the Bronx has the highest unemployment and poverty levels in New York. Despite this, 13 other counties are receiving more money from the federal stimulus package. The Bronx has currently received $258 million from stimulus packages and WNYC chronicles how different reporters analyze the use of this money.

After multiple protests from the public and Bronx politicians, Fannie Mae canceled their online auction of 19 Bronx buildings. The buildings, owned by Oncelot Capital Group, are in disrepair. Opponents of the auction, including Senator Chuck Schumer, are happy that Fannie Mae did not hold the auctions and sell the buildings to another speculator like Oncelot.

A Bronx-born contestant, Kenny Bermudez, on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew reflects on how he chose dancing over a life of crime. Now as a part of the Bronx-based dance crew, Rhythm City, Bermudez teaches dance classes at the Bronxdale Community Center and tours around the world.

Yesterday, a Bronx man, Angel Cruz, was killed after being hit by a car when walking along Interstate 87. Police are still looking for suspects for the hit-and-run incident.

Police continue to search for a suspect involved in a fatal shooting on Friday night.

In more crime news over the weekend, two Bronx brothers are now facing charges in the death of a Manhattan Holocaust survivor.

Saturday was a day of celebration for many New Yorkers as Bronx native, Judge Sonia Sotomayor was officially sworn into the Supreme Court.

Also over the weekend, a moped accident proved fatal as it left a father dead and his son injured.

A BoogieDowner blogger is wondering why the NY Daily News is so aggressive in covering Bronx real estate. Do they have a vested interest?

Battle in the Bronx to Save Hip-Hop's Home

Here's some shots from this morning's press conference at 1520 Sedgwick Ave., aka the "home the hip-hop," a 100-unit apartment complex in Morris Heights.

It's a building, say housing advocates, that's in danger of losing its affordability, following the landlord's decision, last February, to remove it from Mitchell-Lama housing program, a state program whereby landlords keep rents low in return for tax credits.

At today's event, tenants announced their intention to buy the building themselves (with a little help from HPD) and to convert the apartments into affordable cooperatives. The amount they've raised, however, is a couple of million short of what real estate developer, Mark Karasick, is after. A fundraising Web site has been launched to generate publicity and pull in the rest.


The west Bronx has become a graveyard of sorts for Mitchell-Lama buildings. In 2006, for example, both 1655 Undercliff Ave. and 1889 Sedgwick Ave. were yanked from the program. But it's 1520 Sedgwick Ave. that's getting the attention, chiefly because of its official status as the birthplace of a multi-billion dollar industry.

Originally, tenants and advocates hoped that the building's musical legacy, and the fact that it's now eligible to be listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places, would block the Mitchell-Lama buyout. This now seems unlikely, hence the tenants' decision to try and purchase it.

Pictured above is hip-hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc, who lived in the building in the 1970s. (Herc said he'll be calling P Diddy, 50 Cent, and other stars with deep pockets to ask for a contribution.) Below is New York Senator Chuck Schumer with tenants. Above right, a view of 1520 Sedgwick Ave. from the street. (Photos by J. Fergusson)

More here in The Times. And here's what The Times' David Gonzalez wrote about 1520 Sedgwick Ave. back in May.

News Roundup for August 6

A Kingsbridge tenant survived a two-alarm fire yesterday at 2840 Bailey Ave., the Post reports.

The Post also profiles Montefiore surgeon Samuel Weinstein, who donated his own blood to an 8-year-old child he was operating on in El Salvador.

Gotham Gazette looks at the congestion pricing debate in the City Council, with a detailed list of council members and where they stand. Joel Rivera and Helen Foster are undecided, and Maria Baez and Oliver Koppell are leaning in favor of it. Rivera and other undecided pols say their support depends on mass transit improvements.

Mommy Poppins, a New York parents' blog, recommends the Bronx Trolley for families looking to explore new neighborhoods. Click here for details on the weekend trolley.

And NY1 reports on Senator Schumer's warning that New York's bridges and tunnels are underfunded.

Officially, The Birth Place of Hip Hop

Despite a steady downpour this morning, Congressman Jose Serrano, Senator Chuck Schumer, local residents and a handful of Bronx hip-hop legends showed up in the West Bronx to celebrate New York State's formal recognition of 1520 Sedgwick Ave. as the official birth place of hip hop.

The celebration was also an opportunity for the lawmakers to urge that 1520 Sedgwick remain affordable housing and to push for more affordable housing citywide. In February, the owners of the Birth Place of Hip Hop announced their intention to convert the property into market-rate housing. The 100-unit building is currently part of the city's Mitchell-Lama program, which keeps rents affordable, but is being phased out by owners throughout the five boroughs. Here's the Times' David Gonzalez's piece for some more background and depth.

Housing advocates say some 39,000 units may lose their Mitchell-Lama designation soon, forcing out many long-time tenants, unless Mayor Bloomberg puts a moratorium on buy-outs of all city-funded Mitchell-Lama buildings until a suitable preservation strategy can be created and implemented.

In the basement of 1520 Sedgwick, the hip hop music genre was born under the guidance and creaivity of DJ Kool Herc (aka Clive Campbell) in the 1970s. Herc and his sister, Cindy, threw parties in that basement featuring the first forms of hip hop music and dance. Since then, the Bronx has spawned hip hop icons such as Afrikaa Bambataa, Grandmaster Flash and KRS-One, to name just a few, and the genre has exploded across the globe.