Central Bronx Background

Walking down the streets of the Central Bronx area, can arouse a variety of emotions both good and bad. There is a living character in every neighborhood, and in the Central Bronx, I can tell you it is one of comfort for being some place familiar and lively. And then there’s the feeling of a slight despair and desolation for the lack of luster and intrigue as you walk through small streets of every block. A variety of crimes has been a major factor in the lowly dark atmosphere that blankets these residential streets. And with one of the highest crime rates in the entire New York City area, according to Police Statistics of the 44th and 48th precincts, it’s no wonder that many residents can say it feels as if our neighborhood has been forgotten, in the hopes of changes. As discovered on the link http://gis.nyc.gov/ops/mmr/printmap.jsp, statistics ranging from 2006 to 2009 show the frail state of the Central Bronx area. An example would the number of deaths due to drug abuse, which roughly 26.5 per 100,000 population.

Police statistics on the Police Department site show crime increase and decrease constantly per week to date. Though the neighborhood may be consumed by criminal mischief, there is still is slight glimmer of light that illuminates through. There are a wide variety of small delis, restaurants bars, barber shops and hair salons, day care centers, three public schools and more. Though many of these small businesses don’t last very long due to lack of financing, many potential owners are still drawn to the homely feel of the Hispanic and Black area. What once was rurally a Jewish neighborhood, has now become an area owned by many Jewish building managers. A large majority of the properties in East Tremont area are under the supervision of Jewish owners.

Traveling through the Mount Eden area of East Tremont Morrisania reveal a number a medical centers and a Hospital that has been accredited by Joint Commission for their service to patients, known as Bronx Lebanon. This hospital has served patients of the area and beyond for some 100 years. According to Emerging Health Information Technology, there are 854 beds at two locations under the Lebanon name one located on the Concourse and one on Fulton, serving AIDS patients as well as geriatric patients. According to the site the hospital has been referred as “The Doctor of the Community.” Located on Clay Avenue is also another quite large institution that has served the community in another way. Promesa Inc. has taken in drug abuse patients for over two decades and in that time has also expanded its facilities considerably not only in the East Tremont area, but in various other locations in the Central Bronx.

There are two precincts the 44th and 48th located on 169th street and the other on the Cross Bronx Expressway. Both precincts serve the neighborhood with their presence. What is somewhat warming is the fact that not only are the neighborhood residents taking advantage of the resources at local delis, and other small businesses the people who work in the community as well. Police can be seen waiting in the same lines in restaurants, waiting to be served before going back on their shifts. Medical staff as well as local faculty from neighboring schools and other establishments can also be seen searching through the aisles of the Bravo Supermarket located on Monroe Avenue in search of goods before going back to work.

When looking at the many problems of the community, one major issue of the area, many parents and school faculty would agree with is that there are no recreational centers for our youth. When asked why recreational centers would make any difference, many residents would say it is because of the free time the youth have on the streets hanging out with bad influence for the reasons why crime is also so high. According to the U.S. Census of 2000 almost 40% of the Central Bronx population consist of youths between the ages of 1-24 years of age, and is projected to increase about 10% in the 10 years. With this in mind, the question rises and has been debated by many concerned residents as to where all of these young individuals are to spend their free time to avoid being influenced by the area in which they live.

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