Photo by Chris Goldberg/Flickr

This post is part of a series by the Historic Districts Council, exploring the groups selected for their Six to Celebrate program, New York’s only targeted citywide list of preservation priorities.

The Bronx’s Belmont community can date its history all the way back to 1792, when French tobacconist Pierre Abraham Lorillard opened the Lorillard Snuff Mill as the first tobacco firm in the country, and possibly the world. European influences continued to proliferate in the area, and at the turn of the 19th century, flocks of Italian immigrants moved to Belmont to take jobs in the newly opened Botanical Gardens and Bronx Zoo. By 1913, the neighborhood was referred to as the Italian “colonies” in the Bronx.

Today, Belmont’s main artery, Arthur Avenue, still thrives as a bustling Italian center, with countless restaurants, pastry shops, butchers, and more. But there’s a lot more to Belmont than just spaghetti and cannoli. From the origins of a pasta shop’s sign that’s now featured on Broadway to a Neapolitan restaurant that was born in Cairo, Egypt, the Belmont BID shares six secrets of this saucy neighborhood.

Photo via Gary Stevens/Flickr

1. The storefront sign of Borgatti’s Ravioli & Egg Noodles, a long-time business on East 187th Street, is now featured on the set of the Broadway musical “A Bronx Tale.”

Thanks to their upbringing, Lindo and Maria Borgatti were both skilled pasta makers, and in November of 1935, they pooled less than $300 (all the money they had) and rented a storefront on East 187th Street. They gathered pastry boards, rolling pins, wooden benches, and knives from their home and started making egg noodles. Lindo, Maria, and their six sons took turns making the noodles from 6:00am to 8:00pm, and their first pound of egg noodles was sold for 15 cents. Business was slow at first, but eventually, they saved enough money to buy a hand-operated dough press and noodle cutter. Their now famous ravioli was created after their son George made a wooden ravioli board, and six months later they were able to purchase an electric pasta machine, which resulted in increased noodle production.

This enabled them to move to a different (and their current) storefront, and in 1949 they expanded into the adjacent store because business was flourishing. Borgatti’s has been written and raved about in highly accredited publications, but Mario remained humble and shared that it is most rewarding to see many of his customers return year after year. Today, egg noodles and ravioli from Borgatti’s have traveled across the globe, and Mario’s son, Chris, shares that a recent special moment occurred when Chazz Palminteri visited the store. Chris thought that he might want some ravioli for his restaurant, however it turned out the actor wanted to know if the Borgatti’s Ravioli sign could be used in his Broadway musical “A Bronx Tale.” Chris, of course said yes, and the sign can now be seen on stage at the Longacre Theatre in New York City.

Inside Teitel Brothers, photo by Chris Goldberg/Flickr

2. Even though the neighborhood is known as an Italian community, one of the oldest businesses on the world-famous block of Arthur Avenue is owned by a Jewish family.

Upon entering Teitel Brothers you will see the Star of David in the tile work placed there by Jacob Teitel in the 1930s. Jacob and Morris Teitel settled in the Belmont area from Austria around 1913. The brothers were tailors in their homeland, but opted to make a living in the deli business and opened Teitel Brothers in April of 1915. Their strategy was to provide their customers with a variety of the finest products at the lowest prices. For over 30 years, they’ve been starting their 18-hour days by constructing a variety of their products on the sidewalk surrounding their store, which is still done to this day.

Before determining the daily cost of the merchandise, they sent a worker to research the competition and adjusted their prices accordingly (this was a common practice). Their families lived in the upstairs apartment, and if the store was ever too busy, Jacob would bang on the pipes signaling for his wife, Esther, to come down and help. Before there was refrigeration, the deli stayed open late (until at least midnight on Fridays and Saturdays) to satisfy their customers’ after-dinner shopping needs. Slowly but surely, Jacob recruited his sons, Louis, Ben and Gilbert to work on Sundays, however they all started by first learning how to push a broom through the store. Once that was mastered, the boys were allowed to sell nuts, figs and dates outside during the holidays, and they worked their way up to balancing school and deli work, full time. With the changing times, business had to keep up, as well, and electronic scales and slicers were introduced. Today the family and team, currently in their third generation, still provide a variety of the finest products at the lowest prices.

Mario’s via Wiki Commons

3. Mario’s Restaurant was one of the first restaurants on Arthur Avenue and has been serving first-rate Neapolitan fare since 1919, but did you know that the restaurant has roots in Cairo, Egypt?

Joe Migliucci’s great-grandfather and grandfather left Naples in the early 1900s and opened the first-ever Italian restaurant in Cairo. The restaurant was a success, but his grandfather became restless and decided to come to America. Mario’s Restaurant was opened on Arthur Avenue by Joe’s father, grandfather, and grandmother nearly 100 years ago, and while it is much bigger today, it still operates on the same site. Over the years, many well-known people have dined here, including Governor Rockefeller, Anna Moffo, Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher. The restaurant is even mentioned in the film “The Godfather.” In fact, the filmmakers reportedly wanted to shoot scenes in the restaurant, but the Migliucci family refused, fearing bad publicity.

Google Street View of Madonia Bakery

4. Peter Madonia, Sr., of Madonia Brothers Bakery, was literally born into the family business!

Mario Madonia arrived in the United States in the early 1900s from Monreale, Sicily, and settled in the Arthur Avenue neighborhood in the pursuit of a better life for his family. He started baking bread as part of a co-op known as the Reliable Bronx Italian Bakers. The building, located at 2385 Arthur Avenue, still bears the name. His son Peter’s entry into the neighborhood, however, is a bit more unique.

During Prohibition, the streets of the neighborhood were made one-way because the police wanted to make it harder for bootleggers to escape. During a car chase on May 15, 1924, a local bootlegger’s car crashed through the window of Madonia Brothers Bakery. While Mario was in the back baking, his wife Rose, who was seven months pregnant, was working in the front and the shock from the crash sent her into premature labor and she delivered her son in the bakery. The baby’s survival was doubtful, however, his parents persevered. They lined a shoe box with cotton and placed the baby in it by the oven for warmth, which effectively acted like an incubator. Each day he grew stronger and 11 days later, on May 26th, Mario and Rose finally registered their child with the Department of Health. Peter went on to run the family business, which is still family-owned and operated today.

Pushcart vendors on Arthur Avenue in 1940, courtesy of the Library of Congress

5. The Arthur Avenue Retail Market at 2344 Arthur Avenue was the first enclosed retail market in the Bronx.

Joseph Liberatore was born in Connecticut in 1919 but spent his formative years in Italy. Upon his return to the United States in 1936, he chose the Bronx’s Little Italy as his home, establishing himself as a neighborhood pushcart vendor of fruits and vegetables. His days began at 2:00am when he would take the train to the South Street Seaport to order the day’s merchandise. Once everything was gathered, he would return to Arthur Avenue where he retrieved his cart from a basement warehouse.

Arthur Avenue Retail Market via Wiki Commons

This six-day-a-week routine continued until 1940, when the Arthur Avenue Retail Market was established, enabling Joseph and more than 100 other street vendors to rent indoor stands to sell their products for a fee. Some vendors were afraid of the change and thought customers wouldn’t want to come inside to shop, but Joseph always had pride in the quality of his products, which kept his customers coming. At the age of 80, Joseph decided it was time to pursue a less strenuous business and began selling plants, flowers and vegetable seeds from Italy in the Market instead. Because of his 75 years of working in the neighborhood, Joseph was aptly named the “Mayor of Arthur Avenue” and he continued his plant business until his death in 2011. Today, the business is run by one of his five children.

The Bronx Beer Hall, courtesy of the Belmont BID

6. The Bronx Beer Hall, located in the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, celebrates Bronx heritage; its tables are even made from reclaimed wood from a farmhouse upstate owned by Jonas Bronck himself.

When Anthony Ramirez II and Paul Ramirez started promoting the Bronx over a decade ago with the launch of their borough-branded apparel and accessories business, FromTheBronx.com, they never thought it would lead them to open a bar in the heart of Little Italy. After a particularly long day, the brothers were in search of a place to relax and enjoy a beer, but couldn’t find such a place. They then set out to establish a bar that would showcase their love of the Bronx while fostering a sense of community pride within the historic Arthur Avenue Retail Market.

An instant classic when it opened in 2013, the Bronx Beer Hall features new age beer and an original menu sourced from their Arthur Avenue neighbors, many of whom were initially skeptical of the idea. Yet, two years later, in 2015, the Bronx Beer Hall was voted as the Readers’ Choice Best Bar in NYC by Time Out New York. Patrons appreciate how the bar celebrates and honors the Bronx in its many details, including tables made of reclaimed wood from a farmhouse that Jonas Bronck owned upstate and a logo that includes a deconstruction of the Bronck Family crest and the colors of the Bronx County flag.

About this Six to Celebrate group:

The Belmont Business Improvement District (BID) is committed to promoting and expanding the economic well being of the business community, and the community at large, by promotion of the “Little Italy in the Bronx” brand, the area’s strong ethnic heritage and leadership in the culinary marketplace, and by leveraging the mercantile, social, political and cultural assets within and around the community.

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This post comes from the Historic Districts Council. Founded in 1970 as a coalition of community groups from the city’s designated historic districts, HDC has grown to become one of the foremost citywide voices for historic preservation. Serving a network of over 500 neighborhood-based community groups in all five boroughs, HDC strives to protect, preserve and enhance New York City’s historic buildings and neighborhoods through ongoing advocacy, community development, and education programs.

Now in its eighth year, Six to Celebrate is New York’s only citywide list of preservation priorities. The purpose of the program is to provide strategic resources to neighborhood groups at a critical moment to reach their preservation goals. The six selected groups receive HDC’s hands-on help on all aspects of their efforts over the course of the year and continued support in the years to come. Learn more about this year’s groups, the Six to Celebrate app, and related events here >>

Rendering via Rafael Viñoly Architects

New York City could be getting its first soccer stadium if a proposal for the project led by Related Companies gets chosen by officials. A partnership made up of developers Related and Somerset Partners, along with the Major League Soccer team, New York City Football Club, has submitted a plan to bring a 26,000-seat soccer stadium designed by Rafael Viñoly, over 550 units of affordable housing and a waterfront park to the South Bronx. According to YIMBY, the project, estimated to cost $700 million, would rise on the site of the Harlem River Yards, a 13-acre parcel in Mott Haven operated by the Empire State Development Corporation.

Rendering via Rafael Viñoly Architects

The stadium would be located next to the site that is already undergoing development by Somerset and Chetrit Group; they recently sold the five-acre parcel to Brookfield Properties for $165 million. The original project includes building six structures of housing, containing more than 1,200 units.

Sources tell YIMBY that the stadium would sit above existing rail yards, adding $75 million to the price tag. The proposal says the partnership would pay $500,000 annually for a 99-year ground lease. The group would also invest $25 million into the new waterfront park and an additional $100 million into making the site buildable.

Rendering via Rafael Viñoly Architects

Via the partnership’s RFP

In their RFP, the partnership includes Somerset’s towers, which pledged to bring 1,279 market-rate apartments, retail and a community facility. Plans for the stadium also include more retail space and an 85,000-square-foot park. Other ideas include a “soccer university” to serve 1,000 students at the stadium, a new ferry terminal as part of NYC Ferry and an office space for NYCFC staff. The RFP calls it “a never been done before fully ‘integrated and transformative’ sport and community scheme.”

If chosen by the Empire State Development Corporation for their RFP, the partnership expects a completion date of 2022.

[Via YIMBY]

RELATED:

• State seeks proposals for massive development above South Bronx rail yard tracks
• More renderings, details released for massive South Bronx waterfront development
• $165M sale of South Bronx waterfront site is the borough’s priciest development deal ever

Renderings courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects via YIMBY

The Aileen B. Ryan Oval fountain sits in the center of Parkchester; photo via Wikipedia

A housing development located in the Bronx’s Parkchester neighborhood has five middle-income apartments up for grabs. The two buildings at 1360-1364 Purdy Street are located just outside the planned neighborhood and sits around the corner from the 6 train at Castle Hill Avenue. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from a $1,700/month one-bedroom to a $1,875/month two-bedroom.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 1360-1364 Purdy Street until May 10, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• Middle-income housing lottery in Bed-Stuy saves renters close to nothing
• Live in the heart of hip Williamsburg, from $865/month
• Middle-income lottery opens for seven apartments in pretty Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

Photo of Van Cortlandt House Museum via mtchlra via photopin cc

If you’re looking for a bit of the suburban lifestyle without leaving the boroughs, this affordable housing lottery in the Bronx may be for you. Fifteen apartments at Stagg Group’s Riverdale project The Station (so named for being adjacent to the 1 train station) at 5959 Broadway are up for grabs for New Yorkers earning 80 percent of the area median income. These include 12 $1,292/month one-bedrooms and three $1,458/month two-bedrooms. Just as good as the price is the location; the mixed-use building is directly across from the southeast entrance to Van Cortlandt Park, right near the swimming pool and Van Cortlandt House Museum. And for families, it’s also just a couple blocks from the prestigious Horace Mann School and Manhattan College.

The six, story 72-unit building was designed by Badaly & Badaly Architects. It has two levels of underground parking and more than 13,000 square feet of commercial space and 14,000 square feet for a community facility. Residents have access to a fitness center, rec room, and on-site laundry.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 5959 Broadway until May 21, 2018. Fifty percent of units will be set aside for residents of Bronx Community Board 8. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• 58 affordable units up for grabs in historic Queens neighborhood of St. Albans, from $558/month
•  Lottery opens for 28 affordable apartments in Alphabet City, from $596/month
• Crown Heights middle-income housing lottery gets you near all the action

Rendering via Mastermind Development

The Tremont Renaissance housing complex this week launched a lottery for 255 apartments, part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plan aimed at bringing more mixed-income units to New York City. Located in the East Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx, the development at 4215 Park Avenue rises 12 stories and features roughly 40,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60, 100 and 120 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments ranging from $822/month studios to $1,965 three-bedrooms.

The Tremont Renaissance complex features amenities like a state-of-the-art health and fitness center, a children’s play area, rooftop promenades, computer lab, private terraces and a separate yoga, Pilates and dance studio. Nearest transit options include the B, D, 2, 4 and 5 trains.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at Tremont Renaissance until June 29, 2018. Fifty percent of units will be set aside for residents of Bronx Community Board 6. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• Apply for 100+ affordable apartments at this flashy new tower near Grand Central, from $613/month
• Lottery opens for 15 affordable apartments in Riverdale, just across from Van Cortlandt Park
• 58 affordable units up for grabs in historic Queens neighborhood of St. Albans, from $558/month

While immigration, urban planning, and the forces of gentrification are certainly key factors in how NYC’s neighborhoods have been shaped, New Yorkers’ patterns of work, their unions, and in some instances, even their employers have also played a role in the development of several of the city’s established neighborhoods. To mark May Day, 6sqft decided to investigate two of the city neighborhoods that were quite literally made for workers—the Van Cortlandt Village area of the Bronx and the Steinway neighborhood in Astoria, Queens.

“The Coops” in Van Cortlandt Village, Bronx

The Coops today, via Wiki Media

The “Allerton Coops,” sometimes simply known as the “The Coops,” were originally built by the United Workers’ Association in the 1920s. The union was primarily composed of secular Jewish needle-trade workers with far-left political convictions who sought to improve the living conditions of their members by constructing affordable housing in a safe and engaged community setting.

While the United Workers are often credited with building all the workers co-ops in the Bronx, in fact, there were several labor organizations that drove the construction of co-ops in the Bronx in the 1920s. The Shalom Aleichem Houses, which were also known as the Yiddish Cooperative Heimgesellschaft, were driven by the vision of the Workmen’s Circle. The Shalom Aleichem Houses included 229 apartments as well as several common spaces dedicated to education and the arts, including artist studios. Notably, while “Shalom Aleichem” translates into “peace be upon you,” the name was chosen because it also happened to be the pen name of well-known late-19 to early-20th-century Ukrainian Yiddish writer Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, whose works included “Tevye the Milkman,” the source text for “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Amalgamated Clothing Workers Apartments in 1929, via MCNY

The largest housing initiative built by a union in the Bronx in the 1920s to 1930s was the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America complex at the edge of Van Cortlandt Park. The complex was designed by Springsteen and Goldhammer for 308 families and included an elaborate formal garden. Tenants were able to purchase their apartments for $500 a room and could finance most of the cost through a special fund set up to assist workers. Maintenance costs were $12.50 a room per month.

While providing workers with safe and affordable housing was the primary aim of the United Workers, Workmen’s Circle, and Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, the co-ops also offered other essential services. Indeed, to further support tenants, the Co-ops, the Shalom Aleichem Houses, and the Amalgamated also set up cooperative stores that offered groceries at a discount. By the late 1920s, the workers co-op movement had also rolled out another service for workers and their families that remains a New York City tradition—the upstate summer camp.

Steinway Village, Queens

Steinway & Sons piano factory in 1875, via Queens Borough Public Library

While workers in the Bronx were settling into new homes built with the support of their unions, in Astoria, Queens many workers and their families were already living in worker-designated housing but with a very different history.

Map of Steinway Village in 1896. G. H. Bailey & Co. Courtesy of Henry Z. Steinway Archive, Smithsonian

Steinway & Sons are most well known for their pianos but at one point, the family also had aspired to get into the real estate business. Originally, the Steinway’s piano factory was located in Manhattan, but given the difficult living conditions on the Lower East Side (and perhaps due to rising concerns about labor unrest), the family chose to relocate to Queens in 1870. However, in addition to moving their piano factory, they decided to also move their workers and their families. The Steinway’s intentional neighborhood would eventually include 29 two-story red-brick row houses located at 41st Street and 20th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. The houses were completed between 1874 and 1875.

In 1974, the Landmarks Preservation Commission attempted to establish a Steinway Historic District. In the end, the proposal was squashed by a majority of local residents who didn’t want their homes to become part of a historic district. Notably, at the time, the nullification of the Steinway Historic District was only the second occasion on which a landmark designation has been disapproved by the Board of Estimate.

Current Housing Initiatives for Workers

The newly restored Hahne & Company building in downtown Newark, where Audible workers could live rent-free. Via Hahne & Co. and Bozzuto

In New York City, housing continues to pose a major obstacle to workers, including essential workers from teachers to police officers to nurses. To help ensure that middle-income workers can afford to live in the city limits, the city continues to prioritize city workers (e.g., police officers and teachers working for the DOE) in housing lotteries. Several New York City hospitals also offer subsidized housing to staff, including interns, doctors, and nurses. Recently, however, the region has also seen a resurrection of the Steinway family’s approach to housing.

Last year, Amazon rolled out a housing initiative for workers at its Audible headquarters in Newark. The company offered 20 employees a chance to get $2,000 a month in free rent for a year on the condition that they sign a two-year lease in a recently restored building in downtown Newark. In the end, 64 of the company’s 1,000 employees applied with the lottery winners ending up with $500 a month apartments that generally substantially larger than their former homes in places like Brooklyn and Manhattan. Unfortunately, this seemingly too-good-to-be-true housing story isn’t a forever story: Audible’s housing lottery winners will eventually be expected to pay market rent for their units.

RELATED:

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• The history of NYC’s Quonset Huts, Robert Moses-era veterans housing
• Stuyvesant Town goes green: How the 70-year-old complex is reinventing itself in a modern age

Photo via NYC Parks

A newly constructed rental in the Bronx has launched a lottery for seven middle-income apartments, located across from the city’s largest public park, Pelham Bay Park. The park measures over three times the size of Central Park and includes two golf courses, miles of hiking trails, many fields and courts and Orchard Beach, a man-made beach designed by Robert Moses. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for three one-bedrooms for $1,600/month and four two-bedrooms for $1,800/month.

The building, located at 1701 Parkview Avenue, includes on-site laundry and a bike room. Nearest transit options include the 6 train, and multiple bus lines like the Bx5, Bx8,Bx24 and Q50.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 1701 Parkview Avenue until May 23, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• Lottery launches for 250+ mixed-income apartments in East Tremont, from $822/month
• Apply for 100+ affordable apartments at this flashy new tower near Grand Central, from $613/month
• Lottery opens for 15 affordable apartments in Riverdale, just across from Van Cortlandt Park

Photo via Wiki Commons

The South Bronx’s building boom is continuing with the announcement of a pair of developments near Yankee Stadium that will bring 750 mixed-use residential units to the area. As reported by The Real Deal, Maddd Equities is developing two sites across from each other at 1159 and 1184 River Avenue. The former will have 250 affordable and supportive housing units, and the latter will be a set of 17-story buildings with 500 apartments, most of which will be reserved for low-income households.

1159 (lower left) and 1184 River Avenue outlined in red

Maddd will partner with the affordable housing nonprofit Community Access for the 1159 site. The 200,000-square-foot project will also include parking and retail space. River Crest, the name for the development at 1184, will cover roughly 550,000 square feet across the two buildings and include 350 parking spots, more retail space, and room for a community facility. Both sites will replace parking lots.

The development comes on the heels of the recently approved Jerome Avenue Rezoning, which aims to boost residential and commercial development in an area historically zoned for auto uses. The plan for this 92-block stretch along Jerome Avenue from East 165th Street to 184th Street allows developers to replace the low-rise warehouses with residential buildings that can rise up to 145 feet. It will include 4,600 new apartments, the preservation fo 2,500 units of existing affordable housing, and a $189 million capital investment for workforce development, open space, parks and two new public schools.

So far, under the rezoning, the city has approved The Peninsula, a $300 million plan to redevelop the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center as a mixed-use development with 740 units of 100 percent affordable housing, 52,000 square feet of open and recreational space, and over 50,000 square feet for a community facility and art workspace. Another nearby project, Chetrit Group and Somerset Partners’ $165 million Bronx Point, will include 1,045 housing units (600 affordable), a food hall, and the country’s first Hip-Hop Museum.

[Via TRD]

RELATED:

• Jerome Avenue rezoning and Peninsula complex to bring thousands of affordable units to the Bronx
• South Bronx complex with 1,045 housing units and nation’s first Hip-Hop museum gets new rendering
• The South Bronx gets a new creative office hub at Union Crossing
• City backs away from Yankee Stadium parkland promise in favor of residential high rise

Photo of Crotona Park via NYC Parks

Sixteen moderate-income apartments are up for grabs in two buildings located in the Claremont and Morrisania neighborhoods of the South Bronx. The buildings, located at 625 Jefferson Place and 3531 Third Avenue, sit near Crotona Park, a nearly 128 acre public park with a lake, 20 tennis courts a massive swimming pool and 28 species of trees. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 80 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments ranging from $897/month studios to a $1,764/month four-bedrooms.

The Third Avenue building sits closest to the B and D train, while the Jefferson Place building is located closest to the 2 and 5 trains.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 625 Jefferson Place and 3531 Third Avenue until May 24, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• Live in a one bedroom near the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in Crown Heights for $2,253/month
• 16 chances to snag an affordable one bedroom in East Williamsburg for $1,080/month
• Live in Manhattan West’s massive Eugene rental for just $613 month, lottery opens for 103 units

Photo via Dan DeLuca’s Flickr

Applications are now being accepted for three newly renovated co-ops in the Longwood neighborhood of the South Bronx, part of the city’s initiative to make affordable homeownership more accessible for first-time buyers. Located at 847 Fox Street, the three-bedroom units are move-in ready, with renovated kitchen and bathrooms, new electrical and heating systems and energy efficient appliances. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 120 percent of the area median income can apply for the three units, listed for a subsidized price of roughly $91,483.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in December two homeowner assistance programs intended to help thousands of New Yorkers own real estate and renovate homes over eight years old. The “Open Door” program incentivizes construction of co-ops and condos for moderate- and middle-income first-time buyers. The city estimates the program will create about 200 affordable homes per year.

For the co-ops at 847 Fox Street, buyers should have 3 percent of the purchase available for down payment and they must occupy the apartment as their primary residence. Any applicant who currently owns, or has previously purchased, property is ineligible. An information session about the available co-ops for sale will be held on May 17 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at Maria Isabel Residence.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 847 Fox Street until May 29, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• Two buildings near Crotona Park in the South Bronx launch lotteries, from $897/month
• Live in a one bedroom near the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in Crown Heights for $2,253/month
• 16 chances to snag an affordable one bedroom in East Williamsburg for $1,080/month

Rendering courtesy of Dattner Architects

Nearly a year ago, L+M Development Partners and Hornig Capital Partners broke ground on a $156 million, mixed-use development on the St. Barnabas Hospital campus in the Belmont section of the Bronx, adjacent to Little Italy’s Arthur Avenue and just a short walk to the Bronx Zoo. A pair of all-affordable housing projects–an 11-story, 181-unit building at 4511 Third Avenue and a 12-story, 133-unit building down the street at 4439 Third Avenue–the Dattner Architects-designed complex aims to combine health care services, affordable housing, job creation, outdoor fitness areas, and healthy food options to low-income residents of the community. And these residents earning 60 percent of the area median income can now apply for 218 apartments, ranging from $865/month studios to $1,289/month three-bedrooms.

The rooftop farm; Rendering courtesy of GDSNY

The St. Barnabas Wellness Care and Affordable Housing project, also called Cooper Gardens, will have an additional 95 units set aside as supportive housing for formerly homeless New Yorkers. The project will have more than 50,000 square feet of health and wellness space that includes a pharmacy, ambulatory care center, teaching kitchen, rooftop farm designed by Global Design Strategies (GDSNY), aquaponic greenhouse operated by Project EATS, healthy food cafe, and an outdoor fitness plaza with a walking path, yoga pavilion, and multi-purpose area for meditation and Tai Chi. There will also be an extended-hours daycare to accommodate hospital staff, patients, and working families. Dattner designed both buildings with “active design concepts,” encouraging the use of stairways and installing solar panels.  In a press release, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development explained that “the project is designed to promote stable, quality housing to help reduce Medicaid costs and avoidable hospitalizations.”

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at Cooper Gardens until July 10, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Fifty percent of units will be set aside for residents of Bronx Community Board 6. Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED:

• Six things you didn’t know about Arthur Avenue and Bronx Little Italy
• You can own an affordable co-op in the South Bronx for just $92K
• Lottery launches for 250+ mixed-income apartments in East Tremont, from $822/month

Renderings courtesy of Dattner Architects unless otherwise noted

Van Cortlandt Park via NYC Parks

While this housing lottery won’t save you a ton on rent, the four middle-income units available do sit in a prime location– near the beautiful and historic Van Cortlandt Park.  According to the city’s parks department, the park is home to the country’s first public golf course, the oldest house in the borough and the largest freshwater lake in the Bronx. Located at the nexus of the Bronx neighborhoods of Riverdale and Kingsbridge Heights, the building at 3190 Riverdale Avenue offers residents a parking garage and bike storage. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 120 percent of the area median income can apply for the four $2,425/month two-bedrooms.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 3190 Riverdale Avenue until June 4, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

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A stately English Tudor mansion in the historic Fieldston neighborhood of Riverdale, considered one of the city’s best preserved early 20th century suburbs, has just hit the market for $3.5 million, and it’s oozing history filled ghosts, science fiction, New York master politicians, and urban planners. Former Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia moved to 5020 Goodridge Avenue after serving three consecutive terms as mayor and living in Gracie Mansion. He lived a quiet life after politics but is said to have hosted people like Robert Moses in his house. The home was originally built for magazine illustrator Arthur I. Keller. LaGuardia died in the house in 1947. 

Fieldston is a bucolic private community with 257 homes and estates on a 140 acres. When originally developed, buyers in Fieldston were given a list of “approved” architects and encouraged to build in historical architectural styles. 62 of the homes were built by the architect Dwight James Baum and 42 were built by Julius Gregory.

Built in 1914, 5020 Goodridge Avenue has old school elegant bones with a desperate need for updating. The home has an elegant staircase, a library with cathedral ceiling, a formal dining room and a living room with a wood-burning fireplace adjacent to a garden room that opens to a lovely patio and view of the landscaped grounds.

At just under 5,000 square feet, the home has eight bedrooms, five full baths plus a powder room, a dated kitchen with butler’s pantry, a two car attached garage and a large finished attic (which is suitable for living space). It is walking distance to transportation.

In 1961, Robert Silverberg, a well-known science fiction author – and not as well-known as the prolific writer of erotica novels for quick cash – bought the house. In his 1972 novel, The Book of Skulls, Silverberg mentioned the neighborhood, writing, “How unreal the whole immortality thing seemed to me now, with the jeweled cables of the George Washington Bridge gleaming far to the southwest, and the soaring bourgeois towers of Riverdale hemming us on to the right, and the garlicky realities of Manhattan straight ahead.”

Fieldston is home to two of the three prestigious “Hill Schools”, the Horace Mann School and the Ethical Culture Fieldston School; the third, Riverdale Country School, lies just outside Fieldston to the north.

[Listing 5020 Goodridge Avenue  by Robert E. Hill]

Images via Bronx Night Market

Move over, Queens. The Bronx is getting an open-air, night market next month, the first of its kind to come to the borough. Setting up shop in Fordham Plaza, the festival will include food and craft beverages from more than 35 vendors, handcrafted items and live entertainment (h/t amNY). The event is free to attend and will run starting June 30 through October, happening on the last Saturday of every month.

Organizers of the Bronx Night Market, which includes Edible Bronx and the Fordham Road Business Improvement District, say the vendors will produce “dishes and libations from all corners of the world with an unmatchable layer of authenticity and passion.”

Roughly half of the vendors at the Bronx Night Market will be local, including Empanology, Tripla Panna Ice Cream and Millie Peartree Fish Fry & Soul Food. Vendors were chosen “based on the menu, business practices and of course, THE FOOD,” the market’s website reads.

On the market’s Saturday, June 30th opening, guests can enjoy live music from two bands: The Bryan Durieux Project and Consumata Sonidera. From 5 pm to 6 pm, the band from Bronx-native Durieux will play songs that blend “alternative rock, funk and R&B.” Following that performance, Consumata Sonidera will rock out with “Cumbia-punk, ska-funk, boss-a-fusing rengue and dubbed out tarantellas” from 6 pm to 7:30 pm.

Find more information about the Bronx Night Market here.

[Via amNY]

RELATED: 

• The best pop-up food markets coming to New York City this spring
• Vendors unveiled for Williamsburg’s new food hall, set to open next to Radegast Hall this month 
• By 2020, the U.S. will have 300 food halls

Photo via mamojo

Four outer-borough neighborhoods undeserved by Citi Bike will host dockless bike-share programs this summer, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday. In July, the city’s pilot kicks off in the beach communities of Coney Island and the Rockaways. The Bronx and Staten Island will also have the bike-share program, a first for both boroughs, near Fordham University and on the North Shore. “We are bringing new, inexpensive transportation options to neighborhoods that need them,” de Blasio said in a statement. “Dockless public bike sharing starts this summer, and we’re excited to see how New Yorkers embrace this new service.”

As part of the trial-run, the city will deploy the bikes on a rolling basis, with the goal of 200 bikes in total within the four catchment areas. Some of the dockless bikes will be pedal-assist electric bikes. Last month, de Blasio moved to change city law to allow these types of bikes to operate legally.

The bike-share program will not require physical docking stations, as Citi Bike currently does. Users will be able to rent bikes through a mobile device, with each ride costing between $1 and $2.

During the pilot, the city’s Department of Transportation will evaluate the safety, availability and durability of the bikes. In the fall, DOT will figure out whether to extend or discontinue the program based on feedback and performance.

The city’s pilot comes after a Result for Expressions of Interest issued by DOT last year that sought ideas for dockless public bike share systems. According to the mayor’s office, 12 dockless companies responded to the RFEI. Citi Bike will still be supported by the city, with the pilot program running outside of Citi Bike areas.

There remains a high demand for more bike-share programs in the city. Commuting via cycling has grown nearly twice as fast in New York City than in other major cities, growing 70 percent growth compared to a 37 percent growth in peer cities. Plus, a staggering 16.3 million Citi Bike trips were taken in 2017.

RELATED: 

• The city wants you to bike to work to celebrate National Bike Month
• Citi Bike will add 2,000 bikes and 140 new stations this fall
• With bicycle ridership up, city will add 60+ miles of bike lanes a year

The Bronx Zoo, courtesy of Julienne Schaer on NYC &C Company

With the warm weather officially here, living just a couple blocks from the Bronx Zoo and a short walk to the Crotona Park Nature Center sounds like a pretty nice idea. Throw in a location right alongside Mapes Ballfield and middle-income rent and you’ve got yourself a deal. There are 13 units at East Tremont’s 2118 Mapes Avenue available for households earning 130 percent of the area median income, and they range from $1,100/month studios to $1,600/month two-bedrooms.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 2118 Mapes Avenue until June 19, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

Photo via Wikimedia

A lottery launched this week for three middle-income apartments in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx. Located at 1072 University Avenue, the newly constructed building sits just steps from the Harlem River, with views of the High Bridge, a 170-year-old bridge that offers a shortcut to Manhattan. As the oldest bridge in New York City, the High Bridge first opened in 1848 and was closed for 45 years before reopening after renovations in 2015. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the three units: a $1,200/month studio, $1,500/month one-bedroom and a $1,800/month two-bedroom.

Developed by Badaly Engineering, the four-story apartment building contains 10 units. Nearest transit options include the 4 train at 167th Street and the BX11 and BX13 buses.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 1072 University Avenue until June 21, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• Lottery opens for 12 new affordable units in East Harlem, from $856/month
• 13 middle-income apartments up for grabs right near the Bronx Zoo
• Lottery launches for three middle-income units in historic Weeksville for $2,700/month

Photos courtesy of William Christ

Opened in 1863, and long known as the final resting place of some of history’s most notable figures— Irving Berlin, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Robert Moses, F.W. Woolworth, and Herman Melville, to name a few–the Bronx’s Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservatory is also home to many treasures of the living variety. When one of Woodlawn’s trees (of which there are a whopping 140 different species!) meets its ultimate fate, the cemetery doesn’t merely bury it but rather celebrates its life by carving it into an animal that can be found on the grounds.

Top:Japanese Umbrella Pine; Bottom: White Oak. Photos courtesy of The Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY

Spread across the National Historic Landmark’s nearly 400 acres (roughly half the size of Central Park) are thousands of beautifully maintained mature trees representing more than 140 unique species and cultivars, five of which have been identified in the “Great Trees of New York” program, including a Japanese Umbrella Pine and a native Eastern White Pine. The collection also boasts one of the largest empress trees in New York, which is native to China, and a native Tulip Poplar that measures over 125 feet tall and 63 inches in diameter!

In 2017, the cemetery’s devotion to its green giants was rewarded with a Level II Accreditation by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and the Morton Arboretum, an impressive accomplishment for this bucolic space smack dab in the middle of one of the city’s most bustling boroughs.

Photo courtesy of William Christ

From time to time, in common with the individuals buried among their leafy greens, trees meet their demise, typically due to storm damage or illness. So last year, as part of its arboretum accreditation celebration, the cemetery came up with a unique way to bring new life to the once stately inhabitants that had seen better days and a stunningly beautiful 7-foot tall red-tailed hawk carved out of a remaining trunk made its debut.

Next, an endearing squirrel and solemn family of owls were both unveiled during the cemetery’s Earth Day celebration this past April – and plans are already underway to carry on this imaginative tradition of reclaiming lost trees with the resulting wooden menagerie continuing to highlight the vast array of wildlife making their home on cemetery grounds.

Professional chainsaw carver Jon Vincent spent two to three days meticulously crafting each larger-than-life sculpture, and when driving or strolling through the cemetery’s winding roads, visitors are sometimes caught off guard by the oversized artwork’s unexpected presence. However, they soon find themselves in awe of the exquisitely intricate and life-like detail.

Some of the sights from the Illuminated Mausoleums Moonlight Tour. Photos courtesy of The Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY

The wood masterpieces are only a small part of a surprisingly long list of interesting sights and events hosted by the cemetery all year long as it strives to creatively ensure its future as a historic site. From Trolley Tours that explore graveside symbolism and fascinating burial secrets to the Illuminated Mausoleum Moonlight Tours, which take visitors inside some of Woodlawn’s magnificent rarely opened mausoleums to view features like Tiffany windows, metalwork by Samuel Yellin, or domes and vaults crafted by Guastavino Company artisans, the cemetery is alive with activity. And while its primary purpose will always be to offer a final resting place honoring the lives of loved ones lost, its role as a veritable outdoor museum to the 100,000-plus visitors who tour its grounds each year is an important niche for ensuring its viability for another 150 years.

Via Woodlawn Cemetery

If you’d like to check out the breathtaking wood carvings in person, The Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservatory is easily accessible from Grand Central Station via Metro North Railroad. You can learn more and find upcoming events and tours at https://www.thewoodlawncemetery.org and http://www.WoodlawnTours.org. To support the ongoing efforts of the conservatory to preserve, curate and care for the historic mausolea, monuments, landscape features and trees, visit https://www.thewoodlawncemetery.org/donate/.

Photo via Clean Sweep Auctions

On September 30, 1973, during the last home game at Yankee Stadium before the historic arena underwent two years of renovations, diehard baseball fans came wielding screwdrivers and hammers. Not to fight fans from the opposing team of that night’s game, the Detroit Tigers, but to dismantle any memorabilia from “The House That Ruth Built.” One fan somehow got his hands on a right field sign wall that designates the 296-foot distance from home plate (h/t Forbes). A family member of the brazen fan put up the sign for auction last month and on Wednesday, after 18 bids, the 1960s era sign sold for a final sale price of $55,344.

Photo via Wikimedia

The right field sign sat in a closet for more than four decades. The president of the auction company Clean Sweep, Steve Verkman, told Forbes: “The consignor’s brother ripped it off the outfield fence at the end of the game and it was total chaos. The brother died and then left it to his brother, our consignor. He knew it was special and kept it until now.”

The owner of the sign, who found the unique item difficult to assign a price, opened the bidding at just $200. Over the course of a month, and 18 bids later, the souvenir’s winning bid jumped to an extraordinary $46,120 and a final sales price of $55,344.

The site for the auction, which closed last night, describes the home run sign as being in very good condition with some peeling paint off the numbers, but “the display value is simply tremendous.”

In addition to being a treasured relic from the beloved old Yankee Stadium, which was built in 1923, the sign also represents one of the most famous “short porches” in baseball history. The old stadium gained a lot of infamy in the baseball world for being an easy park for left-handed hitters to smash home runs to the right side, just over where the “296” sign hung.

[Via Forbes]

RELATED:

• When the Bronx Bombers were the Highlanders: A brief history of the Yankees
• City backs away from Yankee Stadium parkland promise in favor of residential high rise
• Subway-Style Poster Uses Infographics to Celebrate the History of the Yankees

Photo by Axel Drainville on Flickr

Three middle-income units are up for grabs at a newly constructed building in the East Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx. Located at 1779 Weeks Avenue, the rental sits just steps from the B and D train, making Midtown commutes a breeze. Plus, residents can enjoy open space, playgrounds and a public pool at Claremont Park, which is just a few blocks south. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for one $1,100/studio and two $1,300/month one-bedrooms.

Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the affordable units at 1779 Weeks Avenue until June 29, 2018. Complete details on how to apply are available here (pdf). Questions regarding this offer must be referred to NYC’s Housing Connect department by dialing 311.

Use 6sqft’s map below to find even more ongoing housing lotteries.

If you don’t qualify for the housing lotteries mentioned, visit CityRealty.com’s no-fee rentals page for other apartment deals in the city.

RELATED: 

• Live next to foodie-favorite Smorgasburg in Williamsburg, from $1,407/month
• Apply for 4 affordable apartments in blossoming Bushwick, from $985/month
• Lottery opens for 13 middle-income units in Bed-Stuy, from $1,744/month