Tag Archives: housing preservation and development

In the past week, both Crain’s New York and the New York Times have published articles hailing big growth in the Bronx. Three Cheers for the Blossoming Bronx, in Crain’s, discusses the growth in jobs, wages, and housing stock that are creating a near-renaissance in the borough that “just rings of New York.” It discusses the potential that the Bronx has to weather the economic storm and continue to develop throughout financial crisis. Government Can’t Help? Tell that to the South Bronx in the New York Times talks about the role that government agencies – specifically New York City agencies – have played in rebuilding and redefining the northernmost borough. Reaching all the way back to Ed Koch’s mayoral terms, the article praises New York City government for exerting such a positive influence on an area of the city that desperately needed its help.  They’re both good and hopeful articles, and it’s great to see such praise bestowed on what can sometimes feel like New York’s forgotten borough.

The Bronx is the only borough on the mainland and is therefore the only major shipping and transportation link between New York City and the rest of the state. 18-wheelers (full of all the stuff that more than 8 million New Yorkers want or need) creep along these highways and cover the borough in exhaust so thick that carbon monoxide levels are twice the national average and 38 points higher than the New York City metro area as a whole. Additionally, most of the trains in the Bronx travel above ground, further compounding the serious air-pollution problem.

And we obviously know, the housing is a mess. The residents who have secured decent housing have to spend exorbitant amounts of energy fighting to keep it decent. For many Bronx residents, ensuring that repairs are made and that they are not taken advantage of by scummy landlords consumes almost as much time as a second job.

That all being said, the Bronx has changed for the better. But the struggle for decent neighborhoods has many chapters left. (For example, neither article mentions what’s going to happen if this growth continues, and residents begin to get pushed out. Neither article mentions how – if at all – the city plans to protect affordability as the Bronx blossoms.) What I’m saying is that all those people working hard to make these celebrated changes in New York City’s poorest borough – which contains the nation’s poorest 2010 census district – should not rest on their laurels. The Bronx needs its politicians, residents, and advocates to consider serious structural changes regarding housing, transportation, and economic growth. Without this, the Bronx cannot deliver the safety and affordability that its residents deserve.