Welcome2Melrose

As many as 7 fire trucks and over three dozen firefighters descended upon a parking lot on Bergen Avenue next to the VIM store behind 149th Street. A “glorified car fire” broke out as one of the Bravest put it. No one was hurt, however traffic was snarled due to the heavy presence from our first responders including the NYPD. The fire broke out shortly after 2pm and is now under control.

The lots in question with Via Verde in the background

Since this blog was started over 3 years ago, we have seen the nonstop rise of Melrose with thousands of apartments constructed in various developments of all shapes and sizes including, but not limited to, condominiums, townhouses, apartment buildings and a tower for a growing college campus. With that came thousands of new residents flooding, a once nearly abandoned neighborhood, with new life – families and professionals from a myriad of socioeconomic backgrounds woven back into the tapestry of our community. All this led to  the area coming in as one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in New York City, coming in at #3, in the 2010 census.

Now within the last few weeks, the city has called for developers to “think big” on two of the largest remaining tracts of developable land in Melrose and indeed the South Bronx. And think big they will since the lots can accommodate over a million square feet. Think the Gateway Mall at The Bronx Terminal Market which has 1 million square feet of retail space. We have been used to all these requests in the neighborhood for well over a decade but what sets this apart from any other is that the city decided to give developers a free reign. They want to see what developers will come up with without the usual mandates from the Bloomberg administration of retail, commercial space, community space etc. The only mandatory element is that affordable housing must be included.

Am I the only one looking at this with excitement yet an eye on caution?

Developments in Melrose have long been built with the surrounding area in mind and mixing of incomes but will real estate developers give in to the temptation of creating an uber luxurious development on a lot so close to a subway station that can whisk you into midtown in 20 minutes or less?
Will the they perhaps think of tapping into the community on what we want and NEED on that site? The smart developer will think of listening to the people before committing pen to paper.

More than any moment in our history, we are in dire need of community spaces to house the groups that serve our needs yet are finding themselves thrown on the streets with nowhere to go – something that has been happening in an alarming rate. RebelDiaz, Urban Divers, Casa Atabex have been either evicted or in the process of eviction for no other reason than greed. With over a million square feet of space to play with, a small percentage of this development can be dedicated to such uses, perhaps even housing several of these organizations under one roof where they can share common areas for performances, workshops, classrooms and whatever else is needed.

Another critical component of any development should be to include the opportunity for homeownership with the majority of units for purchase for both middle and low income families and the remainder of the units for rental to the same demographic. Coops or Condos will offset the last minute change of such developments like La Terraza which went from coops to rentals due to the aftermath of the housing crash. An area cannot survive simply on rental stock. It needs to be diverse to create a stronger local economy.

Commercial, both retail and office space, should be a part of this so that it can connect nicely to the rest of the neighborhood as well as the almost adjacent Via Verde.

It will be interesting to see what developers will produce. They pushed the envelope and broke the expectations with Via Verde so they have no choice but to match, if not exceed that project.

We must remember that this is our community and we should be allowed to participate in the conversations that will shape its future.

Last month we mourned the loss of Staples on 3rd Avenue and 154th Street which opened up several years ago but we have a major reason to rejoice so it seems.  Aldi, Trader Joe’s cheaper little brother is moving in and taking over the space.  I’ll admit that I have no idea what Aldi is about except that one was opened nearby in El Barrio as well as one in the Bronx on Gun Hill Road.

I did a little research and it seems to be a pretty good alternative to our usual suspects of supermarkets like Met Food, C-Town, etc.  They claim that you can save over 50% off national brands by simply switching to the Aldi brand.  If they’re any good as their gourmet counterpart Trader Joe’s, then I don’t have a problem with the savings!

What’s even more important, however, is that their wages are pretty competitive.  Cashiers make living wages and get 401K benefits as well as full medical and dental.  You see, THIS is what we’re talking about when we want quality jobs in the Bronx and companies that Bronxites will benefit from.  The vast majority of folks in the South Bronx cannot afford FreshDirect let alone the disastrous environmental impact they will cause on our neighborhood.  We should be promoting companies such as Aldi which will not only offer excellent jobs for our community but also help with access to affordable food.  They appear to offer a wide selection of produce which is critical to our neighborhood’s health.

Juan Pablo Jimenez, a Digital Operations Associate at Mediavest and a local Melrose and resident living at Northrose waxed nostalgic on Aldi which was where his family shopped at back home in Chicago where he grew up.  He had this to say:

“Aldi, is a grocery store with low priced unknown brands (some name brand) that are sure to fill your tummy and also keep your wallet nice and plump in the process. I grew up in Chicago on all Aldi brand products and I loved everything in that place. I become nostalgic of when my mom used to shop there for us as kids. She would come home with all our favorite Aldi brand products sweets and generic lunch-ables. To my siblings and me, the products there became OUR name brand since we had them so often. I’m very excited to see this store come into the area because I feel it gives even the people who can’t afford to eat healthy the option if they ever wanted it.
I feel the store is also good for Bronx residents who will be paid pretty well working for this store. In Chicago the pay typically went from $10.00 per hour to about 14.00 an hour. The store also provides 401k and Health Benefits. This is very good and way above minimum wage. I think this will be a great addition to Melrose. I cant wait for it to take over the staples that was taking up space!”

We’ll keep you posted as to when we can expect an official opening day so we can all start saving!  Now if only we can get an actual Trader Joe’s to open up in the area.