I lived in the Bronx for less than 3 months, in transition from one Manhattan apartment to another. And although I had a bit of trepidation doing so, staying in the Bronx in a violent area, it turned out to be better than I expected. One of my stories, though, was very scary. I had a standout instance when I was on my way back to my temporary Bronx digs. Since it was late there were very few on the subway train.
Finally, it was just me and a broad shouldered man. This man kept looking at me, then away. Looking at me and then away. Looking. Not looking. And this kept going on. This had me a little bit freaked out. Who was this big burly guy and why did he keep glaring at me?
Finally, he stood up looking (as I perceived it) very angry . I tried comforting myself that he was probably getting off at the next stop. The next stop came and went. He began moving even closer to me.
When all of a sudden his frown turned to a smile. He said “I know you, you’re on that cable show. And he was right. At the time I had a cable show. Turns out he’s a fan an wanted to ask me questions about the program. I love the Bronx!
If you live in the city and haven’t gone to the Bronx Zoo, you really should. It’s pretty incredible. There are many experiences to be had there. A while back my family was invited to a special breakfast that included dining in a special area that had giant windows revealing many a monkey. It was quite something eating breakfast and having a literal window into animals in their own world.
Gorgeous Flamingos
One of my favorites is the flamingos. So beautiful and pink. A group of them together is a visual sight that can take your breath away.
The Butterflies
And finally, yet another highly valued experience is to find the butterflies. Once you do, you will be immersed in an experience unlike anything else on this earth. So go to the Bronx Zoo today. Well actually, not literally today, but sometime after lockdown is lifted.
Some call it grounding celebifying, but from the very beginning Jennifer Lopez appreciated the hard work that her parents went through to keep food on the table. This positive work ethic was to serve her in her ascent.
Drive has an Arc
From day 1 it seems that Jennifer Lopez had drive and determination and knew what she wanted in her DigiComArts process: stardom. At least this appeared to be true in her early years but as she has gotten older she seems to have matured and is clearer about her wants and needs. Or so it seems
Birth and the Early Years
Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born July 24, 1969. Her nickname is “J-Lo.” When you break it down now she has 4 personas which are actress, singer, dancer and producer. Some of you who are older may recall that she got her start as a Fly Girl Dancer on the program “In Living Color.” Dance took her to her first step but while still working on “In Living Color” she made the conscious choice that she wanted more.
Breaking Through
So in order to achieve her dream of being an actress and not just a dancer she worked hard to celebify herself going to casting calls and learning the business. This pursuit continued from 1993 to 1997 when she landed the opportunity of a lifetime playing Selena in the biography movie. This was Jennifer Lopez’ first leading role. And during this period she earned an astounding 1 million dollars and was also in the motion pictures Anocanda (199z) and Out of Sight (1998).
A Cool Head on her Shoulders
Somehow during this dizzying time of mega success she was able to keep a cool head on her shoulders using the DigiComArts process. Many people who achieve success like this never get past initially finding achieving that success. But J-Lo’s drive served her again as she continued to climb and establish herself.
Home Town Connection
Sometimes having drive without a clear plan can be daunting, but even though she initially was confused of what steps to take she eventually got it together and continued to grow into the person she is today. Jennifer Lopez’s drive and work ethic have served her well. Even though Jennifer was out of the Bronx she never forgot where she came from and visits the Bronx occasionally.
Someone is claiming they saw Bigfoot Zombie in the Bronx. Exactly where we’re not sure. But we do know that this person alleges that the sighting was of Bigfoot Zombie and not just Bigfoot.
Fitting In
The thing that makes this so remarkable (if it’s true) is that BFZ would have had to travel from downtown Manhattan to the Bronx which is a bit of a distance and if you’re big and furry you don’t exactly fit in.
De Niro’s Haunt
You see, another so-called observance of Bigfoot Zombie occurred in Tribeca. This other witness tell the story of getting a coffee on her way to work and then when she took her first sip, she says she literally bumped into Bigfoot.
What Was the Experience Like?
The woman in the Tribeca instance assured us that Bigfoot Zombie was very polite and when she spilled coffee on herself bumping into Sasquatch Undead, he said “Excuse me” and even offered to get her dress cleaned.
Saraciea Fennell is making a difference in her Bronx community by holding the Bronx Book Festival each year in the Bronx. To get some snippets about her story read the post below which has an excerpt from her recent New York Times article and more.
Saraciea Fennel
Saraciea Fennel is the founder of the Bronx Book Festival and was featured recently in the New York Times. She is yet another example here at BronxNewsNYC of a person who is making a difference in her community. Thanks Saraciea!
“I attended my first book festival as an adult in Brooklyn,” said Saraciea Fennell. “I thought to myself, ‘This is amazing. Why doesn’t the Bronx have something like this?’”
Here’s a Description of the Bronx Book Festival as Seen on their Website
“The Bronx Book Festival aims to promote literacy and foster a love of reading among children, teens, and adults. The festival will cover a wide range of topics relevant to the Bronx community through panels, workshops, and more with award-winning and bestselling authors, illustrators, and creators. The festival will help build the reading culture in the Bronx and become the premier literary experience open to Bronx residents and the general public.”
Here’s another Interesting Caption from the Bronx Book Festival Website
“Many children attending Title I schools in the Bronx have never owned their own books or experienced an author visit. The Bronx Book Festival aims to change that with The Bronx is Reading. This literacy program seeks to create an interest for reading among young people while also promoting reading and writing skills through engaging author visits, reading group guides from publishers, and new books for children. The Bronx Book Festival will also donate books to each participating school’s library for all students to enjoy.”
Left to right: Elvis, Ruben Diaz Jr and Dr. Ini Udoh. All three of them are Bronx Achievers!
The Bronx in some instances is a challenging place to live. And the media tends to gravitate toward negative stories about the Bronx because they seem to believe that negative news will catch the attention of readers with topics including murder, bullying and so forth.
We of Bronx News NYC wanted to look for positive stories in the Bronx and we found some! We will be covering those stories today. They include “How ElevateNewYork.org Changed the Life of of a Young Man Named Elvis,” “BizJournals.com’s Story on How the Bronx went from urban wasteland to success story in 40 years” and “Woman from the Bronx Becomes a Doctor Because of Her Love of Learning at the New York Public Library.”
How ElevateNewYork.org Changed the Life of of a Young Man and Bronx Resident Named Elvis
Elevate New York reports on Elvis, a young man attending Banana Kelly High School. Someone named Kevin Singleton would visit Elvis’ school in the South Bronx to speak with the students. One day he came with a special guest by the name of Kevin McGovern, a very successful entrepreneur. Elvis remembers that day like it was yesterday. It turned out that Elvis wasn’t in the classes where Kevin McGovern was going to speak. Elvis skipped on of his classes just to take part in one of those talks. Kevin McGovern shared the story of his life and all the obstacles he had overcome. One thing he stated that has stuck with Elvis was “You can achieve the impossible; you have to break it into possible steps.”
Elvis says that during his time at the Elevate classroom, He had the opportunity to learn many life changing skills for success. One of those skills was “Responsibility.” In the classroom this was very important; because the seven character qualities he and is fellow students learned from Kevin Singleton were the skills Elvis then would teach the fourth and fifth graders once a week. So Elvis’ responsibly was building a relationship with these younger students and letting them know that anything in life is possible if you work hard for it. Good job Elvis! See whole story here.
BizJournals.com’s Story on How the Bronx went from Urban Wasteland to a Success Story in 40 years
Biz Journals did an interview with Ruben Diaz Jr., a Bronx Native. Here’s part of that interview:
44-year-old Diaz, describes the borough’s strengths and what has enabled it to bounce back.
New York Business Journal: The Bronx was once called an urban wasteland, but now is considered an urban success story. What turned it around?
Diaz: We’re been working hard at changing the negative images and stereotypes. It’s taken decades of work, meeting with local community leaders, residents, police departments, and chambers of commerce.
President Ruben Diaz Jr. reports that between 2009 and 2016, $12.7 billion has been invested in development, leading to 29,000 units of housing, including 17,000 subsidized and 12,000 unsubsidized apartments.
More than 110,000 Bronx residents have secured jobs, dropping the unemployment level to 6.6 percent. The population has spiked, from 1.2 million in 1990 to 1.46 million in 2015 (slightly shy of Philadelphia’s). Good job Mr. Diaz! See whole story here.
Woman from the Bronx Becomes a Doctor Because of Her Love of Learning at the New York Public Library
On the New York Public Library’s website is a story about Dr. Ini Udoh. She immigrated to the United States as a young child, grew up in the Bronx amid poverty but near a welcoming branch library with a wealth of resources. She used the library as her study space through college before going away to medical school. Now a full-fledged doctor in the Bronx, Ini has come back to the “community that raised me.” Good job Dr. Ini Udoh! See whole story here.
Bronx Museum of the Arts each year has a Gala to raise money for the museum. Grandmaster Flash has appeared at the Bronx Museum of the Arts Gala in the past. He claims to be the first person to use the turntable as an instrument. He considers himself to be a scientist because math doesn’t lie. The number “1” is “1” whether it be in the Bronx or elsewhere. Records of Pop, Rock, Jazz, R&B, Disco and so on are used to create the sounds.
The Bronx News NYC Blog Creates a Venue for Bronx News and Stories
Although the publication “Bronx News NYC” has been around for several years, it was only on June, 30th that the site actually officially became a real functioning blog in conjunction with the entry you are reading right now. Bronx News NYC blog entries will occur in the future on a sporadic basis as important Bronx occurrences come into focus. We invite the Bronx community as well as those who have Bronx stories, to contact us with any content they wish to see on the web in areas of interest including art, impact, music and more.
