The facade of the former PS 31 facing E. 144 StreetPhoto by Maria Clark

‘Castle on Concourse’ languishes in neighborhood poised for growth

By Maria Clark
maria.clark@motthavenherald.com

The passage of time has not been kind to the former school building nicknamed the “Castle on the Concourse.”

Entire sections of the roof have collapsed. Plastic tarps cover the holes. Rotted wooden planks shield the windows and cover gaping holes in the walls.

PS 31 was once one the top schools in the city and was housed in a building that was judged worthy to be a New York City landmark. Now it is a wreck.

Removing asbestos and modernizing its facilities wasn’t worth the price, the Board of Education decided 15 years ago. The “Castle on the Concourse” has steadily crumbled since the decision was made.

“We didn’t only lose a beautiful building. We lost a great school,” said Grizel Cabrera, a former school aide who worked at PS 31 from 1989 to 1997.

Despite plans to rezone the area to invite thousands of new residents, officials from the Department of Education have no plans to restore the treasured building that still stands on 144th street and the Grand Concourse.

“We are not currently doing any construction and there are no plans for reconstruction in the near future,” said Department of Education spokesman William Havemann.

The scaffolding and supportive beams wrapped around the building are in place to prevent it from collapsing, according to Wilhelm Ronda, the director of planning at the Bronx Borough President’s Office. When Ronda toured the building over a year ago, he noted extensive water damage and found that the facade on the North end of the building had crumbled.

“Clearly there is a need for funds to do more than just prevent it from collapsing,” he said. Emergency repairs would cost up to $30 million according to Ronda.

Ronda hopes the building can be adapted for a new public use, such as a performing art space or even a children’s art museum.

“I would like to use up as much of the building as possible. I hope at some point the administration will provide additional funding to do so,” Ronda said.

PS 31, named the William Llloyd Garrison School in honor of the great opponent of slavery, was designed and built over 100 years ago by architect Charles B.J. Snyder, the superintendent of school buildings who presided over the city’s Golden Age of school construction. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1986.

Under the careful watch of retired principal Carol Russo, PS 31 had blossomed into one of the top performing schools in the city. A New York Times article from 1987, headlined “Bronx School Excels Academically, Despite the Odds,” reported that 61 percent of students from kindergarten to sixth grade tested at or above their grade level in mathematics. Almost 88 percent tested at or above their grade level in reading.

“It was a wonderful school. They were given little in terms of resources, but Carol tapped into the enthusiasm of the teachers. She was a diamond of an educator,” said Irving Gikofsky, the television personality widely known as “Mr. G.”

A former teacher, “Mr. G” sent his daughter to PS 31 and took part in 28 consecutive graduations.

“When Carol retired, nobody could take her place. The giant left and nobody could fill her shoes,” he said.

The Department of Education closed the school soon after Russo retired in the mid- 1990s. PS 31 and its students were transferred to a new building on E. 156th Street near Morris Avenue.

Students and teachers still refer to the school’s former home building as the “Castle on the Concourse” because of its size and design.

“I loved everything about that school. I remember on rainy days when we couldn’t go outside, we got to watch cartoons or educational movies in the auditorium,” said E’Toyi Lucas, 29, a former student.

Lucas, like many of his fellow alumni fondly remembers the sheer size of the building, its winding stairs and long hallways.

“I always thought that it was so big and scary at times. It really saddens me that they allowed such a historic place to deteriorate. I pray that they would rebuild so that other children can experience the beauty of PS 31,” wrote Shemeka Gibbs in an email about her time as a student at PS 31 in 1983.

Herman Francis, a member of Community Board 1’s Municipal Services Committee, said that in light of city plans to rezone the Grand Concourse, the area needs a new school.

“We don’t have enough schools as it is, and what we have there is a beautiful empty building that should be a school again,” Francis said.

The “Castle on the Concourse” remains under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education and will not be opening its doors to greet eager students next fall or anytime soon. Shingles will crumble and water damage will continue its destructive march through the once stately walls.

The city’s Economic Development Corporation, which is responsible for promoting economic growth throughout New York City, has promised to “evaluate the feasibility of an adaptive reuse of PS 31” as part of the lower Grand Concourse zoning plan. It offered no timetable.

“I think we all have a connection and a passion for PS 31 and we would all hate for that school to disappear,” said E’Toyi Lucas.

A version of this article appeared in the Fall 2009 issue of the Mott Haven Herald.

Class valedictorian Jose Rivera, 18, speaks at the Young Adult Education Services graduation

Prior to signing up for the GED certification course with the Youth and Adult Education Services at East Side House on Alexander Avenue, Jose Rivera, 18, had a hard time believing he would ever graduate from high school, let alone graduate at the top of his class.

“I wasn’t taking school seriously,” he said.

When he arrived at East House he had read only one book in his lifetime. He is now reading Homer’s Greek epic “The Odyssey,” and his favorite reading includes Norman Mailer’s 700-page novel “Naked and the Dead.” He hopes to become an English teacher.

Many of the students who graduated in June from Bronx Haven High School, Mott Haven Village Preparatory High School, and the Young Adult Education Services program at East Side House Settlement, spent years struggling to remain in school.

Now diploma in hand, they’re looking forward to college.

Rivera credits the faculty. “The teachers have passion here. It feels like family,” he said.

Eric Thomas, 40, a beloved teacher at the YAES program, says that to work with students who are in danger of dropping out he needs to address the unique situation each student is in.

“Some of them get lost in the transition from middle school to high school. They don’t have the coping skills,” said Thomas. “You have to be in tune with what the students needs are.”

East Side House provides funding for Bronx Haven, Mott Haven Prep and the YAES program. The high schools are administered by the city’s Department of Education, but have East Side House staff assigned to their offices as well.

“In all three of these programs, the needs of the students come first,” said John Sanchez, the executive director at East Side House. “Poverty can crush ambition and hope, but not potential. “

The schools expect a 90 percent graduation rate, a vast difference from what once was a 70 percent drop out rate in the area.

Because the risk of dropping out is high for many of their students, the schools monitor them closely and act quickly.

“We will call their parents and we are going to come after them,” said Sanchez.

Each school caters to the particular needs of their students. Approximately 17 percent of the kids at Mott Haven Village Prep on St. Anne’s Avenue are Special Ed students, and 12 percent are English language learners. Many of the students at Bronx Haven High School on Eagle Avenue are over 18.

“When they came to these programs they were judged unlikely to succeed. They have proved they always had the potential to succeed,” said Sanchez. “It was the adults in the school system that failed them.”

Christine Bruno, 17, is the valedictorian of Mott Haven Village Prep’s 2009 graduation class. She arrived at the school four years earlier unable to speak fluent English.

“I didn’t speak well the English language. Thank God for the support of the teachers here,” she said. “If students need help they will stay with you until you get your work done.”

Maribel Palafox, 18, the class salutatorian, is eager to move on to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, this summer.

Mott Haven Village Prep is structured on the idea of preparing students from 9th grade onwards for a college education. Field trips involve visits to college. Close to 100 percent of the graduating students will be heading off to college this year.

“They never told us ‘You might go to college’; it was always ‘You are going,’” Palafox said.

“Small schools are a better model,” said Dan Abramovski, 29, who teaches Government and Economics at the school. “It decreases the chance of students falling through the cracks.”

Sherrissa Williams, 18, and Kyme McCray, 18, both graduated June 26 from Bronx Haven High School, which celebrated its first graduation this year. Williams will be studying nursing at Hostos Community College in the fall.

“I would have dropped out. My friends and I wouldn’t have come to school,” she said

Damaris Estrada, 43, hugged her daughter Emilyann Montez, 20, who received her GED almost a year ago, but walked on June 12 at the Young Adult Education Services graduation.

“I’m so proud of her. She has worked so hard,” said Estrada.

Michael Mc Duffie, 47, cried as his son Christopher, 19, accepted his GED diploma.

“This really paid off,” he said.

Leocadia Ferreira, 68 and her husband Rafael Sieles, 95 at Buena Ayuda's farewell ceremony.

Buena Ayuda closes its office

By Maria Clark
maria.clark@motthavenherald.com

The farewell ceremony at Buena Ayuda Para Personas de Edad’s corner office in Melrose was bittersweet. During its three years of operation, it has come to represent support, comfort and respect for seniors throughout the South Bronx.

When it closed for good on June 30, many seniors were left to wonder where they will find a suitable replacement.

Alfonso Chavez Jr., who is blind, attended the agency’s solemn closing on June 4.

“This is like a home to me,” he said. “I don’t see. I am in a world by myself. Coming here and listening to them gives me comfort and makes me feel I am somebody.”

Harry Hernandez, a social worker with Buena Ayuda’s parent company, Bon Secours, a Maryland-based health network, opened the center three years ago, as a bilingual information and referral center for senior citizens. It offered computer classes, helped translate bills and tax documents and assisted with housing and health concerns.

Chavez and his fellow seniors in the neighborhood soon discovered that Buena Ayuda was not only a place where they could get help navigating confusing bureaucracy. Within the cozy office, they met friends and had a quiet place to rest between errands.

“People couldn’t believe this office was here for free,” said Harry Hernandez.

Buena Ayuda opened in 2006 thanks to a three-year grant from Bon Secours Riverdale affiliate, the Frances Schervier Health Network. The parent organization cited lack of funds as the reason for the closing.

“Everything is free, so it’s expensive to keep up. It’s very unfortunate,” said Nadine Baker, a spokeswoman for Schervier.

“When we felt lost, here there was always somebody to help,” said Aida Gonzalez, 73, a local resident. ”Where am I going to go now?”

The majority of the seniors who frequent the office face language barriers, in addition to the typical health concerns that come with old age.

Chavez first sought help at Buena Ayuda after his apartment became flooded and the building’s superintendant refused to fix the problem. Buena Ayuda helped him contact city housing agencies to get someone to clean up. The office has since become a regular stop on his stomping grounds.

“This is like giving us a piece of candy, letting us taste it and then taking it away, no questions asked,” Chavez said at the farewell ceremony.

Leocadia Ferreira, 68 and her husband Rafael Sieles, 95, sought Buena Ayuda’s help after realizing they had been tricked by a travel agent. While the couple was on a long-awaited trip back home to Santo Domingo, Sieles became ill, and Ferreira had to fly back to New York to keep from losing their visas. She noticed that although she had meant to purchase just one round-trip ticket, the agent had tricked her into purchasing two. Harry Hernandez helped her get her money back and clear up her visa complications.

Hernandez pointed lovingly to a cozy sitting area in front of the glass storefront where two elderly gentlemen sat reading the newspaper as they waited for the farewell ceremony to begin.

“I wish I could say that what I have done would make things easier for them once we’re no longer here,” he said. “I hope.”

The following community resources offer immigration information services, legal aid and social services:

Neighborhood Self-Help By Older Persons Project, Inc. : Offers a range of services including their Healthy Life program called Proyecto Salud, to help reduce the occurrence of heart disease and diabetes among seniors.

953 Southern Blvd., Suite 205 Bronx, NY 10459

Tel. (718) 620 4650 Fax (718) 620 4557

Legal Aid Society: Legal services including procuring government benefits, housing issues, and Family and Domestic Law.

953 Southern Boulevard

Tel. (718) 991-4600 Fax (718) 842-2867

Regional Aid for Interim Needs Inc. (R.A.I.N., Inc.): has twelve full service senior centers, home delivered meals and home care services for homebound persons, transportation services, and adult education programs.

811 Morris Park Ave. Bronx, NY 10462

Tel. (718) 892 5520 Fax 892 5732

Institute for the Puerto Rican Hispanic Elderly: Assistance applying for American Citizenship, Translation Services, Counseling, Advocacy, Crisis Intervention, Social Services, Nutrition, Housing, Mental Health Services.

389 East 150th Street Bronx, NY 10455

Tel. (718) 292-5601 Fax. (718) 292 5341

Presbyterian Senior Services/ Senior Center (PSS)
325 East 156th St. Bronx, NY 10451
Tel. (718) 585 1640 Fax (718) 585 1703

Melrose Senior Services/ Senior Center
372 East 152nd Street Bronx, NY 10455

Shirley Flowers was more than just a lifelong resident of the Jose de Diego-Beekman houses which span East 138th, 143d St., and St. Ann’s and Jackson Avenues.

Flowers, who died in May from complications related to diabetes, was Beekman’s most ardent protector for over 30 years, fighting to keep crime and violence from creeping into the 1200- apartment complex.

In the late 1970s, Flowers co-founded a tenant organization to get drugs out of the 38 buildings that comprise the Beekman houses. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she tried to helped fight a ruthless drug gang called the Wild Cowboys that had taken control of the neighborhood while using Beekman Avenue as a crack peddling center.

Flowers set up a tenant patrol in the late 1980s to keep drugs away. A New York Times article from November 5, 1991, describes her sitting alone in the lobby of her building six days a week from morning until night trying her best to ward off suspicious strangers.

Despite the dangers, Flowers continued to work with troubled youth in the neighborhood.

Her friend, Mott Haven housing advocate Arline Parks, remembers Flowers as “a mother figure to a lot of people in the neighborhood. She wasn’t just a resident, she was involved in everything that had to do with the neighborhood.

“She would get on the kids when they were doing something they had no reason doing,” said Parks. “She would see what a lot of kids were doing and she would tell their mothers.”

Flowers’ daughter Sharon White remembers her mother sitting on their front stoop with a mason jar by her side, asking for donations to fund block parties she organized every year on Beekman Avenue. She organized the parties every year for the past 20 years, until last year, White said.

“She didn’t just live here, she was always involved,” Parks remembered.

City planners hope apartment houses and a hotel will replace some of the businesses along the Harlem River waterfront.

Where auto shops and empty factories now predominate, apartments and a hotel would rise

By Maria Clark
maria.clark@motthavenherald.com

The lower section of the Grand Concourse is almost entirely dedicated to the auto industry. The road is lined with busy auto repair shops, a gas station, a newly revamped car wash and a car dealership.

Apartment houses and a hotel may replace these businesses, if a rezoning proposal for the area passes. But although opposition has been muted, it has critics among policy-makers and planners who say the city should preserve manufacturing jobs.

When the plan was first proposed, former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, said that the zoning could jeopardize more than 230 jobs in the four-block area between E. 144th street and E. 138th street on the Grand Concourse.

Amy Anderson, the Project Associate for Sustainable Initiatives at the New York Industrial Retention Network, testified at the April 1 New York City Planning Commission hearing and reiterated Carrion’s concern.

“Manufacturing business located in such areas face increasing real estate pressures associated with nearby real estate development, resulting in displaced companies and jobs. Now is not the time to be displacing businesses and risking job losses,” she said.

Business owners have chosen to focus on their work, rather than worry about city plans that may or may not threaten their future on the Concourse.

“I have heard rumors that the city is planning to relocate us. Whatever happens, happens,” said Epifanio Aybar, the owner of Bonanza Auto Repair Shop near 140th street on the Grand Concourse.

His small shop has remained afloat despite rising rent. He says his secret for success is two-fold. His recycled tires sell rapidly and he knows how to get female customers to trust his mechanics with their cars.

“Women feel comfortable leaving their cars here, because we explain the different parts of the car and show them where the problem is,” he said.

Aybar’s lease expires in 2016, at which point construction or no construction, he plans on retiring.

The zoning proposal encompasses a 30-block area that surrounds the lower end of the Grand Concourse below 149th street. The plan would change some of the streets where only manufacturing is now permitted to a residential area.

Today 57 percent of the four to 12-story loft buildings and waterfront lots are vacant, according to the Planning and Development unit of the Bronx Borough President’s office. Even during the day, the streets along the lower Grand Concourse are nearly empty. Trash lines the gutters and the only sounds come from passing trains and the high-power hoses used to clean out garbage trucks at a nearby Department of Sanitation facility.

“It’s quite dead at night. After 7 you can scream and no one will hear you,” said Jose Orta , 40, the warehouse manager at Baya Movers Company near 144th street on Canal Place. Unlike Epifanio Aybar’s business on the other side of the Metro North railyard, which splits Mott Haven, Baya Movers Company is not jeopardized by the zoning plan.

Orta welcomes the idea of residents moving into the area, saying it will mean better access to food. With only two delis in the area and a diner, he says, the neighborhood will need more eateries.

Despite the empty streets, in recent years the neighborhood has seen a dramatic decrease in crime. In 1995, the 40th Precinct on 138th street, which covers all of Community District 1, reported a total of 1,116 robberies. That number dropped to 541 last year. Break-ins, however, remain a concern for local workers.

Igor Gladkov, the president of Astra Town Car Corporation, had to install video cameras and alarms around his car dealership near E. 140th street on the Grand Concourse. Two homeless men broke into the small offices on the car lot in January 2008, used the microwave to heat up food and took off with a supply of pens.

Pilfering is the least of Gladkov’s worries. The proposal threatens his business.

Gladkov, however, says he isn’t too concerned. His lease ends in seven years and in that time he suspects there won’t be much construction in the area.

His office rattled as two trains passed by in the rail yard below the dealership. He had to shout to be heard. “If they build a hotel on this strip, the guests will check out after one day and never come back. No way anyone can get any sleep around here with the trains.”

However, if a hotel developer does take over his car lot, Gladkov says he’ll deal with the situation the best he can.

He said, “Moving the business will be hard on us and our customers. But if we have to move, then we move.”

A much-loved dog who disappeared on March 29 is now the object of neighborhood-wide search. His many admirers fear he has been kidnapped, and they worry about his health.

Time is essential in Mo’s case. He was recently diagnosed with Kennel cough, which if left untreated can develop into pneumonia. Without proper medical attention Mo will likely die. 

Since his disappearance local residents have eagerly accepted flyers and posted them on their stores and car windows to help in the search.  

A Pepsi truck driver stapled Mo’s flyer to the back of his truck. Euri Ortiz, the owner of a deli on 146^th and Brook Avenue, handed over a security tape to the rescue groups leading the search when she spotted a dog who resembled Mo scratching at her door.

“It’s a crying shame,” said Hector Rivera, 43, as he pasted Mo’s flyer to the front of the pharmacy on Willis Avenue where he works.

“The community has been incredible. People walk up to me simply to say we are still looking,” said Mary, 48, the coordinator for Rescue Ink, an animal rescue group involved in the search.

Mary and her fellow members of Rescue Ink prefer not to use their real names or their last names for safety reasons.

Mo disappeared from a foster home located on 145^th street. Linda Vetrano, 60, the president of Posh Pets, another animal rescue group, had saved Mo two weeks earlier when he was dropped off at Animal Care and Control to be euthanized. 

Vetrano had him neutered and treated for a growth on his eye and then placed him in foster care while he recovered from the eye surgery. When Mo went missing, Vetrano coordinated rescue efforts with Rescue Ink to expand the search throughout the neighborhood.

The reward for Mo’s safe return has doubled to $1000.

 “It would be a pleasure to help a dog like this,” said David Davison, 54, as he took a flyer from Vetrano. “My grandmother used to have one just like this. These dogs are so sweet.”

Donald Donaldson, 15, was walking his poodle when he came across “Angel”, “G” and Joe Panz, all members of Rescue Ink. Donaldson gave them the first lead of the day.

“We were walking over by St. Mary’s Park and we saw a dog just like it. I remember thinking what a cute dog,” he said.

Unfortunately, this was one of two dead leads that afternoon.

Luis Arollo, 53, and his cousin Jose, 51, swore they had seen a small fluffy white dog follow a couple into an apartment building on Willis Avenue and 146^th Street.

The trio barged into the building followed by Vetrano and a camerawoman filming Rescue Ink for the National Geographic channel. The group was enough to startle the dog owner, whose dog had a much flatter nose than Mo.

“I’m crazy. I thought it was the dog. It looked just like him,” Jose Arollo said to “Angel.”

“I’m afraid that dog is in the hands of someone that might hurt him,” said Angel, 48, a former detective from the 40^th Precinct on 138^th Street. Now retired, he devotes his time to rescuing animals. 

Small dogs like Mo are a luxury item. They can be kidnapped and sold off for drug money, said Vetrano. White dogs like Mo anger Pit Bulls and are sometimes used as bait to train dogs for fights said “G”.

Hopefully this isn’t the case. “Whoever has him can’t keep him inside forever,” he said.

Anyone with information that may lead to Mo’s safe return, is asked to contact Linda Vetrano at 917-319-4304.

A jazz band plays outside Alexander's Cafe in Mott Haven. (Click on photo to go to slideshow of the Mott Haven Treasure Hunt)

Finding a new art world can be a challenge

The Mott Haven art world can be difficult to find.

It is tucked away in a dark jazz café on the corner of Alexander Avenue, up a 5-floor walk-up through a narrow apartment or in a corner restaurant hidden under the cement overpass of a major expressway.

“The arts in the South Bronx are hidden. If you don’t hear about it by word of mouth you miss out on an experience,” said Lourdes Hernandez-Cordero, 36, as she stood by her husband’s photo exhibit in the Pregones Theater lobby on Walton Avenue.

The South Bronx has blossomed into a unique artistic destination in recent years, with small theaters, galleries and alternative art spaces appearing in remote streets and apartments. The once barren warehouses in Mott Haven are drawing a generation of young artists seeking low rent and generous space.

Pejro Martin, a metal welder and Ira Merritt, a photographer and print maker, stopped by The Blue Bedroom Project on a recent Saturday, interested in finding exhibition space in Mott Haven. The  alternative art space caused a stir last year in the local art community when artist Blanka Amezcua converted her bedroom into a mixed media art space.

The small bedroom is enclosed by curtain in the doorway. Visitors crowd along the walls to watch videos projected on Amezcua’s window. They wander in and out of the stuffy room towards a table laden with crackers, hummus, wine and juice. Amezcua stands near the door greeting and bidding farewell to the constant stream of guests entering the intimate space.

Martin was visiting his friend, videographer Damali Abrams, the featured artist at The Blue Bedroom Project in March.  Although Martin has exhibited his metal sculptures in SoHo, he has come to the South Bronx seeking new and undiscovered territory.

“The Bronx is a forgotten borough. People visit it for Yankee Stadium and leave,” Martin said. “You take a look at this area and there really is much to see.”

Martin thinks the growing art world in the neighborhood is a positive change.

“Everyone knows SoHo. Hopefully people will see this and the word will spread like wild fire,” he said.

Italian artist Vittorio Ottavioni turned his back on SoHo. A 5-floor walkup apartment is his new artistic stomping ground.

Visitors who dropped by to view the Anti-SoBro art show he curated, surrounded him as he said. “I do not advertise my art in SoHo, Williamsburg, or Chelsea. I want the focus to be on my art and not of me.”

Ottavioni commanded the room as he spouted his disdain for New York’s mainstream artistic destinations. He avoided the glare of photo lenses and intrusive questions from the visitors.

“Who does he think we are: CIA?” said Vincent Beltron, a one-time Mott Haven resident.

The neighborhood has changed a lot since he lived there, Beltron, 51, acknowledged.

Some things, however, never change. The former bus driver looks forward to dusty summer parties held on construction lots by the Harlem River, a pastime only true locals know about, where illegal pina coladas and tortillas are sold from car trunks,.

“This is all new to me though,” Beltron said as he walked away from Otavioni and his elaborate speech. “I seen the little art stores, but I never know this exists.”

Since the varying art spaces can be hard to locate for the unknowing tourist or longtime resident, the Bronx Council of the Arts runs two monthly tours on the Bronx Culture Trolley. A school bus converted to look like a turn of the century trolley, it loops around Mott Haven and parts of Highbridge and Hunts Point, dropping off dozens of tourists at each location.

Hear the sounds of the Bronx Cultural Trolley

Dom Darby, 23, rode the trolley for the first time with her sister Briana, 9, on its inaugural Saturday run.

The Darbys live in the Paterson Housing Project near the Blue Bedroom. Dom recalls  looking out her window and seeing the bright red vehicle roaming the streets.

“It was so random. I wondered why do they have that old timey trolley wandering around?” she said.

Darby stumbled across the Blue Bedroom on her way to library. A sandwich board advertising the project drew her attention.

“It’s so interesting and unique. A gallery in someone’s bedroom,” Darby said.

The galleries are a great way to bring positive attention to the neighborhood, she said, “I really wasn’t aware of all this.”

A band played live music on the sidewalk outside of the Alexander Café near Bruckner Boulevard. Couples stopped by for a glass of wine or a beer from the Café’s varied selection. Aida Vega, 81, Julia Torres, 82 and Maria Teresa Emeric danced on the street corner while they waited for the trolley to make its final loop of the day.

All three grew up and spent most of their adult lives in Mott Haven. They were there when Tito Puente and Celia Cruz performed in the neighborhood. And they saw the theaters burning in the devastation of the South Bronx.

“Things have changed here, but they are getting better,” Torres said.

A version of this story appeared in the Spring 2009 issue of the Mott Haven Herald.