Boogiedown

This is Harlem, New York and I used to live here 30 years ago. When I lived there it wasn't so nice. Abandoned buildings were everywhere and there was a lot of drug use going on in the area. Today, however, it is a beautiful place to live. There are now lots of beautiful tree lined streets with expensive brownstones. If you walk 3 blocks you are on 125th street where the famed Apollo Theater resides, amonst a big shopping area. There is always a high presence of police in the area which tends to make you feel safe. 122nd street runs from east to west, starting at Broadway and ending at Second avenue. The night life in New York City is spectacular. There is alwasy something to do, weather it be shopping or partying. I would really consider living there again.

East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx has a high population of people from the Caribean Islands. Many from Jamaica. It is a very festive area, such as reggae music, caribean restaurants and colorful clothing. The only thing that I would say is missing is the beautiful beachs that are in the Carribean. I love to hear them speak in their native language which is known as Patois. They find them to be very true to their heritage and it is very refreshing.

I lived on East 167th Street in the Bronx with my parents for approximately 20 years. You can say that I grew up there. My parents still reside there and I go back there at least twice a month to visit them. This is a street that used to be very badly constructed, falling down houses, rodent infected. It was nothing for us to look out of our window at night and see hugh rats running up and down the street. Today however, due to new construction of houses and condominiums on my old block and in the surrounding area, it has become a beautiful place to live. On the main street (167th) which runs parallel to the Grandconcourse, there are many new business (grocery stores, check cashing stores, hardware stores, etc.) I no longer worry about my dad getting up every morning at 6am to go out and get the newspaper for my mom. It has become a safe place to live and they are still building in the area.

I used to live on Brooks Avenue on 138th Street in the Bronx about 25 years ago. It was and still is one of the high crime areas in the Bronx. It is surround by City housing projects. However, they are trying to make progress in that area. Whenever I go back to visit, I see that the city has built lots of low cost houses in the area. It is also centrally located to bridges leading into Harlem, New York. It is not an area that I would recommend, but there are many families living there that might disagree.

Co-op city is a condominium development community located in the upper Bronx. There are also townhouses located on the property. This tree lined community is like a little city of it's own. It has it's own shopping mall, movie theaters, resteraunts. The condominiums range any where from $8,000 up, very nice properties to own. It has it's own play grounds and parking structures. I have friends that live there and they are very comfortable there. The atmosphere is very serene.

White Plains Road in the Bronx is a nice friendly neighborhood. It has high rise apartment buildings with lots of tenants. It also has a mini-mall with stores such as K-Mart, Toys-r-us, Radio Shack, T-mobile Store, Lane Bryants and many more. It is a refreshing and cordial neighborhood to reside at. They have mom and pop stores on the corners. It also has Peters, which is one of my favorite resteraunts. I have eaten breafast there many mornings. It is easily accessible to any needs to may have. I endorse this neighborhood highly.

East Fordham Road in the is one of many show cases in the Bronx. They have many stores to shop for any and everything that you may need. Stores that include, clothing, Jewelry, and appliances. It is a very busy area. The downside to this area is that it is very hard to find parking. The weekends are the busiest days on Fordham Road, lots of people walking and shopping. There are many fast food resteraunts on this busy strip. If you are a person that doesn't like crowds that this is not the place for you.

Just like the grandconcourse, 161st has been given a grand facelift. This block is where the Bronx Criminal Court House as well as The Bronx Family Court house resides. There is also a Police Precinct and The Bronx Law offices housed there as well. It is a very busy area with lots of local shops and resteraunts. It also has a mini-mall located adjacent of the court house. There are also residencies in the area. Then you can take a stroll down 161st street to River Avenue and get a look at the New Yankee Stadium, a real show case for Bronx residents to be proud of. If I were to open up a business in the Bronx, this is the area that I would want to be in. I think that at this time, this is one of the safest areas to be located in the Bronx.

Third Avenue at 149th Street in the Bronx has come a long way over the years. It is a central shopping area in the Bronx. About 20 years ago it used to house stores such as Alexanders and Woolworths, now you will find the newer bargain stores such as Conways, Learners, and Rainbows. It still reminds me of the way 125th street in harlem used to be. You could probably find almost anything that you need at 149th street. There are discount Jewelry stores, cell phone stores (sprint, T-Mobile, At&T) and fast food resteraunts. Small area, but lots of stores with close access to manhattan.

The grandconcourse is a 4 lane street that runs from 138th street to 210th street in the Bronx. In the last five years it has had beautiful makeover. The streets have been repaved, flowers have been planted. There are traffic camaras at all major intersections of this strip. There have been new high rise buildings constructed. Business are blooming again on the Grandconcourse. At one point it didn't feel safe to cross this street, but I now feel that it has been made safe again, for children as well as adults. It almost reminds me of areas that you would see if you were walking down the Las vegas strip.

The block that I lived on was a very quiet block with lovely homes, but the surrounding area was not great. Right around the corner from where I lived sat the soundview projects, which were horrible. Not a place that you wanted to walk around at night. For example, one night my girlfriend and I walked to the store and as soon as were rounded the corner a gun fight broke out and we had to run for our lives. But over all we were satisfied with the block that we lived on which was Commonwealth street.