The Hub, in the Melrose section of the Bronx, has gained a reputation as a public hotspot for drug users and dealers alike, with syringes and discarded plastic baggies scattered in the streets.
The area’s condition continues to present significant health and safety risks, which has acted as a roadblock to unlocking its economic potential. Despite these challenges, local community leaders emphasize that the neighborhood holds great promise for growth and prosperity if these issues are addressed.
On Jan. 30, New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander joined the Third Avenue BID for a tour of the South Bronx neighborhood, where he gained firsthand insight into the barriers hindering the community’s progress.
“The team told me this is kind of a ground zero for challenges around street homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse,” Lander said. “But a lot is happening here. Very vibrant, low-income, working-class neighborhood with a lot of need, a lot of hardworking people, but also a ton of economic activity and a lot of potential for more.”
Central to the Hub is Roberto Clemente Plaza, unveiled in 2018 as a ‘Herald Square of the Bronx.’ The space features benches, greenery, and even a fountain – though Pedro Suarez, executive director of the BID, says the fountain hasn’t worked for years.
But the plaza has not lived up to its potential.
“The Plaza was one of the first stops on the tour because that’s where we see so much of this drug activity,” Suarez said. “It could be a wonderful amenity for the community.”
Suarez envisions a wide variety of programming at the space, designed to bring community members together and attract visitors to the Hub. From yoga and salsa classes to movie screenings, he has a wealth of ideas aimed at enriching the neighborhood.
Lander expressed that the plaza holds promise for revitalization. He highlighted the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership, a program he helped establish in the city council, that is no longer being funded.
“I spoke to [the BID] about this program I helped create,” Lander said. “For five years, we funded programs and activations of plazas just like Roberto Clemente Plaza.”
Launched through a grant in 2013, the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership assisted community-based organizations, like BIDs, that lacked resources to manage and maintain the public spaces.
“If it existed today, I would be like, on the phone to get these folks funding,” Lander said. “So, we really need to bring that program back.”
Suarez said that upgrading the plaza is just a tiny piece of what’s needed to revitalize the area. He noted that the drug market needs to be cleaned up since it is hurting the appeal of the shopping area and some community facilities.
“I wanted to demonstrate that there’s a lot to work with in our neighborhood and that there are great institutions and amenities being impacted by the Hub’s open air drug market,” he said. “We have things like the YMCA and Bronx Documentary Center. There’s also a shopping district.”
The Hub is the Bronx’s oldest major shopping district. While it’s still bustling and home to big box stores like Burlington, Marshalls, and Five Below – the Melrose neighborhood is also plagued by commercial vacancies that have become prime locations for drug use.
“There’s so many people in our area that are already entrepreneurs that feel a physical space is out of reach” Suarez said. “For them, it’s like ‘Why would I pay so much money to rent a space, if the minute I walk outside, I have to deal with all these issues?’”
But many budding entrepreneurs have not given up on the area.
Suarez points to the Bronx Coworking Space as a prime example of the untapped potential in the area. Also located in the Hub, it offers entrepreneurs shared spaces or private office rooms starting at $250 a month.
“We have a whole array of businesses working from here,” said Ray, who helped create the Bronx Coworking Space and asked not to have his last name shared. “We also had a lot of people starting small and renting from us, who eventually grew and took their own 4,000 or 6,000 square foot space. They stayed within a few blocks, but there’s so much potential for more here.”
Suarez said he and the BID are working toward creating the Hub that he envisions, but it all comes down to a critical need of assistance from the city to address the issues on its streets – at the minimum a syringe clean up.
“BIDs are heroes, but they’re small organizations,” Lander said. “They can’t be the ones that are going to help get housing development done or help with substance abuse treatment, or do all the things that are going to help them build this neighborhood, and do it all alone.”
