WE STAY/Nos Quedamos, Inc. is a South Bronx-based CDC committed to our collective self-determination. Our sustainable development work creates the conditions that maintain our health and culture. Our work engages, empowers, and transforms marginalized communities to remain and thrive.

Nos Quedamos 

An oral history project created to promote rich Bronx history and culture through the narratives of Bronx natives who know first hand what it is like to live and be apart of the community.

Throughout its nearly 100 year history, Morrisania Hospital has served as both an indicator of and witness to drastic changes in the Melrose/Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx borough of New York City. Designed in 1926 by architect Charles B. Meyers, Morrisania Hospital was completed and opened on July 1, 1929. Around the turn of the twentieth century, the extension of elevated trains and&nbsp;the subway into the South Bronx in 1904, created rapid development, attracting working class European immigrants, especially of Jewish and Irish descent, from the oppressive tenement conditions of Manhattan neighborhoods such as the Lower East Side. This rapid urbanization of the South and West Bronx in the 1910’s continued with the opening of the Grand Concourse to traffic in November of 1909. Throughout the next several years, the development in the area persisted with it soon becoming the most densely populated neighborhood in the Bronx, featuring five- to six-story, multifamily apartment buildings as the primary development. Despite a 1908 report published by the State Charities Aid Association of New York which concluded, “The hospital needs of the Lower Bronx are adequate for both present needs and those in 1920”, it became clear within a decade that the incredible growth of the South Bronx was not accurately anticipated. Near the end of the 1910’s, two prominent Bronx doctors and noted public health officials, Isidore Goldberger and J. Lewis Amster, published their own report, advocating for the construction of what would become Morrisania Hospital. In 1922, the City of New York acted on the report's findings, appropriating funds, and specifying the site, bound by 167th and 168th streets and Walton and Gerard Avenues.Although Charles B. Meyers is not recognized as an influential New York City architect, his fruitful career designing public facilities in the early twentieth century had a greater impact on New Yorker's aesthetic experiences and quality of life compared to many higher-profile architects who are celebrated for their contributions to the city. After studying at City College and the Pratt Institute, Meyers began to specialize in hospitals, schools, and other public buildings. Ultimately, Meyers would design approximately 12 New York City hospitals, and facilities including the Manhattan Criminal Court Building, and the headquarters building for the New York City Department of Health, working in styles ranging from neoclassical to art deco. The Morrisania Hospital complex, located at 50 E. 168th street in the Bronx, presents an imposing front facade, which spans the entire distance between Grand and Walton Avenues. Upon observation, the light-beige brick cladding is strikingly contrasted with the rusty orange color of the terra-cotta roof. Emanating on both sides from the central protruding vertical mass are symmetrical recessed wings, which each terminate in turret-like protrusions at the corners. The balanced symmetry of the massing imparts a sense of authority becoming of a medical facility, while also remaining approachable and legible with its obvious central entrance. The classicist exterior treatment, consisting of moldings, entablatures, round arched windows, and arcades, would likely have been seen as acceptable and appropriate for a for a public hospital, especially in a working class, primarily immigrant community, such as the South Bronx. The post-World War II period brought many changes to the Morrisania neighborhood, as working class European immigrants, and the middle class in general, began to move out of cities, in what is often referred to as white flight. Between 1950 and 1960, the demographics of the South Bronx shifted from two-thirds non-Hispanic white to two-thirds Black or Puerto Rican. Many factors, including institutionalized racism, landlord abandonment, and economic changes coincided, negatively affecting property values. As a result, the already vulnerable poor and working class residents of the South Bronx began to face physical decay of buildings and institutions. Under these conditions, Morrisania Hospital continued to serve the community. In 1969, however, approximately 40 years after Morrisania Hospital opened, a replacement hospital, North Central Bronx, was proposed. According to a report by Inner City Press, “In early 1972, then-Assemblyman Solarz toured Morrisania, and was told by the hospital’s executive director that it was losing $60,000 a year because of “pilfering of equipment and illegal narcotics traffic.” This, in the lead up to New York City’s financial crisis, could have been a contributing factor in the city’s effort to close and replace the aging Morrisania Hospital. Two years later, “At a public hearing in 1974, Bronx Borough President Robert Abrams called plans to close Morrisania “unconscionable.” At that time, a new Fordham Hospital was proposed as a replacement for Morrisania. At a meeting on January 9th, 1975, New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) board voted to close Morrisania Hospital and approved the new Fordham Hospital plan, under pressure from Mayor Abe Beame to reduce spending. A year later, however, not only did HHC rescind the new Fordham Hospital plan, but on June 30th 1976, Morrisania Hospital closed without a replacement. In the broader context of 1970’s New York City government, the closing of Morrisania Hospital represents just one instance of the controversial and euphemistic policy known as "planned shrinkage," undertaken to reduce spending to avoid bankruptcy. Under planned shrinkage, municipal services such as emergency services, sanitation, and healthcare were reduced, particularly in poor neighborhoods like the South Bronx. The idea was to cut resources for areas of the city that were already, in the eyes of city officials, "failing."Throughout the late twentieth century as New York City began its financial recovery, Morrisania Hospital remained vacant, despite numerous failed proposals to return the facility to service. In the 1990’s, the New York City government came to an agreement with a private property developer, and according to public records, a deed of sale was signed on December 22, 1995, conveying the Morrisania Hospital property to an entity called Urban Horizons Tax Credit Fund L.P.. A 2000 New York Times article by Amy Waldman titled “Bronx Journal; Once a Hospital and Again an Anchor” details the amenities of the completed public-private partnership development project, which saw the Morrisania Hospital building turned into an affordable housing and community development center by the Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco), which, according to the article, “runs Urban Horizons” (Waldman).<div> </div>

The former Morrisania Hospital building, which reopened in 1997 as the Urban Horizons building, is now an affordable housing development and community hub, run by Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco). Urban Horizons provides important services to the Melrose/Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx including housing, childcare, adult educational opportunities, and healthcare facilities. With 132 affordable residential units, including 39 units for formerly homeless families, the development also contributes to New York City's unmet need for affordable housing. Since its infancy, the Morrisania Hospital building has served as a bellwether, continually adapting to the needs of the community it serves, and its dramatic changes throughout its existence mirror those of its surroundings.

Morrisania Hospital

"Porto Salvo is the newest interpretation of Old Italian style cookery lead by executive chef Luigi Ghidetti. The restaurant has the ambiance of an old Italian port tavern, featuring local draft beers and Ombra (specially selected house red and house white) at a great budget. Luigi (executive chef of Porto Salvo) currently owns Anchor Winebar and the Drafthouse in Hamilton Heights and is excited to bring authentic Italian cookery to South Bronx with Porto Salvo."

Porto Salvo

Restaurant located in the Melrose section of the South Bronx known for its authentic Mexican Cuisine.  

Cinco De Mayo

614 Courtlandt Ave was originally built as a saloon in 1871 for German immigrant Julius Rupert, a lunch counter employee and entrepreneur who later established businesses and buildings with similar architectural style on the Bowery, in New York's nineteenth-century&nbsp;“Kleine Deutschland.” A state-designated&nbsp;historical landmark, Rupert's saloon&nbsp;at the intersection of 151st Street and Courtlandt Avenue was constructed in Second Empire and Italianate styles, with rooms to serve as a public meeting location. Beer, music, and entertainment were common in Rupert’s establishments, with public rooms likely to host cultural, patriotic, or fraternal societies. Several embellishments or markings to the building, such as an eagle, have been linked to its German history. The multi-use building was renovated in 1882 to further divide the second and third stories into several residential flats. At that time,&nbsp;Catherine Rupert, Julius's wife,&nbsp;leased out dwelling rooms to local butchers and tailors. The Rupert family sold the building in 1927. Subsequent occupants included Italian immigrants, Leandro Casario, and his son Joseph Casario, the latter of whom&nbsp;also owned the building from 1930 to 1960. The 1970’s and 80’s were a time of crisis and public outcry in the Bronx. A majority of buildings in the Bronx were either abandoned or set on fire, following a population, job, wealth, and public service drain to the Bronx.&nbsp; Puerto Rican and African American residents, trapped in the Bronx with few other options,&nbsp;experienced the worst of the crises. In 1973, the Casario’s moved out of the building and Michael De Stefano took primary ownership for four short years. On November 30th, 1977 the ornate building that stood out among all the other apartment buildings on the block was swallowed up by the City of New York, undoubtedly because De Stefano had fallen into tax arrears. The building was officially listed as a NYC Landmark in a sundry agreement by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on April 13, 1982, primarily for its elegant architectural features as “a Bronx take on the Bates Motel” and its status as one of the only remaining buildings from the Bronx's transition from farmland to city. The building was abandoned under city ownership for 30 years until it was put back on the market in 2008. With a $20,000 grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy and expressed interest in bringing back life to the old landmark, Michael and Sara Kamber of Bronx Documentary Center purchased the building in December 2010. The Bronx Documentary Center opened its doors in 2011 as a non-profit gallery and educational space. Their mission statement is “...to share documentary photography, film, and new media with underserved Bronx communities and the cultural community at large.” The building still retains its original function as a site of cultural and social interaction, and the sense of community involvement and historical remembrance still remain within 614.

The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC), located at 614 Courtlandt Avenue in the neighborhood of Melrose, is located in a landmark building that was built in 1871. Originally constructed as a saloon with public rooms, meeting rooms, and a residential flat for Julius Rupert and his wife on 151st Street and Courtlandt Ave, the property was left vacant in the 1970s. Thirty years later, on December 5, 2010, it was purchased by photojournalist Michael Kamber for the establishment of a neighborhood cultural center for photography and arts education.

The Bronx Documentary Center

The idea for DreamYard arose in 1994 when Jason Dunchin and Tim Lord went to see&nbsp;a play written by children about a playground where dreams become real. This playground was,&nbsp;of course, called the "Dream Yard." Dunchin and Lord were both actors themselves and initially envisioned that the organization they would create was going to"recruit teachers from amongst their working artist acquaintances in New York and match them with schools whose funding for art education had been cut" (Frazier). However, by 1999, the two DreamYard creators decided to focus their program solely on the Bronx in order to maximize the positive impact that they could make. In 2006, DreamYard Preparatory High School opened its doors for teenagers in the Bronx. It was not until 2009 that the 1085 Washington Avenue DreamYard Art Center opened and became the home-base of DreamYard. The 1085 Washington Avenue lot existed long before DreamYard stood on it. The first recorded building there was built on August 10th, 1848 by Andrew Findley who combined it with its neighbor, 1083 Washington Avenue, in order to create the large space that is there today. The earliest record of occupation for 1085 Washington Avenue is dated to November 21, 1941. It is an employment advertisement in the&nbsp;New York Times seeking a female stenographer to work at a firm called&nbsp;Plastex. Plastex described its business as&nbsp;&nbsp;"gentile" intimating that they would not hire any employees who identified as Jewish. This is of note not only because discriminatory hiring practices were acceptable at this time in New York's history, but also because the area around 1085 Washington Avenue was occupied by many Jewish residents and businesses.&nbsp; It is unclear when exactly Plastex shut down, but records show that from1967 to 1974 the lot was passed from one leasing/realty company to another. In 1974 a private business finally purchased the property. This business, called "You and Christ Temple Inc.," was likely a church.&nbsp;"You and Christ Temple, Inc." stayed in business for four years before foreclosing on August 8th, 1978. The lot was in custody of the city until the year 2000 when another realty corporation purchased it. On August 1st, 2006 the 1085 Washington Partnership LP (controlled by Bronx Pro Real Estate Management) bought the space. Bronx Pro Real Estate management is described as "a unique, mission driven affordable housing developer." Peter Magistro, who is both the head of Bronx Pro Real Estate and DreamYard's landlord is described as "a soft spoken man and lifelong Catholic who became a developer because of his faith." Thus, there is still a hint of the religious embedded in the 1085 Washington Avenue location today.&nbsp; Inside 1085 Washington Avenue, DreamYard runs nine different arts-oriented programs: MINIs, ACTION Project, BeatYard, Bronx Acting Ensemble, Bronx Art Collective, Bronx Poetry Project, Dance, Fashion, and Marker. In 2014, DreamYard launched an additional program entitled the College Access Program. Outside of 1085 Washington Avenue, DreamYard has collaborated with the New York City Department of Education to implement&nbsp;an "arts learning pathway" called the Bronx Arts Learning Community&nbsp;in which they partner with forty-five public schools to integrate DreamYard programs into school curricula. In addition to the NYC Department of Education,&nbsp;DreamYard has collaborated with a plethora of organizations including: The Ford Foundation, The Bronx Museum, Knowledge House, Lehman College, The Point, Per Scholas, Sustainable South Bronx, The New Settlement College Access Center, and WHEDCo. Some of DreamYard's external events to connect Bronx kids to the world around them are:&nbsp;“poetry contests between local kids and kids in other countries via
Skype, poster making for political protests, supplying art work for parks and
public spaces, painting designs on local apartment buildings, and running art
festivals” (Frazier). The largest of these festivals is the Bronx Arts Festival that happens annually in June. DreamYard has made such an impact on its community&nbsp;that in 2012 the organization was awarded the 2012&nbsp;National Arts and&nbsp;Humanities Youth Program Award&nbsp;by&nbsp;the White House in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;

DreamYard is an organization that is centered around providing a place for young people in the Bronx to use art as a means of self expression and a tool for social activism/empowerment. Additionally, DreamYard provides youth with academic enrichment services such as college guidance for high school students. DreamYard offers programs for children of all ages ranging from kindergarteners to high schoolers and offers various art programs from painting to sculpting to beat-making. Children consistently involved in DreamYard have a 98% high school graduation rate. The DreamYard mission is to "collaborate with Bronx youth, families and schools to build pathways to equity and opportunity through art" while "empowering those who join us to celebrate their culture and where they're from by creating instances of community" (DreamYard Handbook). The organization has grown into an entity loved and cherished by residents throughout the Bronx. 

DreamYard Art Center

"Boricua College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. In the spring of 2014 the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC/CAEP) evaluated Boricua College's Audit Brief and recommended it "above standard" for TEAC's three quality principles: Candidate Learning, Faculty Learning, and Capacity and Commitment of the institution. "

Boricua College

The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that is radically transforming how low-income people in the Bronx are represented in the justice system and, in doing so, is transforming the system itself.

Melrose Stories

Nos Quedamos

Introduction