Talk Bronx New York

In celebration of the Mets’ and Yankees’ new stadiums, NY1 presents a five-part series looking at each ballpark’s construction, its amenities, and its impact. NY1’s Dean Meminger filed the following report on how Bronx residents are responding to the new addition to the neighborhood.

The new Yankee Stadium stands out on 161 Street like a shiny championship ring. And plenty of people who live and work in the area cannot stop looking at it.

“I like it a lot,” said one local resident. “It is a brand-new structure.”

“I’m excited for the season to start and for the buzz that the stadium is going to create for the area,” said another.

“Well, it is a lot better than the old stadium,” said a third. “As you can see, everything is up to date now.”

So far, the stadium has cost the Yankees $1.5 billion. The city has loaned the team the majority of the stadium’s financing in tax-exempt bonds. Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

As the station continues its coverage of Hispanic Heritage Week, NY1’s Dean Meminger traveled to the Bronx to report on a Latino activist organization that has been assisting the community for years.

La Pena has spent the last several months working out of a community garden, but for them that doesn’t matter; their strong desire is to help immigrants.

“Of course it is a little difficult when you don’t have a physical space, but that also doesn’t stop you from continuing working and doing community work,” said La Pena founder Nieves Ayress.

La Pena was started over 20 years ago by Chilean immigrants Nieves Ayress and her husband Victor Toro. Political activists in their homeland, they fled the dictatorship to come to America in the 1970s.

NY1 has followed La Pena for more than a decade. Group members have engaged in a number of battles to keep their homes and community spaces. In 1998, the organization described itself as homesteaders helping to take care of a building on 136th Street, but the city forced the organization and others out, saying they were squatters.

Because of rising rents, the group says it was not able to hold on to a number of community centers.

Although it has been a difficult road to travel for La Pena over the last 21 years in the South Bronx, the group says it will keep moving forward – trying to improve conditions for immigrants who live in the area. On their radar: the presidential election and the Wall Street rescue plan. Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post