The Hub, Bronx Explained

The Hub
Nickname:"the Broadway of the Bronx"
Pushpin Map:USA Bronx#USA New York#USA
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in New York City-->
Coordinates:40.816°N -73.917°W
Subdivision Type:Locale
Subdivision Name:South Bronx, New York City, New York
Blank Name Sec1:Subway services
Blank Info Sec1: at Third Avenue – 149th Street station
Blank2 Name Sec1:Bus routes

The Hub is a major commercial center for the South Bronx, New York. It is located where four roads converge: East 149th Street, Willis Avenue, Melroe Avenue, and Third Avenues.[1] It is primarily located inside the neighborhood of Melrose but also lines the northern border of Mott Haven.[2]

The Hub, short for "the Hub of the Bronx,"[3] [4] has also been called "the Broadway of the Bronx".[5] It is the site of both maximum traffic and architectural density. In configuration, it resembles a miniature Times Square, a spatial "bow-tie" created by the geometry of the street intersections.[6] It is a primary shopping district for Bronx residents, and many new hip hop trends can be found in the Hub long before they spread to the rest of New York City and the world.

The area is part of Bronx Community Board 1.[7]

History

The Hub is the oldest major shopping locale in the Bronx.[8] Between 1900 and 1930, the number of Bronx residents increased from 201,000 to 1,265,000. Inhabitants throughout the borough shopped in department stores and boutiques at 149th Street and 3rd Avenue, an area that came to be known in this time as "the Hub". In the 1930s the Hub had movie palaces and vaudeville theaters.[9] These included the Bronx Opera House, which today operates as a boutique hotel, and the former Jackson Theatre.[10] [11]

A few decades after it became a national symbol of urban decay, the South Bronx is now home to several new construction projects that are rebuilding neighborhoods that have seen little new construction in half a century.[12] On March 14, 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other elected officials took part in the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for the new "Hub Retail and Office Center".[13] After a year and a half of construction, the Hub Retail and Office Center opened in the middle of 2007. As a result, the Hub's district is extended to East 156th Street in Melrose.

Shopping traffic in the Hub is generated via foot, car, and public transportation. Sidewalks in the Hub are often crowded. Merchants hawk their wares by calling out to the crowd or passing out small handbills. Music stores offer a wide selection of hip-hop, reggae, gospel, and Latin music. Craft stores have knitting and sewing supplies. Local mom-and-pop stores compete with major retail chain stores.

A new complex with mixed-use office and retail space named the Triangle Plaza Hub opened in the summer of 2016.[14]

Transportation

The Hub, located at the junction of four major thoroughfares, is well served by public transport.

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve the Hub:

to Riverdale (AM hours & Sundays Only), Kingsbridge Heights or Third Avenue–138th Street station (via Grand Concourse) all other times

to Westchester Square (via Westchester Avenue)

to Fordham Plaza (via Third Avenue)

to New York Botanical Garden or Riverbank State Park (via 149th Street–Southern Boulevard)

Westchester Square or Third Avenue–138th Street station (via Boston Road)

to VA Hospital or Third Avenue–138th Street station (via Morris-Jerome Avenues)

to Manhattanville (via 125th Street)

The following New York City Subway stations serve the Hub:

The Hub does not have a nearby Metro-North Railroad station, but the Melrose station is a few blocks north at 162nd Street and Park Avenue. In 1902 a large Grand Union Station was proposed near the now-closed 138th Street station,[15] half a mile from the Hub, which would have been served by many of the railroads entering Manhattan at the time. However, this was never built.

The 149th Street station on the IRT Third Avenue Line operated from 1887 to 1973. The confluence of the since-demolished IRT Third Avenue Line and IRT White Plains Road Line contributed to the Hub's growth.

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://forgotten-ny.com/2005/01/the-hub-bub-a-walk-in-the-south-bronx/ The Hub from Forgotten-NY.com
  2. News: People, Shops and Roads Converge Here. The New York Times. 8 June 2012. 11 September 2015. Gregor. Alison.
  3. Web site: Bronx Has New Crosstown Trolley Line Entering Manhattan Through 149th Street. The New York Times. 7 October 2015. October 22, 1911.
  4. Web site: THE REAL ESTATE FIELD; Bronx Plot Sells for $200 a Front Foot -- John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Takes Title to the Francis S. Kinney House -- $148,000 Paid for Theatre and Office Building Site in Jamaica, L.I.. The New York Times. 7 October 2015. March 2, 1912.
  5. Web site: Ferris. Marc. 2 November 2007. Bronx Hub revival gathers steam. The Real Deal. 11 September 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150925121959/http://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/bronx-hub-revival-gathers-steam/. 25 September 2015.
  6. http://www.sorkinstudio.com/Bronx%20Hub.htm Bronx Hub
  7. Web site: Bronx Community District 1. 25 September 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304213905/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/lucds/bx1profile.pdf. 4 March 2016.
  8. http://www.bronxmall.com/commboards/needscb1.html Community Board District 1
  9. http://www.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/about/abrieflookatbronx.html A Brief Look at The Bronx
  10. Web site: Jackson Theatre. cinematreasures.org. 24 November 2015.
  11. News: Slattery. Denis. 15 September 2014. The Bronx is booming with boutique and luxury hotels. NY Daily News. 25 September 2015.
  12. News: Now Booming, Not Burning, the Bronx Fears a Downside . Timothy . Williams . . March 19, 2006 . September 23, 2007.
  13. Web site: Mayor Bloomberg Outlines Latest Successes Of The Administration's Five Borough Economic Development Strategy During Weekly Radio Address. 11 September 2015. 24 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160624202047/http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/079-06/mayor-bloomberg-outlines-latest-successes-the-administration-s-five-borough-economic-development. dead.
  14. News: Goodstein. Steven. 2020-09-23. Triangle Plaza Hub officially opens. Bronx Times. 2021-02-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20200923022803/https://www.bxtimes.com/triangle-plaza-hub-officially-opens/. 2020-09-23.
  15. News: New Grand Union Station Proposed for the Bronx . . November 2, 1902 . 25 . August 27, 2010.