VENUE: This nautically themed park, a gem of urban renewal, sits on the banks of the Bronx River in a former industrial wasteland better known for drug, prostitution and warehouses. The grounds of the park house several non-profits, and offers communities a rare respite from the stress of the urban environment with an amphitheater, barbecue pits, seating areas and a kayak dock.
FROM MANHATTAN: The 4 express line to East 149th Street, then the 6 to Hunts Point stop and walk. For the adventurous only. FARE: MTA $3.50 subway fare.
VENUE: Located on the Grand Concourse — modeled on Paris’s Champs Elysées, but longer, and repository of the world’s largest collection of Art Deco residential buildings — between 161st-163rd Streets, facing Bronx Borough Hall to the south and just up the hill from Yankee Stadium, where you can stop in for amazing Spanish Caribbean food on East 161st Street and East 149th Street, both major public transportation hubs. Nearby attractions include Bronx Museum of the Arts.
FROM MANHATTAN: The BxM 4 Express Bus departs East 23rd St with many stops on the East Side of Manhattan. A comfortable hour-and-15 minute ride to 165th Street and Grand Concourse. FARE: $6.50 + free subway transfer.
VENUE: This most unusual venue, which operates as a photo studio, is accessible on foot from Harlem, right across the Third Avenue Bridge, down the steps and into the new real estate frontier along the Bronx River waterfront. A piece of the old city complete with a cobblestone street nestled amidst the luxury residential towers.
VENUE: An easy walk from the Westchester Square/East Tremont Avenue train stop. Mostly residential with a high concentration of Puerto Rican establishments, now a rarity in the city, and excellent Mexican, Indian and Caribbean food as the central attractions near the train station.
FROM MANHATTAN: The BxM 6 Express Bus departs East 23rd St with many stops on the East Side of Manhattan. A comfortable hour-and-15 minute ride to the Parkchester District. FARE: $6.50 + free subway transfer.
VENUE: DAY TRIP! Make a day of it. A few hundred yards off the coasts of the Bronx lies New York City’s only nautical village, founded in 1636 and renowned for a long tradition of yacht building, Start at nearby Orchard Beach, a manmade marvel and considered one of Robert Moses’s more benevolent legacies. Make your way to City Island and walk the main thoroughfare browsing galleries, bait and tackle shops, boat rentals, and seafood restaurants galore.
FROM MANHATTAN: The City Island Chamber of Commerce for several options, and the Bx 29 bus from Pelham Bay Park on the 6 line. Plan ahead!
VENUE: DAY TRIP! This park lies near Arthur Avenue, the original Little Italy of The Bronx, famous for its old-World charm, the Arthur Avenue Retail market (the last of its kind in New York City, a time capsule into the past),
VENUE: Morris Park is “The Bronx’s second Little Italy” for the last 100 years; the first Montenegrin/Albanian community in the US, later joined by Kosovë War refugees in the 90s; and now, “Little Yemen,” with a rise in Yemeni, West Africans, Bangladeshi and Indian communities, college students and young professionals. A food paradise, with old-fashioned bakeries and the novelty of the year, Italian Ice Cream cones, make it worth a full day’s adventure.
FROM MANHATTAN: The BxM 10 Express Bus departs East 23rd St with many stops on the East Side of Manhattan. Comfortable hour-and-15 minute ride to Hone Ave stop. FARE: $6.50 + free subway transfer.