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Bodegas have always flourished, even neary grocery stores. Many a time while staggering home from my pub, I needed that last nightcap and the good ole Bodega was there with the goods.
I think I should repost this: YouTube - Bronx Bodega its pretty funny and if anybody from outside the area is reading this they'll be understand what we're talking about.
The bodegas in my area are decent enough. I pop in there probably at least a couple times of week, usually to pick up beer, soda, chips.
Now while we can all make light of this situation, I think its important to remember that there are still a lot of areas in the city that don't have a nearby grocery store, and the people there have to rely on their bodega. There was actually a study done back in the day that showed a direct correlation between a lack of a regular grocery store in a neighborhood and a decline in the nutrition and quality of life of the people living in the surrounding area. This is because most bodegas in poorer or middle class areas a limited supply of produce, if any, and usually don't have any meat (not counting spam, meat patties, or something like that).
I luckily have a C-Town 4-5 blocks down the street from me. So, I do just about all of my grocery shopping there, and whatever the C-Town doesn't have I can usually find at the local pharmacy nextdoor.
I thank God for the C-town in my neighborhood because the next nearest grocery store is about a 10 minute drive away which isn't such a big deal, but the service at C-Town is much better. I can usually walk into C-town grab some stuff and get thru the checkout line in a couple of minutes. If I go to the Shoprite down the road from me its always really crowded with people bumping into each other and the checkout lines take 15-30 minutes to get thru (even late at night).
Also I think keeping Walmart out of the city is more symbolic at this point than anything else. We already have Target here. In reality what is the difference between Walmart and Target? Target is a tad bit more upscale than Walmart, but not by much. I think they were supposed to build a Target up in Spanish Harlem. Did that place ever get built?
My bodega is the best. Chocolate bars still cost 50 cents, chips are a quarter, you got 25 cents juice and water.......a hot butter roll is 50 cents. And they are open 24/7. After 12 am what they do is close the entrance and just take orders from a little window.
I like the idea of having both a good supermarket and either delis or bodegas (as well as 99 cent stores!) in my area. In Manhattan, there are more Korean delis, which are generally cleaner and offer more choices, but with prices to match. In the Bronx, bodegas are handy for a quick cup of coffee, breakfast/lunch sandwiches, soda, beer, newspaper (if they carry them) or pack of cigs day or night. Hey, if we're really the city that never sleeps, got to have those bodegas and delis!
Also in the 'burbs where they have convenience stores like 7/11, you always hear about robberies. I don't hear much about robberies in the bodegas, though who knows what might go on in some of them behind the scenes.
One of the most important factors IMO when moving to an area is: are they near at least one subway line and within walking distance of a supermarket (preferably one or two?) Otherwise your daily life can be a lot more complicated and inconvenient IMO.
One thing about the Bronx supermarket chains: many have their own circulars for different neighborhoods, and the prices will be lower than their Manhattan counterparts, which is a good thing, though conversely they may offer less variety.
I also heard of a city wide initiative to encourage bodegas to carry more healthy choices (more fresh produce, skim as well as whole milk, etc). Poor people deserve to have healthy choices too!
My local C-town is tiny and often very crowded, but I go there a lot because it's a bit closer than Associated, and I can get a lot of staples there on sale for good prices. Then I'll get the other stuff I need from Associated, and take advantage of the weekly sales sheets (always!! You can safe mucho bucks that way, which is important if you're on a budget).
Some of the local vegetable/fruit markets are good, and they also have some greenmarkets at least one day a week, even in the Bronx (Poe Park, Botanical Gardens, etc).
In my area, they have two great Associated/Morton Williams along with the ubiquitious bodegas. The supermarkets are a true blessing. The one on Fordham and Jerome is even better than the one on Kingsbridge--they have a salad bar as well as a little "cafe" area with wifi. And you can find some things there that you wouldn't expect in the Bronx, and prices are cheaper too. And nice sized, well stocked. Wonderful!
Yeah I love that Morton Williams on Fordham/Jerome. A little pricey considering it's the Bronx, but it's well stocked and always clean. I try to stick to whatever is on sale and I end up doing alright. The buffett/salad bar is not bad either.
There's also a smaller supermarket in that area, by the Concourse called Corona Food Plaza, it's pretty good too.
My neighborhood could use a few more bodegas. I've only been able to find one decent one around here. The other ones are pretty wack. I'm guessing as more Dominicans continue to move into the area that will get better.
Last edited by NooYowkur81; 10-14-2007 at 09:41 AM..
Well if the Dominicans get priced out of Washington Heights/Inwood, which seems to be going on as we speak, I think the next obvious place they would go to is the Bronx.
There are many many Dominicans already in the Bronx--however, again, the Pinnacle Group has been busy buying out entire buildings in the BRONX as well as upper Manhattan, and if I were a betting woman I'd say you will soon see many poor people/immigrants pushed outta the Bronx too...which means there's no borough left for them to go to.
Who's going to be able to afford higher rents in the Bronx? White people won't live there because of all of the crime/public housing. Most black people and puerto ricans won't be able to afford the rents of $1,000+ a month for a rehabbed apartment. Dominicans would seem to fit the bill pretty good. There are a lot of them who are small business owners/middle class people so they would be able to afford the ~$1,000 rent which is already pretty much the going rate in Washington Heights.
Unless some other random immigrant group starts moving into the Bronx en masse, I don't see who else would start renting these apartments. More Mexicans might start moving in, but management companies like Pinnacle don't like tenants to overcrowd their newly rehabbed apartments so they usually make new tenants sign a waiver stating that they will not overcrowd. Most Mexican immigrants who move into the area are only able to afford doing so because they shove in crazy ammounts of people per apartment (6-8 people living in a 1 br apartment).
I've already posted plenty on this issue in other recent threads, so all I will say is: I strongly disagree. Crime has been on the decline citywide for decades. Some people on this forum love to exaggerate the dangers, and are of course deathly afraid of living in areas of color. But they needn't worry for long, I suspect...
Realtors are not stupid. They would not be investing millions if they did not expect a healthy return on their investment down the line. The demographic change IMO is as predictable as it is inevitable, and produces a tipping point which then leads to a domino effect--and it's moving faster and faster now. Remember, the Bronx used to be a "great place to live," and much of Manhattan was much more dangerous than many areas of the Bronx are today.
A lot of the excellent pre-war housing stock is still very much intact, and one of a kind. This translates into potentially big profits. Ditto for anything near public transit or the waterfront.
However, one caveat is that housing is being planned and implemented for mixed income use in the Bronx, and some existing buildings are being protected by tenants and community groups, as well as investors, to preserve some of the existing lower income housing. And then there are always the projects (funny how Manhattan has seemed to work around this--quite literally), but it wouldn't surprise me at all if some of them got dismantled eventually as well--if it hasn't started already. They are already turning away homeless from emergency shelters in NYC (another thread I posted that went nowhere...surprise surprise). Where do you suppose they will wind up? The irony is the claim the Dept of Homeless Services is putting across that some people can stay with friends and family and do not need the shelters...which is precisely the reason families double and triple up now. As a result, it will be very easy to get rid of these same folks by claiming that they are living in illegally overcrowded conditions, and if they are recent immigrants they have very little recourse if they are pushed out.
How can anyone say: the Dominicans are getting priced out of Manhattan, so they will all just move to the Bronx? Five or ten years ago, most people would never dream that the day would come when Dominicans would have to move out of Upper Manhattan due to rising rents and more middle class considering the area.
I say...Never say never...especially nowadays...and especially in NYC.
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