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A beach, old growth trees, unmatchable sports history, high and low culture, a waterfall, and wide open green spaces--welcome to the only New York City borough with its own definite article: The Bronx (or perhaps you prefer the hip hop version: The Boogie Down). It's also the only borough that the World Champion New York Yankees call home.
Where Jake the Bull raged, the first Jewish woman in the U.S. Congress learned about feminism, Hank Greenberg hit his earliest home runs, and J-Lo was still Jenny from the block, The Bronx has spent too long as a punch line, too long stereotyped by Fort Apache and burnt out buildings. It's time to recognize a multi-cultural outpost where, for the price of a subway ride, anyone can stay green while making the holiday scene.
14 Low Impact Ways to Appreciate The Boogie Down
1. Wave Hill
A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades, its mission is "to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts."
Nearest Subway: 1 train to 242nd Street (Wave Hill provides free hourly van service from there)
New York's fourth largest park is 1,146 acres in the northern Bronx. The bad news is that it contains the country's first public golf course. The good news is that it also houses the borough's largest freshwater lake. Plus: nature centers, bocce courts, hiking trails, and more.
Nearest Subway: 1 train to 242nd Street
3. Pelham Bay Park
Central Park gets all the attention, for good reason, but Pelham Bay Park is three times larger at 2,766 acres and it features a 13-mile saltwater shoreline along the Long Island Sound. Sports--from hockey to handball--along with canoes, kayaks, running tracks, and greenways. Not to mention, the next entry: Orchard Beach.
Nearest Subway: 6 train to the Pelham Bay Park subway station and then take the direct Bx12 bus
4. Orchard Beach
The "Riviera of New York" is The Bronx's only beach, broken in 13 sections over 115 acres (1.1 miles long park). Orchard Beach includes a hexagonal-block promenade, a central pavilion with food stores and specialty shops, two playgrounds, two picnic areas, a large parking lot, and 26 courts for basketball, volleyball, and handball.
Nearest Subway: 6 train to the Pelham Bay Park subway station and then take the direct Bx12 bus
5. City Island
A 1.5 mile by .5 mile wide island community just beyond Pelham Bay Park and surrounded by the waters of the Long Island Sound and Eastchester Bay. Home to humans, of course, but you may also see raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, skunk, deer, maybe even coyotes, and birds like ducks, Canada geese, mute swans, great blue herons, great white egrets, several types of gull, feral pigeons, and bright green parrots (monk parakeets) Be sure to check out the lighthouses: Execution Light to the northeast and Stepping Stones to the south.
Nearest Subway: 6 train to Pelham Bay Park and then the Bx29 bus towards City Island
The House That Ruth Built has given way to a brand new stadium across the street but the Bronx Bomber baseball tradition continues unabated. Don't miss the opportunity to take a tour of the new Yankee Stadium and be sure to say hello to The Babe, The Iron Horse, The Yankee Clipper, and The Mick out in Monument Park.
Nearest Subway: 4 train to 161 St-Yankee Stadium
7. New York Botanical Gardens
Spread over 250 acres in the Bronx, the NYBG was founded in 1891 and draws over 800,000 visitors annually. Be sure to spend time in the 50-acre tract of never-harvested oaks, American beeches, cherry, birch, tulip, and white ash trees, some more than two centuries old.
Nearest Subway: B, D, or 4 train to Bedford Park Blvd Station
8. Edgar Allen Poe Cottage
When Edgar Allan Poe lived in The Bronx--from 1846 to 1849--it was in a small wooden farmhouse built about 1812. In those days, Poe could enjoy unobstructed vistas over the rolling Bronx hills to the shores of Long Island. Today, we can visit the cottage and envision a time when once again nature supersedes commerce.
Nearest Subway: B, D, or 4 train to Kingsbridge Rd.
9. The Bronx Museum of the Arts
Founded in 1971, The Bronx Museum of the Arts features 20th century and contemporary art, while maintaining a focus on the culturally diverse population of The Bronx--particularly in its educational and events programming.
Nearest Subway: 4 train to 161 St-Yankee Stadium
10. Bronx Culture Trolley
Since the Bronx Council on the Arts started it, I'll let them explain it: "Making a cultural loop through the lower Grand Concourse, it provides an innovative way to travel free while giving its passengers the opportunity to sample several of the area's hottest cultural attractions, dining establishments and entertainment venues on the first Wednesday evening of the month (except January and September)."
Nearest Subway: 2, 4, or 5 trains to 149 St-Grand Concourse
11. Loew's Paradise Theater
The Paradise opened on September 7, 1929 with a showing of the "all-talking" film, The Mysterious Dr. Fu-Manchu, starring Warner Oland, on the screen, plus a Chester Hale stage presentation "Cameos" and British organist Harold Ramsey playing the 4 manual, 7 rank Robert Morton 'Wonder Organ'. It was the 23rd largest movie theatre ever built in the U.S., became a registered landmark in April 1997, and after renovation was re-opened in 2005 as the Utopia's Paradise--but still at its original 2403 Grand Concourse location.
Nearest Subway: B or D train to Fordham Road
12. Visit the Birthplace of Hip Hop
It happened on the night of August 11, 1973, in the first floor recreation room of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, in The Boogie Down. DJ Kool Herc and his sister Cindy threw a house party and hip hop was born. How? Herc focused on the "break" section of a song where the vocals would stop and the beat would just ride for short period. "Herc would purchase two copies of the same record and play them on separate turntables next to each other," explains OldSchoolHipHop.com. "He would play the break beat on one record then throw it over to the other turntable and play the same part."
Nearest Subway: 4 train to Woodlawn Station
13. Bronx River Waterfall
This 13-foot high waterfall at 180th Street & Boston Road near the Bronx Zoo entrance is part of the 24-mile long Bronx River. Take a virtual tour of the Bronx River.
Nearest Subway: 2 or 5 train to East Tremont Ave/West Farms Square
14. South Bronx Food Co-op
The mission of the South Bronx Food Cooperative is "to provide affordable and nutritious food to all residents of the South Bronx (and NYC) while empowering the local community by encouraging good health, providing relevant job skills and fostering environmentally responsible activities through democratic cooperation." A perfect place to end your Bronx staycation.
Nearest Subway: 2 or 5 train to 149th St. and Third Avenue
Video: G-Word Online Clips: My So Called Green Life
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