By Jason Parham
The palazzo-style building in the heart of the Bronx known as Andrew Freedman Home was once a retirement refuge for rich New Yorkers who fell on hard times. Today it’s a sprawling event and gallery space. It stands majestically on a tract of lawn behind a neat procession of trees that have gone naked on this crisp, overcast Tuesday in February. Outside the lawn’s gate, an apartment-packed stretch of Grand Concourse is furious with movement and sound. The building’s first-floor kitchen is just as lively: Quavo and Lil Yachty’s “Ice Tray,” an entrancing trap song, purrs then quakes.
The main attraction lies just past the kitchen doors, where a long, horizontal sign — “STURDY GANG NEVER NOT FRESH” — leans against a large steel vent. There’s some serious cooking going on in here. Witness: A pantry yawns wide, stuffed with spices and seasonings in labeled containers — “Wasabi Powder,” “Corn Meal,” “Hibiscus” — and in a that’s-what-she-said wink familiar to any New…
