Fordham Road Feels
Growing up in the Bronx in the 90’s inherently means that Fordham Road will always be a major part of my life. Picking out outfits at VIM and Dr Jay’s (shoutout to that Rocawear denim jumpsuit from 1998), listening to music at the Wiz, grabbing Friday night movies at Blockbuster, and going to Birthday parties at Discovery Zone are a few of the memories engraved in my soul; the same can be said for many Northwest Bronx natives.
My family members would regale me with stories about weekend turn ups at Jimmy’s Cafe. They reminisced about the old Paradise movie theater on the Concourse, Caldor’s replacing Alexander’s, and said recreation was more commonplace in the 70s and 80s. My most crucial memory is of my Granny taking me to the Woolworth’s counter on Valentine Avenue for milkshakes. She explained the historical importance of Black people being able to walk and be served in a store freely and how they weren’t allowed north of Fordham.
I longed to become an adult and experience my generation’s version of Fordham in all its glory. From Kindergarten to 8th grade, I went to school and spent time in Manhattan, which had endless retail possibilities. I wondered why Fordham had a massive Sears but no Barnes & Noble, even though our kids also loved and needed reading? Why didn’t we have sit down restaurants? Why didn’t we have a movie theater anymore? What about weekend family-friendly entertainment? Why did parents (who were able to do so) have to take their children into Manhattan or Westchester for experiences that Bronx children were equally deserving of?
As a teenager, I began attending high school in The Bronx and enjoyed the progress that was made on Fordham. Mainstream retail began to open such as a GAP Outlet. Though The Wiz closed down, Caldor’s was replaced with a PC Richard’s. The new Bronx Central Library provided crucial access to books. The White Castle that replaced the Key Food off of Grand Avenue held me down on many afterschool afternoons and nights. But akin to Starbucks opening on every corner of Manhattan, jewelry, 99 cent, sneaker and furniture stores opened along Fordham. Not to say these ventures were not crucial, but it began to feel like the area was supersaturated with stores that were not useful.
Now that I am an adult, I find myself frustrated with trips to Fordham. I’m reminded of my readings in Urban Sociology of how Bronx communities were left damaged and disjointed for decades by Robert Moses in The Power Broker. I’m jaded. Though progress has been made, it’s been one step forward and two steps back. We finally have the financial institutions that weren’t present in years past, but the business hours are unrealistic for residents who work. We have a Chipotle, TJ Maxx and Starbucks, but it had to be adjacent to Fordham Plaza and Fordham University to last. We had a bomb black-owned fish fry spot, shoutout to Miss Millie Peartree, but it closed due to a gas leak. There are a few more mainstream clothing stores besides GAP Outlet, but nothing that compares to Bay Plaza or Manhattan. Apart from Salsa con Fuego, Dallas BBQs and Fordham Plaza summer markets, there are few locations for younger generations to go out, enjoy, celebrate and honor everything that Fordham has given us over the years.
As Fordham was looted and the streets set ablaze last night, I heard people say that it had nothing to do with current affairs or protesting, and was reminded of the quote from the (now 34-year-old) book Human System Responses to Disaster, where sociologist Thomas Drabek summarizes: “looting in disasters is situational, in civil disorder it is selective”. We now find ourselves faced with both scenarios simultaneously. I got angry when I saw people in the Riverdale Facebook group say they should protect themselves, rather than unite with their neighbors, in case the protests shift to Riverdale. I pretty much rage quit when I saw Bronxite after Bronxite on social media push for a clean up of Fordham without addressing how we got here.
No Bronxite in their right mind wants this outcome, especially after being ravaged by COVID-19. However, I also see that we are failing to preserve the legacy of Fordham and failing to unite the Bronx as a borough. I don’t see the symbols of community that I grew up with. New neighbors move in and fail to foster bonds with older residents who can inform them of their community’s strengths and weaknesses. I think most fondly of my neighbor Miss Mary, who has lived here since the 1950s and will vividly entertain anyone with historical tales such as JFK speaking on the Concourse to win over Bronxites. There’s no fear of youth getting in trouble outside because neighbors aren’t watching out from the windows or while running errands as they used. I see and hear of far less block parties or buildings trick-or-treating on Halloween. I have no doubt that looting would have eventually occurred. But I wonder if we had got out there earlier, if we said Black Lives Matter, if we passed down the oral history of the borough, then it could have been held at bay for a bit longer. Regardless, until we acknowledge the fact that all forms of resistance are valid in a crisis, we might find ourselves back in this same position.
