The High Bridge, once a symbol of Bronx grandeur, is now a symbol of decay.

Not on my Watch: Save the Bronx

By: Dom Delgardo

Posted: 11/1/06

"One of the great advantages of attending Manhattan is its proximity to New York City. Although nestled in the suburbs, Manhattan College is a stone's throw away from one of the finest classrooms in the world." This can be found in the second line of the school's website about its terrific location. There is no mention that by New York City, they imply the borough of Manhattan, besides the fact that they refer to the corner of 242nd Street and Broadway as the suburbs.
Why is there such neglect for The Bronx?
The Bronx has a certain stigma; there is no way around it. Many Jaspers have told people they go to Manhattan College, a small liberal arts school in Riverdale. Many probably neglect, however, to explain that it is in The Bronx; that is just the way it works. Students, faculty and administration alike embrace the fact that this school is situated in one of the richest neighborhoods in the world, atop an affluent hill that overlooks one of the poorest areas in the country.
There was another murder within walking distance from Manhattan last Friday. This time, it was an alleged murder-suicide involving a couple and their four-year old child. The child was shot in the face.
A woman was almost raped across near the Riverdale townhouses semester. Days ago there was an attempted robbery of a Mount student right outside of campus following what seemed like only days after news of three murders rocked the borough.
News from the New York Times reported that there were 88 murders between August 20 and September 9, 13 more than the same period last year.
The New York City division of United Way dedicates millions of dollars and much of its focus attempting to bring literacy, food, sobriety, health insurance and HIV protection to the same borough that we turn a blind eye to as we pass through on the 1 train on our way to midtown.
With all of this happening only a few feet from Manhattan College Parkway, a short walk from our comfortable dorm rooms, where is the response from the community?
Lois Harr and the volunteers at Campus Ministry should be applauded for all that they do for the homeless and others in need not only in this city, but also in neighborhoods all over the world. It should not go unnoticed that they go on trips throughout the city to conduct a homeless census and give out all the food that they can.
With all due respect to their efforts, where is the public outcry to see some change in the place we call home?
So many people on this campus are thrilled for the return of Amnesty International and performing Die-ins on the quad. While all of this is tremendous, students should protest the fact that the Riverdale Yacht Club is nestled comfortably on the banks of the Hudson not two miles from Riverdale Manor, a 256-bed home for the poor, aged, and forgotten.
Protests should be conducted arguing the fact that there are no Planned Parenthoods, in the area, which could protect the students and the neighbors who call the Bronx home.
There should be protests conducted on why the school's explanation of the New York City location is so flawed. Sure, they mention Carnegie Hall, the MoMA, and Madison Square Garden, but where is the mention of the Bronx Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Museum of Migrating People and Yankee Stadium? The website mentions names like the great Robert Moses who almost single-handedly destroyed so much ethnic culture in The Bronx with his public "works." But it does not mention names like Bronx native Grand Master Flash and the fathers of hip-hop, one of the few original American art forms.
Students should be protesting the idea that this school's mailing address reads 4513 Manhattan College Parkway, Riverdale, New York. New York University's address does not say that it is in Greenwich Village, New York. As for our neighbors, Fordham and Lehman proudly state that they are residents of Bronx, NY, and they should be.
The bracelets that students wear to support an end to genocide in Darfur read, "Not on My Watch. Save Darfur." Students should all ask themselves if they could say the same thing about the place they call home. Some energy should be place on raising awareness of poverty occurring not thousands of miles away, but hundreds of feet away. There should be attempts to accomplish some social action today not on the French Quarter, but on Jerome Avenue. Students should not sit back as poverty, illiteracy and murders rise in the place they call home. Manhattan College should embrace the cultural diversity and history of this great place and try to preserve it.