Construction Begins for Bronx Delta School Playground

Friday, January 20th marked the start of construction for the Bronx Delta School playground. Located in the Throgg’s Neck Community of the Bronx, the Bronx Delta School playground consisted of a bare and empty blacktop, without any play structures. "It's going to look beautiful," said Jayden, one of the second grade students involved in the project. Added classmate Eben, "There is going to be a basketball court, a tennis court, a track and a stage along with a flower garden." Jazlyn, another student shared, "When we have gym classes and have to jog, there isn't a track to run on, but when the new playground is done, we will have a real running track." Principal Maria Rogalle is going to get the New York Road Runners to start a running club for the students. "This renovation will be a huge benefit to hundreds of children since there are two middle schools in the building and we have a large after school population."

In February 2016 an Active Design Visioning Session, led by The Trust for Public Land was held with parents, students, and teachers to design the playground. Over the summer of 2016, with an Active Design Grant from Bronx Health REACH, Bronx Delta School organized a community gardening day where volunteers painted ground markings on the playground. Resolution A funding provided by City Council Member James Vacca and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. will support the construction of the playground which, when completed, will have a running track, basketball courts, kickball space, a practice tennis court, a garden and a jungle gym.

The Bronx Salad Available at Nine Bronx Eateries

The Bronx Salad is offered as part of the food bar at Fine Fare Supermarket in the Bronx.

You now have nine places to get a taste of The Bronx Salad. Rolled out during Restaurant Week, restaurant owners report that customer response has been very positive. Miriam, owner of Delmy at 456 East 149th Street found The Bronx Salad to be a hit with school teachers. "Teachers from three nearby schools liked it, and I have sold 14 Bronx Salads over the past week." Jose, a worker at the Fine Fare deli counter across the street from Delmy makes The Bronx Salad as part of the buffet offered every day. "Customers can see all the ingredients in it, and I have been going through two trays a day of The Bronx Salad. Myself, I am picky when it comes to trying new things, but I tried (The Bronx Salad) and love it."

Mira, along with husband Al, owners of Viktoria Restaurant, is a big fan of The Bronx Salad. "The Bronx Salad is awesome. It has everything, and is very simple to make. When the servers bring out The Bronx Salad, other customers ask, 'What is that?' as it is visually appealing." Viktoria has made The Bronx Salad an entree as well, so customers can add chicken or shrimp to the salad. "It becomes a meal that fills up our health conscious customers," added Mira.

You can find The Bronx Salad at the following Bronx locations:

Camaguey, 514 East 138th Street
Delicioso, 423 East 149th Street
Delmys, 456 East 149th Street
Don Pancho's Steak House,  43 Bruckner Avenue
El Nuevo Delicioso, 410 East 148th Street
Fine Fare Supermarket, 459 East 149th Street
Mexicosina, 503 Jackson Avenue
Mott Haven Bar and Grill, 1 Bruckner Avenue
Viva Cafe, 555 Bergen Avenue

Students Design Wellness Stickers at The Family School

Shanjida, the artist of the Family School’s healthy snack sticker and Ms. Quinones, the Family School art teacher.

This post was written by Cara Plott, a FoodCorps service member serving with Bronx Health REACH. She is partnering with The Family School in the Bronx, NY to integrate garden and nutrition lessons into classes, promote healthy food options in the cafeteria, and support a school wide culture of health. She is very grateful for the opportunity to work with The Family School, where teachers, administration, cafeteria staff, and students appreciate the importance of healthy bodies and healthy minds for learning and growing. 

Powerful enough to quiet a room, fabulous enough to wear home, that’s right, we’re talking stickers at the Family School, an elementary school in the Bronx. The teachers at the Family School recognize that stickers are a great healthy reward for younger students, however Ms. Quinones, our art teacher decided to take it a step further this year. In her art class we worked with students in grades pre-K to 2nd to design a “healthy snack sticker,” an idea we originally got from an initiative at PS 331. Through a series of lessons, Ms. Quinones helped students discover what healthy snack choices are, and why it important to make healthy choices. Students used this knowledge to make designs that portrayed healthy choices. After these lessons, our students made drawings that represented healthy snacks and encouraged choosing these foods.

Other student Healthy Snack Sticker designs displayed in The Family School art room.

Out of many beautiful designs, we picked the one made by Shanjida, a very talented second grader, for her thoughtful use of color and layout. Shanjida is well versed in vegetables and fruits because she has grown vegetables in The Family School garden in kindergarten and first grade. “When you eat healthy stuff you can grow and it’s better for you, when you eat junk food you get tired and you aren’t able to get more energy,” Shanjida explained.The stickers will be distributed by adult leaders in the cafeteria to students who bring or buy lunches that contain fruits and vegetables and healthy protein and carbohydrates, and will help to reinforce the Family School’s healthy snack policy.

The winning Healthy Snack Sticker designed by Shanjida, 2nd Grade.

Community Commitment: Lessons From 3 Bronx Bodega Owners

Left to right: Luis Obdulio González, Melquis Garcia and Frank Marte.

Bronx Health REACH in partnership with The Bodega Association and the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN) has created the Healthy Bodega Program, and through our two and a half year partnership we have gotten to know many of our bodega owners. At a recent meeting three bodega owners shared their humble beginnings in the Bronx, proving their long standing commitment to the community at a time when many businesses had fled, perceiving the place as hostile to businesses and residents alike.

Here are their stories:

Frank Marte, Owner of Green Earth Food Deli Grocery on East 205th Street in The Bronx

"Back in the 1980's, the Bronx was torn apart. There were a lot of burned out and abandoned buildings, but we came to open our bodegas, and we gave life to those burned out and abandoned neighborhoods. I was 19 years old when I started in the Bronx. My brother owned a few bodegas and he wanted me to manage the one at 2588 Creston Avenue, a very tough neighborhood. A lot of marijuana was being sold in and around that bodega, and I am the type of person who was always against anything that had to do with drugs. The store was in the basement and at various times the dealers would not allow anyone to enter or exit the store." 

"The first six months I stopped many people coming there to buy drugs because I had a business to run and would not allow this illegal behavior to continue. I told them, 'If you light up in my store, I am going to throw you out.' You could do whatever outside of the store, but do not sell drugs in my store. It did not matter how powerful they were. At the time my English was not very good, and the drug dealers said they liked me being a tough guy to them, but I did not understand what that meant. I guess you can say I was tough and dumb, but they respected me." 

"The store closed two years later since it was not authorized to operate out of a basement, so I bought a store around the corner in partnership with my brother on 192nd Street and Grand Concourse, and we are still there to this day. Over time, the neighborhoods started to improve, and now you see families moving out of Washington Heights and settling in the Bronx."

Melquis Garcia, A & M Supermarket

"My uncles had a store on Watson Avenue in the Bronx, and my mom was working with my uncles. Watson Avenue ran through Soundview, and it was a very tough neighborhood back in the 1980's and 1990's. I heard stories of bodega workers getting killed in robberies, so I came to the United States because I wanted to get my mom out of there. Even though I had graduated from college with a degree in electrical engineering, when I arrived in the United States I opened a small store. I had many people coming to my store. Other owners heard about my success and eventually sold me their businesses."

Luis Obdulio González

"From 1985 to 2005, there were big problems in the Bronx. At my first store in 1985, the counter was all bullet proof glass to protect my employees. Over time, along with the New York Police Department, we were able to clear out the drug dealers, and the neighborhood changed for the better. My customers trusted me to leave their house keys at my bodega for their children to pick up after school. My bodega became a community center that brought neighbors closer together. I sold that store 15 years ago, but I still return to visit as many of my customers, who are still in the neighborhood, remember me."