Tag: Little Italy

Belmont- Bronx’s Little Italy and Neighbor to Fordham University

Development came to Belmont when the old New York Lorillard family  moved to New Jersey in 1870. The City acquired the estate turning part of it into Bronx Park and the other part into the Belmont we know today. By the mid-1880s, a large number of Irish and German immigrants began moving into the neighborhood and Belmont’s population densified after the construction of the Third Avenue El by the late 19th century. A large wave of Italian immigrants moved into Belmont in the early 20th century and gradually helped created a concentrated Italian community.  Many consider Belmont the most authentic Little Italy in New York.

Belmont like many NYC neighborhoods experienced disinvested in the mid-20th accelerated by the dismantling of the Third Ave Elevated line in 1973 and the arson and blight that plagued the South Bronx. But thanks to the tight knit Italian community, which remained at 50% of the neighborhood’s population even until 2000, Belmont remained more stable than most South Bronx neighborhoods. By the mid-1990s the neighborhood was already experiencing a renaissance helping it to maintain its Italian community and shops. Since the 2000s the Italian population has diminished, replaced by Albanians, Puerto Ricans, and large numbers of Mexican immigrants. Belmont also hosts many Fordham students and has much better income diversity than most Bronx communities, while still retaining a majority working class community.

From an urban perspective Belmont is probably the best community in the South Bronx thanks to retaining its Historic character and Little Italy business community. Belmont has solid park access, good schools, excellent transit access, and better market rate rental options than most South Bronx districts. For Belmont to become a top tier NYC neighborhood it still needs more income diversity, which would help create more market rate for sale options, which are sorely lacking. I’d also like to see more urban infill in the several more autocentric/industrial pockets of the neighborhood.

Click here to view my Belmont Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

  • Great transit access and only a 30 min subway ride to Midtown and 45 minutes to Lower Manhattan.
  • One of Bronx densest communities at around 75K residents per square mile.
  • Good sidewalks and modern ADA curbs on about 65% of all intersections.
  • Solid connectivity including several diagonal street pretty unique for the Bronx.
  • Plenty of dedicated bike station and some dedicated bike lanes but less than most Bronx neighborhoods.
  • Good racial diversity thanks to decent White and Black populations and higher Asian representation than other South Bronx Neighborhoods.
  • Safer than most South Bronx neighborhoods and not too much grit.
  • Most of the Historic architecture remains in tact here with more ornamentation than most Bronx neighborhoods.
  • Belmont has a much better perception than most South Bronx neighborhoods largely due to its Little Italy neighborhood that attractive a lot of NY Metro visitors.
  • Good school options including plenty of public schools that are generally rated btwn 3-6 (out of ten) across all grades. Some charter and private school options.
  • Belmont has a ton of rental inventory but most of it is not market rate (7:1 lease below 2K). It does have a good amount of market rentals as well. Decent # of studios and 1-bed rentals leasing btwn 1.8K-3K. 2-beds lease btwn 2K-3.8K. Lots of # of 3 & 4 beds that lease btwn 3K-5K.
  • Excellent park amenities thanks to the Bronx zoo and park east and northeast of Belmont and many small and medium sized parks spread throughout Belmont.
  • Urban form is generally pretty solid except for a couple autocentric/industrial spots along 180th, 3rd Avenue, Park Aven and Fordham Ave. * * Pretty good streetscaping overall especially along Arthur Avenue, the heart of the Little Italy community in Belmont.
  • Great cultural amenities including tons of restaurants (esp. Mexican & Italian), plenty of bars & cafes, a couple beer halls, plenty of wine bars, cultural events at Fordham, the Pittsburgh Zoo.
  • Plenty of supermarkets & grocerias, the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, several drug stores, plenty of boutiques, clothing stores, & gift shops, a local hardware store, a TJ Maxx, plenty of salons & barber shops, tons of dessert & bakeries, a couple gyms, a couple post offices, a public library, a couple churches, and the large St. Barnabas hospital. The Fordham Center shopping district is along located just to the NW of Belmont, which has a plethora of clothing store options.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* High levels of poverty here around 35% but a decent number of median and higher incomes. The higher poverty rates could be due to the large college population living here thanks to Belmont’s proximity to Fordham University.
* For sale product is pretty limited especially 1 & 2 bed condos. Some  3 & 4 beds variety selling btwn 500K-800K.
* Not much modern infill. A couple decent mixed-use bldgs along 3rd Avenue but also some more autocentric bldgs spread throughout.

Montreal’s Little Italy Neighborhood

Montreal’s Little Italy developed in the early 20th century but the fabric of the neighborhood filled in through the 1960s. The largest wave of Italian immigrants arrived in Montreal at the end of WWII and continued through the 1970s, after which Italian immigration tailed off. Montreal has the second largest Italian population in Canada after Toronto.

The neighborhood still very much has its Italians roots with many small businesses operated by Italian immigrants. But it is much more than that thanks to the Jean-Talon market, and the neighborhood’s gentrification. Little Italy boast great mixed-use and  vibrant urban fabric thanks to several business districts and mixed use streets running through it (i.e. St. Lauren Blvd, Rue Jean-Talon, rue Saint- Zoutique, Rue Beaubien, Rue Dante, and the Jean-Talon Market). Plenty of mixed-use blocks in other parts of the district. The neighborhood also boasts a decent # of small-medium parks, great retail and food and beverage amenities, and moderately priced rentals. For sale housing is however getting expensive here as 2-bed start at 500K and 3-beds at 800K. The tree canopy could also be better.

Click here to view my Montreal Little Italy Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

  • Other commercial districts include Rue Jean-Talon (a bit wide and autocentric at points), Rue Beaubien (comfortable and relaxed for pedestrians), Rue Saint-Zoutique (similar to Beaubien but more residential uses), Rue Dante (even more mixed-use), and the Jean Talon Market and all the business streets that surround it. Plenty of mixed use blocks as well throughout Little Italy.
  • Very active commercial district along St. Laurent Blvd especially between the Little Italy neighborhood branding signs (btwn Rue Jean-Talon & Rue Saint-Zoutique). Also good mixed-use infill here as well.
  • Saint Denis becomes mostly residential in Little Italy and has an regal feel with larger historic apt bldgs matching a pretty wide tree line road.
  • Le Marche Jean-Talon is excellent with good hours tons of vendors and many spin off businesses adjacent to it.
  • Decent number of parkettes, playgrounds, and plazas but not as good as Le Plateau or “”The Village””. The expansive Parc Jarry is only a couple blocks Northwester of Little Italy.
  • Great array of food & beverage businesses, a couple performing arts theaters and local cinemas, and a couple art galleries.
  • Great retail amenities as well including a couple supermarkets, tons of small grocerias thnaks to the Jean-Talon Marche, several drug stores, plenty of boutiques & gift shops, several book stores, lots of bakeries & dessert shops, and plenty of churches.
  • Rental product is pretty moderately priced.
  • Good subway access with 6 stations sitting on two edges of the district. Several dedicated bike lanes and lots of bike sharing stations.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

  • The architecture being more mid-20th century is less ornate than neighboring Le Plateau or even Mile End but I still find it interesting.
  • A bit gritty in spots but not much vacancy fortunately.
  • Tree canopy is decent considering the limited amount of space in a dense rowhouse neighborhood.
  • For sale product is pretty expansive but also on the high side. But still some moderately priced condo product with some 1-beds selling in the 300K&400. 2-beds start at 500K and 3-beds at 800K.”