Bronx Apartment Rental Info:

Rents are about the lowest in New York City because these are not the safest or cleanest neighborhoods in the Bronx.

In 1828, Jordan L. Mott, inventor of a coal-burning stove, established a factory in the South Bronx. In 1850, the new owner of the works established a village around the factory and named it Mott Haven. Soon the name was being applied to the area below 149th Street between the Harlem and East Rivers. Here, from the late 1800s into 1940s, residential streets with elegant row houses flourished in the midst of an industrial area. Some of these homes are now preserved in the Mott Haven Historic District, New York City's first such designated district in 1969. Today, the neighborhood is primarily Puerto Rican, has not yet been gentrified. 138th Street is Mott Haven's commercial artery. ""The Hub" (Third Avenue and Westchester Avenue), a very vibrant and busy commercial district, is the center of the neighborhood.

Hunts Point is considered to be the birthplace of break dancing and salsa. Starting in the mid 1940s, hundreds of Latino musicians grew up in or moved to Hunts Point from East Harlem or directly from Puerto Rico and Cuba. Many of these musicians, such as Tito Puente, Charlie and Eddie Palmieri, Orlando Mar"n, Johnny Pacheco, Manny Oquendo, and Ray Barretto, were the creative bridge through which Afro-Cuban rhythms and styles were transformed into the distinct New York Latin music sound that was later labeled Salsa in the late 1960s. The South Bronx Latin Music Project is documenting this rich musical history. The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BADD!) is located in the legendary American Banknote Building. Built in 1911, the warehouse originally manufactured currency for foreign countries; now it is a 70 seat performance and workshop space. Southern Boulevard is the main shopping street. And we can't forget the Hunts Point Market, the country's largest produce market. All this activity aside, Hunts Point is still a rough place to live; asthma rates are high, crime is high, and the schools are underfunded.