Bronx Native appears on Viceland show ‘Hustle’
John Henry and the Bronx Native crew at the viewing.
Photo courtesy of Bronx Native The viewing party at the Port Morris Distillery. Photo courtesy of Bronx Native
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Two Bronx celebrities were
just put in the national spotlight.
Brother and sister Amaurys
and Roselyn Grullon,
founders and owners of Bronx
Native clothing of 127 Lincoln
Avenue in Mott Haven were
featured on Viceland network’s
show, ‘Hustle’ on Sunday,
March 3.
It’s hosted by self-made
23-year-old Harlem business
guru John Henry that focuses
on how to develop entrepreneurs
and small businesses
around the nation.
Selling a million dollar
business in the same year that
he could legally drink is just
one bullet point on Henry’s
resume...to put things in perspective.
Woodlawn Taxpayers concerned about 18-wheeler parking
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
The northwest Bronx is inundated
with an illegal parking
problem of titanic proportions.
Members of the Woodlawn
Heights Community and Taxpayers
Association have become
increasingly concerned
about the illegal parking of
commercial tractor-trailer
trucks, and other large trucks
and trailers, along a stretch
of Webster Avenue that is the
gateway to their community.
The civic group is reaching
out to the 47th Precinct to
request increased summonsing
of the illegally parked
18-wheelers on Webster Avenue
adjacent to Woodlawn
Cemetery and the Metro
North rail tracks running
north from Norwood to East
233rd Street.
Kathleen Corrigan, the association’s
fi rst vice president,
said her group have noted as
many as 55 parked and unoccupied
18-wheelers, tractortrailer
trucks, large trucks,
buses and commercial vehicles
stored for long periods of
time along the street next to
the landmarked cemetery.
There may even be people
living in some of the recreational
vehicles that are
thrown into the mix, she said.
BRONX TIMES R 18 EPORTER, MARCH 8-14, 2019 BTR
“There is no light at the
end of the tunnel,” said Corrigan
of the overnight truck
parking.
She said that the arrival of
the large 18-wheelers was followed
by trucks that were carrying
new autos.
Now, they are seeing tourist
buses, cherry pickers and
trailers just left on the street
detached from any rig.
“Some of the vehicles are
ancient and falling apart,”
said Corrigan. “(Some) don’t
have commercial plates.”
Corrigan said that members
of her group spoke to a
truck driver they saw park
and leave his vehicle on Webster
Avenue recently, and he
said that he lived nearby and
that it was easier just to pay
the tickets than to fi nd a lot to
legally park.
Ciara Gannon, a WHTCA
corresponding secretary, said
that she believes it is a quality
of life issue that refl ects
poorly on the major thoroughfare
that leads to both Woodlawn
and Norwood.
“I think it goes to the root
of the problem that there is
nowhere for these truckers
The illegally parked trucks on Webster Avenue running south from East
233rd Street include tractor trailers, buses, large trucks, cherry pickers
and trailers without a cab in front. Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
to stop in New York City, and
they need to go someplace safe
where they can stop,” said
Gannon.
The truckers appear to be
leaving a lot of garbage behind
and there also are concerns
that the situation may attract
prostitution, she said.
WHTCA also worries that
the truck parking could overfl
ow to the neighborhood’s
nearby streets such as East
233rd Street, said Coorigan.
She is particularly concerned
about Van Cortlandt
Park East, which has residences
on one side and park
land on the other, she said.
She has noticed a few commercial
vehicles park there,
and is carefully watching the
growing trend.
The association recently
teamed up with Assemblyman
Jeff Dinowitz on a successful
graffi ti removal operation
near the same stretch of Webster
Avenue.
A Dinowitz spokesman
said that the 47th Precinct has
stepped up ticketing efforts in
the area due to issues raised
by the WHTCA.
“They told us that they
were being much more attentive
to the issue in terms of
issuing violations,” said the
spokesman.
Though, he said, in some
cases it seems that the truckers
accept the tickets as the
cost of doing business.
This is one of a handful of trailers that weren’t attached to a vehicle or
cab in front observed by the Bronx Times on Webster Avenue adjacent to
Woodlawn Cemetery recently. Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
Henry steered Amaurys
and Roselyn towards new concepts
on how to fl ip a profi t,
taking them to Brooklyn to
see how other outer boroughbased
entrepreneurs, like the
sneaker company GREATS,
have found success.
Before heading down to
Brooklyn though, the trio
spent some time in the hub of
149th Street and 3rd Avenue to
inquire from Bronxites how
Bronx Native could become
the brand of the borough.
While Bronx Native had
some improvements to make,
Henry ultimately acknowledged
the overwhelming
amount of social capital that
the duo has accrued.
What that means is essentially,
Amaurys and Roselyn
can get the Bronx behind almost
anything they do because
of their local credibility.
Despite snowy conditions,
Henry along with much of the
Bronx showed up to the episode’s
watch party last Sunday
night at the Port Morris Distillery
at 780 E. 133rd Street.
If you’re feeling as inspired
as this reporter to support
Bronx Native, visit their website
at bronxnative.com
/bronxnative.com