BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY February 3, 2019 6
Hundreds paint MLK’s memory on schoolhouse walls
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A group of volunteers took a
day out for service to spruce up a
school building and fi ll it with inspirational
images.
Volunteers from City Year
New York, an organization that
provides AmeriCorps mentors
and tutoring to students in underserved
elementary and middle
schools, painted a myriad of murals
depicting the borough at its
best on a building shared by two
middle-schools in Soundview.
In honor of Martin Luther
King Jr.’s legacy, approximately
600 volunteers produced murals
on Monday, January 21 in what
was surely a welcomed surprise
for students at J.H.S. 123 and M.S.
337 when they returned after the
MLK holiday.
“Part of the reason we serve
on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
is that King was a proponent of
service,” said Laura Hamm, City
Year New York vice president and
executive director. “We honor
(King) by having a ‘day-on’ instead
of a ‘day-off,’ so we encourage
community members and our
partners to come and serve with
us during an amazing day.”
Taking part in the painting of
the Soundview school building
were professional WNBA basketball
player Swin Cash and Avril
Haines, fi rst woman deputy director
of the Central Intelligence
Agency, said a City Year NY
spokeswoman.
To compliment J.H.S. 123,
which has a STEM theme, murals
of great mathematicians and
those depicting science-related
endeavors, such as power-grids,
were painted, said Hamm, who
supervised the volunteers at the
Morrison Avenue school.
At M.S. 337, which has a social
justice curriculum, the art celebrated
celebrity Bronxites, she
said, who are from Soundview
and neighboring communities.
These included murals featuring
images of quotations from
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia
Sotomayor, Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and
pop star Jennifer Lopez, said
Hamm.
There were also murals
painted of President Obama,
Martin Luther King Jr., pioneering
African-American entrepreneur
Madame C.J. Walker and
New York Yankee legend Derek
Jeter.
In addition to these murals,
facts and well-known fi gures
about the borough were placed in
many of the murals, said Hamm.
Volunteers from all walks of life came together to paint murals at the Soundview
school building shared by J.H.S. 123 and M.S. 337 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on
Monday, January 21. Photo courtesy of NBCUniversal
These included depictions
and notable information about
the borough, including images
of Pelham Bay Park, noting it is
three times the size of Central
Park; that the borough was home
to writer Edgar Allan Poe; that
High Bridge is the oldest standing
bridge in New York City; that
George Washington led troops
here during the Revolutionary
War; that Bronx residents Bob
Kane and Bill Finger created
Batman; that the Haagan-Dazs
ice-cream company was founded
here in 1961 and that the famed
Pregones Theater is known for
producing plays by Latin-American
playwrights.
“Our kids need inspiration,”
said M.S. 337 principal Andrea
Cyprus in a statement. “They
need passion. And that is what is
happening in this school today.”
Hamm said that many of the
volunteers were talking about
how they were bringing life and
excitement into the schools for
the students.
City Year NY has programming
with a goal of helping decrease
drop out rates at P.S. 75,
P.S. 48, P.S. 154, Bronx Grant Avenue
Elementary, Bronx Early
College Academy, J.H.S. 123 and
C.I.S. 303.
Volunteers paint a mural at the Morrison Avenue school building during a day
of service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 21.
Photo courtesy of NBCUniversal
It’s The Bronx preview event an overwhelming success
BY ALEX MITCHELL
The best part is, it was only
the preview. It’s The Bronx gave
a sneak peak into its three-day,
March festival at the Bronx Brewery
on Saturday, January 26.
Literally going from day into
night, this expose highlighted the
Bronx’s best in culture, food, art,
music, and merchandise.
In a brewery fi lled to the brim
with over a thousand Bronxites
and New Yorkers from all over, the
energy was palpable.
As you walked through the
doors you were immediately met
by the tremendous talent performing
on the left stage like Richard
Pigkaso spinning his yo-yo tricks,
to all the musical talent, to enjoying
the plethora of Bronx artwork
by Luna Vi to photos shot by Milli
Stephania to leather bags designed
by Raul Anthony. All, offering one
sliver of It’s the Bronx’s magnitude.
Then there was the backyard;
a cold January day didn’t cool off
some of the Bronx’s hottest and
best food to go.
Naturally, Jason Alicea’s Empanology
was present, serving
up some ‘OG chopped cheese’
Latin delights along with other
major varities like his own pizza
empanada.
A Bronx-based food stand, The
Fried Kitchen, served up some
home cookin’ delights, such as a
scrumptious potato waffl e with
fried chicken, spicy sour cream
and bacon. The Bronx Burger Co.
had its maple bacon burger on
display and ready to go as well.
The syrup was at a perfect consistency
and it didn’t leave your
fi ngers sticky afterwards.
For those unwilling to brave
the backyard temperatures, the
massive, 20-foot tall heated popup
tee-pee was an excellent alternative.
All around the venue the
Bronx Brewery’s latest creation
could be tested, as it debuted its
new ‘Up and Comers’ hoppy lager,
made in the theme and spirit of
It’s the Bronx.
As festival goers fi lled their
bellies with Bronx delights and
the music began to take over, merchants
Marco Shalma, creator of It’s The Bronx at the event. Round 7
like Bronx Native continued
to sell their wares to the eager
revellers.
On stage during the heart of
the event was the band Conversing
with Oceans along with many,
many others that brought great
vibes and tunes to the Bronx Brewery
.A
fter that, DJ Sabronxura took
to the decks and even had this reporter
shaking what he’s got.
If you missed the show, not to
worry. BronxNet television covered
the entire It’s The Bronx preview
from dusk until dawn and
can be viewed and replayed online
at Bronxnet.org or BronxNet’s Facebook
page.
The big one, the main event,
featuring the best that this boogie
down Bronx has to offer, will
be held at Union Crossing at 825 E.
141st Street from Friday, March 23
until Sunday, March 25.
Be there.
The Fried Kitchen pop-up stand at the preview event. Round 7
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