NEW YORK—In the 1990s, the New York Public Library (NYPL) undertook a two-year renovation of Morrisania Library, built in 1908 on what was once farmland owned by Jonas Bronck for whom the Bronx is named.
This stately structure in the heart of the Bronx, at 167th Street and Franklin Avenue, decayed after decades of neglect. The restoration was hailed as a symbol of the South Bronx’s rebirth.
In August, NYPL tweeted that Morrisania is a “beacon of hope to the community.”
The Epoch Times visited Morrisania 14 years after its restoration to see whether Bronx residents see it as a “beacon of hope” and whether the revitalization spread from this site to the surrounding community.
“There was a lot of gloom in the area,” said Kip Mobley, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 40 years. “It seems when that [the library] got revitalized, things starting following suit.”
New shops have moved in and the storefronts have had a “facelift” reported Karl, 60, a long-term resident and Morrisania frequenter. Crime in the immediate vicinity has dropped, says Ruben Cabral, who has worked in the area for 12 years.
“But I can’t say the same for down there,” Cabral said, pointing further east along 167th Street.
Mobley noted that the “negative elements” are still around due to poverty, but affordable housing is more readily available, and the area is looking a lot better than it once did.
For Caine Steed, 33, Morrisania is a refuge and a sanctuary.
“It’s very quiet and peaceful in there—until the kids get out of school anyway,” laughed Steed.
Within, friendly faces greeted visitors from behind the checkout counter; well-thumbed classics lined the tall, wooden shelves; dozens of people researched topics of interest online or sat engrossed in the written word.
A young man wielded a virtual gun in an online video game.
Crime has decreased, though violence finds its place a few blocks down 167th Street and even in the library. Though the area has had a “facelift,” the scar of poverty remains.
The well-maintained piece of history, Morrisania Library, remains a valued part of the neighborhood and even a “beacon of hope” agreed all area residents The Epoch Times interviewed.
“If you lose spaces like this, it’s like losing a limb,” said Mobley.
