Is Bronx Dangerous?

orezero
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:56:47 +0000

When I first visited Fordham, it was a bit of a culture shock.
But I quickly adjusted and I LOVE the area around my school.
I’ve learned so much from it, through service opportunities
and even just living in a community so different from my own.
I’ve gotten to see for myself why the stereotypes surrounding
poverty are largely false. I’ve gotten to witness the beauty of a
community not defined by excessive materialism. Just because
the neighborhood is poor doesn’t mean that it’s some sort of
war-zone, or slum, or place devoid of culture and living vibrancy.



To my Californian eye, the Bronx neighborhoods between Manhattan and the Fordham campus seem kind of monolithic and indistinguishable, which makes it hard for me to know what I’m looking for when assessing Fordham’s community. What are some of the cultural resources that you enjoy that people like me might not know to look for? As my daughter and I visit Fordham, which directions should we go to branch out and get a sense of the communities where she might be spending her time shopping, eating, hanging out, etc? Arthur Avenue, the Botanical Gardens, and the zoo get mentioned a lot in a lot of places. Where are the places that locals might take for granted, but that newcomers to the area should know about? And, at the same time, New York neighborhoods can change pretty quickly. Where around campus, if anywhere, would students need to know that they should be extra vigilant?