Ushering In a New Bronx Renaissance
The culture, nightlife and excitement of New York City have long drawn medical students from around the world to Einstein.
The Hutchinson Medical Center, Einstein’s close neighbor off of Eastchester Road
Now, thanks to economic growth and creative development, the Bronx is becoming a hot spot again, too.
“The Bronx is experiencing a renaissance,” said Noreen Kerrigan, associate dean of admissions. “We used to say, ‘Twenty-five minutes and you’re in Manhattan.’ Now we say, ‘You can go by car or bus to do something fun within the Bronx in five minutes.’”
While existing draws include Yankee Stadium, Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx Zoo and the Bronx Museum of the Arts, a world-class tennis facility opened this spring, an independent bookstore and skating center are in the works, and several microbreweries now make the Bronx their home base. A state-of-the-art film studio also is under construction, expanding on the Bronx locales that production companies already use, which occasionally has included the Einstein campus.
The Bronx Is Booming
At the turn of the twentieth century, the Grand Concourse, modeled on Paris’s Champs-Élysées, was lined with movie palaces and vaudeville theaters, and boasted an opera house. Wealthy “Manhattanites” made their weekend or summer homes “uptown.”
The Hutchinson Medical Center, which features numerous Montefiore outpatient clinics. While the Bronx has had its share of hard times, New York City’s largest and only mainland borough is on the upswing. A recent report from the city’s Economic Development Corporation said, “Two decades of growth [have] made the Bronx a shining example of inclusive innovation and economic growth in action.”
As the unemployment rate has fallen dramatically over the last 20 years, crime has diminished. Businesses are returning and the Bronx is regaining the reputation it had a hundred years ago.
“Industries are recognizing the great opportunities here in the Bronx,” said Ms. Kerrigan.
“Einstein has always been competitive academically, and it’s located on a beautiful campus with a thriving cultural life of its own—now in a borough that’s hopping!"
She added, “When the world comes to New York, it comes to the outer boroughs.”
“And that means great diversity within our academic setting, among the patients we treat, and throughout the Bronx,” observed Dr. Irene Blanco, associate dean for diversity enhancement and associate professor of medicine at Einstein and an attending physician in medicine at Montefiore. “If you want to serve patients from all over the world, this is a fabulous place.”
A Toast to the New Bronx
It’s also a great place to socialize. The opening of the Hutchinson Medical Center, in 2014, brought several new restaurants and a Marriott Residence Inn to the College of Medicine’s Morris Park neighborhood. And, over the past few years, four breweries and a distillery have opened locally, as have a handful of craft beer bars, such as the Bronx Ale House, Taproom No. 307 and the Bronx Beer Hall.
This past spring, Einstein partnered with the Bronx Brewery for an event at the D. Samuel Gottesman Library, promoting a National Library of Medicine exhibit, “From DNA to Beer: Harnessing Nature in Medicine and Industry.”
Yankee Stadium, a Bronx icon and baseball shrineRepresentatives from the brewery, which operates a tasting room and backyard beer garden in Port Morris, explained the beer-making process and offered samples.
“The tasting was great. The students loved it; they learned about making beer, saw samples of hops and tasted the beer,” said Aurelia Minuti, head of research and education.
“It’s important to connect with organizations and businesses in the Bronx. It’s beneficial to everyone,” she said.
The library has also collaborated with the Morris Park branch of the New York Public Library, which recently came to Einstein to offer our community members–students, faculty, and staff–library cards.
And healthcare jobs here are plentiful. Last year, 36 percent of all jobs in the Bronx were in healthcare, making it the borough’s single biggest industry. Montefiore is the single biggest healthcare employer within this industry, with more than 18,000 employees in the Bronx.
“What’s the difference between Manhattan and the Bronx?” asked Ms. Kerrigan. “Come and see!”
Posted on: Wednesday, March 14, 2018