South Bronx Being Re-Branded As “The Piano District” Because Nowhere Is Safe
By Kate Fustich
The Bronx (the borough north of the island of Manhattan, for NYU kids who can’t name all five boroughs) is the kind of place not often visited by people who don’t live there. Just ask famous TV host Anthony Bourdain, who has lived in Manhattan since the 70s, but hadn’t really visited The Bronx until last March.
It’s a notoriously gritty area, but The Bronx is also rich in history and culture that many aren’t aware of. Beyond just Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo, BX has a vibrant, unique vibe. It’s been a prime destination for immigrant families, from Europeans in the early twentieth century, to Caribbean, Central American and South American immigrants today. It’s got two of the largest parks in NYC. It can lay claim to two of Twitter’s most funny NYC dudes, Desus and Mero.
Naturally it was only a matter of time before someone tried to make some serious money off the borough.
A recently-unveiled billboard near the Third Avenue Bridge (just off of 132nd St.) promotes a re-branding of the South Bronx as the “Piano District.” The new development promises “luxury waterfront living” as well “world-class dining, fashion, art + architecture.” Two nearby properties, which sold for $58 million, are being transformed by Somerset Partners and The Chertrit Group, both large investment firms.
Neighborhood re-branding is not a new concept. For years, real estate agents have been finding ways to transform random corners of NYC into sexy and appealing locales. Names we know and use like TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal St.) and NoLita (North Of Little Italy) were crafted to package certain, otherwise vague, areas into marketable nooks of the city.
Of course, there are the less popular NoBatt (North Of Battery Tunnel) and BelDel (Between Delancey and Canal St.), names that literally nobody asked to ever be created. And yet, the next time you are looking for an apartment, certainly you will stumble across some sort of attempt at marketing an area your mother told you to stay away from.
Though one could argue that such a large investment into the South Bronx might aid in a continued revitalization of the area, gentrification also has the capacity to displace local families and shutter long-standing businesses. Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, once a secluded ethnic neighborhood, has completely transformed in the past ten years in ways that people both love and despise. In 2025, will we be shaking our fists at those Piano District hipsters? Only time will tell.
Somerset Partners, one of the firms behind The Piano District, has not yet responded to a request for comment. If they respond, you will be updated.
[Images via Will Powell/Flickr]
