Fun in the Bronx- Car Free Sundays on the Concourse

With lots of fun events in the Bronx, maybe they can get the real estate boom going there too.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr., is sponsoring Car-free Sundays on the Grand Concourse. The first Car-free Sunday was enjoyed by children and their parents on July 15th, and will happen again Aug 12, September 16th, and tentatively October 7th, from 12 pm to 4 pm, between 170th Street & Mt. Eden Avenue (rain or shine), with free admission. Then on October 21st will be the Tour de Bronx bicycle ride, the city’s largest free bike marathon.

A Play Mobile was out on the Concourse play area, brought there by the City of NY Parks and Recreation Dep’t. One of the NY Parks officials there, Ms. Rosemarie Madrid, described some of the activities for kids on these Sundays on the Concourse. She showed me the kids playing on a sort of hopscotch board that was electronically connected to a video screen that kept track if they won or lost the game. About 50-75 children were out, many with their parents, from ages 2 to 15. Some of the older children were playing chess and checkers. There was a Baggo Bag Toss Game and Knock-Hockey out to play with too. Power walks are scheduled to be led by Health People, Inc. in the future. There is also going to be dance workshops instructed by Contemporary Ballet Theatre, and roller skating and other kids’ activities, and free health screenings.

The Transportation Alternatives Organization was out this Sunday as well. Trans-Alt promotes the use of bicycles for transportation and is also sponsoring the NYC Century Bike Tour. They are a non-profit organization, with their website, www.transalt.org . I spoke with a staff member, a young man named Wiley Norvell, the Volunteer Coordinator for the Transportation Alternatives Organization, who was happy to be outside. He was concerned that these car-free Sundays have not been happening since the late 1990s and that there are not enough parks in the neighborhood. As we spoke, he was fixing kids bicycles and pumping up their tires. For more information, see www.ilovethebronx.com or call (718)590-3989.
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Then there is an upcoming event, the 2007 Tour de Bronx, New York's Largest Free Cycling Event. It’s the 13th Annual Free Event Sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and The Bronx Borough President, Sunday, October 21st, starting in the morning, with a rain date of October 28th. This year the 25-mile route will take riders onto the Sheridan Expressway, which will be closed for the Tour de Bronx. And the Tour De Bronx is free, with lunch & power snacks provided by TransAlt. There will also be a Tour de Bronx Festival & Jazz Concert. To register over the phone or for more info, call Rich Gans at 718-792-2138 or register online at www.TourdeBronx.org . There will be feeder routes coming from Riverdale and from the Botanical Gardens, meeting at the Bronx County building, at 161st and Grand Concourse. Riders can choose from the fast pace 40-mile route, or the more leisurely paced 25-mile route. Free helmets will be given out to the first 150 kids (13 and under) to check in at the registration sites.
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