"Doctor" Bob Lee of WBLS Live from Melrose At PeaceLove!

"Doctor" Bob Lee, of 107.5 WBLS FM, joined Melrose residents for the station's morning show.  Customers, as well as listeners of the station were treated to PeaceLove owner, Darada David's lovely voice belting out some tunes.  Patrons of the establishment watched on while enjoying PeaceLove's famous Sweet Potato Pie which is made fresh by Darada herself.
WBLS FM and "Doctor" Bob Lee's presence at PeaceLove Cafe is a testament to what a great thing we have going on here in Melrose.  The ONLY healthy food cafe in the South Bronx!  Where else can you network with other Bronxites whilst listening to live jazz?
By the way...yet another local Melrose resident joins the ranks of Bronx entrepreneurs...I had the pleasure of meeting Melissa Quintero, a life long Melrose resident and a fan of welcome2melrose at PeaceLove this morning.  Ms. Quintero happily told me that she will be opening a new business on 161st Street between Elton and Melrose Avenues in the Park View buildings.  She mentioned that she expects to be up and running within 5 weeks.  Welcome2Melrose will have more on that story in the coming weeks!
A big Melrose THANK YOU to "Doctor" Bob Lee and 107.5 WBLS FM for believing in PeaceLove and visiting us in Melrose!

"Doctor" Bob Lee enjoying a serving of Darada's awesome sweet potato pie...yeah it's that good

Welcome2Melrose On The Recent Anti-Gay Attacks in The Bronx

As you already know, Welcome2Melrose has joined forces with other Bronx Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) leaders to discuss as well as come up with solid solutions to the events of early last month in October where 3 individuals, suspected of being gay, were held captive and tortured.
On Monday night, I received a call from Gary Axelbank of BronxTalk, the longest running weekly talk show in New York City, so that I can come on the special one-hour show dedicated to the same issue and speak about being gay in the Bronx. Some of the show's guests were, Dirk McCall, Executive Director of Bronx Community Pride Center, the Bronx' main and only LGBT Center, Diane T. Ort, M.S., Deputy Chairperson, School of Criminal Justice at Monroe College and City Council Member, Annabel Palma of the 18th District in the Bronx.  The show is a must watch as it brought together community leaders from different segments of society to discuss the conditions that may have led to the attacks as well as what we can do to prevent this from happening again - not just anti-gay attacks but anti-HATE attacks period.
Also, about a week ago, several Bronx LGBT leaders, including myself, congregated at PeaceLove Cafe to speak to the Mott Haven Herald on the same topic as well.  Check out, yet, another informative piece on LGBT issues of the Bronx.
A big Welcome2Melrose THANK YOU is in order for Gary Axelbank and everyone at BronxTalk for putting together a wonderful show and a wonderful panel of guests on such a serious and important topic.  The Bronx LGBT Community needs all the support we can get as well as outlets to let our voices be heard and what a better place than on BronxTalk.

Welcome2Melrose Celebrates One Year Blogging!

On September 10th, 2009, Welcome2Melrose was born and began bringing you all the best which Melrose has to offer.  For so many years mainstream media as well as the rest of the world didn't talk about the great things the South Bronx in general has to offer so I had to take matters into my own hands.


This past year has been a wonderful journey which has brought me closer to you, the readers, Melrose residents and all Bronxites as well.  Welcome2Melrose has received wonderful attention from traditional media such as The New York Times, News12 The Bronx, New York Magazine and even the Bronx' very own talk show, BronxTalk, hosted by Gary Axelbank.  When Coqui Mexicano, our beloved local restaurant and cultural institution was in trouble, Welcome2Melrose broke the story and both the New York Times and the New York Daily News followed suit after reading about it here in Welcome2Melrose.


Going forward into the next year, look forward to many exciting changes and additions to Welcome2Melrose as we continue to expand in order to better serve our community and viewers alike.  As always, we are open to your suggestions so do not hesitate in shooting us an email at themayor@welcome2melrose.com or calling us directly at 347-92-MELRO.


Thank you all once again for your support in this endeavor.  It has been a great year and here's to many more to come!

Coqui Mexicano Makes It To the New York Times!

What can our Melrose community do for you? Well for starters if one of our own is in trouble we can all get together, make some ruckus and help save them!  That's exactly what we did when we found out that Coqui Mexicano was served with an eviction notice.  Thanks to all who rallied the troops like The Bronx Defenders, The South Bronx Food Cooperative, Welcome2Melrose and local elected officials enough noise was made and now they have the attention of the world through the great piece by Sam Dolnick of the New York Times.  First it was the New York Daily News and News12 The Bronx who picked up the the story from Welcome2Melrose


For those of you not familiar with Mr. Dolnick's writings, he was the one who quoted the phrase the "Bronx Paradox" a few months ago which prompted the Food Revolution in the Bronx lead by Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz, Jr. during May 1st's first ever Bronx Food Summit.


Let's all give a round of applause for each and every one who came out to show support for the little big guys!

NY Daily News Picks Up A Welcome2Melrose Exclusive!

Welcome2Melrose first told you about our beloved Coqui Mexicano being served with eviction papers a few weeks ago. Since then, the story was picked up by numerous local and citywide outlets including our great friends at the BoogieDowner, The New York Times and now the Daily News!  


Let's keep up the great work, Melrose, in representing our people!

Welcome2Melrose and The BoogieDowners Chatting It Up on BronxTalk

Monday, March 15, 2010, Lou of BoogieDowner and myself got a chance to chat it up about blogging, well...about what we love - THE BRONX!  If you have time to watch a roughly 28 minute segment (which I hope you're either working or enjoying the beautiful day) then check it out and enjoy!  We also had an opportunity to discuss the possibility of the Grand Concourse Historic District!

Once again a big Melrose THANK YOU to the BoogieDowners who recommended that I be on the show along with them! (We Love'em!)

Welcome2Melrose Live Tonight on BronxTalk Cablevision Channel 67

Along with the BoogieDowners, Welcome2Melrose will be on BronxTalk tonight live at 9:00PM on channel 67 on Cablevision.  BronxTalk is considered by many to be the borough's premier talk show so make sure you tune in tonight at 9:00PM and watch the segment!


A big Melrose THANK YOU to the BoogieDowners for referring me to the show and their constant support and YOU the public who have believed and supported this endeavor!

Welcome2Melrose HEARTS the BoogieDowners!

Thanks to the our favorite BoogieDowners, a Welcome2Melrose article was featured in NewYorkBlips, "a one-stop access to all the breaking news, rumors, and commentary from expert sources around the Web." This is a great honor since they day that "If it's hot, if people are talking about it, searching for it or sounding off on it - you'll always find it at NewYorkBlips." But it doesn't end there...as if that wasn't great enough the same article was worthy enough for a mention in the New York Times' City Room round up of the New York/Region Section on January 13, 2010.


A big Melrose THANK YOU is in order, yet again, to our great friends at BoogieDowner.  If you haven't visited them then it's about time to because they are the #1 blog for all things BRONX...and they preach what every savvy Bronxite knows:  that The Bronx is Burning...BURNING HOT!!!  And don't forget to check out Welcome2Melrose' Person of the Year for 2009!!

Welcome2Melrose Continues to Get Around in Local Media

As most of you already know, welcome2melrose.com has been featured in such local papers and TV like the Bronx Times, Mott Haven Herald and News 12 The Bronx (video is archived) to name a few.  Well the last few weeks have been pretty exciting for welcome2melrose! On December 26, 2009, I was quoted in The New York Times for their coverage of the old Ebling Brewery Beer Caves which were rediscovered during construction on St. Ann's Terrace as well as this week's edition of New York Magazine's "Approval Matrix" for the week of January 18th, 2010 which is in print as of this past Monday which placed the beer caves rediscovery as the most "brilliant" bit of news for the week. 


A big Melrose THANK YOU is in order for all of YOU the fans and readers who have made this blog such a highly visited site as well as all the residents, business owners and people of Melrose for without you, there would be NOTHING to talk about.  

( Image courtesy of http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/63031/ )