More Info on Eltona's Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - Pics and All

Yesterday, October 27th, The Eltona was filled with local politicians and New York City officials as well as New York State agencies gushing over the project - and with great reason.  As yesterday's entry mentioned, The Eltona is the first affordable housing building to achieve Platinum LEED Certification which means that it has the highest out of four possible levels of certification for environmentally sustainable construction.  One of the best facts which was revealed yesterday was that 86% of all new green building initiatives in New York State are right here in The Bronx.  We always knew we that we were the greenest borough with over 24% of total land area as parks (Staten Island is a distant 2nd at 18% and Brooklyn...that borough were people spend vulgar amounts of money to live is only 8% parks...how sad) Oh and did I mention that The Bronx has the "largest percentage in the COUNTRY of green space for an urban area? But I digress.


A big Melrose THANK YOU is in order for all those who have made The Eltona possible but not limited to: Ted Weinstein, Director, Bronx Planning for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Les Bluestone, President of Blue Sea Development, Inc who has a long history of building such great developments here in The Bronx, Ruben Diaz, Jr, Bronx Borough President for his commitment to such projects which empower our local residents with a sense of pride and hope for a positive future and to all those I did not mention, this project could not have been done without you. 

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr speaks about how our story in The Bronx needs to be told - that we are rising from the ashes and have become a model to the world on how urban renewal can be done the right way.  32 years after Howard Cosell infamously told the world, "There it is ladies and gentlemen, The Bronx is burning" we can proudly say that The Bronx is BOOMING.  Mr Diaz Jr. hopes that maybe during this world series the cameras can take a look at The Bronx and tell them what we know to be true...that we have risen from the ashes.

Béatrice Coron, local NYC artist who designed the ornamental fencing and ironworks for The Eltona

Les Bluestone explains to Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. the workings of the wind turbines on the roof.

The talk of Melrose and The Bronx - The Wind Turbines!

The Eltona's resident superintendent, Ivan, makes sure that the ribbon is in place.

Mr. Bluestone here is explaining the energy efficiency of the windows in one of the units to Mr. Ruben Diaz, Jr.

Ruben Diaz, Jr. with proud new resident who is one of the lucky individuals to from the area to have been selected to live here.

And yes...the "Mayor of Melrose" in a photo-op with Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz, Jr.

EXCLUSIVE - Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at The Eltona - Tuesday, October 27th -

I decided to walk past The Eltona (a 63 unit, 5 story building) today and take a few pictures and was pleasantly greeted by the building's super who graciously gave me a tour of 3 model apartments - 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units as well as some of the onsite amenities.  Previously unbeknownst to me, a ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow and a few hours later I received a personal invitation directly from The City of New York's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.  How about that? The Mayor of Melrose rubbing elbows with Mayor Bloomberg as well as the Honorable Ruben Diaz, Jr., The Bronx' Borough President.

The Eltona will soon be THE FIRST affordable LEED Platinum building in New York State, not The Bronx, Brooklyn or New York City but the FIRST in the entire State of New York right here in our great our great neighborhood, Melrose.  Wind turbines located on the rooftop will provide a renewable energy source for the common areas.  The interior of the building was constructed by utilizing non-toxic materials and in its mission to provide a healthy environment to low-income residents it will be a 100% smoke free building.  This may sound a little restrictive but it is a key component to Mount Sinai School of Medicine's study "of the effects of living in a green building on families who suffer from asthma" which will be studying the residents living at The Eltona.  The residents will also benefit from education materials geared towards teaching residents on how to live a healthier as well as a "greener" lifestyle.  Upon moving in, residents will also receive coupons as part of their welcome kit so that they may shop at The South Bronx Food Co-op which is just 2 blocks away from The Eltona. 

The beautiful ornamental fencing and ironwork which was one of the many features that attracted my curious eyes were designed by commissioned artist Béatrice Coron, a local artist who was born and raised in Lyon, France and has been living in New York City since 1984.  Her art has been featured across the country as well as across France and it is truly humbling to have such beautiful public art right here in our own backyard by an international artist.

Some other features of The Eltona are:  Laundry Room on each floor, storage room on each floor with one storage unit per apartment, 2 bathrooms in each 2 and 3 bedroom unit as well as a dishwasher in every single apartment.  The hardwood floors are beautiful as is the amount of natural light that flows in through the larger than normal windows.  The Eltona truly is the new frontier in low-income housing - a green building with all the amenities that until now were only available to those who can afford a co-op or a condo.  With Coqui Mexicano nearby as well as PeaceLove Cafe and excellent transportation options, these residents will truly be lucky!  Visit GreenHomeNYC for a greater detailed list of energy efficient items as well as green products used in construction of The Eltona.

Let's hear it for New York City, Blue Sea Development (who you may remember as the developers of Fox-Legget Co-op with its 2,400 square foot green roof) for building such an innovative project in an area that so many had forgotten about decades ago.  A big Melrose THANK YOU to all!

Every apartment has a storage unit located in a storage room on each floor. (Yes...I'm jealous!)

Also located on each floor is a laundry room so no more

 running down to the basement to add the fabric softener!

Kitchen layout of a 3 Bedroom unit.  All units have generous kitchen cabinet space as well as dishwashers.

Standard bathroom...nothing too fancy but still nice.

Southeast corner of the building directly adjacent to one of the many community gardens in Melrose.  This one is called Vogue Garden.