Fabulous Fordham, in The Bronx

On this week’s show we will visit the fabulous Fordham section of the Bronx.

My guests are Rediscovering New York regular Justin Rivers, Chief Experience Officer and Lead Tour Guide for Untapped New York, and Wilma Alonso, Executive Director of the Fordham Road Business Improvement District.

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Tune in for this fascinating conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here.

Show Notes

Segment 1

To begin, Jeff introduces the topic of Fordham along with other great places in New York. Then Wilma Alonso and Marco Shalma are introduced. Both of them are not originally from the empire state but they have both made great contributions. Wilma started the Fordham Road Business Improvement District in 2005. She admits that it took 25 years to build a bid on Fordham Road. It took hard work but was made possible thanks to the supporters. Marco is currently working on something called a Radio Park that is a unique experience that is rooted from broadway performances. It is a drive in theater with a band that plays the soundtrack while dancers are also performing. It is currently located in Queens. In addition, Marco’s love for food and wanting more types of food to be attainable in The Bronx lead to him creating the Bronx Night Market which is located on Fordham.

Segment 2

Due to the pandemic, Marco and the Bronx Night Market have had to put some restrictions on themselves. In 2019, they had tens of thousands of people entering and leaving daily. They are known to welcome in anyone as a food marketplace but now they cannot to the same extent. Marco is looking forward to getting back to normalcy so he can resume serving the borough like how he used to. Wilma loves the vibrance of the people that live in Fordham. When speaking to them, it is interesting for her to hear their stories of places she is familiar with. It gives the two of them a connection to each other and their environment. Marco describes the community as super direct. He appreciates how the people always tell him how it is.

Segment 3

Justin Rivers is introduced to begin the second half. He is the Chief Experience Officer and Lead Tour Guide for Untapped New York. He is from New Jersey but went to school at Fordham New York. Fordham got its name because it was shallow and appeared as though it could forge a river. Eventually, Fordham Manner originates and an English man contributed to the name. Fordham was a village that was right outside of New York. It can sometimes get forgotten or lost because it became more of the Bronx. Furthermore, Edgar Allen Poe was a Bronx residence who always had money issues. His house was one of the first built on Fordham road. The home is still around today. It is described as a cute little cottage. There still remains some remnants of it including Fordham Plaza which was the village square and the Poe house. There is also some Revolutionary War history in the area. George Washington was running from the British through Fordham and people gave him coverage.

Segment 4

Now that we are coming out of the pandemic, tours are now being offered again. Justin is a tour guide for untapped New York who feature many unique tours including the remanence of Penn Station. Irish immigrants played a key role contributing to Fordham University. Many of them were migrating that direction from Manhattan. Later, Dagger John buys Fordham Manner. He also founded St. John’s University which eventually becomes Fordham. He got the name by coming to a New York that was very Protestant which contrasted to the Catholicism being brought over. Many people did not like the change being brought to the town. Catholics start to get beaten up and burned. Eventually, John interferes and states that if anyone attempts to burn the churches, he would burn the town like Moscow. He lined guns to be aimed at the entrance of the church and threatened to shoot people. He got the name by always fighting for Catholicism.