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MARCH 24, 2010 •4 THE BRONX FREE PRESS • www.thebronxfreepress.com

by Carla Zanoni 

One blog at a time, a small army of intrepid stay-at-home moms, full timestudents, stylish 20-somethings andsocial entrepreneurs, are changing theonline landscape of the Bronx, acting as aresource for Bronx residents and workingto change the negative perceptions many New Yorkers have of the often neglected

  borough. Whether it’s resources for families, young couples, Latinos or stylearbiters, this up cropping of blogs is anew addition to the Bronx online and on-the-street community.

Many of the bloggers interviewedfor this story said that they feel likecheerleaders for the borough, fightingagainst the negative reputation andhabitually negative media coverage thatinspired a biting four-syllable Ogden Nash short poem in a 1931 issue of the New Yorker: “The Bronx / No Thonx.”

“We’re so sick of people looking at uslike we have four heads for moving here based on the same outdated perceptionsabout the borough that even Brooklyn hasmanaged to shake,” said Erin Cicaleseof “The Boogiedowner,” a street-levelneighborhood blog written by two former Park Slope residents.

“It’s a constant wave of the same thingin the Bronx, that’s the only thing holdingus back,” Joshua Kissi of the fashion-forward blog “Street Etiquette” said.“Like Brooklyn, we are looking to changethe Bronx’s image for the better.”

 

Bronx Latinohttp://bronxlatino.blogspot.com/Clarisel Gonzalez is a self-described

social entrepreneur, a term so apt incapturing the core of what she does fromday-to-day that it is not worth finaglinganother word. The editor of BronxLatino runs a Bronx-based independentcommunity media and art business calledPuerto Rico Sun Communications, whichshe describes as a venture “aimed atinforming, empowering and buildingcommunity” through the distributionof a host of community media and art

 projectsIn April 2008 Gonzalez launched“Bronx Latino,” “a lifestyle blog aimedat highlighting the people and the cultureof the Bronx from a Latino perspective.”She says she aims to inform, empower and build Latino community through amultimedia approach.

“The presence of the Latino culture inthe Bronx has significantly contributedto this borough on so many levels,” shewrote. “For example, the Bronx is notonly known as the place where Hip Hopwas born. In the Latino community, it is

also known as ‘El condado de la salsa’,the borough of salsa music. The presenceof Latino culture in the Bronx is evidenteverywhere. You just have to explore theBronx.”

That presence is growing online aswell, so much so that Gonzalez hasexpanded Bronx Latino to encompass aTwitter feed and Facebook page.

“’Bronx Latino’ is not only for thosewho live and work in the Bronx, but it isalso for those who hail from here,” shewrote. “It is a blog aimed at connectingBronxites no matter where they live.”

Bronx bloggers work to get the boroughthe respect they say it deserves

Boogie Downer Yes the Bronx is Burning, Burning 

 Hot!http://boogiedowner.blogspot.com/

Erin and Lou Cicalese moved to BedfordPark in 2007 when they were priced outof their Park Slope neighborhood inBrooklyn. The two had broadened their search to ultimately include the areasurrounding their alma mater, FordhamUniversity, where they originally metduring their senior year of college, andfound a home.

“I had a hard time transitioning whenwe first got here,” Erin Cicalese said.“At first, it seemed way quieter, butsince then I’ve learned where to shop andwhere to walk and have discovered somewonderful areas to explore.”

They quickly appreciated the areafor its better-known assets, like theBotanical Garden and Bronx Zoo, but itwas the small gems like out-of-the-wayrestaurants and beautiful architecture thatreally made them appreciate their newhome. Once they discovered those gemsthey wanted their neighbors to know.

So, they started the “Boogie Downer,” aneighborhood blog about the Bronx.

“When we first got here there was noother outlet for quirky tidbits about theneighborhood,” Erin recalled. “All theother boroughs seem to have millionsof them, but for some reason the Bronxdidn’t have anything.”

Almost immediately they had peoplereading. Now bring in an average of 350unique visitors per day, swelling to 700or 800 visitors when they post a storyabout political celebrity Pedro Espada,the state senator whose primary residencein their building has been publiclydisputed in the press and the community

for some time (Espada claims his homein Mamaroneck is a second home, not his primary residence).

“We think of ourselves as cheerleadersfor the Bronx,” Erin said. “We haveenough crime coverage in the Bronx,so unless something is a big issue inour neighborhood, it’s not our goal to  publicize it. I think of blogs as morefor people who have more of a vestedinterest in the community, who have beenthere for a while or recently purchased inthe neighborhood. In Brooklyn we didn’thave a vested interested. Now we arehere to stay.”

Bronx Mamahttp://bronxmama.com

When Nicole Perrino decided to begina blog focused on bringing Bronx parentsand children information about resources

in the borough, she was saddened andsurprised at the search engine queryanswers when searching the term “BronxMom.”

“It would only bring up negativearticles in newspapers, like ‘BronxMom Kills’ or something like that,” shesaid. “If you put the same in any other   borough you would find cool Web sitesof other parents, but not here.”

In response, Perrino did what anyother intrepid mother of one and full-time student (she is in her last semester 

of studying criminal justice at John JayCollege) would dream of doing, butfew would have the energy or time toaccomplish: she started her own blog“Bronx Mama.”

“I wanted to show the Bronx moreattention,” she said, “because nobodywas doing it.”

In addition to listing different events,classes and general information for Bronx parents, the site lists issues thatare important to parents raising kids inthe area. One post about the seeminglyhalted creation of a children’s museumin the borough (the Bronx is the only  borough without a children’s museum)even caught the attention of local  politicians who promised to hold acommunity forum to get input about

its creation and update residents on its progress after reading her story online.

“I would like to do more for thecommunity,” she said. “When I had my baby I felt jealous of Brooklyn. You go

to there and you see all the boutiquesfor kids, but I know it wasn’t alwaysthat way there. The Bronx may notnecessarily be a place where you think you want to raise your kids, but I havehad the chance to meet parents whoare involved, which goes against thestereotype that parents who live in theseareas are not involved.”

And that is a stereotype she says shewould like to bust.

“I like proving people wrong,” shesaid.

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