The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1899-07-14
NEW Y DRK SID III M :
FOREIGN QUARTERS ABOVE
THE HARLEM.
BEonx Borough Has Its L Little Itaiy.s4.
Also r.. Negro ana Bshsmian Csnss.v
:. shsnty Life Superior 20 Tenement
\ and Elats.

- SSo-.sAe.AA4ssesseOA oOCA0Sy; VI &N0y
York. has this to nay Of the social CON
ditions Of Bronx Borough: "The bor4
ough Of Bronx, as II Is known onicialt
". or over the bridge as Harlem resiI,
dents call it. is becoming an interesting
social study. Gradually, but steadily,
the flow Of humanity is setting In this
direction. The way these people are
met now and the environment which
is to surround them will influence last
ingly the future Of this part Of the city.
In some respects the way has been pre-
pared, beautiful broad avenues and
streets have been laid out and some Of
them are already well shaded; and
there is large area for. them to spread
over, for the borough runs from the
Harlem river to, ,Yonkers, and: from
the Hudson river to the Sound. But
the housing Of the people is quite as
bad here as in the downtown districts.
That the poor desire no better condi.-
lions than those they have Just left
accounts for the fact that there is al
ready little Italy in One Hundred and
Forty-ninth street, and colored and
Bohemian quarters. Unless outside
forces work to change these conditions,
Mott street and Mulberry street Of the
lower East Side will be reproduced. For
one finds the same traitssof. character
above the bridge as in the congested
parts Of the city. There. is much pic
turesqueness in these little foreign set
Elements, but someone has said: 'Pic-
turesqueness and dirt are inseparab1e.'
Here is opportunity and space for the
Tenement House Committee. Most Of
the streets have number Of small
frame houses still standing that could
be torn down to make room for the.
more sanitary model tenement. Now is
the time to break up this habit Of herd
ing which the immigrant brings with
him as an Inheritance from the over
crowded cities of Europe. Old world
conditions should be abolished, and the
children should be given the environ
ment of the simple and cleanly true
American home. There is possibly q
greater opportunity Of accomplishing
this in the borough Of The Bronx than
anywhere else in this city. One comes
in contact here with an interesting,
class Of people, probably never met
with in any other part Of the city. They
are the original squatters. vino have
their own little shanties and bits Of
garden, and who regard tenement
houses and the cheap fats with great
est scorn. They have had whole houses
and lot Of their own, and know the
Independence, privacy and comfort Of
q real home, however humble. Al
though shanty life Is not the ideal
housing we are striving for it has its
advantages and often develops a real
love Of home. I can recall at present
several families now forced into cheap
flats who actually feel above their sur.
roundings, and the evils Of their en-
vironment are apparently beneath their
notice and have no bad moral effect on
their lives. It is something to be put
up with only until they can again Sc
cure the privacy of more: respectable
home. They are not content to live
as part of herd, but have a strong
craving for the individual home life.
The descendants Of the shanty homes.
however, are very few In comparison
with the hundreds Of immigrants now
finding their way to this part Of the
city, who are forced by their meager
earnings to live in such rooms as they
find within their means. How shalt
they be housed?"