Editorial: Spring has sprung, and Highbridge is blooming

As the Spring finally begins (we hope), the bright sun is bringing light to good things that have been happening here in Highbridge.

There is a lot of new, mostly affordable housing going up. At the bottom of Ogden Avenue, there is 900 Ogden Avenue, which has 120 brand new units. Across the street, there’s another apartment building going up. And there are countless others — on University Avenue, Plimpton Avenue, Nelson Avenue, to name just a few — ready to open.

With the housing come new faces in our community. Many new immigrants are from Africa and South America, as well as Mexico. They are adding new voices to our community, and we hope to represent them in this community newspaper.

Of course, with new people come new businesses. On Ogden Avenue between 155th and 156th streets is Ogden Pharmacy, a new local pharmacy that opened its doors a couple of weeks ago. There’s also a thrift shop, which was planning to open its doors today. There are also a number of new businesses that have opened their doors over the past few months: a new Chinese restaurant, a copy shop on Woodycrest between Jerome Avenue and 162nd Street, a new laundromat, a new 99 cent store — there are just too many to name in just one column.

There is still much work to be done to make this community even better. The Ogden Avenue Merchant and Business Association, as reported in one of the articles in this edition of the Horizon, hopes to address some issues, including beautifying the neighborhood. And there are many organizations trying to make a difference in Highbridge. There are new organizations, such as the Fund for Social Change, which is trying to address the problem of child removals, and the Woodycrest Center for Human Development has opened a new youth center on 165th Street just west of Ogden Avenue. Meanwhile, there are other organizations who have been here for many years, including Alianza Dominicana, Highbridge Community Life Center, the Latino Pastoral Action Center, not to mention all of the churches and shelters here, as well as other organizations.

New housing, new people, new businesses, and even new lives are all coming into Highbridge. It is exciting to watch, to write about, to read about. We look forward to watching this community grow even more.

We hope you enjoy the ride too.