Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. used his state-of-the-borough address earlier this month to outline what he described as tremendous economic development in the Bronx under his watch.

Speaking before a packed auditorium of invited guests and local elected officials at Hostos Community College on February 9,  Carrión pointed to development projects launched in 2006, including construction of a new Yankee Stadium and the Gateway Center mall at the site of the old Bronx Terminal Market, as evidence of his claim.

“The Bronx is now seeing the greatest amount of growth and change since the 1920s and 30s,” Carrión said. He also vowed to renovate subway stations and bridges in the borough and said new Metro North stations would be built in areas including Woodlawn and Williamsbridge.

The result of such development in the borough, Carrión said, was that the Bronx was escaping from the urban decay that characterized many of its neighborhoods in previous decades.

The borough president said his administration had been ensuring, and would continue to ensure, that businesses and developers give back to the Bronx in the form of investing in community programs and giving jobs to local residents. Carrión said 37 percent of construction contracts from the Yankee Stadium project had gone to Bronx businesses, and that the figure for the Gateway Project was 51 percent.

Not everyone in the local business community shares Carrión’s rosy view of recent development projects. Pat Canale, the President of the 161st Street Merchants Association, said in a phone interview that he favored construction of the Gateway Center shopping mall at the old Bronx Terminal Market, believing that the old site was rundown and that the new mall will attract tourist dollars to local businesses.

However, Canale said he vehemently opposed the manner in which the Yankee Stadium Redevelopment Project was pursued by the city; Canale, echoing the words of other residents and advocates, said that the community’s interests were abandoned from the beginning of the project.

He also expressed skepticism about Carrión’s promise that the new Yankee Stadium and other development projects would actually translate into employment  for residents of the surrounding communities. “Yes, there are lots of jobs,” Canale said. “But who gets the jobs? The unions. The neighborhood people are not in the unions.”

Another major theme of Carrión’s speech was education.  “ I believe we must keep the doors of the schoolhouse open before 8, and well after 3 on the weekends, ” Carrión said.   

Carrión called for school curricula that incorporated sports, arts, and culture, and urged an increase in second-chance schools for students ages 16 to 24. The borough president also said his administration would oversee the building of a West Bronx Boys and Girls club on University Avenue and a youth center in Mount Hope.

Given the major themes of the address, it was perhaps not surprising to find that many of Carrión’s invited guests were local business representatives and educators.

Daniel Garcia, who owns Salsa Caterers and Special Events on 3rd Avenue and 174th Street, said after the speech that he appreciated Carrión’s remarks about the necessity of  jobs from local development projects going to Bronx businesses.

Estelle Hans, principal of the Collegiate Institute for Math and Science (which serves students in grades 9 through 12), said that Carrión had been attentive to the needs of her school. “His humanity is very important to children, to people,” Hans said.

Other topics Carrión touched on in his speech included salaries for city firefighters and police officers, which he said should be increased. Carrión also vowed to fight proposals to close several New York City hospitals, including Westchester Square Medical Center in the Bronx.

Following his address, Carrión brought a surprise guest to the stage—New York Senator Hilary Clinton—whom Carrión predicted would be the next president of the United States.  Paul Lipson, chief of staff for Rep.José E. Serrano , said afterwords that he was reminded of an earlier political era.

“The Bronx has never been so connected to presidential politics,” Lipson said, “since the days of FDR.”