Real Estate Developers' "Bronx Is Burning" Rave Criticized For Tone-Deafness

A star-studded Bronx rave this week hosted by real estate developers in support of two luxury towers along the South Bronx waterfront has come under criticism for being tone-deaf and insulting to local residents. Among other things, the party featured burnt-out, bullet-riddled cars and flaming trash barrels. "Trivializing legit community concerns not welcome. Neither are attempts to erase neighborhood's culture & history," City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito tweeted yesterday.

https://twitter.com/ProjectBronx/status/660855013972013056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

According to the News, Somerset Partners and The Chetrit Group partnered together to buy two properties along the Harlem River in the area for $58 million, with the plan to turn them into a residential community and transform Port Morris into...Williamsburg Far North. The developers put up a billboard dubbing the area "The Piano District," a nod to the party location, last week.

"We’re developing about 2,000 apartments along the waterfront in the South Bronx," Rubenstein told WWD. "Tonight is an amazing opportunity to introduce a whole new world to the South Bronx, and celebrate its heritage." Another partygoer told them, "for the Millennials, if you will, this is a pilgrimage. From Brooklyn to the motherf—ng Bronx."

Source: gothamist.com