Is The First Wave of Gentrification Hitting The South Bronx?

"At 168th Street and Nelson Avenue in the South Bronx, you can look 134 blocks downtown and see the upper third of the Empire State Building pop up unexpectedly like a silvery beacon. So close to Manhattan, and yet so far away.

On that corner, though, the consequences of Manhattan's wealth are beginning to be felt. It is the site of the first new-construction, market-rate condominium in the South Bronx -- a direct consequence of the real estate boom that has driven prices sky high in the rest of the city.

'Prices are getting so out there in the city or Queens, the Bronx becomes very affordable,' said Alden Madruga, the director of sales for the condo developer, the Jackson Development Group."