Buffing Up The Bronx

"By rezoning 30 blocks of the industrial area to allow mixed use, the city hopes to see vacant loft buildings fill with artists and new businesses to revitalize the area.

"The Grand Concourse symbolizes the aspirations of the Bronx, and we expect that this rezoning will catalyze new investment and economic opportunities," said City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden.

On Monday, the City Planning Commission voted to begin the formal review process needed for the rezoning plan.

While the Upper Concourse - originally modeled after the glamorous Champs Élysées in Paris - is called the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world, the Concourse below E.149th St. was given over to the light manufacturing that thrived there in the early 20th century.

Following the citywide decline of manufacturing, the Lower Concourse became an underused wasteland of self-storage warehouses, auto shops and vacant buildings."