Difference Between Fordham and Morrisania

It has been nearly 13 years since my family moved out of 2440 Marion Avenue. I currently live on East 165th Street in the Forest Housing projects. These two places have their share of differences.

I lived on Marion Avenue from 1991 to 1995. It was between 187th and 188th Streets in the Fordham section of the Bronx. We lived on a 3rd floor apartment in a five story walk-up tenement. A block away was the Fordham Road shopping district. Back then, our family used to go to Roy Rogers, an old fast food joint that closed right after we moved out. I used to love the burgers and fries that were there. I always appreciated our closeness to the stores, the main library, Poe Park, and our pediatrician. The D line was a few blocks west at Grand Concourse while the 4 line was not too far from reach either. I always remember walking to my aunt's house on 182nd Street and Grand Avenue, not too far from my current school, Bronx Community College. I will always remember my brother and I racing my mom up the hills to get to University Heights.

However, there was always a downside. First, we would have trouble falling asleep due to the constant noise. We would always hear people blasting gangsta rap or merengue music. In addition, there was frequent crime in the area, ranging from robberies to drugs and gang violence.



However, the high rents and the constant crime forced us to move to the Forest Houses in Morrisania. It was St. Patrick's Day 1995. Once we set foot on Morrisania, a smell of change was in the air. The shopping district was 10 minutes south of us on 3rd Avenue. If not, we walked 10 minutes east to Southern Boulevard. The 2 and 5 lines were 5 minutes away at Prospect Avenue while the 6 was 10 minutes away at Longwood Avenue. There was still noise, but mostly at night. During the day, it is very serene (it still is today). We have our share of rowdy teens crawling through the streets on Friday and Saturday Nights. But we know who not to trust these days.

Now that we have lived in Morrisania for almost 13 years, we know a good chunk of the people that live in our neighborhood, something that is lacking in Fordham. In addition, Morrisania had more schools and parks than Fordham. My mom has it easier thanks to the easy parking (it's only a pain on Saturday nights). I'm just glad that I live in Morrisania and not anywhere else.