We, the residents of Highbridge and Mount Eden, are calling on Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, and other public officials to invest in our neighborhoods with the same imagination, dignity, and care that wealthier parts of the city so often receive

Highbridge and Mount Eden are vibrant, predominantly Dominican neighborhoods, rich in spirit, resilience, and history. For generations, our communities have created beauty and culture with very little outside support. We are not asking for luxury. We are not asking for displacement. We are asking for the basic right to thrive.

We envision neighborhoods where people can gather in cafés, browse bookstores, discover diverse cuisines, and sit in green spaces without needing to leave their own block. These are not extravagant asks. These are essential opportunities for cultural, emotional, and communal nourishment.

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Our Reality Today:

There are no bookstores, no cafés, and few peaceful indoor or outdoor gathering spaces.

The nearest park is a 15-minute walk away, making green space inaccessible for many.

Sit-down restaurants are largely Dominican—which we are proud of—but there is very little culinary diversity beyond Dominican, Mexican, and Chinese takeout options. Most places are built for quick meals, not community gathering.

The Grand Concourse, once envisioned as a grand boulevard, is now dominated by apartment buildings, Pentecostal churches, salons, and grocery stores, but very few cultural or creative establishments.

Mount Eden, a corridor near BronxWorks and the hospital, holds enormous potential to become a commercial and cultural hub, but it has never been given that chance.

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We Want to Be Clear:

We are not asking for gentrification. We are not asking for displacement.

We are asking for growth that includes us, honors us, and uplifts the community that already exists here.

The absence of bookstores, cafés, diverse restaurants, and green spaces is not a neutral reality—it’s a harmful one. It denies Dominican and working-class residents the vital experiences that enrich lives, inspire dreams, and bring people together. Every neighborhood deserves access to these cultural anchors, not just a privileged few.

One museum or token investment does not substitute for genuine cultural infrastructure. The Bronx deserves living, breathing spaces that reflect the soul of its people—not sterile lobbies or isolated institutions.

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What We’re Asking For:

Zoning support for mixed-use buildings that allow community-oriented businesses like cafés, bookstores, and restaurants to thrive on the ground floor beneath residential housing—just as they do across Manhattan.

Support for culinary and cultural diversity, including small business grants or low-interest loans for local entrepreneurs—without displacing the Dominican businesses that already form the backbone of our community.

Increased access to green space, through pocket parks, shaded seating, community gardens, and small nature projects woven into the residential fabric of our neighborhoods.

Thoughtful revitalization of Mount Eden Avenue, transforming it into a culturally vibrant, community-centered destination for music, art, food, and local businesses that reflect the richness of the Bronx.

A real conversation with city and state leadership—including Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul—about how we can grow Highbridge and Mount Eden with care, creativity, and inclusion, not disruption.

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We believe a city becomes truly strong when all its neighborhoods are alive with culture, commerce, and human connection. When people can sit in a café, try new foods, browse through books, and breathe beneath trees, they understand each other more deeply.

That is how a city becomes not just livable—but beautiful

Sign this petition if you believe in this vision—for the Bronx, for New York, for all of us.