Once known as one of the safest neighborhoods in America, for over 100 years Belmont's Little Italy has been the home of the families of the original Italian immigrants who moved to, and settled here, creating what by the 1960s became a safe, secure and welcoming oasis in The Bronx. As these families acclimated themselves to America, in addition to bringing a stability to the community in their family centered homes, as well as in how well they looked out for each other, they also opened up shops, restaurants and other businesses which offered up the most authentic Italian foods, breads, pastas and other Italian products in New York State.

Over the past decade with the rise in countless others of varying ethnicities, races and cultures moving in, despite the fact our neighborhood hosts a large student population, both in the seven local schools in our community as well as Fordham University, a large number of elderly and other long-time, multi-generational neighborhood residents, and has grown to be an even greater tourist attraction, a number of dangers have arisen that threaten the safety, and lives, of our local residents, students and visitors daily. One of these in particular is the unchecked, vehicular speeding and ignoring of our local STOP signs within our residential streets, a mere block away from our major business district. 

For the past decade with the rapid rise in the out-of-state Fordham University student population which has grown from approximately 20 - 90%, the overwhelmingly quick building of both large business and residential structures, at least three others being built now, Fordham U Student rental companies such as LSANY Real Estate buying up, and converting local housing into student only rentals, as well as the even greater influx of tourists and F.U. student families coming into the area, daily traffic congestion and the resultant speeding, ignoring of our local STOP signs and other law breaking activities have risen exponentially. 

While the main business district of East 187th Street, from Southern Boulevard down to Webster Avenue has had stop lights installed for several years now, if not over a decade, in addition to the heavy police presence that has been deployed on those blocks as well ever since the post-COVID return of business, a block away on East 188th and 189th Streets we have merely one set of traffic lights, set at the crosswalks of East 189th Street and Bathgate Avenue, on the corner where Roosevelt High and Mt. Carmel schools meet. Unlike on Arthur Avenue and the surrounding blocks there, we rarely, if ever see any traffic enforcement or local police stationed here either. While there are stop signs on every other corner of East 188th and 189th Streets, those in particular in our four (4) school, residential zone, most who drive through the neighborhood ignore them completely. 

This past July News 12 The Bronx ran a story on the dangers these drivers are posing to the community:

https://bronx.news12.com/dangerous-intersection-in-belmont-has-residents-concerned-about-safety

Despite the facts above, and the fact we've contacted both Bronx Community Board 6 as well as District 15 Representative Oswald Feliz, nothing at all has been done to curtail or stop these drivers from continuing with these actions and behaviors. It is only a matter of time before one of our neighborhood children, a member of their families, other neighborhood residents or any one of the thousands of weekly workers or visitors to our area are struck, badly hurt and/or killed. 

At the very least, just as they've done a block over in the East 187th Street Business District, traffic lights need to be installed on all of the corners where this school and residential zone exists, especially now that schools are open to post pandemic, full-capacity again.

Please sign this petition and help us to get these much needed traffic lights installed; they will both help to save lives in addition to help put an end to the almost daily vehicular accidents that have been plaguing our neighborhood. 

Thanks in advance for your doing so.