East Bronx History Forum

East Bronx History Forum Welcome to the official East Bronx History Forum page!

The East Bronx History Forum is 501(c)3 non-profit, chartered by the New York State Education Department which meets monthly to discuss Bronx history. Past topics that have been discussed included: Bronx Trolley Cars, The Morris Park Race Track , Hart Island The Lindbergh Kidnapping, City Island, Van Nest, Loreto Park, Bronx Hall of Fame, Catholic Protectory, Public Art and Freedomland.

Today we honored Private Dennis J. Russo (April 29, 1948-December 3, 1968) who resided at 1443 Taylor Avenue. He was par...
05/25/2026

Today we honored Private Dennis J. Russo (April 29, 1948-December 3, 1968) who resided at 1443 Taylor Avenue. He was part of the United States Army Reserves, 1st Cavalry Division 7th Cavalry Garry Owen, 2nd Battalion D Company. Dennis was part of Operation Sabre which started on November 7, 1968 and was a security operation in Phuoc Long Province, Republic of Vietnam, to prevent North Vietnamese Army (NVA) infiltration from Cambodia. Ater five hours of fierce battle, on December 3rd, Pvt. Dennis Russo was one of the 23 service members lost in addition to 52 wounded.
Special thanks to Grace Lovaglia for singing the National Anthem, Joseph Ronda and the attention to detail with his Star of the Sea Cadet Corps, Ricardo Garcia; Bronx County American Legion County Commander, Earl Menard from the John Fraser Bryan A.L. Post 19 and post commander Armando Crescenzi, Anthony Ferrara; A.L. Post 253 Commander and the Theodore Korony A.L. Post 253 for providing their color guard. Other thanks to Bernadette Ferrara, President of the Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance and Rosemarie Vasti for reading the names on the monument. Thanks as well to Tom Vasti vice-president of the East Bronx History Forum for helping with painting the stars on the parade route, along with veterans John Pucci, Robert DaSilva and Ed Deglomini from John Fraser Bryan Post 19. And finally, to Det. Hall and officer Noak from the 49th police precinct for securing the parade route. Moreover, the Van Nest Memorial itself celebrated its 100th anniversary on this Memorial Day.
Rest in Peace Private Dennis J. Russo and ALL who gave their all for our country, Thank You! 1st Cavalry Division nickname “First Team” motto, “America’s First Team”

Time to shoot for the stars, on Sunday, May 17th and Friday, May 22nd the procession route on Van Nest Avenue in the fir...
05/24/2026

Time to shoot for the stars, on Sunday, May 17th and Friday, May 22nd the procession route on Van Nest Avenue in the first two photos and Unionport Road in the last photo are ready for marching. Thanks for the help of Tom Vasti and the members of American Legion Post 19-John Pucci, Robert DaSilva and Ed Deglomini for the help with traffic direction. Hope to see everyone for the Van Nest Memorial Day procession and ceremony on Monday, May 25th at 12:15.

Please join us on Monday, May 25th with the Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance and Bronx County American Legion for a Memori...
05/15/2026

Please join us on Monday, May 25th with the Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance and Bronx County American Legion for a Memorial Day ceremony at Van Nest Memorial Plaza, the procession starts at 12:15, just south of the White Plains Road/Van Nest Avenue intersection and ends on the Plaza for the ceremony. We will be celebrating 100 years of the Van Nest monument at its present location on Unionport and White Plains Road. Special thank you to Cat Gardiner Author for the photo and to her Korean War veteran father and her Uncle Billy who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II. The Gardiner-Warose family is a foundational part of the Van Nest community.

Our 20th year is rapidly approaching its end. However, we have two more lectures in addition to the well-attended lectur...
05/14/2026

Our 20th year is rapidly approaching its end. However, we have two more lectures in addition to the well-attended lecture sponsored by Bronx County Historical Society and From The Bronx earlier this month which featured John Adams impersonator, George Baker for the Bronx 250th Celebration. This month’s meeting will feature historian Kara Murphy Schlicting, her focus will be on the East River neighborhoods of Soundview, Harding Park and Clason Point.
In the 1910s, the bungalow colony Harding Park developed on marshy Clason Point. Through the 1930s–1950s, Robert Moses sought to modernize this East Bronx waterfront through the Parks Department and the Committee on Slum Clearance. While localism and special legislative treatment enabled Harding Park’s preservation as a co-op in 1981, the abandonment of master planning left neighboring Soundview Park unfinished. The entwined histories of recreation and residency on Clason Point reveal the beneficial and detrimental effects of both urban renewal and community development, while also demonstrating the complicated relationship between localism and large-scale planning in postwar New York City.
Kara Murphy Schlichting is an Associate Professor of History at Queens College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her work in late-19th and 20th-century American History sits at the intersection of urban and environmental history, with a particular focus on New York City. She has published in numerous journals and is the author of New York Recentered: Building the Metropolis from the Shore (University of Chicago Press, 2019).
Our 205th meeting this month will take place over Zoom on Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30 pm. Please, remember to follow us at BronxNYC.com for the meeting link and on our Instagram, Vimeo and Youtube account pages for the most current updates or information.

East Bronx History is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: EBHF May 2026-Soundview, Harding Park & Clason Point
Time: May 20, 2026 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81066962980?pwd=tXv6gTfSIRsrDfkCjbDkJB5hnpKTO2.1

Meeting chat link

https://us06web.zoom.us/launch/jc/81066962980

Meeting ID: 810 6696 2980
Passcode: 484800

---

One tap mobile

+16465588656,,81066962980 #,,,,*484800 # US (New York)

+16469313860,,81066962980 #,,,,*484800 # US

---

Join by SIP

• [email protected]

Join instructions

https://us06web.zoom.us/meetings/81066962980/invitations?signature=r_70ZaoSKV1zl1HadKJx46oEsj5V5k2DGbAryi7-Yls






Join The Bronx County Historical Society, East Bronx History Forum, and from The Bronx for a witty and revolutionary con...
04/25/2026

Join The Bronx County Historical Society, East Bronx History Forum, and from The Bronx for a witty and revolutionary conversation with America’s second President, John Adams, played by George Baker. In this interactive historical reenactment, President Adams will speak about his life, the American struggle for liberty, and will touch on the period he spent as President living in Eastchester in 1797 to avoid a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia.

Event, part of our yearlong America 250: The Bronx programming, is free and open to the public and is made possible with the support of Assemblyman Michael Benedetto.



A happy spring to everyone in the Bronx, time to throw off those winter coats and get ready for some outdoor activities....
04/18/2026

A happy spring to everyone in the Bronx, time to throw off those winter coats and get ready for some outdoor activities. Of course, the East Bronx History Forum has some well-placed indoor activities for those of you who may have some seasonal allergies. This month’s meeting will feature librarian Gary Makufka.
The range of Gary’s lecture will focus on movies filmed in the Bronx. Many may know of some of the more notable ones such as Marty (1955), partly filmed on Boston Road in West Farms, A Bronx Tale (1993) which takes place in Belmont and some of The Seven-Ups (1973) as well. Of course, three films which took place on City Island - Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962), Awakenings (1990) and Butterfield 8 (1960), which is appropriate considering our meeting will take place at the City Island Nautical Museum
Some other films, might be a bit more obscure for our younger reads or Bronx history novices including Blood Brothers (1978), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) and The Tattooed Stranger (1950). That aside, as mentioned our 204th meeting will take place at the City Island Nautical Museum on Wednesday, April 22nd at 7:30 pm located at 190 Fordham Street There is street parking on City Island Avenue after 7 p.m. Please, remember to follow us at BronxNYC.com and on our Instagram, Vimeo and Youtube account pages for the most current updates or information.




Special thank you to our sponsors for the March 18th meeting at St. Joseph's School for the Deaf Conti's Pastry Shoppe ...
04/08/2026

Special thank you to our sponsors for the March 18th meeting at St. Joseph's School for the Deaf Conti's Pastry Shoppe and Morris Park Bake Shop for donating Zeppole and Sfingi, traditional pastry in honor of St. Joseph's Day on the following day March 19th. Thoroughly enjoyed by our membership that evening, Thank You.


Just catching up on some photos from last month's March 18th meeting at St. Joseph's School for the Deaf with a lecture ...
04/08/2026

Just catching up on some photos from last month's March 18th meeting at St. Joseph's School for the Deaf with a lecture and tour by Superintendent Mark. D. Patrick. The video will hopefully be rendered and posted shortly. Until then, enjoy these photos of the evening's event.

Please don't forget to visit our sponsors for this month's meeting Morris Park Bake Shop and Conti's Pastry Shoppe two l...
03/12/2026

Please don't forget to visit our sponsors for this month's meeting Morris Park Bake Shop and Conti's Pastry Shoppe two legendary bakeries in out East Bronx community as we learn about St. Joseph's School for the Deaf and celebrate St. Joseph's Day.

Address

The Bronx, NY
10461

Opening Hours

1:30pm - 3:30pm

Telephone

+17188248992

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when East Bronx History Forum posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to East Bronx History Forum:

Shortcuts

Share

Category