Bronx Residents Lead by Example after Fordham Looting
he COVID-19 pandemic has terrorized hundreds of thousands around the world. Unemployment and rising death tolls have sparked global despair. But many others have remained resilient and compassionate to others while staying safe.
In early June, looters in the Bronx took advantage of the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement. They ransacked businesses all night long and left residents disheartened and embarrassed. Two Bronx residents took action to support their community the next morning.
Griselda Viteri asked her boss for the day off, grabbed her handmade cloth mask, and went to Fordham Road that afternoon. She and two friends posted signs filled with statistics on police brutality and a long list of the names of Black lives lost at the hands of police officers. Amanda Arroyo spoke with friends on a group chat and joined them for an organized clean-up at 9 a.m.
These Bronx residents took immediate action to support their community and inspire others to do the same. “We are already looked at as the worst of the worst,” Viteri said. “I wanted to let the Black Lives Matter movement know that the Bronx stood in unity.”
The Bronx has always had an enter-at-your-own-risk vibe. It still struggles to encourage people to see the borough as a compassionate community, instead of seeing it through a 1970’s lens when the Bronx was “burning” and crime-ridden. But the looters of Fordham Road did not help with the Bronx’s already battered image.
Viteri lives in the same family home that she was raised in, near Crotona Park. “Most of my community is Hispanic and Latinx and I am aware of the racism against dark-skinned people and Black people in this community,” she said.
On her day devoted to local activism, she talked to a Deli owner and his friends who were giving out food and money to residents in need. The deli was bordered by a looted pharmacy and pawn shop. They agreed to hang one of her posters that said, “Black Lives Matter.”
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Amanda Arroyo met with friends on the corner of Jerome Ave and East Fordham Road for the clean-up. Brint Benson, a Fordham University graduate and native New Yorker organized the effort, along with some friends. He posted information on his Instagram page about the clean-up and helped raise over $12 thousand for cleaning supplies, New Yorkers United for Justice, The Liberty Fund, and other non-profit organizations.
Arroyo put on her rubber latex gloves, adjusted her surgical mask, and cleaned up trash for three hours straight. “We hit up the smaller streets because they were forgotten,” she said. She and thirty other members of the clean-up crew tried to distinguish the resident trash from the trash left by looters. But it was all too much. Most of her time was spent on careful placement of the trash that was picked up. They avoided trash cans to prevent looters from setting trash fires again.
On a recent Instagram story, Arroyo mentioned how many residents were grateful for their group effort in cleaning up the garbage. The gratitude was inspirational. “I would love it if this could happen, even if it’s just once a month.”
Viteri also noticed appreciation for the work she did. The twine on one of her posters unraveled while she went to buy a slice of pizza. When she returned, she saw locals using tape to put the poster back in place.
Viteri’s poster brigade and the clean-up campaign show how inspirational and effective grassroots efforts can be to help a community, especially during this pandemic. It is not only up to Bronx officials to re-brand the borough. Bronx residents could come together more often to highlight the culture, art, and fantastic attributes of the Bronx.
