On the busy sidewalk, volunteers distributed juice, pasta, rice, and other nutrition essentials from the church basement, to families who said they came every Wednesday. The pantry’s organizers say that some 200 families have visited the pantry regularly. 

In the doomed festival’s wake rose an explosive community dialogue about gentrification, a discussion in which its founder feels wrongfully targeted, but one in which many community organizers say they finally feel heard.

Just days before what organizers had hoped would be the “biggest celebration of hustle the Bronx has ever seen”, the host venue issued a statement announcing that they were pulling out.

The varied tastes of Pitorro the venue serves include Coquito, Honey, Passion Fruit and a homemade recipe called the “abuelita” which is infused with raisins, cinnamon and prunes.

The debut of their event series is scheduled for Jan. 26, with a free event to highlight Bronx media, music, food and art. 

The procession stopped at various casitas, or garden houses, located in public parks and lots around the neighborhood. Melrose has the highest concentration of casitas in the city.

The event was put on by the Bronx Documentary Center and featured a panel with Tobak, and two local photographers, Ricky Flores and Joe Conzo, whose iconic pictures of the underground hip-hop movement helped shape the book.

“From what we’ve been seeing and experiencing, kids are extremely interested in books,” said Rebekah Shoaf, founder of Boogie Down Books.