The Bronx Nobody Knows

A neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to New York City’s northern borough, from the award-winning author of The New York Nobody Knows

Bill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—some six thousand miles—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked most of the Bronx to create this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city’s northern borough, from Mott Haven to City Island. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journey through this fascinating, diverse, and underappreciated borough, Helmreich highlights hundreds of facts and points of interest that you won’t find in any other guide.

In the West Bronx, you’ll discover the spot where DJ Cool Herc is believed to have given birth to hip hop in 1973, at a party on Sedgwick Avenue overlooking the Harlem River. In Concourse East, once home to a vibrant Jewish community, you will learn about a beautiful, perfectly preserved, hidden synagogue. In Allerton, you will visit a family-run Italian bakery where the third-generation owner still makes his own cannoli and uses the original recipe for their famous rainbow cookies. In Pelham Parkway/Pelham Gardens, you will explore the city’s largest park, the stunning 2,700-acre Pelham Bay Park. And much, much more.

An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today’s Bronx, the book can be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it’s almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore this captivating borough.

Covers every one of the Bronx’s neighborhoods, providing a colorful portrait of their most interesting, unusual, and unfamiliar people, places, and thingsEach neighborhood section features a brief overview and history; a detailed, user-friendly map keyed to the text; photographs; and a lively guided walking tourDraws on the author’s walk through every Bronx neighborhoodIncludes insights from conversations with hundreds of residents