52 Park, A Place That Matters
August 6th, 2006, 4:24 pm
In the Longwood neighborhood of the Bronx, 52 Park on Kelly St. and Avenue St. John sits across from the school where a generation of distinguished Latin musicians such as Ray Barretto and the Palmieri brothers attended class and learned to play music. The former P.S. 52 (now M.S. 52) and its Kelly St. neighborhood rocked with the sounds of Latin music all through the 1950s and ’60s when Longwood and nearby neighborhoods helped give birth to a New York Latin music sound.
In the ’70s, when the area became known as the South Bronx and began its bleakest period, 52 Park became a danger zone. In 1980, a volunteer group of local residents called 52 People for Progress committed themselves to make the small park safe and welcoming once again. Summertime music concerts at the Miranda stage take place annually, run by 52 PFP.