Another piece by our old friend Cekis

The vast majority — somewhere around 95% — of the freight coming into the Hunts Point food markets arrives by truck. Neighborhood residents have long complained about the onslaught of traffic, noise, and diesel fumes produced by the thousands of trucks that ply the streets of Hunts Point every day. Meanwhile, about two trains per day chug their way down this dinky little track that serves as the markets' only rail connection to the outside world. In a bit of good news for those who'd like to see more train traffic, the produce market recently received a $10 million federal grant to improve its rail facilities, although it's not entirely clear that the produce market is still going to be located in Hunts Point after 2014.

I found this cut-out lying face-up on the street nearby. It's from the American Museum of Natural History's "Theodore Outdoor" photo contest. You're supposed to plan an "expedition to a local, state, or national park, an outdoor space in your community, or anywhere else you experience nature" and then take a picture of Teddy while you're out exploring. Done and done! I've submitted this photo, and I think the lush, verdant landscape of Hunts Point in the background should all but assure my victory.

The United States of Hot Dogs, a.k.a. The World of Spooky Creepy Effects Horrorland

An untitled sculpture on the wall of the Hunts Point Middle School

Yet another in the series

Completed in 1911, the American Bank Note Company Printing Plant produced "stock certificates, foreign currency, letters of credit, postage stamps and, of course, bank notes" for governments all over the world. The company left town for the Philadelphia suburbs in 1985, and the building has been home to many different tenants since then. It is currently being redeveloped into a higher-profile space for creative firms and nonprofit organizations.

This mysterious house-in-a-wall sits on the property of the Corpus Christi Monastery, the oldest Dominican monastery in the US.

It's hard to picture now, but here's a long-time Bronxite's description of Hunts Point in the early years of the 20th century, told to John McNamara and published in McNamara's Old Bronx:

My three uncles liked fishing and often took their creel and went, either by foot or horse and carriage, to Hunts Point for a day of angling. They brought home flounders, flukes and crabs and I can still remember how sweet they tasted. My aunts took me to Hunts Point by a little stagecoach from the corner of Southern Blvd. and Hunts Point Rd. for a wonderful day of picnicking and bathing. The water was clear as crystal, for no sewers were built yet to befoul the river.

I remember when the area around Randall Ave. was filled with fruit orchards, and there were several dairy farms. The Duffy brothers used to round up the cows, cowboy-style, on the Springhurst Dairy meadows.

Run by Tita, Radiator Woman is said to be the only female-owned auto business in Hunts Point. It also reminds me of a scene from Futurama that takes place at the Miss Universe pageant:

LEELA: Sigh. I almost had that tiara.
BENDER: Hmm. Me too.
FRY: Well, you guys might both be losers, but I just made out with that radiator woman from the radiator planet.
LEELA: Fry, that's a radiator.
FRY: Oh. [Clears throat.] Is there a burn ward within ten feet of here?