Some sad news from the Bronx...

First I have to apologize for my lack of blogging. Ive been back at school and juggling five classes and an internship so I have had not much free time at all.

That being said I start with a sad story from the Bronx, even though this is a blog about Hartford this story is yet another example of manufacturing jobs being moved out of the northeast. Something those of us in Hartford (and Connecticut in general can relate to)

I go to Manhattan College in the Riverdale section of the Bronx (for 2 more months at least until I graduate). Before moving into Manhattan this semester I lived on campus in Riverdale and to anyone who has ever taken the 1 train all the way to 238th Street you most definitely will have smelled the aroma of fresh baked cookies in the air as you step down onto Broadway. That smell officially ceased yesterday afternoon.

That distinct aroma in this section of the Bronx was from the Stella D'oro Factory that for years had been produced at a nondescript factory between Broadway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Problems at the factory started more then 1 year ago when a labor dispute between the worker's Union and Connecticut based Brynwood Partners broke out. Brynwwood bought Stella D'oro in 2006 and before the dispute broke out had asked union workers to take cuts in benefits and wages because the factory was not able to create a profit with its current costs.

For almost 1 year workers picketed outside the factory behind a few small gates. I remember them there, sometimes there were just a handful, other days more. They were there in rain or shine, cold or warm and during snowstorms. In July workers were ordered to return to work after Brynwood had to work with the National Labor Relations. However, just as they returned to work the company came through on their earlier promise and announced the factory's closing.

The closing yesterday afternoon officially ended an 80 year old tradition of making cookies in the Kingsbridge neighborhood. Brynwood has sold Stella D'oro to Lance Snacks from North Carolina which will move the factory to Ashland, Ohio where there are no unions.

In all 155 jobs were lost in a neighborhood that does not have many high quality jobs, especially those in the manufacturing sector. The Kingsbridge neighborhood has a bustling retail strip full of local and national chains combined with a diverse population (it is of course New York City) however there are not many high paying high quality jobs. Neighboring Riverdale is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the Bronx, and in the city - home to private schools, 2 colleges, upscale mansions but no factories.

Sadly, this closing is the end of an era. I ask you to think of this next time you think of purchasing some Stella D'oro cookies - for some reason your not buying your cookies at Modern Pastry on Franklin Avenue in Hartford!

Also of note is that Italians as well as Jews were devout customers of Stella D'oro because their products were Kosher. A five minute walk leads you into Riverdale's heavily Jewish population that once had a factory that met Kosher requirements around the corner. Key word once...