Kingsbridge and Riverdale: Springtime lust for big saving in more ways than one-here's what's new

There are only two major cross town roads from the valley of Kingsbridge to the start of Riverdale's mount. They are West 230th St. and West 231st St. from Broadway to Riverdale Ave. Both are awakening to a new look, a new international unity and an added vitality. Why the new interest in these busy and yet often just drive by routes? It's the economy...More young professionals, families to retirees are looking to save on their housing as well as their daily commute, and at the same time they want to enjoy the convenience of city life. The Kingsbridge business district is long known as an older quiet and sadly challenged area. But times are changing. There is now a Kingsbridge BID which pays for a team of three men to clean the commercial corridor from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. And there's also a new public parking lot for hourly and long term parking on Broadway at 230th St., making shopping and dining easier. Today an added variety of small mom and pop shops have recently opened to serve the new polyglot of diverse residents from all over the world, along with second and third generation regulars, returnees, and long lost Bronxites who are again shopping locally and enjoy being impressed by the thrifty international dining experience, which includes a wide selection for foodies to choose and consider the tastes of Ireland, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Greece, Russia, Germany, Chinese and Kosher eats to name a few... One recent opening that has rekindled an almost lost New York candy store tradition is Leila's Handmade Chocolate Co. on West 231st St., near the bus stop hub for all the Riverdale MTA transferee's. This shop features an inviting European interior style reminiscent of the bygone famed Yorkville Elk Candy Co., and yes, there is marzipan, plus premium kosher and non kosher treats from Evelyn's Chocolate a downtown tradition for over 60 years, plus baby boomer treats from the lower eastside's Economy Candy, small pastries, espresso, cappuccino and they will accept special occasion cakes on request. In a way this little shop brings back the nostalgic grand candy store tradition of the old Jewish Bronx. Do you remember Krum's on the Grand Concourse? Don't you just love it? Now how to get to Kingsbridge and Riverdale: There are two major arteries that serve as major mass transit hubs for several local bus services connecting the far north/west neighborhood of Kingsbridge and Riverdale to the rest of the Bronx and the city. The nearest subway lines with connecting bus service are at Broadway at West 231st St., known as the Kingsbridge station, the #1 subway which serves Manhattan's West Side; and further to the east at the Bedford Park Lehman College subway station the #4 subway serves Yankee Stadium, Manhattan's East Side and Brooklyn. The once challenged commercial district of West 231st St. from Broadway to Riverdale Ave. which showed vacant store fronts and long bordered up stretches of vacant or stalled construction sites are now humming away and beginning to come alive again. Look for two new mid rise apartment buildings and the new high-tech public library all under construction and another rental mixed-use apartment building further west going up the hill on Riverdale Ave. New life is also being developed along West 230th St. from Baily Ave., where the Major Deegan exit is at West 230th St. to Broadway and across the four block stretch to Riverdale Ave., the beginning of the more affluent neighborhood of Riverdale. On the strictly commercial strip that was once home to a long time 24-hour gas station, that closed last year, it is now heard to be bought by a major bank that's been expanding into untapped regions of the Bronx and now plans to have a 24/7 banking experience in an area that has no competition, it will be the only convenient bank in an area that intersects Marble Hill, Kingsbridge and lower Riverdale. Come visit the valley of Kingsbridge the gateway to the high grounds of Riverdale, one of New York's premiere residential communities - You'll love the big saving and opportunities! Susan Lynne Seidner Chasky is the senior vice president at Halstead Property Riverdale, LLC, Riverdale, N.Y.