Public Employee Press

EMT Joe Conzo documents Bronx history

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

President Jimmy Carter stood on Charlotte Street in the South Bronx on Oct. 5, 1977, among the rubble where sturdy apartment buildings once stood and promised federal aid to rebuild the abandoned neighborhood.

Three years later the financial aid hadn't arrived and the Democratic Party was rolling into town for their convention at Madison Square Garden. Activists got together and organized a convention of their own to demand that the promise to rebuild be kept. They organized the People's Convention on Charlotte Street and draped a Puerto Rican flag from the top of an abandoned building.

That iconic photograph and many others of the neighborhood were taken by Emergency Medical Technician Joe Conzo. Today, there are many ranch style private homes in the community and few memories of he abandoned neighborhood.

Tourists even flock to the Bronx for hip hop tours. Thanks to Conzo, who graduated from South Bronx High School and still lives in the neighborhood, that rough patch of the neighborhood's history is well documented

"On that day I cut class to go to the convention," Conzo said. While those abandoned buildings were a national symbol of urban blight, for the teenaged Conzo they served as a clubhouse for kids in the neighborhood

Some of those images are on display at The Bronx Museum of the Arts as part of the Three Photographers from the Bronx exhibit, which runs through June 4. Conzo also photographed the growing hip hop scene in the Bronx. Those photos are at the Museum of the City of New York, where an exhibition runs until Sept. 13.

The Local 2507 member and vice president also had those images displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "I've been blessed," said Conzo, describing having been mentored as a teenager by Carlos Ortiz, Ricky Flores, Angel Franco, Edwin Pagan, Francisco Reyes and David Gonzalez, a distinguished group of young Puerto Rican photographers from the Bronx.

His camera is always ready, but Conzo also loves his day job. "I have the best job in the world," he said. "I always tell everyone that. I help save lives, what is better than that."