Ice cream ad replaces contentious “Piano District” billboard

The billboard was taken down over pushback from the community

<em>A billboard in the South Bronx (credit: Instagram/griffhoff13)</em>
A billboard in the South Bronx (credit: Instagram/griffhoff13)

Ice cream is easier to sell than a new neighborhood name — even if it is low fat.

The controversial billboard that tried to rebrand part of the South Bronx as the “Piano District” has been replaced by an ad for Enlightened, a low-cal ice cream brand. The billboard, which bore the logos and names of developers the Chetrit Group and Somerset Properties, was taken down over pushback from the community.

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But don’t let that fool you — the Piano District, the suggested new name for Mott Haven, will soon be home to major changes. The developers still plan up to six residential towers on two sites they purchased for $58 million in the last year, at 2401 Third Avenue and 101 Lincoln Avenue. Rubenstein also plans to help open a coffee shop, a clothing design studio and an art gallery in the area, DNAinfo reported.

Somerset and Chetrit are part of a group of developers and investors quietly remaking the South Bronx. The Real Deal’s November issue explored the flurry of Development Taking Place in the borough. [DNAinfo]Kathryn Brenzel