By: Lidia Evita, Staff Writer for World Liberty TV

The Office of the Bronx Borough President and the Bronx Tourism Council are excited to be hosting the 53rd Annual Bronx Ball on Saturday, May 17, at the Hutchinson Metro Center at 1720 Eastchester Rd.

As usual, the Ball honored the new inductees to the Bronx Walk of Fame (including the People’s Choice honoree) and the recipient of the Key to the Borough. This year, the theme is “Strive and Thrive in ’25.”

There was a cocktail hour and dinner catered by Havana Café, dancing and music provided by Bronx native and award-winning DJ, “DJ Whutever.”

This year, the space used was formerly a Stop & Shop supermarket, so you can imagine how much potential there is for a beautiful event due to the size of the space.

The Bronx Tourism Council was excited to be hosting this year’s honorees there, as they are a particularly exciting group; they are some of the biggest names to come out of the Bronx, not to mention they are all quite young for the success they have gained.

For the third year in a row, the Bronx Tourism Council also looks forward to awarding a sign to the “People’s Choice” awardee — this year, it will be presented to a candidate from the media and arts.

This year’s honorees included: The 2025 honorees include acclaimed artist Devon Rodriguez, former NBA star and current basketball coach Kemba Walker, professional wrestler Damian Priest, freestyle music legend and dance-pop singer Judy Torres, and journalist, DJ, and television personality Gary Axelbank.

In addition to his induction into the Bronx Walk of Fame, Axelbank will be honored with the People’s Choice Award, recognizing his exceptional contributions to media and the arts in the Bronx.

DJ and record producer Derrick “D-Nice” Jones will also receive one of the borough’s highest honors—the Key to the Borough—joining a distinguished list of past recipients that includes Yankees announcer John Sterling and hip-hop pioneer MC Sha-Rock.

This year’s honorees for the Bronx Tourism Awards were also announced. The Bronx Music Heritage Center, which opened its doors in late 2024, and the New York Yankees, who are projected to generate around $594 million from home games during the 2025 season, will both be given Bronx Tourism Awards for helping to make a significant impact on tourism in the borough.

“For someone who has dedicated his career to presenting TV programs to the people of the Bronx for three decades, this is the most wonderful honor I could possibly be given” Axelbank said. “What makes it even more special is being the People’s Choice, because it’s the people of the Bronx who inspire me every day.”

About The Bronx Ball:  In the ’90s, Borough President Ferrer and the Bronx Tourism Council resurrected a previously thought of idea of the Bronx Walk of Fame on the Grand Concourse. The task of funding to maintain the Bronx Walk of Fame since then has been rooted in another staple event of the Bronx Week festivities, which today we call the Bronx Ball.

Dating back to early Bronx Day, then later Bronx Week celebrations, Borough Presidents had their mechanisms for fundraising. Hosting grand formal banquets, for example, was an idea to attract major sponsorships and contributions to pay for the extravagancies of a 4-mile-long parade on the Grand Concourse.

Borough President Ferrer applied this fundraising strategy by creating a signature event to honor the inductees the night before their official inductions, while using the event’s revenues to maintain the street signs throughout the year and thus continuing the tradition thereon.

Yet, according to borough historian Lloyd Ultan, grand finale events in forms of a gala or any other distinguished events weren’t necessarily viewed as a “Bronx Ball.” It was the popularity of the event as it grew around more popular celebrities and memorable performances that earned the event its own brand.

In June 2007 succeeding Borough President Adolfo Carrión held the 10th annual Bronx Ball at the historic Loews Paradise theater on the Grand Concourse. It was an evening quite reminiscent of the numerous star-studded premiers the theater had seen in its day.

By then, both the Bronx Ball and Bronx Walk of Fame induction events have become household names with legacies of their own that are too strong and meaningful not to include. In fact, these culminating events always provides new opportunities for future borough presidents to display their own style and creativity in their tenure, with the intent to make it memorable.

Today, the Bronx Ball continues to serve its potential to create revenue and evolves into greater platforms for our borough’s celebrated figures to share their own Bronx stories of pride and perseverance. Respectively, the Bronx Walk of Fame now has over 125 street signs on the Grand Concourse reflecting the names of Bronx based, world-known celebrities from various fields of professions.

It is a renowned tourist attraction and an educational resource of Bronx history for both outside visitor and local resident alike. Yet, this outdoor museum offers new possibilities to improve public engagement with more inclusion and resonance.

A major step into this realm of thought is taken by current Borough President Vanessa Gibson, who presented the idea of a People’s Choice Award in 2023 to get Bronxites to vote on local heroes who warrant celebrity status for their impactful work in the community. In 2023 the category was education, and in 2024 the category was healthcare. In 2025, we are extremely excited that the category is media and arts.

To further celebrate the Walk of Fame’s honorees, the Bronx Economic Development Corporation and the Bronx Tourism Council developed an app for the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2025 to further its reach and allow users to virtually “walk” the Walk of Fame.

It is obvious to note that just with a short glimpse of history behind the Bronx Week concept would reveal a collective effort from one borough presidency to the next, and not without the support from other agencies and advisors. This story exemplifies how creativity and innovation accentuates a growing legacy of such a dynamic multi-day celebration like Bronx Week and The Bronx Ball.

It was very well attended people from all over the Bronx’s in attendance from Business, Entertainment, community leaders and much more.

Live Fashion show was organized during cocktail hour by Flora Montes, Founder of Bronx Fashion Week.

 

Live entertainment was by Everything Covered band, the band played classic Bronx, music had people dancing, it was one of the best band I heard for a long time.

It was World Liberty TV teams 15^th Annual appearance covering Bronx Ball, which we had the pleasure of Covering for the following Former Bronx Borough presidents, Fernando Ferrer, Adolfo Carion Jr, Ruben Diaz, Jr and now Vanessa L. Gibson.

We have a great following on our World Liberty TV, from the Bronx. We love the people of Bronx’s who have always opened their doors to us to showcase the great boro.

See Much more about the Bronx and Bronx Ball in our World Liberty TV, African-American Caribbean channels by clicking here.