BY: Liliana Rocio, Senior Editor For World Liberty TV

Hip hop legends Nas, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Lil Kim, Borough President Diaz, city officials and more participated in celebration of $349 million South Bronx development along the Harlem River waterfront.

Bronx Point is the future home of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, and the groundbreaking is the official launch of the museum’s capital campaign.

On Thursday, May 20, Hip Hop legends Nas, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Lil Kim, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, City Council Member Diana Ayala, city officials and more hip hop luminaries will take part in the official groundbreaking event for the first phase of Bronx Point.

The much-anticipated $349 million mixed-use project along the Harlem River waterfront in the South Bronx is being developed by L+M Development Partners and Type A Projects, co-hosts of the groundbreaking ceremony.

Bronx Point’s first phase will deliver 542 units of permanently affordable housing to the Lower Concourse neighborhood, along with approximately 2.8 acres of public open space.

Additionally, the project will deliver an array of cultural and community-focused programming, including the permanent home of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, an early childhood space run by BronxWorks, and outdoor science programming run by the Billion Oyster Project.

The event, which will also serve as the official launch of the Universal Hip Hop Museum’s capital campaign, will feature remarks from representatives of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, Empire State Development Corporation, New York City Economic Development Corporation.

New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Bronx Community Board #4, Wells Fargo, and Bronx Works.

Plans for the Universal Hip Hop Museum were first announced back in 2014, and a pop-up version of the institution was introduced in 2019. However, the initial 2020 date for the groundbreaking was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February 2021, the forthcoming state-of-the-art facility received a $3.5 million grant from the city of New York. Earlier this month, Microsoft donated $5 million to expand the Universal Hip Hop Museum’s cultural heritage program, and the company was named the Official Technology Partner for the UHHM.

“Preserving the history of Hip Hop, celebrating the cultural contributions of the pioneers who paved the way for today’s Hip Hop generation to thrive and flourish, and promoting the positive economic and social aspects of Hip-Hop have been the sole focus of the UHHM for the past decade,” said Universal Hip Hop Museum Executive Director, Rocky Bucano.

The Universal Hip Hop Museum website lists Rocky Bucano, Kurtis Blow, Shawn LG Thomas, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Mickey Bentson, Joe Conzo Jr., and Grandmaster Melle Mel as Founding Members. Dallas Austin, Marq Hawkins, Ralph McDaniels, and Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis are among the individuals on the UHHM’s Advisory Board.

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