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By Carol Pipes

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queezed between the Harlem River and the old Yankee Stadium lies the mostly-forgotten neighborhood of Mott Haven. For decades, this South Bronx community has borne the brunt of crime, drugs and poverty in a city known for its luxuriously rich and desperately poor. Mott Haven is a hodge-podge of storefronts, public housing, abandoned buildings and turn-of-the-century Brownstones and recently was ranked by the Daily News as one of the worst neighborhoods in New York City to raise kids – based on statistics for crime, education, and health risks such as asthma, diabetes and teenage pregnancy.

It’s because of the depth of these problems that the red brick building with the bright green door at Brook Ave and 141st stands out amid similar structures. It’s home to Graffi ti 2 Church and Community Ministries, and on this particular Monday morning, the building is briefl y quiet. It’s the calm before the storm of activity that takes place here every afternoon. As soon as the last bell rings at the elementary school around the corner some 25 fi rst- through fi fth-graders will fi ll the room for Graffi ti 2’s after-school program.

ON MISSION • Summer 2010 29

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