At the epicenter of a district partially on the mend, Assemblyman Michael Blake, who officially declared a run for Congress for the 15th Congressional District, told supporters he sought to remove the label that the district is the country’s poorest.

“I’m not proud of that,” said Blake, standing before supporters on a stage erected on East 134th Street between Alexander Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard.

Serving as the nation’s most impoverished district has prevailed since the current seat-holder, Congressman Jose Serrano–who announced he’ll retire after his current 15th term is up–took office in 1990. While the quality of life within the district has increased since 1990 (there were a reported 72 murders that year in the precinct borders where Blake held his rally), it hasn’t kept pace with the rest of the borough.

“We’ve had an under-the-radar congressman for decades,” said James Boyd, a resident living in the 15th Congressional District. “It’s time to remove the tagline that this 15th Congressional District is the poorest.”

Along with being the poorest, the district is also home to a litany of issues it can’t seem to have shaken off during Serrano’s tenure.

Boyd attended the rally with his mother, Diane Thomas, a senior citizen advocating for desperately needed senior housing in the district. “They’re putting up a lot of buildings, but they’re not focusing it on seniors,” said Thomas. “A lot of seniors are paying high rent.”

Issues of homelessness have also hurt the district, said Thomas, a sentiment shared by Carmen Matos, another resident. Matos, who’s been living in the district for 20 years, said the homelessness issue is coupled by the rampant drug abuse happening in southern end of the district.

“As soon as you walk out of my house, you see them laid out, sleeping there. They have a clinic that’s right in the local area with children across the street at a school. There’s a methadone clinic right across from me, from the school,” said Matos. “You see needles everywhere.”

Matos spoke to the Norwood News in front of Bronx Native, a boutique clothing store that exclusively sells items with the word “Bronx” emblazoned. Her friend and owner of the Bronx Native, Amaurys Grullon, agreed that issues of homelessness and drug abuse persist, perhaps increasing in areas like the Third Avenue Business Improvement District, but he admits segments of the district have seen a rise in business activity.

Jessica Gomez-Afam, a resident in the district who attended the rally, also pointed out the heroin/K2 use along the Third Avenue Business Improvement District. “It’s getting worse,” said Gomez-Afam. Her husband, Ikenna Afam, says the city is “trying to clean it up,” though they’re missing the mark.

Like Thomas, the need for affordability stood as a relevant issue for Grullon and Matos. Affordable housing has been built, and Grullon at least hopes rents will remain steady even after greater interest in the district, particularly in the South Bronx, continues.

The prospect of prosperous 15th Congressional District is not without fears of gentrification, a topic surely to be taken up by other candidates in the race, which include Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr., Jonathan Ortiz, and Tomas Ramos. Councilman Ritchie Torres, who’s announced an interest in running, has to officially enter. Over the last ten years, hundreds of millions of dollars via development projects have been pumped into the South Bronx, adding to the fear that affordability may be completely slipping away from the existing population.

“This area, right here, is flourishing, but at the same time it’s kicking people of low-income out,” said Gomez-Afam. “Where I’m at right now, it’s still low-income, but it’s slowly progressing. You want it to flourish, you want it to do good, but you don’t want to kick the community out.”