Bronx Week has officially begun! The Bronx Tourism Council, in partnership with the Office of the Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, hosted a press conference at the Bronx Museum of the Arts on Tuesday, May 6. The 2025 inductees to the Bronx Walk of Fame, the Key to the Borough Recipient and the winners of the Tourism Award were announced.
The new inductees for the Walk of Fame are freestyle singer Judy Torres, WWE superstar Damian Priest, former NBA player Kemba Walker and artist/social media figure Devon Rodriguez. The People’s Choice Award Winner is BronxNet’s Gary Axelbank. Axelbank was selected from a group of candidates from the media and arts with close ties or origins in The Bronx.
The Key to the Borough, which is awarded annually to a candidate from the Bronx with outstanding accomplishments in their field, is DJ and record producer Derrick “D-Nice” Jones.
Finally, the Tourism Award is going to two extremely deserving candidates: the Bronx Music Hall and the New York Yankees. The Bronx Music Hall was developed in 2017 by the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) to provide a cultural center for musical performances that the community can enjoy. The New York Yankees, housed in the “Cathedral of baseball” on 161st Street, were recognized for their “27 World Series wins” by BXEDC President Rob Walsh during the press conference.
This year, it is particularly exciting to be announcing the new Bronx Walk of Fame inductees because the Bronx Tourism Council team was able to show off the new Bronx Walk of Fame app, which Chief of Staff Luis Garcia spearheaded with the app development company Hubspire. The app allows you to virtually walk the Bronx Walk of Fame from afar or engage with it directly as you walk down the Grand Concourse. The app will even notify you if you are near a Bronx Walk of Fame sign, so you can learn more about the inductees and why they are included.
Download the app now by searching “Bronx WOF” on The App Store or Google Play. For more information on the events taking place during Bronx Week, visit ilovethebronx.com.
