About Bronx Little Italy
The Belmont Business Improvement District (BID) is a non-profit organization made up of property owners and commercial tenants who are dedicated to promoting business development and improving Belmont’s quality of life. The BID works to ensure Bronx Little Italy is a clean, safe, and exciting neighborhood through our supplemental services such as sanitation, public safety, marketing, and advocacy. We continually strive to enhance and preserve our authentic community.
The History of Belmont
The Belmont neighborhood’s interesting history dates back to the 1700’s. In 1760, French Huguenot Pierre Abraham Lorillard came to New York and started the first tobacco company, P. Lorillard & Co., which is still in business today. At that time, they manufactured snuff and originally opened in lower Manhattan shortly before moving up to the Bronx where they purchased a large tract of land along the Bronx River and built their estate which they named “Belle Mont.” Their original plant, the “Old Snuff Mill” still stands in the New York Botanical Garden.
