The Bronx

"Bronx" redirects here. For other uses, seeBronx (disambiguation).

The Bronx Bronx County, New York
Boroughandcounty
Co-op City,as seen from the east, sits along theHutchinson River. Yankee Stadium Bronx Zoo Bronx Museum of the Arts The Hub
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): BX, The Boogie Down
Motto(s): Ne cede malis– "Yield Not to Evil" (lit. "Yield Not to Evil Things" )
Interactive map outlining the Bronx
The Bronx Location withinNew York City The Bronx Location within theState of New York The Bronx Location within theUnited States The Bronx Location onEarth
Coordinates:40°50′14″N73°53′10″W
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Bronx (coterminous)
City	New York City
Settled	1639(1639)
Named for	Jonas Bronck
Government
• Type	Borough of New York City
•Borough President	Vanessa Gibson(D) –(Borough of the Bronx)
•District Attorney	Darcel Clark(D) –(Bronx County)
Area
• Total	57 sq mi (150 km2)
• Land	42.2 sq mi (109 km2)
• Water	15 sq mi (40 km2) 27%
Highest elevation	280 ft (90 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	1,472,654
• Density	34,918/sq mi (13,482/km2)
•Demonym	Bronxite
GDP
• Total	US$43.675 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC–05:00(Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC–04:00(EDT)
ZIP Codeprefix	104
Area codes	718/347/929,917
Website	bronxboropres.nyc.gov

The Bronx(/brɒŋks/) is aboroughofNew York City,coextensive withBronx County,in theU.S. stateofNew York.It is south ofWestchester County;north and east of the New York City borough ofManhattan,across theHarlem River;and north of the New York City borough ofQueens,across theEast River.The Bronx, the only New York City borough not primarily located on an island, has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km²) and a population of 1,472,654 at the2020 census.Of the five boroughs, it has the fourth-largest area, fourth-highest population, and third-highestpopulation density.

The Bronx is divided by theBronx Riverinto a hillier section in thewest,and a flattereasternsection. East and west street names are divided byJerome Avenue.The West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895.Bronx County was separated from New York County (modern-day Manhattan) in 1914.About a quarter of the Bronx's area is open space,includingWoodlawn Cemetery,Van Cortlandt Park,Pelham Bay Park,theNew York Botanical Garden,and theBronx Zooin the borough's north and center. TheThain Family Forestat the New York Botanical Garden is thousands of years old and is New York City's largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered the city.These open spaces are primarily on land reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north and east from Manhattan.

The word "Bronx" originated withSwedish-born (orFaroese-born)Jonas Bronck,who established the first European settlement in the area as part of theNew Netherlandcolony in 1639.European settlers displaced the nativeLenapeafter 1643. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bronx received many immigrant and migrant groups as it was transformed into an urban community, first from European countries particularlyIreland,Germany,Italy,andEastern Europe,and later from theCaribbeanregion (particularlyPuerto Rico,Trinidad,Haiti,Guyana,Jamaica,Barbados,and theDominican Republic), and immigrants fromWest Africa(particularly fromGhanaandNigeria),African Americanmigrants from theSouthern United States,Panamanians,Hondurans,andSouth Asians.

The Bronx contains the poorestcongressional district in the United States,New York's 15th.The borough also features upper- and middle-income neighborhoods, such asRiverdale,Fieldston,Spuyten Duyvil,Schuylerville,Pelham Bay,Pelham Gardens,Morris Park,andCountry Club.Parts of the Bronx saw a steep decline in population, livable housing, and quality of life starting from the mid-to-late 1960s, continuing throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, ultimately culminating in a wave ofarsonin the late 1970s, a period whenhip hop musicevolved.TheSouth Bronx,in particular, experienced severeurban decay.The borough began experiencing new population growth starting in the late 1990s and continuing to the present day.

Etymology and naming

Early names

Map of southern Westchester County in 1867. This, along with the southern part of the former Town ofYonkers,became the Bronx.

The Bronx was calledRananchquaby the nativeSiwanoyband ofLenape(also known historically asthe Delawares), while otherNative Americansknew the Bronx asKeskeskeck.It was divided by the Aquahung River (now known in English as theBronx River).

The Bronx was named afterJonas Bronck(c. 1600–1643), a European settler whose precise origins are disputed. Documents indicate he was a Swedish-born immigrant fromKomstad, Norra Ljunga parishinSmåland,Sweden, who arrived inNew Netherlandduring the spring of 1639.Bronck became the first recorded European settler in the present-day Bronx and built a farm named "Emmaus" close to what today is the corner of Willis Avenue and 132nd Street inMott Haven.He leased land from theDutch West India Companyon the neck of the mainland immediately north of the Dutch settlement ofNew Haarlem(onManhattan Island), and bought additional tracts from the local tribes. He eventually accumulated 500 acres (200 ha) between theHarlem Riverand the Aquahung, which became known asBronck's RiverortheBronx[River].Dutch and English settlers referred to the area asBronck's Land.The American poetWilliam Bronkwas a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Bronck's son or his younger brother, but most probably a nephew or cousin, as there was an age difference of 16 years.Much work on the Swedish claim has been undertaken by Brian G. Andersson, former Commissioner of New York City's Department of Records, who helped organize a 375th Anniversary celebration in Bronck's hometown in 2014.

Use of definite article

The Bronx is referred to with thedefinite articleas "the Bronx" or "The Bronx", both legally and colloquially.The "County of the Bronx" also takes "the" immediately before "Bronx" in formal references, like the coextensive "Borough of the Bronx". TheUnited States Postal Serviceuses "Bronx, NY" for mailing addresses.The region was apparently named after theBronx Riverand first appeared in the "Annexed District of The Bronx", created in 1874 out of part ofWestchester County.It was continued in the "Borough of The Bronx", created in 1898, which included a larger annexation from Westchester County in 1895. The use of the definite article is attributed to the style of referring to rivers.A time-worn story purportedly explaining the use of the definite article in the borough's name says it stems from the phrase "visiting the Broncks", referring to the settler's family.

The capitalization of the borough's name is sometimes disputed. Generally, the definite article is lowercase in place names ( "the Bronx" ) except in some official references. The definite article is capitalized ( "The Bronx" ) at the beginning of a sentence or in any other situation when a normally lowercase word would be capitalized.However, some people and groups refer to the borough with a capital letter at all times, such as Bronx Borough HistorianLloyd Ultan,The Bronx County Historical Society,and the Bronx-based organization Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx, arguing the definite article is part of the proper name.In particular, the Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx is leading efforts to make the city refer to the borough with an uppercase definite article in all uses, comparing the lowercase article in the Bronx's name to "not capitalizing the 's' in 'Staten Island'".

History

For a chronological guide, seeTimeline of the Bronx.

The first published book of Bronx history:History of Bronx Borough, City of New Yorkby Randall Comfort

European colonization of the Bronx began in 1639. The Bronx was originally part ofWestchester County,but it was ceded toNew York Countyin two major parts (West Bronx,1874 andEast Bronx,1895) before it became Bronx County. Originally, the area was part of theLenape'sLenapehokingterritory inhabited bySiwanoyof theWappingerConfederacy. Over time, European colonists converted the borough into farmlands.

Before 1914

See also:List of former municipalities in New York City

The Bronx's development is directly connected to its strategic location betweenNew Englandand New York (Manhattan). Control over the bridges across the Harlem River plagued the period of British colonial rule. The King's Bridge, built in 1693 whereBroadwayreached theSpuyten Duyvil Creek,was a possession ofFrederick Philipse,lord ofPhilipse Manor.Local farmers on both sides of the creek resented the tolls, and in 1759, Jacobus Dyckman and Benjamin Palmer led them in building a free bridge across the Harlem River.After theAmerican Revolutionary War,the King's Bridge toll was abolished.

The territory now contained within Bronx County was originally part ofWestchester County,one of the 12 original counties of the EnglishProvince of New York.The present Bronx County was contained in the town of Westchester and parts of the towns inYonkers,Eastchester,andPelham.In 1846, a new town was created by division of Westchester, called West Farms. The town ofMorrisaniawas created, in turn, from West Farms in 1855. In 1873, the town ofKingsbridgewas established within the former borders of the town of Yonkers, roughly corresponding to the modern Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge,Riverdale,andWoodlawn Heights,and includedWoodlawn Cemetery.

Among the famous people who settled in the Bronx during the 19th and early 20th centuries were authorWilla Cather,tobacco merchantPierre Lorillard,and inventorJordan L. Mott,who establishedMott Havento house the workers at his iron works.

The consolidation of the Bronx into New York City proceeded in two stages. In 1873, the state legislature annexed Kingsbridge, West Farms, and Morrisania to New York, effective in 1874; the three towns were soon abolished in the process.

The whole territory east of the Bronx River was annexed to the city in 1895, three years before New York's consolidation withBrooklyn,Queens,andStaten Island.This included the Town of Westchester (which had voted against consolidation in 1894) and parts of Eastchester and Pelham.The nautical community ofCity Islandvoted to join the city in 1896.

Following these two annexations, the Bronx's territory had moved from Westchester County into New York County, which already included Manhattan and the rest of pre-1874 New York City.

On January 1, 1898, the consolidatedCity of New Yorkwas born, including the Bronx as one of the five distinctboroughs.However, it remained part of New York County until Bronx County was created in 1914.

On April 19, 1912, those parts of New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County in previous decades were newly constituted as Bronx County, the 62nd and last county to be created by the state, effective in 1914.Bronx County's courts opened for business on January 2, 1914 (the same day thatJohn P. Mitchelstarted work asMayor of New York City).Marble Hill, Manhattan,was now connected to the Bronx by filling in the former waterway, but it is not part of the borough or county.

After 1914

The history of the Bronx during the 20th century may be divided into four periods: a boom period during 1900–1929, with a population growth by a factor of six from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.3 million in 1930. TheGreat Depressionand post World War II years saw a slowing of growth leading into an eventual decline. The mid to late century were hard times, as the Bronx changed during 1950–1985 from a predominantly moderate-income to a predominantly lower-income area with high rates of violent crime and poverty in some areas. The Bronx has experienced an economic and developmental resurgence starting in the late 1980s that continues into today.

New York City expands

Grand Concourseand161st Streetas they appeared around 1900

TheSimpson Streetelevated station was built in 1904 and opened on November 26, 1904. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 2004.

The Bronx was a mostly rural area for many generations, with small farms supplying the city markets. In the late 19th century, however, it grew into a railroad suburb. Faster transportation enabled rapid population growth in the late 19th century, involving the move from horse-drawn street cars to elevated railways and the subway system, which linked to Manhattan in 1904.

The South Bronx was a manufacturing center for many years and was noted as a center ofpianomanufacturing in the early part of the 20th century. In 1919, the Bronx was the site of 63 piano factories employing more than 5,000 workers.

At the end ofWorld War I,the Bronx hosted the rather small1918 World's Fairat 177th Street and DeVoe Avenue.

The Bronx underwent rapid urban growth after World War I. Extensions of theNew York City Subwaycontributed to the increase in population as thousands of immigrants came to the Bronx, resulting in a major boom in residential construction.Among these groups, manyIrish Americans,Italian Americans,and especiallyJewish Americanssettled here. In addition,French,German,Polish,and other immigrants moved into the borough. As evidence of the change in population, by 1937, 592,185 Jews lived in the Bronx (43.9% of the borough's population),while only 54,000 Jews lived in the borough in 2011. Manysynagoguesstill stand in the Bronx, but most have been converted to other uses.

Change

Bootleggersand gangs were active in the Bronx duringProhibition(1920–1933). Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Polish gangs smuggled in most of the illegal whiskey, and the oldest sections of the borough became poverty-stricken.Police Commissioner Richard Enright said that speakeasies provided a place for "the vicious elements, bootleggers, gamblers and their friends in all walks of life" to cooperate and to "evade the law, escape punishment for their crimes, [and] to deter the police from doing their duty".

Between 1930 and 1960, moderate and upper income Bronxites (predominantly non-Hispanic Whites) began torelocatefrom the borough's southwestern neighborhoods. This migration has left a mostly poor African American and Hispanic (largelyPuerto Rican) population in the West Bronx. One significant factor that shifted the racial and economic demographics was the construction ofCo-op City,built to house middle-class residents in family-sized apartments. The high-rise complex played a significant role in draining middle-class residents from older tenement buildings in the borough's southern and western fringes. Most predominantly non-Hispanic White communities todayare in the eastern and northwestern sections of the borough.

From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, thequality of lifechanged for some Bronx residents. Historians and social scientists have suggested many factors, including the theory thatRobert Moses'Cross Bronx Expresswaydestroyed existing residential neighborhoods and created instant slums, as put forward inRobert Caro's biographyThe Power Broker.Another factor in the Bronx's decline may have been the development ofhigh-risehousing projects,particularly in theSouth Bronx.Yet another factor may have been a reduction in the real estate listings and property-related financial services offered in some areas of the Bronx, such asmortgage loansor insurance policies—a process known asredlining.Others have suggested a "planned shrinkage"of municipal services, such as fire-fighting.There was also much debate as to whetherrent controllaws had made it less profitable (or more costly) for landlords to maintain existing buildings with their existing tenants than to abandon or destroy those buildings.

In the 1970s, parts of the Bronx were plagued by a wave of arson. The burning of buildings was predominantly in the poorest communities, such as the South Bronx. One explanation of this event was that landlords decided to burn their low property-value buildings and take the insurance money, as it was easier for them to get insurance money than to try to refurbish a dilapidated building or sell a building in a severely distressed area.The Bronx became identified with a high rate of poverty and unemployment, which was mainly a persistent problem in the South Bronx.There were cases where tenants set fire to the building they lived in so they could qualify for emergency relocations by city social service agencies to better residences, sometimes being relocated to other parts of the city.

Out of 289 census tracts in the Bronx borough, 7 tracts lost more than 97% of their buildings to arson and abandonment between 1970 and 1980; another 44 tracts had more than 50% of their buildings meet the same fate. By the early 1980s, the Bronx was considered the most blighted urban area in the country, particularly the South Bronx which experienced a loss of 60% of the population and 40% of housing units. However, starting in the 1990s, many of the burned-out and run-down tenements were replaced by new housing units.

In May 1984,New York Supreme CourtjusticePeter J. McQuillanruled thatMarble Hill, Manhattan,was simultaneously part of the Borough of Manhattan (not the Borough of the Bronx) and part of Bronx County (not New York County)and the matter was definitively settled later that year when theNew York Legislatureoverwhelmingly passed legislation declaring the neighborhood part of both New York County and the Borough of Manhattan and made this clarification retroactive to 1938, as reflected on the official maps of the city.

Revitalization

Row houseson a location where there was once burnt rubble. The Bronx has since seen revitalization.

Since the late 1980s, significant development has occurred in the Bronx, first stimulated by the city's "Ten-Year Housing Plan"and community members working to rebuild the social, economic and environmental infrastructure by creatingaffordable housing.Groups affiliated with churches in the South Bronx erected the Nehemiah Homes with about 1,000 units. The grass roots organization Nos Quedamos' endeavor known as Melrose Commonsbegan to rebuild areas in the South Bronx.TheIRT White Plains Road Line(2and ​5trains) began to show an increase in riders. Chains such asMarshalls,Staples,andTargetopened stores in the Bronx. More bank branches opened in the Bronx as a whole (rising from 106 in 1997 to 149 in 2007), although not primarily in poor or minority neighborhoods, while the Bronx still has fewer branches per person than other boroughs.

The Bronx – All-America City sign

In 1997, the Bronx was designated anAll America Cityby theNational Civic League,acknowledging its comeback from the decline of the mid-century.In 2006,The New York Timesreported that "construction cranes have become the borough's new visual metaphor, replacing the window decals of the 1980s in which pictures of potted plants and drawn curtains were placed in the windows of abandoned buildings."The borough has experienced substantial new building construction since 2002. Between 2002 and June 2007, 33,687 new units of housing were built or were under way and $4.8 billion has been invested in new housing. In the first six months of 2007 alone total investment in new residential development was $965 million and 5,187 residential units were scheduled to be completed. Much of the new development is springing up in formerly vacant lots across the South Bronx.

In addition there came a revitalization of the existing housing market in areas such as Hunts Point, the Lower Concourse, and the neighborhoods surrounding the Third Avenue Bridge as people buy apartments and renovate them.Several boutique and chain hotels opened in the 2010s in theSouth Bronx.

New developments are underway. The Bronx General Post Officeon the corner of the Grand Concourse and East 149th Street is being converted into a market place, boutiques, restaurants and office space with a USPS concession.TheKingsbridge Armory,often cited as the largest armory in the world, is currently slated for redevelopment. Under consideration for future development is the construction of a platform over theNew York City Subway'sConcourse Yardadjacent toLehman College.The construction would permit approximately 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m²) of development and would costUS$350–500 million.

Despite significant investment compared to the post war period, many exacerbated social problems remain including high rates of violent crime, substance abuse, overcrowding, and substandard housing conditions.The Bronx has the highest rate of poverty in New York City, and the greater South Bronx is the poorest area.

Geography

Main article:Geography of New York City

Location of the Bronx (red) within New York City

Location and physical features

See also:List of smaller islands in New York City

According to theU.S. Census Bureau,Bronx County has a total area of 57 square miles (150 km²), of which 42 square miles (110 km²) is land and 15 square miles (39 km²) (27%) is water.

The Bronx is New York City's northernmost borough, New York State's southernmost mainland county and the only part of New York City that is almost entirely on the North American mainland, unlike the other four boroughs that are either islands or located on islands.Thebedrockof theWest Bronxis primarilyFordhamgneiss,a high-grade heavily bandedmetamorphic rockcontaining significant amounts ofpink feldspar.Marble Hill – politically part of Manhattan but now physically attached to the Bronx – is so-called because of the formation ofInwood marblethere as well as inInwood, Manhattan,and parts of the Bronx and Westchester County.

TheHudson Riverseparates the Bronx on the west fromAlpine,TenaflyandEnglewood CliffsinBergen County, New Jersey;theHarlem Riverseparates it from the island ofManhattanto the southwest; theEast Riverseparates it fromQueensto the southeast; and to the east,Long Island Soundseparates it fromNassau Countyin western Long Island. Directly north of the Bronx are (from west to east) the adjoiningWestchester Countycommunities ofYonkers,Mount Vernon,Pelham ManorandNew Rochelle.There is also a short southern land boundary withMarble Hillin the Borough of Manhattan, over the filled-in former course of theSpuyten Duyvil Creek;Marble Hill's postalZIP code,telephonicarea codesand fire service, however, are shared with the Bronx and not Manhattan.

Aerial view of the Bronx from the east at night

TheBronx Riverflows south from Westchester County through the borough, emptying into the East River; it is the only entirelyfreshwaterriver in New York City.It separates the West Bronx from the schist of theEast Bronx.A smaller river, theHutchinson River(named after the religious leaderAnne Hutchinson,killed along its banks in 1641), passes through the East Bronx and empties intoEastchester Bay.

The Bronx also includes several small islands in theEast RiverandLong Island Sound,such asCity IslandandHart Island.Rikers Islandin the East River, home to the large jail complex for the entire city, is also part of the Bronx.

The Bronx's highest elevation at 280 feet (85 m) is in the northwest corner, west ofVan Cortlandt Parkand in the Chapel Farm area near theRiverdale Country School.The opposite (southeastern) side of the Bronx has four large low peninsulas or "necks" of low-lying land that jut into the waters of the East River and were oncesalt marsh:Hunt's Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck andThroggs Neck.Further up the coastline,Rodman's Necklies betweenPelham Bay Parkin the northeast andCity Island.The Bronx's irregular shoreline extends for 75 square miles (194 km²).

Parks and open space

See also:Category:Parks in the Bronx

An 1896New York Timesmap of parks and transit in the newly annexed Bronx.Marble Hillis in pink, cut off by water from the rest of Manhattan in orange.Van Cortlandt,Pelham BayandCrotona Parksare light green, as isBronx Park(now home to theNew York Botanical GardenandBronx Zoo),Woodlawn Cemeterymedium green, sports facilities dark green, the not-yet-builtJerome Park Reservoirlight blue, St. John's College (nowFordham University) violet, and the city limits of the newly expanded New York red.

Sample of open spaces and parks in the Bronx
Acquired	Name	acres	sq. mi.	hectares
1863	Woodlawn Cemetery	400	0.6	162
1888	Pelham Bay Park	2,772	4.3	1,122
	Van Cortlandt Park	1,146	1.8	464
	Bronx Park	718	1.1	291
	Crotona Park	128	0.2	52
	St. Mary's Park	35	0.05	14
1890	Jerome Park Reservoir	94	0.15	38
1897	St. James Park	11	0.02	4.6
1899	Macombs Dam Park†	28	0.04	12
1909	Henry Hudson Park	9	0.01	4
1937	Ferry Point Park	414	0.65	168
	Soundview Park	196	0.31	79
1962	Wave Hill	21	0.03	8.5
Land area of the Bronx in 2000		26,897	42.0	10,885
Water area		9,855	15.4	3,988
Total area		36,752	57.4	14,873
†closed in 2007 to build a new park &Yankee Stadium
Main source:New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

Although Bronx County was the third most densely populated county in the United States in 2022 (afterManhattanandBrooklyn),7,000 acres (28 km²) of the Bronx—about one fifth of the Bronx's area, and one quarter of its land area—is given over to parkland.The vision of a system of major Bronx parks connected by park-like thoroughfares is usually attributed toJohn Mullaly.

Woodlawn Cemetery,located on 400 acres (160 ha) and one of the largest cemeteries in New York City, sits on the western bank of theBronx RivernearYonkers.It opened in 1863, in what was then the town of Yonkers, at the time a rural area. Since the first burial in 1865, more than 300,000 people have been interred there.

The borough's northern side includes the largest park in New York City—Pelham Bay Park,which includesOrchard Beach—and the third-largest,Van Cortlandt Park,which is west of Woodlawn Cemetery and bordersYonkers.Also in the northern Bronx,Wave Hill,the former estate ofGeorge W. Perkins—known for a historic house, gardens, changing site-specific art installations and concerts—overlooks theNew Jersey Palisadesfrom a promontory on theHudsoninRiverdale.Nearer the borough's center, and along theBronx River,isBronx Park;its northern end houses theNew York Botanical Gardens,which preserve the last patch of the originalhemlockforest that once covered the county, and its southern end theBronx Zoo,the largest urban zoological gardens in the United States.In 1904 the Chestnut Blight pathogen (Cryphonectria parasitica) was found for the first time outside ofAsia,here, at the Bronx Zoo.Over the next 40 years it spread throughouteastern North Americaand killed back essentially every American Chestnut (Castanea dentata), causing ecological and economic devastation.

Just south ofVan Cortlandt Parkis theJerome Park Reservoir,surrounded by 2 miles (3 km) of stone walls and bordering several small parks in theBedford Parkneighborhood; thereservoirwas built in the 1890s on the site of the formerJerome Park Racetrack.Further south isCrotona Park,home to a 3.3-acre (1.3 ha) lake, 28 species of trees, and a large swimming pool.The land for these parks, and many others, was bought by New York City in 1888, while land was still open and inexpensive, in anticipation of future needs and future pressures for development.

Some of the acquired land was set aside for theGrand ConcourseandPelham Parkway,the first of a series ofboulevardsandparkways(thoroughfareslined with trees, vegetation and greenery). Later projects included theBronx River Parkway,which developed a road while restoring the riverbank and reducing pollution,Mosholu Parkwayand theHenry Hudson Parkway.

In 2006, a five-year, $220-million program of capital improvements and natural restoration in 70 Bronx parks was begun (financed by water and sewer revenues) as part of an agreement that allowed awater filtration plantunder Mosholu Golf Course in Van Cortlandt Park. One major focus is on opening more of theBronx River's banks and restoring them to a natural state.

Adjacent counties

The Bronx adjoins:

• Westchester County– north
• Nassau County– southeast (across theEast River)
• Queens County (Queens)– south (across the East River)
• New York County (Manhattan)– southwest
• Bergen County, New Jersey– west (across theHudson River)

Divisions of the Bronx

Regional divisions

An aerial view of the Bronx,Harlem River,Harlem,Hudson RiverandGeorge Washington Bridge

There are two primary systems for dividing the Bronx into regions, which do not necessarily agree with one another. One system is based on theBronx River,while the other strictly separatesSouth Bronxfrom the rest of the borough.

TheBronx Riverdivides the borough nearly in half, putting the earlier-settled, more urban, and hillier sections in the western lobe and the newer, more suburban coastal sections in the eastern lobe. It is an accurate reflection on the Bronx's history considering that the towns that existed in the area prior to annexation to the City of New York generally did not straddle the Bronx River.In addition, what is today the Bronx was annexed to New York City in two stages: areas west of the Bronx River were annexed in 1874 while areas to the east of the river were annexed in 1895.

• West Bronx:all parts of the Bronx west of theBronx River(as opposed to Jerome Avenue – this street is simply the "east-west" divider for designating numbered streets as "east" or "west." As the Bronx's numbered streets continue from Manhattan to south, on which the street numbering system is based, Jerome Avenue actually represents a longitudinal halfway point for Manhattan, not the Bronx.)
• East Bronx:all parts of the Bronx east of theBronx River(as opposed to Jerome Avenue)

Under this system, the Bronx can be further divided into the following regions:

• Northwest Bronx:the northern half of the West Bronx; the area north of Fordham Road and west of the Bronx River
• Southwest Bronx:the southern half of the West Bronx; the area south of Fordham Road and west of the Bronx River
• Northeast Bronx:the northern half of the East Bronx; the area north of Pelham Parkway and east of the Bronx River
• Southeast Bronx:the southern half of the East Bronx; the area south of Pelham Parkway and east of the Bronx River

A second system divides the borough first and foremost into the following sections:

• North Bronx:all areas not in the South Bronx (Southwest Bronx) – i.e. the Northwest Bronx, Northeast Bronx, and Southeast Bronx
• South Bronx:the Southwest Bronx – south of Fordham Road and west of the Bronx River. This includes the areas traditionally considered part of the South Bronx.

Neighborhoods

See also:List of Bronx neighborhoods,Bronx Community Board,andTimeline of town creation in Downstate New York

The number, locations, and boundaries of the Bronx's neighborhoods (many of them sitting on the sites of 19th-century villages) have become unclear with time and successive waves of newcomers. Even city officials do not necessarily agree. In a 2006 article forThe New York Times,Manny Fernandez described the disagreement:

According to aDepartment of City Planningmap of the city's neighborhoods, the Bronx has 49. The map publisherHagstromidentifies 69. The borough president,Adolfo Carrión Jr.,says 61. The Mayor's Community Assistance Unit, in a listing of theborough's community boards,names 68.

Major neighborhoods of the Bronx include the following.

East Bronx

Main article:East Bronx

(Bronx Community Districts9[south central],10[east],11[east central]and 12[north central])

The neighborhood ofCo-op Cityis the largest cooperative housing development in the world.

East of theBronx River,the borough is relatively flat and includes four large low peninsulas, or 'necks,' of low-lying land which jut into the waters of the East River and were once saltmarsh: Hunts Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck (Castle Hill Point) andThrogs Neck.The East Bronx has older tenement buildings, low income public housing complexes, and multifamily homes, as well as single family homes. It includes New York City's largest park:Pelham Bay Parkalong theWestchester-Bronx border.

Neighborhoods include:Clason's Point,Harding Park,Soundview,Castle Hill,Parkchester(Community District 9);Throggs Neck,Country Club,City Island,Pelham Bay,Edgewater Park,Co-op City(Community District 10);Westchester Square,Van Nest,Pelham Parkway,Morris Park(Community District 11);Williamsbridge,Eastchester,Baychester,EdenwaldandWakefield(Community District 12).

City Island and Hart Island

Main articles:City Island, BronxandHart Island (Bronx)

A sunken boat off the shore ofCity Island

(Bronx Community District10)

City Island is east ofPelham Bay ParkinLong Island Soundand is known for its seafood restaurants and private waterfront homes.City Island's single shopping street, City Island Avenue, is reminiscent of a small New England town. It is connected toRodman's Neckon the mainland by theCity Island Bridge.

East of City Island isHart Island,which is uninhabited and not open to the public. It once served as a prison and now houses New York City'spotter's fieldfor unclaimed bodies.

West Bronx

Main article:West Bronx

Grand Concourseat East 165th Street in 2008

(Bronx Community Districts1 to 8, progressing roughly from south to northwest)

The western parts of the Bronx are hillier and are dominated by a series of parallel ridges, running south to north. The West Bronx has older apartment buildings, low income public housing complexes, multifamily homes in its lower income areas as well as larger single family homes in more affluent areas such asRiverdaleandFieldston.It includes New York City's third-largest park:Van Cortlandt Parkalong the Westchester-Bronx border. TheGrand Concourse,a wide boulevard, runs through it, north to south.

Northwestern Bronx

(Bronx Community Districts7[between theBronxandHarlem Rivers]and 8[facing theHudson River]– plus part of Board 12)

Neighborhoods include: Fordham-Bedford,Bedford Park,Norwood,Kingsbridge Heights(Community District 7),Kingsbridge,Riverdale(Community District 8),andWoodlawn Heights(Community District 12). (Marble Hill, Manhattanis now connected by land to the Bronx rather than Manhattan and is served by Bronx Community District 8.)

South Bronx

Main article:South Bronx

Morris Heights,a Bronx neighborhood of over 45,000

(Bronx Community Districts1 to 6 plus part of CD 7—progressing northwards, CDs 2, 3 and 6 border theBronx Riverfrom its mouth toBronx Park,while 1, 4, 5 and 7 face Manhattan across theHarlem River)

Like otherneighborhoods in New York City,the South Bronx has no official boundaries. The name has been used to represent poverty in the Bronx and is applied to progressively more northern places so that by the 2000s,Fordham Roadwas often used as a northern limit. TheBronx Rivermore consistently forms an eastern boundary. The South Bronx has many high-density apartment buildings, low income public housing complexes, and multi-unit homes. The South Bronx is home to theBronx County Courthouse,Borough Hall, and other government buildings, as well asYankee Stadium.TheCross Bronx Expresswaybisects it, east to west. The South Bronx has some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country, as well as very high crime areas.

Neighborhoods include:The Hub(a retail district atThird Avenueand East 149th Street),Port Morris,Mott Haven(Community District 1),Melrose(Community District 1&Community District 3),Morrisania,East Morrisania[also known as Crotona Park East](Community District 3),Hunts Point,Longwood(Community District 2),Highbridge,Concourse(Community District 4),West Farms,Belmont,East Tremont(Community District 6),Tremont,Morris Heights(Community District 5),University Heights.(Community District 5&Community District 7).

Demographics

Main article:Demographics of the Bronx

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	1,781		—
1800	1,755		−1.5%
1810	2,267		29.2%
1820	2,782		22.7%
1830	3,023		8.7%
1840	5,346		76.8%
1850	8,032		50.2%
1860	23,593		193.7%
1870	37,393		58.5%
1880	51,980		39.0%
1890	88,908		71.0%
1900	200,507		125.5%
1910	430,980		114.9%
1920	732,016		69.8%
1930	1,265,258		72.8%
1940	1,394,711		10.2%
1950	1,451,277		4.1%
1960	1,424,815		−1.8%
1970	1,471,701		3.3%
1980	1,168,972		−20.6%
1990	1,203,789		3.0%
2000	1,332,650		10.7%
2010	1,385,108		3.9%
2020	1,472,654		6.3%
Sources:1790–1990;

New York City'sfive boroughs
Jurisdiction		Population	Land area		Density of population		GDP
Borough	County	Census (2020)	square miles	square km	people/ sq. mile	people/ sq. km	billions (2022 US$)2
The Bronx	Bronx	1,472,654	42.2	109.2	34,920	13,482	51.574
Brooklyn	Kings	2,736,074	69.4	179.7	39,438	15,227	125.867
Manhattan	New York	1,694,251	22.7	58.7	74,781	28,872	885.652
Queens	Queens	2,405,464	108.7	281.6	22,125	8,542	122.288
Staten Island	Richmond	495,747	57.5	149.0	8,618	3,327	21.103
City of New York		8,804,190	300.5	778.2	29,303	11,314	1,206.484
State of New York		20,201,249	47,123.6	122,049.5	429	166	2,163.209
Sources:and see individual borough articles.

Race, ethnicity, language, and immigration

See also:List of people from the Bronx

Race	2021	2020	2010	1990	1970	1950
White	14.3%	14.1%	27.9%	35.7%	73.4%	93.1%
—Non-Hispanic	9.0%	8.9%	10.9%	22.6%	N/A	N/A
Black or African American	33.8%	33.1%	36.5%	37.3%	24.3%	6.7%
Hispanic or Latino(of any race)	56.4%	54.8%	53.5%	43.5%	27.7%	N/A
Asian	4.7%	4.7%	3.6%	3%	0.5%	0.1%
Two or more races	3.8%	13.0%	5.3%	N/A	N/A	N/A

Ethnic origins in the Bronx

2018 estimates

The borough's most populous racial group, white, declined from 99.3% in 1920 to 14.9% in 2018.

The Bronx has 532,487 housing units, with a median value of $371,800, and with an owner-occupancy rate of 19.7%, the lowest of the five boroughs. There are 495,356 households, with 2.85 persons per household. 59.3% of residents speak a language besides English at home, the highest rate of the five boroughs.

In the Bronx, the population is 7.2% under 5, 17.6% 6–18, 62.4% 19–64, and 12.8% over 65. 52.9% of the population is female. 35.3% of residents are foreign born.

The per capita income is $19,721, while the median household income is $36,593, both being the lowest of the five boroughs. 27.9% of residents live below the poverty line, the highest of the five boroughs.

2010 census

According to the 2010 Census, 53.5% of Bronx's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race); 30.1% non-Hispanic Black or African American, 10.9% of the population was non-Hispanic White, 3.4% non-Hispanic Asian, 1.2% of two or more races (non-Hispanic), and 0.6% from some other race (non-Hispanic).

As of 2010, 46.29% (584,463) of Bronx residents aged five and older spokeSpanishat home, while 44.02% (555,767) spokeEnglish,2.48% (31,361)African languages,0.91% (11,455)French,0.90% (11,355)Italian,0.87% (10,946)various Indic languages,0.70% (8,836)other Indo-European languages,andChinesewas spoken at home by 0.50% (6,610) of the population over the age of five. In total, 55.98% (706,783) of the Bronx's population age five and older spoke a language at home other than English.AGarifuna-speaking community fromHondurasandGuatemalaalso makes the Bronx its home.

Map of racial distribution in New York, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people:White,Black,Asian,Hispanic,orOther(yellow)

2009 community survey

The Bronx is the only New York City borough with aHispanicmajority,many of whom arePuerto RicansandDominicans.According to the 2009 American Community Survey,Black Americanswere the second largestracial/ethnicgroup in the Bronx. Black people of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin represented over one-third (35.4%) of the Bronx's population. Black people of non-Hispanic origin made up 30.8% of the population. Over 495,200 Black people resided in the borough, of whom 87% were non-Hispanic. Over 61,000 people identified themselves as Sub-Saharan African in the survey, making up 4.4% of the population.

Multiracial Americans are also a sizable minority in the Bronx. People of multiracial heritage number over 41,800 individuals and represent 3.0% of the population. People of mixedAfrican AmericanandEuropean Americanheritage number over 6,850 members and form 0.5% of the population. People of mixedNative Americanand European heritage number over 2,450 members and form 0.2% of the population. People of mixedAsianand European heritage number over 880 members and form 0.1% of the population. People of mixed African American and Native American heritage number over 1,220 members and form 0.1% of the population.

Out of all five boroughs, the Bronx has the lowest number and proportion of white residents. As of 2009,White Americansof both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin represented over one-fifth (22.9%) of the Bronx's population, or 320,640 people.Non-Hispanic Whitepeople accounted for one-eighth of the population (12.1%, or 168,570 12.1%). This is in contrast to a century ago, when almost all Bronx residents were white (99.3% in 1920). That share fell to about one-third by 1980 (34.4%).As of 2009,White Americansof both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin represented one-fifth (22.9%) of the Bronx's population, but countingnon-Hispanic Whitepeople the proportion was under one-eighth (12.1%). The majority of the non-Hispanic European American population is of Italian and Irish descent.People of Italian descentnumbered over 55,000 individuals and made up 3.9% of the population.People of Irish descentnumbered over 43,500 individuals and made up 3.1% of the population.German AmericansandPolish Americansmade up 1.4% and 0.8% of the population respectively. The Bronx has the largestAlbaniancommunity in the United States.As of 2018, non-Hispanic White people account for about one in seven residents (14.9% in 2018).

Older estimates

TheCensus of 1930counted only 1.0% (12,930) of the Bronx's population as Negro (while making no distinct counts of Hispanic or Spanish-surname residents).

Foreign or overseas birthplaces of Bronx residents, 1930 and 2000
1930 United States Census			2000 United States Census
Total population of the Bronx	1,265,258		Total population of the Bronx	1,332,650
			All born abroad or overseas‡	524,410	39.4%
			Puerto Rico	126,649	9.5%
Foreign-born Whites	477,342	37.7%	All foreign-born	385,827	29.0%
White personsborn inRussia	135,210	10.7%	Dominican Republic	124,032	9.3%
White persons born inItaly	67,732	5.4%	Jamaica	51,120	3.8%
White persons born inPoland	55,969	4.4%	Mexico	20,962	1.6%
White persons born inGermany	43,349	3.4%	Guyana	14,868	1.1%
White persons born in theIrish Free State†	34,538	2.7%	Ecuador	14,800	1.1%
Other foreign birthplaces of Whites	140,544	11.1%	Other foreign birthplaces	160,045	12.0%
† now theRepublic of Ireland			‡ beyond the50 statesandWashington, D.C.

Population and housing

Poverty concentrationswithin the Bronx, by Census Tract

As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,385,108 people living in the Bronx, a 3.9% increase since 2000. As of theUnited States Censusof 2000, there were 1,332,650 people, 463,212 households, and 314,984 families residing in the borough. Thepopulation densitywas 31,709.3 inhabitants per square mile (12,243.0 inhabitants/km²). There were 490,659 housing units at an average density of 11,674.8 units per square mile (4,507.7 units/km²).Census estimates place total population of Bronx county at 1,392,002 as of 2012.

There were 463,212 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.4% were married couples living together, 30.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.37.

The age distribution of the population in the Bronx were as follows: 29.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.0 males.

Individual and household income

The 1999median incomefor a household in the borough was $27,611, and the median family income was $30,682. Men had a median income of $31,178 versus $29,429 for women. Theper capita incomefor the borough was $13,959. About 28.0% of families and 30.7% of the population were below thepoverty line,including 41.5% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over. More than half of the neighborhoods in the Bronx are high poverty or extreme poverty areas.

From 2015 Census data, themedian incomefor a household was (in 2015 dollars) $34,299.Per capita incomein past 12 months (in 2015 dollars): $18,456 with persons in poverty at 30.3%. Per the 2016 Census data, themedian incomefor a household was $35,302. Per capita income was cited at $18,896.

Culture and institutions

See also:Culture of New York City;Music of New York City;List of people from the Bronx;andList of Registered Historic Places in Bronx County, New York

The Bronx's recognition as an important center ofAfrican-American culturehas ledFordham Universityto establish the Bronx African-American History Project (BAAHP).

Music

DJ Kool Hercin 1999

The Bronx has had a long association with music. In the early 20th century, it was a center for the evolution ofLatin jazz.TheBronx Operawas founded in the 1960s.

In the 1970s, The Bronx was strongly associated with the development ofhip hop music.One of the genre's pioneers,DJ Kool Herc,held parties in the community room of an apartment building at 1520Sedgwick Avenue,where he experimented withturntablisttechniques such asmi xingandscratchingoffunkrecords, as well asrappingduring extended instrumentals.Other significant Bronx DJs from this period includeGrandmaster FlashandAfrika Bambaataa.In addition, The Bronx was important for drill culture by raising rappers such asKay Flock,Sha EKand many others.

Sports

NewYankee Stadiumat 161st and River Avenue

The Bronx is the home of theNew York Yankees,nicknamed "the Bronx Bombers", ofMajor League Baseball.The originalYankee Stadiumopened in 1923 on 161st Street and River Avenue, a year that saw the Yankees bring home the first of their 27World Serieschampionships; with seating for 58,000 in three decks, it was the largest MLB stadium of its day.With the famous façade, the short right field porch and Monument Park, Yankee Stadium has been home to many of baseball's greatest players includingBabe Ruth,Lou Gehrig,Joe DiMaggio,Whitey Ford,Yogi Berra,Mickey Mantle,Reggie Jackson,Thurman Munson,Don Mattingly,Derek JeterandMariano Rivera.

The original stadium was the scene ofLou Gehrig's Farewell Speech in 1939, Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, Roger Maris' record breaking 61st home run in 1961, and Reggie Jackson's 3 home runs to clinch Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. The Stadium was the former home of theNew York Giantsof theNational Football Leaguefrom 1956 to 1973. It would be renovated during the Yankees' 1974 and 1975 seasons, while they played atShea StadiuminQueens,then the home stadium of theNew York Mets;the refurbished Yankee Stadium opened in 1976, and saw its first three seasons end in World Series appearances (a loss in 1976, and wins in 1977 and 1978).

The original Yankee Stadium closed in 2008 to make way for a newYankee Stadiumin which the team started play in 2009. It is north-northeast of the 1923 Yankee Stadium, on the former site ofMacombs Dam Park.The current Yankee Stadium is also the home ofNew York City FCofMajor League Soccer,who began play in 2015.

The Yankees won 26 World Series titles while playing at the first Yankee Stadium; they added a 27th in 2009 at the end of their first season in their current home.

Off-Off-Broadway

Main article:Off-Off-Broadway

The Bronx is home to severalOff-Off-Broadwaytheaters, many staging new works by immigrant playwrights from Latin America and Africa. ThePregones Theater,which produces Latin American work, opened a new 130-seat theater in 2005 on Walton Avenue in the South Bronx. Some artists from elsewhere in New York City have begun to converge on the area, and housing prices have nearly quadrupled in the area since 2002. However, rising prices directly correlate to a housing shortage across the city and the entire metro area.

Arts

TheBronx Academy of Arts and Dance,founded in 1998 byArthur Avilesand Charles Rice-Gonzalez, provides dance, theatre and art workshops, festivals and performances focusing on contemporary and modern art in relation to race, gender and sexuality. It is home to the Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre, a contemporary dance company, and the Bronx Dance Coalition. The academy was formerly in theAmerican Bank Note Company Buildingbefore relocating to a venue on the grounds of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

TheBronx Museum of the Arts,founded in 1971, exhibits 20th century and contemporary art through its central museum space and 11,000 square feet (1,000 m²) of galleries. Many of its exhibitions are on themes of special interest to the Bronx. Its permanent collection features more than 800 works of art, primarily by artists from Africa, Asia and Latin America, including paintings, photographs, prints, drawings, and mixed media. The museum was temporarily closed in 2006 while it underwent an expansion designed by the architectural firmArquitectonicathat would double the museum's size to 33,000 square feet (3,100 m²).

The Bronx has also become home to a peculiar poetic tribute in the form of the "Heinrich HeineMemorial ", better known as theLorelei Fountain.After Heine's German birthplace ofDüsseldorfhad rejected, allegedly forantisemiticmotives, a centennial monument to the radicalGerman-Jewishpoet (1797–1856), his incensedGerman-Americanadmirers, includingCarl Schurz,started a movement to place one instead inMidtown Manhattan,atFifth Avenueand 59th Street. However, this intention was thwarted by a combination of ethnic antagonism, aesthetic controversy and political struggles over the institutional control of public art.In 1899, the memorial byErnst Gustav Herterwas placed inJoyce Kilmer Park,near theYankee Stadium.In 1999, it was moved to 161st Street and the Concourse.

Maritime heritage

TheBronx Zoois the largest zoo in New York City, and among the largest in the country.

Thepeninsularborough's maritime heritage is acknowledged in several ways. The City Island Historical Society and Nautical Museum occupies a former public school designed by the New York City school system's turn-of-the-last-century master architectC. B. J. Snyder.The state'sMaritime CollegeinFort Schuyler(on the southeastern shore) houses theMaritime Industry Museum.In addition, the Harlem River is reemerging as"Scullers' Row"due in large part to the efforts of the Bronx River Restoration Project,a joint public-private endeavor of the city's parks department.Canoeingandkayakingon the borough's namesake river have been promoted by the Bronx River Alliance. The river is also straddled by theNew York Botanical Gardens,its neighbor, theBronx Zoo,and a little further south, on the west shore, Bronx River Art Center.

Community celebrations

"Bronx Week", traditionally held in May, began as a one-day celebration. Begun by Bronx historian Lloyd Ultan and supported by then borough president Robert Abrams, the original one-day program was based on the "Bronx Borough Day" festival which took place in the 1920s. The following year, at the height of the decade's civil unrest, the festival was extended to a one-week event. In the 1980s the key event, the "Bronx Ball", was launched. The week includes the Bronx Week Parade as well as inductions into the "Bronx Walk of Fame."

Various Bronx neighborhoods conduct their own community celebrations. The Arthur Avenue "Little Italy" neighborhood conducts an annual Autumn Ferragosto Festival that celebrates Italian culture.Hunts Pointhosts an annual "Fish Parade and Summer Festival" at the start of summer.Edgewater Parkhosts an annual "Ragamuffin" children's walk in November.There are several events to honor the borough's veterans.Albanian Independence Day is also observed.

There are also parades to celebrate Dominican, Italian, and Irish heritage.

Press and broadcasting

The Bronx is home to several local newspapers and radio and television studios.

Newspapers

The Bronx has several local newspapers, including The Bronx Daily,TheBronx News,ParkchesterNews,City News,TheNorwood News,TheRiverdale Press,Riverdale Review,TheBronx Times Reporter,andCo-op CityTimes.Four non-profit news outlets,Norwood News,Mount Hope Monitor,Mott Haven HeraldandTheHunts PointExpressserve the borough's poorer communities. The editor and co-publisher ofThe Riverdale Press,Bernard Stein, won thePulitzer Prize for Editorial Writingfor his editorials about Bronx and New York City issues in 1998. (Stein graduated from theBronx High School of Sciencein 1959.)

The Bronx once had its own daily newspaper,The Bronx Home News,which started publishing on January 20, 1907, and merged into theNew York Postin 1948. It became a special section of thePost,sold only in the Bronx, and eventually disappeared from view.

Radio and television

One of New York City's major non-commercial radio broadcasters isWFUV,aNational Public Radio-affiliated 50,000-watt station broadcasting fromFordham University's Rose Hill campus in the Bronx. The radio station's antenna was relocated to the top an apartment building owned byMontefiore Medical Center,which expanded the reach of the station's signal.

The City of New York has an official television station run byNYC Mediaand broadcasting fromBronx Community College,andCablevisionoperatesNews 12 The Bronx,both of which feature programming based in the Bronx.Co-op Citywas the first area in the Bronx, and the first in New York beyondManhattan,to have its owncable televisionprovider. The localpublic-access televisionstationBronxNetoriginates from Herbert H. Lehman College, the borough's only four year CUNY school, and providesgovernment-access television(GATV) public affairs programming in addition to programming produced by Bronx residents.

Economy

See also:Economy of New York City

Shopping malls and markets in the Bronx include:

• Bay Plaza Shopping Center
• Bronx Terminal Market
• Hunts Point Cooperative Market

Shopping districts

The HubonThird Avenue

Renovated Prow Building, part of the originalBronx Terminal Market

Prominent shopping areas in the Bronx includeFordham Road,Bay PlazainCo-op City,The Hub,theRiverdale/Kingsbridgeshopping center, andBruckner Boulevard.Shops are also concentrated on streets aligned underneath elevated railroad lines, including Westchester Avenue,White Plains Road,Jerome Avenue,Southern Boulevard,andBroadway.TheBronx Terminal Marketcontains severalbig-box stores,which opened in 2009 south of Yankee Stadium.

The Bronx has three primary shopping centers: The Hub, Gateway Center and Southern Boulevard. The Hub–Third Avenue Business Improvement District (B.I.D.), inThe Hub,is the retail heart of theSouth Bronx,where four roads converge: East 149th Street, Willis, Melrose and Third Avenues.It is primarily inside the neighborhood ofMelrosebut also lines the northern border ofMott Haven.The Hub has been called "the Broadway of the Bronx", being likened tothe real Broadwayin Manhattan and the northwestern Bronx.It is the site of both maximum traffic and architectural density. In configuration, it resembles a miniatureTimes Square,a spatial "bow-tie" created by the geometry of the street.The Hub is part ofBronx Community Board 1.

TheBronx Terminal Market,in theWest Bronx,formerly known as Gateway Center, is a shopping center that encompasses less than one million square feet of retail space, built on a 17 acres (7 ha) site that formerly held a wholesale fruit and vegetable market also named Bronx Terminal Market as well as the formerBronx House of Detention,south ofYankee Stadium.The $500 million shopping center, which was completed in 2009, saw the construction of new buildings and two smaller buildings, one new and the other a renovation of an existing building that was part of the original market. The two main buildings are linked by a six-level garage for 2,600 cars. The center's design has earned it aLEED"Silver" designation.

Government and politics

Local government

Main article:Government of New York City

Since New York City's consolidation in 1898, the New York City Charter that provides for a "strong"mayor–council systemhas governed the Bronx. The centralized New York City government is responsible for public education, correctional institutions, libraries, public safety, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply, and welfare services in the Bronx.

Borough Presidents of the Bronx
Name	Party	Term †
Louis F. Haffen	Democratic	1898 – Aug. 1909
John F. Murray	Democratic	Aug. 1909–1910
Cyrus C. Miller	Democratic	1910–1914
Douglas Mathewson	Republican- Fusion	1914–1918
Henry Bruckner	Democratic	1918–1934
James J. Lyons	Democratic	1934–1962
Joseph F. Periconi	Republican- Liberal	1962–1966
Herman Badillo	Democratic	1966–1970
Robert Abrams	Democratic	1970–1979
Stanley Simon	Democratic	1979 – April 1987
Fernando Ferrer	Democratic	April 1987 – 2002
Adolfo Carrión, Jr.	Democratic	2002 – March 2009
Rubén Díaz, Jr.	Democratic	May 2009 – 2021
Vanessa Gibson	Democratic	2022 –
† Terms begin and end in January where the month is not specified.

The office ofBorough Presidentwas created in the consolidation of 1898 to balance centralization with local authority. Each borough president had a powerful administrative role derived from having a vote on theNew York City Board of Estimate,which was responsible for creating and approving the city's budget and proposals for land use. In 1989 theSupreme Court of the United Statesdeclared the Board of Estimate unconstitutional on the grounds thatBrooklyn,the most populous borough, had no greater effective representation on the Board thanStaten Island,the least populous borough, a violation of theFourteenth Amendment'sEqual Protection Clausepursuant to the high court's 1964 "one man, one vote" decision.

Since 1990 the Borough President has acted as an advocate for the borough at the mayoral agencies, theCity Council,the New York state government, and corporations.

Until March 1, 2009, the Borough President of the Bronx wasAdolfo Carrión Jr.,elected as aDemocratin 2001 and 2005 before retiring early to direct theWhite House Office of Urban Affairs Policy.His successor, DemocraticNew York State AssemblymemberRubén Díaz, Jr.— after winning a special election on April 21, 2009, by a vote of 86.3% (29,420) on the "Bronx Unity" line to 13.3% (4,646) for the Republican district leader Anthony Ribustello on the "People First" line,— became Borough President on May 1, 2009. In 2021, Rubén Díaz's Democratic successor,Vanessa Gibsonwas elected (to begin serving in 2022) with 79.9% of the vote against 13.4% for Janell King (Republican) and 6.5% for Sammy Ravelo (Conservative).

All of the Bronx's currently elected public officials have first won the nomination of theDemocratic Party(in addition to any other endorsements). Local party platforms center on affordable housing, education and economic development. Controversial political issues in the Bronx include environmental issues, the cost of housing, and annexation of parkland for newYankee Stadium.

Since its separation fromNew York Countyon January 1, 1914, the Bronx, has had, like each of the other 61 counties of New York State, its own criminal court systemandDistrict Attorney,the chief public prosecutor who is directly elected by popular vote.Darcel D. Clarkhas been theBronx County District Attorneysince 2016. Her predecessor wasRobert T. Johnson,the District Attorney from 1989 to 2015. He was the first African-American District Attorney in New York State.

The Bronx also has twelveCommunity Boards,appointed bodies that advise on land use and municipal facilities and services for local residents, businesses and institutions.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Bronx County, New York

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	67,740	15.88%	355,374	83.29%	3,579	0.84%
2016	37,797	9.46%	353,646	88.52%	8,079	2.02%
2012	29,967	8.08%	339,211	91.45%	1,760	0.47%
2008	41,683	10.93%	338,261	88.71%	1,378	0.36%
2004	56,701	16.53%	283,994	82.80%	2,284	0.67%
2000	36,245	11.77%	265,801	86.28%	6,017	1.95%
1996	30,435	10.52%	248,276	85.80%	10,639	3.68%
1992	63,310	20.73%	225,038	73.67%	17,112	5.60%
1988	76,043	25.51%	218,245	73.22%	3,793	1.27%
1984	109,308	32.76%	223,112	66.86%	1,263	0.38%
1980	86,843	30.70%	181,090	64.02%	14,914	5.27%
1976	96,842	28.70%	238,786	70.77%	1,763	0.52%
1972	196,754	44.60%	243,345	55.16%	1,075	0.24%
1968	142,314	32.02%	277,385	62.40%	24,818	5.58%
1964	135,780	25.16%	403,014	74.69%	800	0.15%
1960	182,393	31.76%	389,818	67.88%	2,071	0.36%
1956	257,382	42.81%	343,823	57.19%	0	0.00%
1952	241,898	37.34%	392,477	60.59%	13,420	2.07%
1948	173,044	27.80%	337,129	54.17%	112,182	18.03%
1944	211,158	31.75%	450,525	67.74%	3,352	0.50%
1940	198,293	31.77%	418,931	67.11%	6,980	1.12%
1936	93,151	17.61%	419,625	79.35%	16,042	3.03%
1932	76,587	19.15%	281,330	70.35%	42,002	10.50%
1928	98,636	28.68%	232,766	67.67%	12,545	3.65%
1924	79,583	36.73%	72,840	33.62%	64,234	29.65%
1920	106,050	56.61%	45,741	24.42%	35,538	18.97%
1916	40,938	42.55%	47,870	49.76%	7,396	7.69%

After becoming a separate county in 1914, the Bronx has supported only two Republican presidential candidates. It voted heavily for the winning RepublicanWarren G. Hardingin1920,but much more narrowly on a split vote for his victorious Republican successorCalvin Coolidgein1924(Coolidge 79,562;John W. Davis,Dem., 72,834;Robert La Follette,62,202 equally divided between theProgressiveandSocialistlines).

Since then, the Bronx has always supported the Democratic Party's nominee for president, starting with a vote of 2–1 for the unsuccessfulAl Smithin 1928, followed by four 2–1 votes for the successfulFranklin D. Roosevelt.(Both had been Governors of New York, but Republican former Gov.Thomas E. Deweywon only 28% of the Bronx's vote in 1948 against 55% for Pres.Harry Truman,the winning Democrat, and 17% forHenry A. Wallaceof theProgressives.It was only 32 years earlier, by contrast, that another Republican former Governor who narrowly lost the Presidency,Charles Evans Hughes,had won 42.6% of the Bronx's 1916 vote against Democratic PresidentWoodrow Wilson's 49.8% and Socialist candidateAllan Benson's 7.3%.)

Federal Representatives

As of 2023, four Democrats represented the Bronx in theUnited States House of Representatives:

• Adriano Espaillat(first elected in 2016) representsNew York's 13th congressional district,which includes the Bronx neighborhoods ofBedford Park,Jerome Park,Kingsbridge Heights,Norwood,and parts ofFordham,Kingsbridge,Morris Heights,andUniversity Heights,as well as portion of Manhattan.
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(first elected in 2018) representsNew York's 14th congressional district,which includes the neighborhoods ofCity Island,Country Club,Van Nest,Morris Park,Parkchester,Pelham Bay,Schuylerville,andThroggs Neck,as well as a portion of Queens.
• Ritchie Torres(first elected in 2020) representsNew York's 15th congressional district,which includesWest BronxandSouth Bronx.
• Jamaal Bowman(first elected in 2020) representsNew York's 16th congressional district,which includes the neighborhoods ofWakefield,as well as a portion of Westchester County.

Elections for Mayor of New York

The Bronx has often shown striking differences from other boroughs inelections for Mayor.The only Republican to carry the Bronx since 1914 wasFiorello La Guardiain 1933, 1937, and 1941 (and in the latter two elections, only because his 30% to 32% vote on theAmerican Labor Partyline was added to 22% to 23% as a Republican).The Bronx was thus the only borough not carried by the successful Republican re-election campaigns of MayorsRudy Giulianiin 1997 andMichael Bloombergin 2005. The anti-warSocialistcampaign ofMorris Hillquitin the1917 mayoral electionwon over 31% of the Bronx's vote, putting him second and well ahead of the 20% won by the incumbent pro-war Fusion MayorJohn Purroy Mitchel,who came in second (ahead of Hillquit) everywhere else and outpolled Hillquit citywide by 23.2% to 21.7%.

The Bronx County vote for Mayor since 1953
Year	Candidate carrying the Bronx	Elected Mayor
2021	Eric Adams, D	Eric Adams, D
2017	Bill de Blasio, D-Working Families	Bill de Blasio, D-Working Families
2013	Bill de Blasio, D-Working Families	Bill de Blasio, D-Working Families
2009	Bill Thompson, D-Working Families	Michael Bloomberg, R–Indep'ce/Jobs & Educ'n
2005	Fernando Ferrer,D	Michael Bloomberg,R/Lib-Indep'ce
2001	Mark Green, D-Working Families	Michael Bloomberg, R-Independence
1997	Ruth Messinger,D	Rudy Giuliani,R-Liberal
1993	David Dinkins,D	Rudy Giuliani,R-Liberal
1989	David Dinkins,D	David Dinkins,D
1985	Ed Koch,D-Indep.	Ed Koch,D-Independent
1981	Ed Koch,D-R	Ed Koch,D-R
1977	Ed Koch,D	Ed Koch,D
1973	Abraham Beame,D	Abraham Beame,D
1969	Mario Procaccino, D-Nonpartisan-Civil Svce Ind.	John Lindsay,Liberal
1965	Abraham Beame, D-Civil Service Fusion	John Lindsay, R-Liberal-Independent Citizens
1961	Robert F. Wagner Jr., D-Liberal-Brotherhood	Robert F. Wagner Jr., D-Liberal-Brotherhood
1957	Robert F. Wagner Jr., D-Liberal-Fusion	Robert F. Wagner Jr., D-Liberal-Fusion
1953	Robert F. Wagner Jr.,D	Robert F. Wagner Jr.,D

• For details of votes and parties in a particular election, click the year or seeNew York City mayoral elections.

Education

See also:Education in New York City,List of public elementary schools in New York City,andCategory:Charter schools in New York (state)

Education in the Bronx is provided by a large number of public and private institutions, many of which draw students who live beyond the Bronx. TheNew York City Department of Educationmanages the borough's public noncharter schools.In 2000, public schools enrolled nearly 280,000 of the Bronx's residents over three years old (out of 333,100 enrolled in all pre-college schools).There are also several publiccharter schools.Private schools range from eliteindependent schoolsto religiously affiliatedschoolsrun by theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of New Yorkand Jewish organizations.

A small portion of land between Pelham and Pelham Bay Park, with 35 houses, is a part of the Bronx, but is cut off from the rest of the borough due to the county boundaries; the New York City government pays for the residents' children to go toPelham Union Free School Districtschools, includingPelham Memorial High School,since that is more cost effective than sending school buses to take the students to New York City schools. This arrangement has been in place since 1948.

Educational attainment

In 2000, according to theUnited States Census,out of the nearly 800,000 people in the Bronx who were then at least 25 years old, 62.3% had graduated from high school and 14.6% held a bachelor's or higher college degree. These percentages were lower than those for New York's other boroughs, which ranged from 68.8% (Brooklyn) to 82.6% (Staten Island) for high school graduates over 24, and from 21.8% (Brooklyn) to 49.4% (Manhattan) for college graduates. (The respective state and national percentages were[NY]79.1% & 27.4% and[US]80.4% & 24.4%.)

High schools

See also:List of high schools in New York City § Bronx

The Bronx High School of Science

In the 2000 Census, 79,240 of the nearly 95,000 Bronx residents enrolled in high school attended public schools.

Many publichigh schoolsare in the borough including the eliteBronx High School of Science,Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music,DeWitt Clinton High School,High School for Violin and Dance,Bronx Leadership Academy 2,Bronx International High School,theSchool for Excellence,theMorris Academy for Collaborative Study,Wings Academy for young adults, The Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice, Validus Preparatory Academy, The Eagle Academy For Young Men, Bronx Expeditionary Learning High School, Bronx Academy of Letters,Herbert H. Lehman High SchoolandHigh School of American Studies.The Bronx is also home to three of New York City's most prestigious private, secular schools:Fieldston,Horace Mann,andRiverdale Country School.

High schools linked to theCatholic Churchinclude:St. Raymond Academy for Girls,All Hallows High School,Fordham Preparatory School,Monsignor Scanlan High School,St. Raymond High School for Boys,Cardinal Hayes High School,Cardinal Spellman High School,The Academy of Mount Saint Ursula,Aquinas High School,Preston High School,St. Catharine Academy,Mount Saint Michael Academy,andSt. Barnabas High School.

TheSAR AcademyandSAR High SchoolareModern OrthodoxJewishYeshivacoeducational day schools inRiverdale,with roots in Manhattan'sLower East Side.

In the 1990s, New York City began closing the large, public high schools in the Bronx and replacing them with small high schools. Among the reasons cited for the changes were poor graduation rates and concerns about safety. Schools that have been closed or reduced in size includeJohn F. Kennedy,James Monroe,Taft,Theodore Roosevelt,Adlai Stevenson,Evander Childs,Christopher Columbus,Morris,Walton,and South Bronx High Schools.

Fordham University's Keating Hall

Colleges and universities

See also:List of colleges and universities in New York City

In 2000, 49,442 (57.5%) of the 86,014 Bronx residents seeking college, graduate or professional degrees attended public institutions.

Several colleges and universities are in the Bronx.

Fordham Universitywas founded as St. John's College in 1841 by theDiocese of New Yorkas the first Catholic institution of higher education in thenortheast.It is now officially an independent institution, but strongly embraces itsJesuitheritage. The 85-acre (340,000 m²) Bronx campus, known as Rose Hill, is the main campus of the university, and is among the largest within the city (other Fordham campuses are in Manhattan and Westchester County).

Three campuses of theCity University of New Yorkare in the Bronx:Hostos Community College,Bronx Community College(occupying the formerUniversity HeightsCampus ofNew York University)and Herbert H.Lehman College(formerly the uptown campus ofHunter College), which offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

TheCollege of Mount Saint Vincentis a Catholic liberal arts college inRiverdaleunder the direction of theSisters of Charity of New York.Founded in 1847 as a school for girls, the academy became a degree-granting college in 1911 and began admitting men in 1974. The school serves 1,600 students. Its campus is also home to theAcademy for Jewish Religion,a transdenominational rabbinical and cantorial school.

Manhattan Universityis a Catholic college inRiverdalewhich offers undergraduate programs in the arts, business, education, engineering, and science. It also offers graduate programs in education and engineering.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine,part of theMontefiore Medical Center,is inMorris Park.

The coeducational and non-sectarianMercy College—with its main campus inDobbs Ferry—has a Bronx campus nearWestchester Square.

TheState University of New York Maritime CollegeinFort Schuyler(Throggs Neck)—at the far southeastern tip of the Bronx—is the national leader in maritime education and houses theMaritime Industry Museum.(Directly acrossLong Island SoundisKings Point,Long Island, home of theUnited States Merchant Marine Academyand the American Merchant Marine Museum.) As of 2017, graduates from the university earned an average annual salary of $144,000, the highest of any university graduates in the United States.

In addition, the private, proprietaryMonroe College,focused on preparation for business and the professions, started in the Bronx in 1933 and now has a campus inNew Rochelle(Westchester County) as well the Bronx'sFordhamneighborhood.

Transportation

See also:Transportation in New York City

Roads and streets

Bronx–Whitestone Bridge

Surface streets

The Bronxstreet gridis irregular. Like the northernmost part ofupper Manhattan,theWest Bronx's hilly terrain leaves a relatively free-style street grid. Much of the West Bronx's street numbering carries over from upper Manhattan, but does not match it exactly; East 132nd Street is the lowest numbered street in the Bronx. This dates from the mid-19th century when the southwestern area ofWestchester Countywest of the Bronx River, was incorporated into New York City and known as the Northside.

TheEast Bronxis considerably flatter, and the street layout tends to be more regular. Only theWakefieldneighborhood picks up the street numbering, albeit at a misalignment due to Tremont Avenue's layout. At the same diagonal latitude, West 262nd Street in Riverdale matches East 237th Street in Wakefield.

Three major north–south thoroughfares run between Manhattan and the Bronx:Third Avenue,Park Avenue,andBroadway.Other major north–south roads include theGrand Concourse,Jerome Avenue,Sedgwick Avenue,Webster Avenue,andWhite Plains Road.Major east-west thoroughfares includeMosholu Parkway,Gun Hill Road,Fordham Road,Pelham Parkway,and Tremont Avenue.

Most east–west streets are prefixed with eitherEastorWest,to indicate on which side of Jerome Avenue they lie (continuing the similar system in Manhattan, which usesFifth Avenueas the dividing line).

The historicBoston Post Road,part of the long pre-revolutionary road connectingBostonwith other northeastern cities, runs east–west in some places, and sometimes northeast–southwest.

MosholuandPelham Parkways,withBronx Parkbetween them,Van Cortlandt Parkto the west andPelham Bay Parkto the east, are also linked bybridle paths.

As of the 2000 Census, approximately 61.6% of all Bronx households do not have access to a car. Citywide, the percentage of autoless households is 55%.

Highways

The Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95/US 1) is typically clogged with traffic

Several majorlimited accesshighways traverse the Bronx. These include:

• theBronx River Parkway
• theBruckner Expressway(I-278/I-95)
• theCross Bronx Expressway(I-95/I-295)
• theNew England Thruway(I-95)
• theHenry Hudson Parkway(NY-9A)
• theHutchinson River Parkway
• theMajor Deegan Expressway(I-87)

Bridges and tunnels

An aerial view of theThrogs Neck Bridge

Thirteen bridges and three tunnels connect the Bronx to Manhattan, and three bridges connect the Bronx toQueens.These are, from west to east:

To Manhattan:theSpuyten Duyvil Bridge,theHenry Hudson Bridge,theBroadway Bridge,theUniversity Heights Bridge,theWashington Bridge,theAlexander Hamilton Bridge,theHigh Bridge,theConcourse Tunnel,theMacombs Dam Bridge,the145th Street Bridge,the149th Street Tunnel,theMadison Avenue Bridge,thePark Avenue Bridge,theLe xing ton Avenue Tunnel,theThird Avenue Bridge(southbound traffic only), and theWillis Avenue Bridge(northbound traffic only).

To both Manhattan and Queens:theRobert F. Kennedy Bridge,formerly known as the Triborough Bridge.

To Queens:theBronx–Whitestone Bridgeand theThrogs Neck Bridge.

Mass transit

Middletown Roadsubway station on the6and<6>​ trains

The Bronx is served by sevenNew York City Subwayservices along six physical lines, with70 stations in the Bronx:

• IND Concourse Line(Band ​Dtrains)
• IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line(1train)
• IRT Dyre Avenue Line(5train)
• IRT Jerome Avenue Line(4train)
• IRT Pelham Line(6and<6>​ trains)
• IRT White Plains Road Line(2and ​5trains)

There are also manyMTA Regional Bus Operationsbus routes in the Bronx. This includeslocal and express routesas well asBee-Line Bus Systemroutes.

TwoMetro-North Railroadcommuter rail lines (theHarlem Lineand theHudson Line) serve 11 stations in the Bronx. (Marble Hill,between theSpuyten DuyvilandUniversity Heightsstations, is actually in the only part of Manhattan connected to the mainland.) In addition, some trains serving theNew Haven Linestop atFordham Plaza.As part ofPenn Station Access,the 2018 MTA budget funded construction of four new stops along the New Haven Line to serveHunts Point,Parkchester,Morris Park,andCo-op City.

In 2018,NYC Ferry's Soundview line opened, connecting theSoundviewlanding inClason Point Parkto threeEast Riverlocations in Manhattan. On December 28, 2021; the Throgs Neck Ferry landing at Ferry Point Park inThrogs Neckwas opened providing an additional stop on the Soundview line.The ferry is operated byHornblower Cruises.

Climate

Climate data for The Bronx
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	39.7 (4.3)	42.6 (5.9)	50.3 (10.2)	61.4 (16.3)	72.3 (22.4)	80.9 (27.2)	86.1 (30.1)	84.1 (28.9)	77.1 (25.1)	65.8 (18.8)	54.1 (12.3)	44.8 (7.1)	63.3 (17.4)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	27.3 (−2.6)	28.7 (−1.8)	34.6 (1.4)	44.4 (6.9)	54.6 (12.6)	64.3 (17.9)	70.6 (21.4)	69.1 (20.6)	62.1 (16.7)	50.7 (10.4)	41.3 (5.2)	33.1 (0.6)	48.4 (9.1)
Averageprecipitationinches (mm)	3.74 (95)	3.19 (81)	4.37 (111)	3.95 (100)	4.06 (103)	4.55 (116)	4.37 (111)	4.82 (122)	4.55 (116)	4.13 (105)	3.45 (88)	4.67 (119)	49.85 (1,266)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	8.4 (21)	8.9 (23)	4.3 (11)	0.5 (1.3)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0.4 (1.0)	4.1 (10)	26.6 (68)
Source: NOAA

In popular culture

Film and television

See also:List of films set in New York CityandList of television shows set in New York City

Mid-20th century

Mid-20th century movies set in the Bronx portrayed densely settled, working-class, urban culture.From This Day Forward(1946), set inHighbridge,occasionally delved into Bronx life. The most notable examinations of working class Bronx life werePaddy Chayefsky'sAcademy Award-winningMartyand his 1956 filmThe Catered Affair.Other films that portrayed life in the Bronx are: the 1993Robert De Niro/Chazz Palminterifilm,A Bronx Tale,Spike Lee's 1999 movieSummer of Sam,which focused on anItalian-AmericanBronx community in the 1970s, 1994'sI Like It Like Thatwhich takes place in the predominantlyPuerto Ricanneighborhood of the South Bronx, andDoughboys,the story of two Italian-American brothers in danger of losing their bakery thanks to one brother's gambling debts.

The Bronx's gritty urban life had worked its way into the movies even earlier, with depictions of the "Bronx cheer",a loud flatulent-like sound of disapproval, allegedly first made byNew York Yankeesfans. The sound can be heard, for example, on theSpike Jonesand His City Slickers recording of "Der Fuehrer's Face" (from the 1942Disneyanimated filmof thesame name), repeatedly lambastingAdolf Hitlerwith: "We'll Heil! (Bronx cheer) Heil! (Bronx cheer) Right in Der Fuehrer's Face!"

Symbolism

Starting in the 1970s, the Bronx often symbolized violence, decay, and urban ruin. The wave of arson in the South Bronx in the 1960s and 1970s inspired the observation that "The Bronx is burning": in 1974 it was the title of both an editorial inThe New York Timesand aBBCdocumentary film.The line entered the pop-consciousness with Game Two of the1977 World Series,when a fire broke out nearYankee Stadiumas the team was playing theLos Angeles Dodgers.As the fire was captured on live television, announcerHoward Cosellis wrongly remembered to have said something like,"There it is, ladies and gentlemen: the Bronx is burning". Historians of New York City often point to Cosell's remark as an acknowledgement of both the city and the borough's decline.A feature-length documentary film by Edwin Pagán calledBronx Burningchronicled what led up to the many arson-for-insurance fraud fires of the 1970s in the borough.

Bronx gang life was depicted in the 1974 novelThe Wanderersby Bronx nativeRichard Priceand the1979 movie of the same name.They are set in the heart of the Bronx, showing apartment life and the then-landmark Krums ice cream parlor. In the 1979 filmThe Warriors,the eponymous gang go to a meeting inVan Cortlandt Parkin the Bronx, and have to fight their way out of the borough and get back toConey IslandinBrooklyn.A Bronx Tale(1993) depicts gang activities in theBelmont"Little Italy" section of the Bronx. The 2005 video game adaptation features levels called Pelham, Tremont, and "Gunhill" (a play off the nameGun Hill Road). This theme lends itself to the title ofThe Bronx Is Burning,an eight-partESPNTV mini-series (2007) about theNew York Yankees' drive to winning baseball's1977 World Series.The TV series emphasizes the team's boisterous nature, led by managerBilly Martin,catcherThurman Munsonand outfielderReggie Jackson,as well as the malaise of the Bronx and New York City in general during that time, such as the blackout, the city's serious financial woes and near bankruptcy, the arson for insurance payments, and the election ofEd Kochas mayor.

The 1981 filmFort Apache, The Bronxis another film that used the Bronx's gritty image for its storyline. The movie's title is from the nickname for the 41st Police Precinct in the South Bronx which was nicknamed "Fort Apache". Also from 1981 is the horror filmWolfenmaking use of the rubble of the Bronx as a home for werewolf type creatures.Knights of the South Bronx,a true story of a teacher who worked with disadvantaged children, is another film also set in the Bronx released in 2005. The Bronx was the setting for the 1983 filmFuga dal Bronx,also known asBronx Warriors 2andEscape 2000,an Italian B-movie best known for its appearance on the television seriesMystery Science Theater 3000.The plot revolves around a sinister construction corporation's plans to depopulate, destroy and redevelop the Bronx, and a band of rebels who are out to expose the corporation's murderous ways and save their homes. The film is memorable for its almost incessant use of the phrase, "Leave the Bronx!" Many of the movie's scenes were filmed inQueens,substituting as the Bronx.Rumble in the Bronx,filmed in Vancouver, was a 1995Jackie Chankung-fufilm, another which popularized the Bronx to international audiences.Last Bronx,a 1996 Sega game played on the bad reputation of the Bronx to lend its name to an alternate version of post-Japanese bubble Tokyo, where crime and gang warfare is rampant. The 2016NetflixseriesThe Get Downis based on the development of hip hop in 1977 in the South Bronx.

Literature

See also:List of books set in New York City

Books

The Bronx has been featured significantly in fiction literature. All of the characters inHerman Wouk'sCity Boy: The Adventures of Herbie Bookbinder(1948) live in the Bronx, and about half of the action is set there.Kate Simon'sBronx Primitive: Portraits of a Childhood(1982) is directly autobiographical, a warm account of a Polish-Jewish girl in an immigrant family growing up before World War II, and living nearArthur AvenueandTremont Avenue.In Jacob M. Appel's short story, "The Grand Concourse" (2007),a woman who grew up in the iconicLewis MorrisBuilding returns to theMorrisanianeighborhood with her adult daughter. Similarly, inAvery Corman's bookThe Old Neighborhood(1980),an upper-middle class white protagonist returns to his birth neighborhood (Fordham Roadand theGrand Concourse), and learns that even though the folks are poor, Hispanic and African-American, they are good people.

By contrast,Tom Wolfe'sBonfire of the Vanities(1987)portrays a wealthy, white protagonist, Sherman McCoy, getting lost off theBruckner Expresswayin theSouth Bronxand having an altercation with locals. A substantial piece of the last part of the book is set in the resulting riotous trial at the Bronx County Courthouse. However, times change, and in 2007,The New York Timesreported that "the Bronx neighborhoods near the site of Sherman's accident are now dotted with townhouses and apartments." In the same article, the ReverendAl Sharpton(whose fictional analogue in the novel is "Reverend Bacon" ) asserts that "twenty years later, the cynicism ofThe Bonfire of the Vanitiesis as out of style asTom Wolfe's wardrobe. "

Don DeLillo'sUnderworld(1997) is also set in the Bronx and offers a perspective on the area from the 1950s onward.

Poetry

In poetry, the Bronx has been immortalized by one of the world's shortestcouplets:

The Bronx?
No Thonx
Ogden Nash,The New Yorker,1931

Nash repented 33 years after hiscalumny,penning the following poem to the dean of faculty atBronx Community Collegein 1964:

I wrote those lines, "The Bronx? No thonx";
I shudder to confess them.

Now I'm an older, wiser man
I cry, "The Bronx? God bless them!"

In 2016, W. R. Rodriguez publishedBronx Trilogy—consisting ofthe shoe shine parlor poems et al.,concrete pastures of the beautiful bronx,andfrom the banks of brook avenue.The trilogy celebrates Bronx people, places, and events.DeWitt Clinton High School,St. Mary's Park,and Brook Avenue are a few of the schools, parks, and streets Rodriguez uses as subjects for his poems.

Nash's couplet "The Bronx? No Thonx" and his subsequent blessing are mentioned inBronx Accent: A Literary and Pictorial History of the Borough,edited by Lloyd Ultan and Barbara Unger and published in 2000. The book, which includes the work of Yiddish poets, offers a selection fromAllen Ginsberg'sKaddish,as his Aunt Elanor and his mother, Naomi, lived near Woodlawn Cemetery. Also featured is Ruth Lisa Schecther's poem, "Bronx", which is described as a celebration of the borough's landmarks. There is a selection of works from poets such asSandra María Esteves,Milton Kessler,Joan Murray, W. R. Rodriguez, Myra Shapiro, Gayl Teller, andTerence Wynch.

"Bronx Migrations" by Michelle M. Tokarczyk is a collection that spans five decades of Tokarczyk's life in the Bronx, from her exodus in 1962 to her return in search of her childhood tenement.

Bronx Memoir Project

Bronx Memoir Project: Vol. 1is a publishedanthologyby the Bronx Council on the Arts and brought forth through a series of workshops meant to empower Bronx residents and shed the stigma on the Bronx's burning past.The Bronx Memoir Project was created as an ongoing collaboration between theBronx Council on the Artsand othercultural institutions,including the BronxDocumentaryCenter, theBronx Library Center,the (Edgar Allan)Poe Park Visitor Center,Mindbuilders, and other institutions and funded through a grant from theNational Endowment for the Arts.The goal was to develop and refine memoir fragments written by people of all walks of life that share a common bond residing within the Bronx.

Songs

See also:List of songs about New York City

• "Jenny from the Block"(2002) byJennifer Lopez,from the albumThis is me...Thenis about the South Bronx, where Lopez grew up.
• In Marc Ferris's 5-page, 15-column list of "Songs and Compositions Inspired by New York City" inThe Encyclopedia of New York City(1995),only a handful refer to the Bronx; most refer to New York City proper, especially Manhattan and Brooklyn. Ferris's extensive but selective 1995 list mentions only four songs referring specifically to the Bronx: "On the Banks of the Bronx" (1919), byWilliam LeBaron&Victor Jacobi;"Bronx Express" (1922), byHenry Creamer,Ossip Dymow &Turner Layton;"TheTremont AvenueCruisewear Fashion Show "(1973), byJerry Livingston& Mark David; and "I Love theNew York Yankees"(1987), by Paula Lindstrom.

Theater

Clifford Odets's playAwake and Sing!is set in 1933 in the Bronx. The play, first produced at theBelasco Theaterin 1935, concerns a poor family living in small quarters, the struggles of the controlling parents and the aspirations of their children.

René Marqués'The Oxcart(1959) concerns a rural Puerto Rican family who immigrate to the Bronx for a better life.

A Bronx Taleis an autobiographicalone-man showwritten and performed byChazz Palminteri.It is a coming-of-age story set in the Bronx. It premiered in Los Angeles in the 1980s and then played on Off-Broadway. After a film version involving Palminteri and Robert De Niro, Palminteri performed his one-man show on Broadway and on tour in 2007.

See also

• Bronx Borough Hall
• Bronx court system delays
• List of counties in New York
• List of people from the Bronx
• National Register of Historic Places listings in the Bronx
• Wildlife in the Bronx

References

Further reading

See also:Bibliography of the history of the Bronx

General

• Baver, Sherrie L. (1988). "Development of New York's Puerto Rican Community".Bronx County Historical Society Journal.25(1): 1–9.
• Briggs, Xavier de Souza, Anita Miller and John Shapiro. "CCRP in the South Bronx".Planners' Casebook,Winter 1996.
• Corman, Avery. "My Old Neighborhood Remembered, A Memoir". Barricade Books (2014)
• Chronopoulos, Themis. "Paddy Chayefsky's 'Marty' and Its Significance to the Social History of Arthur Avenue, The Bronx, in the 1950s".The Bronx County Historical Society JournalXLIV (Spring/Fall 2007): 50–59.
• Chronopoulos, Themis. "Urban Decline and the Withdrawal of New York University from University Heights, The Bronx".The Bronx County Historical Society JournalXLVI (Spring/Fall 2009): 4–24.
• de Kadt, Maarten.The Bronx River: An Environmental and Social History.The History Press (2011)
• DiBrino, Nicholas.The History of the Morris Park Racecourse and the Morris Family(1977)
• Jackson, Kenneth T., ed.The Encyclopedia of New York City,(Yale University Pressand theNew-York Historical Society,(1995)ISBN0-300-05536-6), has entries, maps, illustrations, statistics and bibliographic references on almost all of the significant topics in this article, from the entire borough to individual neighborhoods, people, events and artistic works.
• McNamara, John.History In Asphalt: The Origin of Bronx Street and Place Names(1993)ISBN0-941980-16-2
• McNamara, JohnMcNamara's Old Bronx(1989)ISBN0-941980-25-1
• Twomey, Bill and Casey, Thomas.Images of America Series: Northwest Bronx(2011)
• Twomey, Bill and McNamara, John.Throggs Neck Memories(1993)
• Twomey, Bill and McNamara, John.Images of America Series: Throggs Neck-Pelham Bay(1998)
• Twomey, Bill and Moussot, Peter.Throggs Neck(1983), pictorial
• Twomey, Bill.Images of America Series: East Bronx(1999)
• Twomey, Bill.Images of America Series: South Bronx(2002)
• Twomey, Bill.The Bronx in Bits and Pieces(2007)

Bronx history

• Barrows, Edward, and Mike Wallace.Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898(1999)
• Baver, Sherrie L (1988). "Development of New York's Puerto Rican Community".Bronx County Historical Society Journal.25(1): 1–9.
• Federal Writers' Project.New York City Guide: A Comprehensive Guide to the Five Boroughs of the Metropolis: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond(1939)online editionArchivedJune 26, 2012, at theWayback Machine
• Fitzpatrick Benedict.The Bronx and Its People; A History 1609–1927(The Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1927. 3 volumes), Narrative history plus many biographies of prominent citizens
• Gonzalez, Evelyn.The Bronx.(Columbia University Press, 2004. 263ISBN0-231-12114-8), scholarly history focused on the slums of the South Bronxonline editionArchivedJune 26, 2012, at theWayback Machine
• Goodman, Sam. "The Golden Ghetto: The Grand Concourse in the Twentieth Century",Bronx County Historical Society Journal2004 41(1): 4–18 and 2005 42(2): 80–99
• Greene, Anthony C., "The Black Bronx: A Look at the Foundation of the Bronx's Black Communities until 1900",Bronx County Historical Society Journal,44 (Spring–Fall 2007), 1–18.
• Jackson, Kenneth T., ed.The Encyclopedia of New York City,(Yale University Press and theNew-York Historical Society,(1995)ISBN0-300-05536-6), has entries, maps, illustrations, statistics and bibliographic references on almost all of the significant topics in this article, from the entire borough to individual neighborhoods, people, events and artistic works.
• Jonnes, Jull.South Bronx Rising: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of an American City(2002)online editionArchivedJune 26, 2012, at theWayback Machine
• Melancholy in the Bronx, but Not Because of the StadiumbyDavid Gonzales,The New York Times,published and retrieved on September 19, 2008
• Olmsted, Robert A (1989). "A History of Transportation in the Bronx".Bronx County Historical Society Journal.26(2): 68–91.
• Olmsted, Robert A (1998). "Transportation Made the Bronx".Bronx County Historical Society Journal.35(2): 166–180.
• Purnell, Brian (2009). "Desegregating the Jim Crow North: Racial Discrimination in the Postwar Bronx and the Fight to Integrate the Castle Hill Beach Club (1953–1973)".Afro-Americans in New York Life and History.33:47–78.
• Purnell, Brian; LaBennett, Oneka (2009). "The Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP) and Approaches to Scholarship about/for Black Communities".Afro-Americans in New York Life and History.33:7–23.
• Rodríguez, Clara E.Puerto Ricans: Born in the U.S.A(1991)online edition
• Samtur, Stephen M. and Martin A. Jackson.The Bronx: Lost, Found, and Remembered, 1935–1975(1999)online review,nostalgia
• Ultan, Lloyd.The Northern Borough: A History Of The Bronx(2009), popular general history
• Ultan, Lloyd.The Bronx in the frontier era: from the beginning to 1696(1994)
• Ultan, Lloyd.The Beautiful Bronx (1920–1950)(1979), heavily illustrated
• Ultan, Lloyd.The Birth of the Bronx, 1609–1900(2000), popular
• Ultan, Lloyd.The Bronx in the innocent years, 1890–1925(1985), popular
• Ultan, Lloyd.The Bronx: It Was Only Yesterday, "The Bronx: It Was Only Yesterday 1935–1965(1992), heavily illustrated popular history

External links

• Bronx Borough President's Office

Newspapers

• The Bronx Times Reporter
• The Bronx Daily
• Weekly Bronx Report from Inner City Press
• The Hunts Point Express
• The Mott Haven Herald
• Norwood News
• The Riverdale Press

Associations

• The Bronx River Alliance
• Bronx Council for Environmental Quality
• Throggs Neck Merchant Association
• The Bronx Market
• The South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation
• Bronx County, NY Website

History

• City Island Nautical Museum
• East Bronx History Forum
• Kingsbridge Historical Society
• Museum of Bronx History
• The Bronx County Historical Society
• The Bronx: A Swedish Connection
• Report of the Bronx Parkway Commission, December 31, 1918,retrieved on July 24, 2008
• Remembrance of Synagogues Past: The Lost Civilization of the Jewish South Bronxby Seymour Perlin, retrieved on August 10, 2008
• Forgotten New York: Relics of a Rich History in the Everyday Life of New York City