South Bronx
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. The neighborhoods of Tremont
Tremont, Bronx
Tremont is a low income residential neighborhood geographically located in the west Bronx, New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East 183rd Street to the north, Webster Avenue to the east, the...
, University Heights, Highbridge
Highbridge, Bronx
Highbridge is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the Southwestern section of The Bronx, New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 4. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Jerome Avenue to...
, Morrisania
Morrisania, Bronx
Morrisania is the historical name for the South Bronx and derives from the powerful and aristocratic Morris family, who at one time owned all of the Manor of Morrisania. Today the name is most commonly associated with the village of Morrisania, which is only a small corner of the original...
, Soundview
Soundview, Bronx
Soundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...
, Hunts Point
Hunts Point, Bronx
Hunts Point is a low-income neighborhood located on a peninsula in the South Bronx in New York City. It is the location of one of the largest food distribution facilities in the world. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 2. Its boundaries are the Bruckner Expressway to the west and...
, and Castle Hill
Castle Hill, Bronx
Castle Hill is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...
are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx.
The South Bronx is part of New York's 16th Congressional District
New York's 16th congressional district
New York's 16th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in the Bronx. The district includes the neighborhoods of Bedford Park, East Tremont, Fordham, Hunts Point, Melrose, Highbridge, Morrisania, Mott Haven and University Heights. ...
, one of the five poorest Congressional Districts in the United States. The South Bronx is served by the NYPD's 40th, 41st, 42nd, 44th, and 48th Precincts.
History
The South Bronx was originally called the Manor of Morrisania, and later Morrisania. It was the private domain of the powerful and aristocratic Morris family, which includes Lewis MorrisLewis Morris
Lewis Morris was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York....
, signer of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, and Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris , was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a native of New York City who represented Pennsylvania in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation. Morris was also an author of large sections of the...
, penman of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. The Morris memorial is at St. Ann's Church of Morrisania
St. Ann's Church Complex (Bronx, New York)
St. Ann's Church is a historic Episcopal church in the South Bronx, New York City. It was built in 1840 and donated by Gouverneur Morris Jr. as a family memorial. It is a fieldstone building in the Gothic Revival style with a vernacular Greek Revival style tower...
. Morris descendants own land in the South Bronx to this day.
As the Morrises developed their landholdings, an influx of German and Irish immigrants populated the area. Later, the Bronx was considered the "Jewish Borough," and at its peak in 1930 was 49% Jewish. Jews in the South Bronx numbered 364,000 or 57.1% of the total population in the area. The term was first coined in the 1940s by a group of social workers who identified the Bronx's first pocket of poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, in the Port Morris
Port Morris, Bronx
Port Morris is a neighborhood in the southwest Bronx, New York City. It is a heavily industrial neighborhood. Its boundaries are the Major Deegan Expressway and Bruckner Expressway to the north, East 149th Street to the east, the East River to the southeast, the Bronx Kill south, and the Harlem...
section, the southernmost section of the Bronx.
1950s: Demographic shift
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, as white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
accelerated and migration of ethnic and racial minorities continued, the South Bronx went from being two-thirds non-Hispanic white in 1950 to being two-thirds black or Puerto Rican in 1960. Originally denoting only Mott Haven and Melrose, the South Bronx extended up to the Cross Bronx Expressway by the 1960s, encompassing Hunts Point, Morrisania, and Highbridge.
1960s: Start of decay
The South Bronx has been historically a place for working class families. Its image as a poverty-ridden area developed in the latter part of the 20th century. There have been several factors contributing to the decay of the South Bronx: white flightWhite flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
, landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
abandonment, changes in economic demographics abandonment, and also the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway.
The Cross Bronx Expressway, completed in 1963, was a part of Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
’s urban renewal project for New York City. The expressway is ironically, now, known to have been a factor in the extreme urban decay seen by the borough in the 1970s and 1980s. Cutting straight through the heart of the South Bronx, the highway displaced thousands of residents from their homes, as well as several local businesses. The already poor and working-class neighborhoods were at another disadvantage: the decreased property value brought on by their proximity to the Cross Bronx Expressway. The neighborhood of East Tremont
East Tremont, Bronx
East Tremont is a low income residential neighborhood geographically located in the west Bronx, New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 6. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East 183rd Street to the north, Crotona Avenue to the east, the...
, in particular, was completely destroyed by the incursion of the expressway. The combination of increasing vacancy rates and decreased property values caused some neighborhoods to become considered undesirable by homeowners..
In the late 1960s, the area's population began decreasing, commonly thought to be a result of new policies demanding that, for racial balance in schools, children be bused into other districts. Parents who worried about their children attending the demographically adjusted schools often relocated to the suburbs, where this was not a concern. In addition, rent control
Rent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
policies are thought to have contributed to the decline of many middle class neighborhoods in the 1950s and 1960s; New York City's policies regarding rent control gave building owners no motivation to keep up their properties. Therefore, desirable housing options were scarce, and vacancies further increased. In the late 1960s, by the time the city decided to consolidate welfare households in the South Bronx, its vacancy rate was already the highest of any place in the city
1970s: "The Bronx is burning"
The phrase "The Bronx is burning," attributed to Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
during a Yankees World Series game in 1977, refers to the arson epidemic caused by the total economic collapse of the South Bronx during the 1970s. During the game, as ABC switched to a generic helicopter shot of the exterior of the old Yankee Stadium, an uncontrolled fire could clearly be seen burning in the ravaged South Bronx surrounding the park.
The early 1970s saw South Bronx property values continue to plummet to record lows. A progressively vicious cycle began where large numbers of tenements and multistory, multifamily apartment buildings (left vacant by white flight) sat abandoned and unsalable for long periods of time, which, coupled with a stagnant economy and an extremely high unemployment rate, produced a strong attraction for criminal elements such as street gangs, which were exploding in number and beginning to support themselves with large scale drug dealing in the area. Abandoned property also attracted large numbers of squatters such as the indigent, drug addicts and the mentally ill, who further lowered the borough's quality of living.
As the crisis deepened, the nearly bankrupt city government of Abraham Beame
Abraham Beame
Abraham David "Abe" Beame was mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As such, he presided over the city during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, during which the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy....
levied most of the blame on unreasonably high rents levied by white landlords, and began demanding they convert their rapidly-emptying buildings into Section 8 housing, which paid a per capita stipend for low-income or indigent tenants from Federal HUD
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...
funds rather than from the cash-strapped city coffers. However, the HUD rate was not based on the property's actual value and was set so low by the city it left little opportunity or incentive for honest landlords to maintain or improve their buildings while still making a profit. HUD regulations also made it virtually impossible to evict tenants engaging in destructive or illegal behavior. The result was a disastrous acceleration of both the speed and northward spread of the cycle of decay in the South Bronx, as formerly desirable and well-maintained middle-to-upper class apartments in midtown (most notably along the Grand Concourse
Grand Concourse
Grand Concourse can refer to:*Grand Concourse , a boulevard in New York City*Grand Concourse , an integrated walkway in Newfoundland and Labrador*Grand Concourse , owned by Landry's Restaurants...
) were progressively vacated by white flight and either abandoned altogether or converted into Federally-funded single room occupancy
Single Room Occupancy
A single room occupancy is a multiple-tenant building that houses one or two people in individual rooms , or to the single room dwelling itself...
"welfare hotels
Flophouse
A flophouse , doss-house or dosshouse is a place that offers very cheap lodging, generally by providing only minimal services.-Characteristics:...
" run by absentee slumlord
Slumlord
A slumlord is a derogatory term for landlords, generally absentee landlords, who attempt to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, often in deteriorating neighborhoods. They may need to charge lower than market rent to tenants...
s to house predominantly single-parent Section 8 families and young, unemployed, recently-immigrated Hispanic males.
The massive citywide spending cuts also left the few remaining building inspectors and fire marshals unable to enforce living standards or punish code violations. This encouraged slumlords and absentee landlords to neglect and ignore their property and allowed for gangs to set up protected enclaves and lay claim to entire buildings, which then spread crime and fear of crime to nearby unaffected apartments in a domino effect
Domino effect
The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. The term is best known as a mechanical effect, and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes...
. Police statistics show that as the crime wave moved north across the Bronx, the remaining white tenants in the South Bronx (mostly elderly Jews) were preferentially targeted for violent crime by the influx of young, minority criminals because they were seen as easy prey; this became so common that the street slang terms "crib job" (referring to how elderly residents were as helpless as infants) and "push in" (meaning what would now be called a home invasion robbery
Home invasion
Home invasion is the act of illegally burgling or entering a private and occupied dwelling for the purpose of committing a crime Home invasion is the act of illegally burgling or entering a private and occupied dwelling for the purpose of committing a crime Home invasion is the act of illegally...
) were coined specifically to describe them.
Property owners who had waited too long to try and sell their buildings found that almost all of the property in the South Bronx had already been redlined
Redlining
Redlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
by the banks and insurance companies. Unable to sell their property at any price and facing default
Default
Default may refer to:*Default , the failure to do something required by law**Default judgment*Default , failure to satisfy the terms of a loan obligation or to pay back a loan*Default , a preset setting or value...
on back property taxes and mortgages, landlords began to burn their buildings for their insurance value. A type of sophisticated white collar criminal known as a "fixer" sprung up during this period, specializing in a form of insurance fraud
Insurance fraud
Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.Insurance fraud has existed ever since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions...
that began with buying out the property of redlined landlords at or below cost, then selling and reselling the buildings multiple times on paper between several different fictitious shell companies under the fixer's control, artificially driving up the value incrementally each time. Fraudulent "no questions asked" fire insurance policies would then be taken out on the overvalued buildings and the property stripped and burnt for the payoff. This scheme became so common that local gangs were hired by fixers for their expertise at the process of stripping buildings of wiring, plumbing, metal fixtures, and anything else of value and then effectively burning it down with gasoline. Many finishers became extremely rich buying properties from struggling landlords, artificially driving up the value, insuring them and then burning them; often the properties were still occupied by subsidized tenants or squatters at the time, who were given short or no warning before the building was burnt down and they were forced to move to another slum building, where the process would usually repeat itself. The rate of unsolved fatalities due to fire multiplied sevenfold in the South Bronx during the 1970s, with many residents reporting being burnt out of numerous apartment blocks one after the other.
Local South Bronx residents themselves also burned down vacant properties in their own neighborhoods. Much of this was reportedly done by those who had already worked stripping and burning buildings for pay: the ashes of burned down properties could be sifted for salable scrap metal. Other fires were caused by unsafe electrical wiring, fires set indoors for heating, and random vandalism associated with the general crime situation. Flawed HUD and city policies also encouraged local South Bronx residents to burn down their own buildings. Under the regulations, Section 8 tenants who were burned out of their current housing were granted immediate priority status for another apartment, potentially in a better part of the city. After the establishment of the (then) state-of-the-art Co-op City, there was a spike in fires as tenants began burning down their Section 8 housing in an attempt to jump to the front of the 2-3 year long waiting list for the new units. HUD regulations also authorized lump-sum aid payments of up to $1000 to those who could prove they had lost property due to a fire in their Section 8 housing; although these payments were supposed to be investigated for fraud by a HUD employee before being signed off on, very little investigation was done and some HUD employees and social services workers were accused of turning a blind eye to suspicious fires or even advising tenants on the best way to take advantage of the HUD policies. On multiple occasions, firefighters were reported to have shown up to tenement fires only to find all the residents at an address waiting calmly with their possessions already on the curb.
By the time of Cosell's 1977 commentary, dozens of buildings were being burnt in the South Bronx every day, sometimes whole blocks at a time and usually far more than the fire department could keep up with, leaving the area perpetually blanketed in a pall of smoke. Firefighters from the period reported responding to as many as 7 fully involved structure fires in a single shift, too many to even bother returning to the station house between calls. The local police precincts — already struggling and failing to contain the massive wave of drug and gang crime invading the Bronx — had long since stopped bothering to investigate the fires, as there were simply too many to track. During this period, the NYPD's 41st Precinct Station House at 1086 Simpson Street became famously known as "Fort Apache, The Bronx
Fort Apache, The Bronx
Fort Apache, The Bronx is a 1981 crime drama film made by Producers Circle, Time-Life Television Productions Inc., and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. It was directed by Daniel Petrie and produced by Martin Richards, Thomas Fiorello, with David Susskind as executive producer...
" as it struggled to deal with the overwhelming surge of violent crime, which for the entirety of the 1970s (and part of the early 1980s) made South Bronx the murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and arson capitals of America. By 1980, the 41st was renamed "The Little House on the Prairie", as fully 2/3 of the 94,000 residents originally served by the precinct had fled, leaving the fortified station house as one of the few structures in the neighborhood (and the sole building on Simpson Street) that had not been abandoned or burnt out.
In total, over 40% of the South Bronx was burned or abandoned between 1970 and 1980, with 44 census tracts losing more than 50% and seven more than 97% of their buildings to arson, abandonment, or both. The appearance was frequently compared to that of a bombed-out and evacuated European city following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. On Oct. 5, 1977, President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
paid an unscheduled visit to Charlotte Street, while in New York to attend a conference at the United Nations. Charlotte Street at the time was a three-block devastated area of vacant lots and burned-out and abandoned buildings. The street had been so ravaged that part of it had been taken off official city maps in 1974. Carter instructed Patricia Roberts Harris
Patricia Roberts Harris
Patricia Roberts Harris served as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Jimmy Carter...
, head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to take steps to salvage the area.
Revitalization and current concerns
Beginning in the late 1980s, parts of the South Bronx started to experience urban renewalUrban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
with rehabilitated and brand new residential structures, including both subsidized multifamily town homes and apartment buildings. The Bright Temple A.M.E. Church
Sunnyslope (Bronx, New York)
Sunnyslope, also known as Bright Temple A.M.E. Church, is a historic home located in the South Bronx in New York City. It was built about 1860 and is a -story Gothic Revival–style house built in the Picturesque mode...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1983.
On Charlotte Street, prefabricated ranch-style homes were built in the area in 1985, and the area had changed so significantly that the Bronx borough historian could not locate where Carter had stopped to survey the scene.
The Bronx County Courthouse
Bronx County Courthouse
The Bronx County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located in the Bronx in New York City. It was designed in 1931 and built between 1931 and 1934. It is a nine story limestone building on a rusticated granite base in the Classical Revival style. It has four identical sides, an interior...
has secured Landmark status, and efforts are underway to do the same for much of the Grand Concourse
Grand Concourse (Bronx)
The Grand Concourse is a major thoroughfare in the borough of the Bronx in New York City...
, in recognition of the area’s Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
architecture. In June 2010, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission gave consideration to establishment of a historic district on the Grand Concourse from 153rd to 167th Street. A final decision was expected in the coming months.
Construction of the new Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
has stirred controversy over plans which, along with the new billion dollar field, include new athletic fields, tennis courts, bicycle and walking paths, stores, restaurants as well as a new Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...
station, which during baseball season might help ease overcrowding on the subway.
The new stadium was completed in time for the start of the 2009 baseball season. However, the expected completion date of the promised athletic fields and other green space have yet to be revealed. Many in the local community oppose the stadium due to its effects on pollution, traffic, and a massive loss of the community's limited green space.
The population of the South Bronx is currently increasing. Strides have been made since the days of arson, the South Bronx is in a real recovery. But it is situated in the poorest congressional district in the country, and contains over half of the Bronx's housing projects. Almost 50% of the population lives below the poverty line. Drug trafficking, gang activity, and prostitution are all still common throughout the South Bronx. Its precincts record high violent crime rates and are all NYPD "impact zones".
Arts and culture
Fashion Moda
Fashion Moda is a cultural concept. As a museum of science, art, invention, technology and fantasy in its South Bronx location from 1978-1993 it combined aspects of a community arts centre and a worldwide progressive arts organization.-History:...
Gallery, founded by a Viennese artist, Stefan Eins, helped ignite the careers of artists like Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
and Jenny Holzer
Jenny Holzer
Jenny Holzer is an American conceptual artist. Holzer lives and works in Hoosick Falls, New York.-Education:...
, and 1980s break dancers like the Rock Steady Crew
Rock Steady Crew
Rock Steady Crew is a b-boying crew and hip hop group that was established in the Bronx, New York City in 1977. The group was initially formed by b-boys named Jimmy D and Jojo. In subsequent years, Rock Steady Crew became a franchise name for groups in other locations. The Manhattan branch was...
. It generated enough enthusiasm in the mainstream media for a short while to draw the art world's attention.
Modern graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
is also prominent in the South Bronx. The Bronx is home to many of the fathers of graffiti art such as Tats Cru. The Bronx has a very strong graffiti scene despite the city's crackdown on illegal graffiti. The rise of rap and hip-hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
(and the South Bronx avant-dance band ESG
ESG
ESG may refer to:* Engineering Seismology Group, a microseismic monitoring and data analysis company from Canada.* Environmental Social and Corporate Governance, the commonly accepted factors involved in Responsible Investment assessments...
) helped put the South Bronx on the musical map in the early 1980s. The South Bronx is now home to the Bronx Museum of the Arts
Bronx Museum of the Arts
The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a cultural institution located in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th century works created by American artists, and it has hosted exhibitions of art and design from Latin America, Africa and Asia...
on the Grand Concourse.
Education
Among the public schools are three charter schools, Bronx Success Academy 1
Harlem Success Academy
Harlem Success Academy Charter School is the foundation of Success Charter Network, Inc. Its students, most of them starting with disadvantages, have been consistently achieving some of the highest test scores in the state...
and Bronx Success Academy 2
Harlem Success Academy
Harlem Success Academy Charter School is the foundation of Success Charter Network, Inc. Its students, most of them starting with disadvantages, have been consistently achieving some of the highest test scores in the state...
, both associated with the Harlem Success Academy
Harlem Success Academy
Harlem Success Academy Charter School is the foundation of Success Charter Network, Inc. Its students, most of them starting with disadvantages, have been consistently achieving some of the highest test scores in the state...
. A new elementary charter school, Academic Leadership Charter School, opened on 141st Street and Cypress Avenue in 2009.
Among the institutions of Higher Education, Hostos Community College of the City University of New York is located in Grand Concourse and 149th Street, ten blocks from the Yankee stadium. www.hostos.cuny.edu
The South Bronx is also home to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations that offer a range of professional training and other educational programs. Per scholas
Per scholas
Per Scholas is a United States registered 501 nonprofit organization based in Bronx, New York. Per Scholas was founded in 1995 by a consortium of leading foundations and corporations to build and distribute computers at a significant discount to schools serving low-income neighborhoods...
, for example is a nonprofit organization that offers free professional certification training directed towards successfully passing CompTIA
CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association , a non-profit trade association, was created in 1982 as the Association of Better Computer Dealers, Inc. by representatives of five microcomputer dealerships...
A+ and Network+ certification exams as a route to securing jobs and building careers. Per scholas
Per scholas
Per Scholas is a United States registered 501 nonprofit organization based in Bronx, New York. Per Scholas was founded in 1995 by a consortium of leading foundations and corporations to build and distribute computers at a significant discount to schools serving low-income neighborhoods...
also works with a growing number of Title One South Bronx Middle schools, their students and their families to provide computer training and access.
Transportation
Mass transit: The 2, 4, 5, 6, B and D New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
trains all travel through the South Bronx.
A South Bronx Greenway is planned to connect south to Randalls Island
Randalls Island
* Randall's Island* Randalls Island , an island in the Yellowstone River...
and north along the Bronx River
Bronx River
The Bronx River, approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States. It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. The Bronx River is the only fresh water river in New York City....
.
In 2000, 77.3% of all households in New York's 16th congressional district
New York's 16th congressional district
New York's 16th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in the Bronx. The district includes the neighborhoods of Bedford Park, East Tremont, Fordham, Hunts Point, Melrose, Highbridge, Morrisania, Mott Haven and University Heights. ...
, covering the South Bronx, did not own automobiles, Citywide, the percentage is 55%.
Notable natives
- John "coz" Acosta, member of band Forest for the TreesForest for the TreesForest for the Trees was a group started by Carl Stephenson in 1993. The project produced only a single full length album during its duration. Self-titled, the album was released in 1997 after being delayed by a nervous breakdown that kept Stephenson from working on it for several years. Forest for...
, vice-president American Federation of MusiciansAmerican Federation of MusiciansThe American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...
born South Bronx - Danny AielloDanny AielloDaniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
, born East Harlem raised on Bergen Ave - Bobby Darrin, born & raised on Lincoln Ave
- Afrika BambaataaAfrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
, current resident of SoundviewSoundview, BronxSoundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...
- Rapper A.G. of the duo Showbiz and A.G.Showbiz and A.G.Showbiz and A.G. are an American hip hop duo from The Bronx, New York City. Showbiz is a producer and A.G. is a rapper. The two debuted on Lord Finesse's Funky Technician album in 1990. Show and A.G...
, raised in Mott HavenMott Haven, BronxMott Haven is a primarily residential neighborhood in the Southwestern section of The Bronx in New York City. Zip codes include 10451, 10454, and 10455. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 1... - Alex RamosAlex RamosAlex Ramos is a former middleweight boxer from the 1980s. A native of Manhattan, New York, he is Puerto Rican by his parents' side. He was nicknamed "The Bronx Bomber", after Joe Louis, whose nickname was "The Brown Bomber"....
raised in The Bronx, Professional boxer - Rapper ArmageddonArmageddon (rapper)Armageddon , from Bronx, New York, is a rapper and music executive.Armageddon has been rapping since the 5th grade. His pursuit of a rap career began in 1985 with a rap clique called Wild Style, which consisted of five kids rapping and singing for fellow students at a Bronx public school...
- Al PacinoAl PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
, raised in the South Bronx, born in East Harlem - Aventura Dominican-American bachata music group, formed in The Bronx, New York
- Barry WellmanBarry WellmanBarry Wellman, FRSC directs NetLab as the S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. His areas of research are community sociology, the Internet, human-computer interaction and social structure, as manifested in social networks in communities and organizations...
, raised in Fordham Road near Grand Concourse - Harold BloomHarold BloomHarold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
, writer, literary critic, lived in the South Bronx - Bernard McGuirkBernard McGuirk* Bulleted list itemBernard J. McGuirk is the executive producer of the Imus in the Morning radio program. He was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York, where he also worked in his younger years as a taxicab driver...
, grew up in the South Bronx - Majora CarterMajora CarterMajora Carter is an economic consultant, public radio host, and environmental justice advocate from the South Bronx area of New York City. Carter founded the non-profit environmental justice solutions corporation Sustainable South Bronx before entering the private sector.-Early life:Carter...
, raised in, and resident of Hunts PointHunts Point, BronxHunts Point is a low-income neighborhood located on a peninsula in the South Bronx in New York City. It is the location of one of the largest food distribution facilities in the world. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 2. Its boundaries are the Bruckner Expressway to the west and... - Colin PowellColin PowellColin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, raised in Hunts PointHunts Point, BronxHunts Point is a low-income neighborhood located on a peninsula in the South Bronx in New York City. It is the location of one of the largest food distribution facilities in the world. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 2. Its boundaries are the Bruckner Expressway to the west and... - Rapper Cuban LinkCuban LinkFelix Delgado , better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban rapper.-Biography:Delgado was born in Havana, Cuba in 1974. He and his family emigrated to the United States in 1980 and settled in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City...
, born in Cuba, raised in the South Bronx - Dolph SchayesDolph SchayesAdolph "Dolph" Schayes is a retired American professional basketball player and coach in the NBA. A top scorer and rebounder, he was a member of the 1955 NBA champion Syracuse Nationals and a 12-time All-Star....
, raised near East 180th Street and Grand ConcourseGrand Concourse (Bronx)The Grand Concourse is a major thoroughfare in the borough of the Bronx in New York City... - Rapper Drag-OnDrag-OnMel Jason Smalls , better known as Drag-On, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York City.Drag-On was originally signed to Interscope Records under the Ruff Ryders Entertainment imprint, where he released his successful debut album, Opposite of H2O, which debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200...
, raised in SoundviewSoundview, BronxSoundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9... - Rapper Fat JoeFat JoeJoseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....
, raised in MorrisaniaMorrisania, BronxMorrisania is the historical name for the South Bronx and derives from the powerful and aristocratic Morris family, who at one time owned all of the Manor of Morrisania. Today the name is most commonly associated with the village of Morrisania, which is only a small corner of the original... - Grandmaster FlashGrandmaster FlashJoseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
, current resident of MorrisaniaMorrisania, BronxMorrisania is the historical name for the South Bronx and derives from the powerful and aristocratic Morris family, who at one time owned all of the Manor of Morrisania. Today the name is most commonly associated with the village of Morrisania, which is only a small corner of the original... - Harry GibsonHarry GibsonHarry "The Hipster" Gibson was a jazz pianist, singer and songwriter.Gibson played New York style Stride piano and boogie woogie while singing in a wild, unrestrained style. His music career began in the late 1920s, when as the young Harry Raab, his birth name, he played stride piano in Dixieland...
- Rapper Hell RellHell RellDurrell Mohammad, also known as Hell Rell, is anAmerican rapper, and a member of rap group The Diplomats.In 2007, he signed with Koch Records and began working on his debut album, For the Hell of It...
, raised in TremontTremont, BronxTremont is a low income residential neighborhood geographically located in the west Bronx, New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East 183rd Street to the north, Webster Avenue to the east, the... - Musician Jimi Hazel of 24-7 Spyz24-7 Spyz24-7 Spyz are a band from the South Bronx, New York, formed in 1986, originally consisting of Jimi Hazel , Rick Skatore , Kindu Phibes , and P. Fluid . The band is best known for mixing soul, funk, reggae, and R&B with heavy metal and hardcore punk...
, raised in Mitchell Projects, Mott Haven - Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezJennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, raised in Castle HillCastle Hill, BronxCastle Hill is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9... - Hip hop pioneer DJ Kool HercDJ Kool HercClive Campbell , also known as Kool Herc, DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Herc, is a Jamaican-born DJ who is credited with originating hip hop music, in The Bronx, New York City...
, raised in the Bronx and resides in 220th and Carpenter (Uptown Bronx) - Rapper KRS-OneKRS-OneLawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
, originally from BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, raised in both Mott Haven and Soundview - Rapper Lord Tariq of the duo Lord Tariq and Peter GunzLord Tariq and Peter GunzLord Tariq and Peter Gunz were an American rap duo consisting of Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton and Peter "Peter Gunz" Pankey. They are best known for their song "Deja Vu " which went to #9 on the U.S...
, raised in SoundviewSoundview, BronxSoundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9... - Murray PerahiaMurray PerahiaMurray Perahia KBE is an American concert pianist and conductor.-Early life:Murray Perahia was born in the Bronx borough of New York City to a family of Sephardi Jewish origin. According to the biography on his Mozart piano sonatas CD, his first language was Judaeo-Spanish or, Ladino. The family...
, concert pianist and conductor, grew up in Walton Avenue - Charles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
actor, comedian, director and drama teacher, born in The Bronx. - Rebel DiazRebel DiazRebel Diaz is a political hip hop duo out of the Bronx, New York and Chicago, IL consisting of the Chilean brothers Rodrigo Venegas and Gonzalo Venegas...
Rebel Diaz is a political hip hop trio out of the Bronx, New York and Chicago
- Ruben Diaz, Jr. Democratic Party politician
- Rapper Remy MaRemy MaReminisce Smith , better known by her stage name Remy Ma, formerly known as Remy Martin, is a Grammy nominated American rapper and former member of Fat Joe's rap crew, Terror Squad...
, raised in Castle Hill - Scott La RockScott La RockScott "La Rock" Sterling was the original DJ of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.-BDP:Sterling, a social worker, met rapper KRS-One in 1986 at the Franklin Men's Shelter in the Bronx where KRS lived. The pair, together with DJ D-Nice, formed Boogie Down Productions...
Boogie Down Productions, born and raised in The Bronx - Fr. Stan Fortuna, ordained as a priest in the Bronx in 1990.
- Tim DogTim DogTim Dog is an American rapper from the Bronx, New York who rose to prominence during the early '90s with his debut LP Penicillin on Wax and the celebrated "diss" record "Fuck Compton". Tim had already appeared on songs with the Ultramagnetic MCs and went on to form a duo, Ultra, with member Kool...
, rapper - Tom LeykisTom LeykisThomas Joseph Leykis is an American radio personality. He currently hosts The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis, a weekly lifestyle program dealing with fine food and drink, airing weekends mainly in West Coast markets...
, radio personality, from Sheridan Ave - R&B singer Tony SunshineTony SunshineTony Sunshine is an American R&B singer of Puerto Rican descent, famous for singing on a large amount of Terror Squad's songs. He sang on tracks such as Cuban Link's Still Telling Lies, Fat Joe's All I Need and Big Pun's 100%. He released his own single on Jive Records titled: "Oh My God"...
, raised in SoundviewSoundview, BronxSoundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9... - Sonia SotomayorSonia SotomayorSonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases... - Kerry WashingtonKerry WashingtonKerry Washington is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles's wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray , as Idi Amin's wife Kay in The Last King of Scotland, and as Alicia Masters, love interest of Ben Grimm, The Thing, in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007...
, actress, grew up on Jackson Avenue - Willie ColónWillie ColónWilliam Anthony Colón is a Nuyorican salsa musician. Primarily a trombonist, Colón also sings, writes, produces and acts. He is also involved in municipal politics in New York City.-Early years:...
, salsa musician - Big PunBig PunChristopher Lee Rios , better known by his stage name Big Pun , was an American rapper who emerged from the underground rap scene in The Bronx in the late 1990s...
, rapper, born and raised in Soundview - French MontanaFrench MontanaFrench Montana is an American rapper and singer of Moroccan and Somali descent. He is the founder of Cocaine City Records.-Background:Karim Kharbouch, better known by his stage name French Montana, was born in Rabat, Morocco...
, rapper, raised in TremontTremont-Places:Australia*Tremont, Victoria, a suburb of MelbourneCanada*Tremont, Nova ScotiaUnited States*Tremont, Illinois*Tremont, Maine*Tremont, Bronx, New York*Tremont, Cleveland, a neighborhood in Ohio*Tremont City, Ohio... - Jordan BratmanJordan BratmanJordan Bratman is an American music marketer. He is best known for his high-profile marriage to singer Christina Aguilera, with whom he was married from 2005 to 2011 and had a son.-Early life:...
, music marketer; born in the South Bronx - Leonard SusskindLeonard SusskindLeonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch Professor of Theoretical Physics at Stanford University. His research interests include string theory, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics and quantum cosmology...
, Theoretical Physicist
Pictorial works
(Pictorial work on historical social life and customs in the South Bronx)External links
New York City°N date=June 2009°W