The Bronx
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The Bronx is one of the five
boroughs of
New York City in the
United States. It is coterminous with
Bronx County of the State of
New York. It is the northernmost and only borough of New York City on the North American mainland, located south of
Westchester County. It also includes several small islands in the
East River and
Long Island Sound. . The
Harlem River separates The Bronx from the island of
Manhattan.
The Bronx takes its name from Bronck's Farms, after an early settler (1641) in the area, Swedish immigrant
Jonas Bronck, whose 500 acre (2 km²) farm lay between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which now bears his name. The
borough's name is officially
The Bronx, but the
county's name is officially just
Bronx, without the definite article. As of
July 1, 2002, the population is 1,354,068.
History
The territory now contained within Bronx County was originally part of
Westchester County, an original county of New York State. The present Bronx County was contained in four
towns:
Westchester, Yonkers, Eastchester, and
Pelham. In 1846, a new town,
West Farms, was created by secession from Westchester; in turn, in 1855, the town of
Morrisania seceded from West Farms. In 1873, the town of
Kingsbridge seceded from Yonkers.
In 1874, the western portion of the present Bronx County, consisting of the towns of Kingsbridge, West Farms, and
Morrisania, was transferred to New York County, and in 1895 the Town of Westchester and portions of Eastchester and Pelham, were transferred to New York County. City Island, known as New York City's only nautical community, voted to secede from Westchester County and join New York County in 1896. In 1914, those parts of the then New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County were constituted the new Bronx County. New York City had also annexed the present-day Bronx County.
Landmarks
[[Yankee Stadium is home to the
New York Yankees]]
In 1997, the Bronx was designated an "All America City" by the National Civic Council. The
Bronx cheer and a popular cocktail were both named after this borough.
The Bronx's attractions include
Yankee Stadium, home of the
New York Yankees baseball club, the
Bronx Zoo, Morris Park, the
New York Botanical Garden,
Little Italy on Arthur Avenue, Wave Hill,
Fordham University and
Manhattan College. It includes two of the largest parks in NYC,
Pelham Bay Park and Van Cortland Park. Pelham Bay Park also has a large man made public beach called Orchard Beach created by
Robert Moses.
The Bronx also has The Hall of Fame for Great Americans: a national landmark which overlooks the Harlem and Hudson Rivers. It was designed by the renowned architect
Stanford White.
The Bronx is also the only Borough that has a freshwater river (the
Bronx River) running through it. A smaller river, the Hutchinson River, passes through the northeast Bronx to empty into
Eastchester Bay.
The Bronx now has the distinction of being the Birthplace of
Hip Hop Music.
Famous Bronxites
Famous Bronxites include:
Danny Aiello,
Sholom Aleichem,
June Allyson,
Anne Bancroft,
David Berkowitz,
Joey Bishop,
Red Buttons,
James Caan,
George Carlin,
Diahann Carroll,
Paddy Chayefsky,
Tony Curtis, Cus D'Amato,
Bobby Darin,
Gray Davis,
Art Donovan,
Marty Glickman,
Cuba Gooding Jr.,
John Gotti,
Hank Greenberg,
Fat Joe,
Billy Joel,
Max Kellerman, Edward Koch,
Stanley Kubrick, Fiorello La Guardia,
Jake LaMotta,
Ralph Lauren,
Jennifer Lopez,
Linda Lovelace,
Garry Marshall,
Penny Marshall,
Sal Mineo, Carroll O'Connor,
KRS One,
Jerry Orbach,
Al Pacino,
Regis Philbin,
Chaim Potok,
Colin Powell,
Tito Puente,
Big Pun,
Carl Reiner,
Vin Scully and
Neil Simon.
Law and government
Like the other counties which are contained within New York City, the Bronx is nominally presided over by a borough president. The borough is also served by various county
courts, as well as a district attorney (public prosecutor).
Geography
As a part of New York City, Bronx County contains no other political subdivisions. It is located at 40°42'15" North, 73°55'5" West (40.704234, -73.917927).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 148.7
km² (57.4
mi²). 108.9 km² (42.0 mi²) of it is land and 39.9 km² (15.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 26.82% water.
The Bronx has four large low peninsulas or "necks" of low-lying land that jut into the waters of the East River and were one saltmarsh: Hunt's Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck and Throg's Neck. In the northeast corner of the Bronx, Rodman's Neck lies in Long Island Sound.
Many of the Bronx's streets are numbered, but unlike the street numbering systems in
Brooklyn and
Queens, the Bronx's system is a continuation of the
Manhattan street grid. Because of this, the lowest numbered street in the borough is 132nd Street, and the highest is 263rd Street in the Riverdale section. Like Manhattan, the streets are designated either "east" or "west", with the divider being Jerome Avenue; the divider in Manhattan is Fifth Avenue.
Numerous subway lines run through the Bronx, many of them above ground. In addition, three Metro North commuter railroad lines run through the Bronx. The borough has 12 Metro North stations.
Neighborhoods
The Bronx's major neighborhoods are as follows: Baychester, Bedford Park, Castle Hill, City Island, Eastchester, Fordham, Highbridge, Hunts Point, Kingsbridge, Melrose, Morrisania, Morris Park, Mott Haven, Norwood, Parkchester, Pelham Bay, Pelham Parkway, Riverdale, Soundview, Throgs Neck, Tremont, University Heights, Wakefield, West Farms, Williamsbridge, and Woodlawn.
See
List of Bronx neighborhoods for a detailed description of these neighborhoods and others.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there are 1,332,650 people, 463,212 households, and 314,984 families residing in the borough. The
population density is 12,242.2/km² (31,709.3/mi²). There are 490,659 housing units at an average density of 4,507.4/km² (11,674.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough is 29.87%
White, 35.64%
Black or
African American, 0.85%
Native American, 3.01%
Asian, 0.10%
Pacific Islander, 24.74% from
other races, and 5.78% from two or more races. 48.38% of the population are Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 14.5% of the population are Whites, not of Hispanic origins.
According to an estimate by the Census Bureau, the population increased to 1,363,198 in 2003.
There are 463,212 households out of which 38.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.4% are
married couples living together, 30.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% are non-families. 27.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.78 and the average family size is 3.37.
In the borough the population is spread out with 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% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 80.7 males.
The median income for a household in the borough is $27,611, and the median income for a family is $30,682. Males have a median income of $31,178 versus $29,429 for females. The
per capita income for the borough is $13,959. 30.7% of the population and 28.0% of families are below the
poverty line. Out of the total population, 41.5% of those under the age of 18 and 21.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
The Bronx has much affordable housing, as well as upscale neighborhoods like Riverdale and Country Club Estates.
See also
External links
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Bronx is also the name of a character on the
Walt Disney animated series Gargoyles (named after the
New York borough).
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Bronx
Bronx County, New York