Kingsbridge is a residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Kingsbridge's boundaries are Manhattan College Parkway to the north, the Major Deegan Expressway or Bailey Avenue to the east, West 230th Street to the south, and Irwin Avenue to the west. The neighborhood is part of

Bronx Community Board 8 Community boards of the Bronx are the 12 New York City community boards in the borough of the Bronx, which are the appointed advisory groups of the community districts that advise on land use and zoning, participate in the city budget process, a ...

and its ZIP Code is 10463. Kingsbridge is patrolled by the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

's 50th Precinct.

Geography

Kingsbridge comprises three distinct neighborhoods: Kingsbridge proper,

Kingsbridge Heights Kingsbridge Heights is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the northwest Bronx, New York City. Its boundaries are Van Cortlandt Park to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, Kingsbridge Road to the south, and the Major Deegan Expr ...

, and

Van Cortlandt Village Van Cortlandt Village is a subsection of the Kingsbridge neighborhood in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 8. Named after Van Cortlandt Park, it is bordered by the Major Deegan Expressway to ...

. Kingsbridge proper is bounded by Manhattan College Parkway to the north, either the Major Deegan Expressway or Bailey Avenue to the east, West 230th Street to the south, and Irwin Avenue to the west.

Land use and terrain

Kingsbridge has detached, semi detached, and attached homes, and apartment buildings. Streets connecting Riverdale and Kingsbridge include "step streets", with stairways of as many as 160 steps climbing the slope. The neighborhood is also part of a business improvement district that is home to 200 merchants, and is one of the largest retail shopping districts in the Bronx. River Plaza Shopping Center is located nearby (in Marble Hill, Manhattan) but it is not part of the business improvement district. During the past several years there have been significant improvements in the infrastructure of the community. For example, the parks have been improved significantly and there are new elementary schools on 230th Street. On 233rd and Bailey Avenue, there is a baseball field that is run by Kingsbridge Little League. The field has lights, dugouts, stands, and a small food court.

History

The neighborhood is named for the King's Bridge, likely erected by enslaved Africans in 1693 and owned by

Frederick Philipse Frederick Philipse (born Frederick Flypsen;Appleton, W.S. ''The Heraldic Journal, Recording the Amorial Bearings and Genealogies of American Families'', Wiggen & Lunt, Boston, 1867 1626 in Bolsward, Netherlands – December 23, 1702), first Lor ...

, a local lord loyal to the British monarch. The bridge spanned a now-filled-in section of

Spuyten Duyvil Creek Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from t ...

, roughly parallel to today's 230th Street. The King's Bridge was part of Boston Post Road, connecting southern

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

(which later became the Bronx) with Marble Hill, once part of Manhattan Island and still part of the borough of Manhattan. The bridge is said to still be in place, having been buried when the creek bed was filled in. The creek's water flow was redirected to the new and deeper shipping canal, south of Marble Hill. Until the later part of the 19th century Riverdale, Kingsbridge, and other areas now in the northwest Bronx were part of the Town of Yonkers. The areas that are inside the modern-day New York city line broke off to form the Town of Kingsbridge. In 1874, the City of New York annexed three towns that later became the western half of The Bronx, including the Town of Kingsbridge. As the trains to Manhattan were built in the 20th century, a stop in the northwest Bronx along the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

called Riverdale-on-Hudson, now Riverdale, was created. This gave rise to the Riverdale neighborhood. The remainder of the old Town of Kingsbridge developed into the modern-day Kingsbridge neighborhood. John RCC 3021 Kingsbridge Av jeh

Kingsbridge has a population of over 10,000. Historical documents reveal that the Black population of Kingsbridge was proportionally much higher in the distant past than it is today, due to the number of Africans enslaved by local landowners from the late 1600s to mid 1800s. In more recent history, it became a neighborhood of predominately

Irish immigrants The Irish diaspora ( ga, Diaspóra na nGael) refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner and Meeder, The ...

. From the late 1970s the Irish population has decreased significantly, being replaced by large numbers of African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Albanians, and Greeks. According to an account by ''The New York Times'', the largest Hispanic group in Kingsbridge today are Dominicans, replacing the earlier Puerto Ricans and Cubans, who were the first Hispanics to settle in the neighborhood in the 1970s. There still is a strong Irish population centered on Bailey Avenue and Tibbett Avenue. The Dominicans predominantly live along Broadway and adjacent side streets, with a predominantly mixed ethnic area east and west of Broadway. The Irish legacy can still be seen in the Roman Catholic churches and schools that serve the current residents, such as the St. John's Roman Catholic Church on Kingsbridge Avenue near 231st Street, and its two schools; the elementary school on Godwin Terrace (just south of 231st Street), and the junior high school on Kingsbridge Avenue just a block north of 231st Street. In northern Kingsbridge the Visitation Roman Catholic Church and School is located on West 239th street. To the east, on Sedgwick Avenue is Our Lady of Angels Church and School. For recreation

Gaelic Park Gaelic Park ( ga, Páirc na nGael) is a multi-purpose outdoor athletics facility, located at West 240th Street and Broadway in Riverdale, Bronx, in New York City in the U.S. state of New York. Since 1926 the grounds has been used as the venue for ...

, (now operated by Manhattan College), is located on 240th Street & Broadway and is the venue for a variety of sports including Gaelic football and hurling. The neighborhood is also home to Manhattan College. The area is patrolled by the 50th Precinct located at 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue.

NYCHA The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the U ...

property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in the

Throggs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek on ...

section of the Bronx. Kingsbridge was home to the 77-year-old Stella D'Oro factory, which was relocated to

Ashland, Ohio Ashland is a city in and the county seat of Ashland County, Ohio, United States, 66 miles southwest of Cleveland and 82 miles northeast of Columbus. The population was 20,362 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan S ...

when Stella D'Oro was sold to

Lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike s ...

after labor unrest in 2009.

Demographics

Based on data from the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, the population of Kingsbridge and Spuyten Duyvil was 30,161, a change of 289 (1%) from the 29,872 counted in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division -

Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhoods were 49.3% (14,872)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 8.9% (2,691)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% (40) Native American, 5.7% (1,731)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0% (15)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.3% (98) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.7% (510) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 33.8% (10,204) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division -

Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016. The entirety of Community District 8, which comprises Kingsbridge and Riverdale, had 102,927 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 80.9 years. This is about the same as the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 20% are between the ages of between 0–17, 28% between 25–44, and 25% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 18% respectively. As of 2017, the median

household income Household income is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamp ...

in Community District 8 was $53,986. In 2018, an estimated 15% of Kingsbridge and Riverdale residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in eleven residents (9%) were unemployed, compared to 13% in the Bronx and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 52% in Kingsbridge and Riverdale, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Kingsbridge and Riverdale are considered high-income relative to the rest of the city and not

gentrifying Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

Police and crime

Kingsbridge and Riverdale are patrolled by the 50th Precinct of the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

, located at 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue. The 50th Precinct ranked 13th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 40 per 100,000 people, Kingsbridge and Riverdale's rate of

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objecti ...

s per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 225 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 50th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 79.9% between 1990 and 2020. The precinct reported 3 murders, 12 rapes, 88 robberies, 158 felony assaults, 150 burglaries, 461 grand larcenies, and 152 grand larcenies auto in 2020.

Fire safety

Kingsbridge contains a

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

(FDNY) fire station, Engine Co. 81/Ladder Co. 46, at 3025 Bailey Avenue.

Health

preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 2 ...

s are slightly more common in Kingsbridge and Riverdale than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are less common. In Kingsbridge and Riverdale, there were 89 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 13.1 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Kingsbridge and Riverdale has a relatively average population of residents who are

uninsured Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to Hedge ( ...

. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 16%, higher than the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of

air pollutant Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

, in Kingsbridge and Riverdale is , more than the city average. Ten percent of Kingsbridge and Riverdale residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Kingsbridge and Riverdale, 24% of residents are

obese Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

, 12% are

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, and 28% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 21% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-six percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 83% of residents described their health as "good," "very good," or "excellent," higher than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Kingsbridge and Riverdale, there are 10 bodegas. The nearest hospitals are James J. Peters VA Medical Center in Kingsbridge Heights,

North Central Bronx Hospital NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, better known as North Central Bronx Hospital, is a municipal hospital founded in 1976 and operated by NYC Health + Hospitals. The 17 story Brutalist style building is located next to the Montefiore Medi ...

and Montefiore Medical Center in Norwood.

Post office and ZIP Code

Kingsbridge is located within ZIP Code 10463. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates the Kingsbridge Station post office at 5517 Broadway.

Education

Kingsbridge and Riverdale generally have a similar rate of college-educated residents to the rest of the city . While 45% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 18% have less than a high school education and 37% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 26% of Bronx residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Kingsbridge and Riverdale students excelling in math rose from 21% in 2000 to 48% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 28% to 33% during the same time period. Kingsbridge and Riverdale's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is about the same as the rest of New York City. In Kingsbridge and Riverdale, 20% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per

school year A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

, higher than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 78% of high school students in Kingsbridge and Riverdale graduate on time, higher than the citywide average of 75%.

Schools

Public schools are operated by the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

. Kingsbridge is located near the following public elementary schools, which serve grades PK-5 unless otherwise indicated: * PS 7 Kingsbridge * PS 37 Multiple Intelligence School (grades K-8) * PS 86 Kingsbridge Heights (grades PK-6) * PS 207 (grades PK-2) * PS 307 Eames Place (grades K-5) * PS 310 Marble Hill * PS 360 The following middle/high school is located in Kingsbridge: * In Tech Academy – MS/HS 368 (grades 6-12)

Libraries

The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates two branches near Kingsbridge. The Van Cortlandt branch is located at 3882 Cannon Place. The two-story, branch opened in 2019, replacing a smaller one-story branch a few blocks away, which opened in 1969 and consisted of a single room. The Kingsbridge branch is located at 3874 Sedgwick Avenue. The current two-story building is the branch's fourth structure since the establishment of the Kingsbridge Free Library in 1894. McKim, Mead & White designed a Carnegie library for Kingsbridge when the NYPL took over the Kingsbridge branch in 1905; a third library structure was built at 280 West 231st Street in 1959, across from the current site.

Transportation

The following

MTA Regional Bus Operations MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...

bus routes serve Kingsbridge: * Bx1: to Third Avenue–138th Street station (via Grand Concourse) * Bx3: to

George Washington Bridge Bus Station The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City. The bus station is owned and operated by the Port Authori ...

(via University Avenue) * Bx7: to

College of Mount Saint Vincent A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

or 168th Street station (via Broadway) * Bx9: to Riverdale or West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue station (via Kingsbridge Road) * Bx10: to

or Norwood–205th Street station (via Riverdale Avenue) * Bx20: to Riverdale or Inwood–207th Street station (via Henry Hudson Parkway) *: express to Riverdale or Midtown Manhattan (via East Side) *: express to

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...

(via West Side) *: express to Lower Manhattan The following New York City Subway stations serve Kingsbridge: * 231st Street station () * 238th Street station ()

In popular culture

Films

* Scenes from

Martin Scorsese's Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (subtitled onscreen as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese and written by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 nonfiction book ''I Heard You Paint Hou ...

(2019) were filmed in the American Legion in Kingsbridge. * Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford were filmed drinking and playing pool at Piper's Kilt on West 231st Street in '' The Devil’s Own (1997).'' * A scene from The Seven Ups (1973) was filmed near DeWitt Clinton High School and The Bronx High School of Science.

Television

* In Season 1, Episode 5 of

Sneaky Pete ''Sneaky Pete'' is an American Crime film, crime drama series created by David Shore and Bryan Cranston. The series follows Marius Josipović (Giovanni Ribisi), a released convict who adopts the identity of his cellmate, Pete Murphy, to avoid hi ...

, Marius/Pete and

Audrey Audrey () is an English feminine given name. It is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name ''Æðelþryð'', composed of the elements '' æðel'' "noble" and ''þryð'' "strength". The Anglo-Norman form of the name was applied to Saint Aud ...

are shown eating in diner set in Bridgeport, CT that is actuall
Tibbets Diner
o
Tibbets Avenue

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

is shown in a car outside with the houses o
Corlear Avenue
in the background.

References

External links

The Riverdale Press
{{Authority control Neighborhoods in the Bronx Former towns in New York City