Port Morris is a mixed use, primarily industrial neighborhood geographically located in the southwest
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 List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
The neighborhood is part of
Bronx Community Board 1
Bronx Community Board 1 is a local government unit of the city of New York, encompassing the neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris in the borough of the Bronx. It is delimited by the East River, East 149th Street, and Prospect A ...
. Its boundaries are the
Major Deegan Expressway and
Bruckner Expressway
The Bruckner Expressway is a freeway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It carries Interstate 278 (I-278) and I-95 (and formerly I-878) from the Triborough Bridge to the south end of the New England Thruway at the Pelham Parkw ...
to the north, East 149th Street to the east, the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...
to the southeast, the
Bronx Kill
The Bronx Kill is a narrow strait in New York City delineating the southernmost extent of the Bronx. It separates the Bronx from Randalls Island. It connects the Harlem River to the East River.
History
Originally, the Bronx Kill was a sizeab ...
to the south, and the
Harlem River
The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland.
The northern stretch, also called the Spuyt ...
(Park Avenue stub) to the west. Its
ZIP Code is 10454 and 10451. The neighborhood is served by 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 ...
's 40th Precinct.
Oak Point, the southern tip of the
South Bronx, is in Port Morris; it contains the
Oak Point Yard
The Oak Point Yard is a freight railroad yard located in the South Bronx, New York City. The yard is owned by CSX Transportation, and is a base for CSX's local deliveries in the area, including to the Hunts Point Cooperative Market and for trai ...
. The area is also traversed by the
Bruckner Expressway
The Bruckner Expressway is a freeway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It carries Interstate 278 (I-278) and I-95 (and formerly I-878) from the Triborough Bridge to the south end of the New England Thruway at the Pelham Parkw ...
, a major freeway. Most of the neighborhood is within walking distance from several stations of
IRT Pelham Line
The IRT Pelham Line is a rapid transit line on the New York City Subway, operated as part of the A Division and served by the 6 and <6> trains. It was built as part of the Dual Contracts expansion and opened between 1918 and 1920. It is ...
().
Demographics
![Union Standard Eq 825 E141st St jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Union_Standard_Eq_825_E141st_St_jeh.jpg)
Port Morris predominantly consists of
Latin Americans
Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...
(primarily
Puerto Rican),
African Americans
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 ...
as well as a small
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 ...
population concentrated mainly in the western portion of Bruckner Boulevard. Almost half of the population lives below the federal poverty line and receives public assistance (TANF, Home Relief, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid). Nonetheless, the median income is significantly higher than that of other South Bronx neighborhoods. This is likely due to recent rezoning
to increase commercial and residential activity in the area.
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 servin ...
, the population of Mott Haven and Port Morris was 52,413, a change of 3,383 (6.5%) from the 49,030 counted in
2000. 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 - New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.7% (867)
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 ...
, 24.7% (12,927)
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 ...
, 0.2% (95)
Native American, 0.4% (214)
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% (7)
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 ...
, 0.2% (124) 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 0.6% (310) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
or
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 72.3% (37,869) 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 - New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
History
The history of Port Morris, as with other neighborhoods, is sometimes confused by the lack of fixed official boundaries. Late in the 20th century the name was sometimes applied to the area to the west, into Mott Haven. Mott Haven by older definition lies to the west rather than north of Port Morris.
Settlement
![1 Bruckner Blvd western jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/1_Bruckner_Blvd_western_jeh.jpg)
There is some evidence that a British paymaster ship went down off Port Morris's coast during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
with millions of dollars in gold aboard. The cargo has never been recovered.
The name comes from a deep water port established along the neighborhood's East River (
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
) waterfront by
Gouverneur Morris Jr.
Gouverneur Morris II (February 9, 1813 – August 20, 1888) was an American railroad executive and the son of a founding father of the United States, Gouverneur Morris.
Early life
Gouverneur Morris was born on February 9, 1813, Morrisania, Bronx ...
, son of
Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to th ...
, in 1842. He built a two-mile (3 km) railroad from
Melrose to his family's holdings on the waterfront, later called the
Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad
Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad was a railroad built in what is today the West Bronx and South Bronx in New York City, United States. It ran from the junction between the West Side Line and the Hudson River Railroad near Spuyten Duyvil ...
, abandoned a hundred years later.
Development
The area is dominated by factory and warehouse buildings constructed in the mid-to-late 19th century, convenient to the railroad yards, of which the
Oak Point Yard
The Oak Point Yard is a freight railroad yard located in the South Bronx, New York City. The yard is owned by CSX Transportation, and is a base for CSX's local deliveries in the area, including to the Hunts Point Cooperative Market and for trai ...
is the main survivor. Notable early businesses were the
R. Hoe Co.; Cutler & Hammer Tool Works; Mothers Friend Shirt Waist factory (1888) at Willow Avenue between East 135th and 136th Streets; and the
Estey Piano Company Factory Estey may refer to:
* Estey (surname)
* Estey, Michigan, a civil township in Gladwin County
* Estey Hall (Philadelphia), a historic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Estey Organ, a defunct American organ manufacturer
* Estey Tavern, a hi ...
(now designated a city landmark by the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
).
While many of the early industrial buildings remain, they are little used for manufacturing anymore.
In the 1870s the Mott Haven Canal emptied out into the Western Port Morris riverfront serving industry in the Mott Haven area. After being declared a "nuance" by the Board of Health in 1896 the canal was slowly re-filled, its last segment being in use until 1960s. Today only a small indentation in the Harlem River remains
The area was the site of the Hell Gate generating plant of
Consolidated Edison, where
George Metesky
George Peter Metesky (November 2, 1903 – May 23, 1994), better known as the Mad Bomber, was an American electrician and mechanic who terrorized New York City for 16 years in the 1940s and 1950s with explosives that he planted in theaters, ter ...
, the Mad Bomber who plagued New York City for decades, was injured.
The most notable architectural/engineering feature of Port Morris is the northern approach to the
Hell Gate Bridge
The Hell Gate Bridge, originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or the East River Arch Bridge, is a steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. Originally built for four tracks, the bridge currently carries two tracks of Amtr ...
supported by concrete arches (1917) northward from East 132nd Street, between Willow & Walnut Avenues. Plans are afoot to extend the
South Bronx Greenway
The South Bronx Greenway is a project to improve waterfront access, recreational facilities, and transportation systems, including pedestrian and bicycle paths, in the South Bronx in New York City.
Early planning
The project was first envisio ...
to
Randalls Island
Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City, , crossing
Bronx Kill
The Bronx Kill is a narrow strait in New York City delineating the southernmost extent of the Bronx. It separates the Bronx from Randalls Island. It connects the Harlem River to the East River.
History
Originally, the Bronx Kill was a sizeab ...
via the Randall's Island Connector under
Hell Gate Bridge
The Hell Gate Bridge, originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or the East River Arch Bridge, is a steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. Originally built for four tracks, the bridge currently carries two tracks of Amtr ...
. The Connector opened in November 2015.
A wave of arson during the 1970s destroyed or damaged many residential, commercial, and industrial structures in the area. Late in the century industry began to return to Port Morris. Many abandoned residential buildings are also being rehabilitated and designated low income housing.
Re-zoning
![Alexander AvenueOpenStreets](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Alexander_AvenueOpenStreets.jpg)
In 1997 the New York City council created the "Port Morris Special Mixed-used District", the site of the first special mixed-use district (MX-1) resulting in the rehabilitation of several blocks of residential row-houses between Bruckner Boulevard and East 134th Street in an area which only previously allowed industrial uses.
[https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/plans/port-morris/portmorrisstudyarea.pdf ] Following the success of the 1997 re-zoning, the city further expanded this district in 2005 to include all of western Port Morris (south of Major Deegan Expressway and west of RFK Bridge).
In December 2017 the city council approved the expansion of the "Special Harlem River Waterfront District" to cover two super blocks in western Port Morris. This latest rezoning allowed high-density mixed-used development along the banks of the Harlem River from Lincoln Avenue north through
Mott Haven
Mott Haven is an American primarily residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are East 149th Street to the north, the Bruckner ...
up to 150th Street in
Concourse Village
Concourse is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx which includes the Bronx County Courthouse, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Yankee Stadium. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving cl ...
.
Redevelopment and gentrification
![NYPost 133 plant gate jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/NYPost_133_plant_gate_jeh.jpg)
The neighborhood has been experiencing massive revitalization with many historic warehouses, factories and various manufacturing buildings being converted into lofts. The former
Estey Piano Corp
Estey Organ Company was an Organ (music), organ manufacturer based in Brattleboro, Vermont. The company was founded in 1852 by #Jacob Estey, Jacob Estey, who bought out another Brattleboro manufacturing business. At its peak, the company was one ...
factory, now The Clock Tower, has the restaurant Charlies Bar & Kitchen operating on the ground level. Port Morris has become a burgeoning community of artists and other
young professionals
The term ''young professional'' generally refers to young people between 20 and 40 who are employed in a profession or white-collar occupation. The meaning may be ambiguous"I am not sure what "young professionals" means...''After the storm: Amer ...
looking for more reasonable options outside of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. Efforts by the
New York Restoration Project are underway to revive the waterfront in an area that historically suffers from high asthma rates. This will create much-needed green space for the community. As a result of these changes, the neighborhood is slowly becoming a hub for upscale eateries in the South Bronx. Additionally, in 2015,
Silvercup Studios
Silvercup Studios is one of the largest film and television production facilities in New York City. The studio is located in Long Island City, Queens, with another facility in the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx. The studio complex has bee ...
announced it would convert a 115,000-square-foot warehouse at 295 Locust Avenue for film and television productions. Silvercup North, as the facility was known, opened in mid-2016.
![Port Morris Harlem River Waterfront](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Port_Morris_Harlem_River_Waterfront.jpg)
The Piano District is the name proposed by two developers for Port Morris. The two developers, Somerset Partners and
The Chetrit Group, purchased two riverfront properties for $58 million with the goals of establishing luxury residences and retail. However, there is opposition to the renaming, and critics and proponents have accused one another of racism. The developers were criticized by
Melissa Mark-Viverito
Melissa Mark-Viverito (born April 1, 1969) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and former speaker of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2017, as well as councilmember for the New York City's 8th City Council ...
, the president of the
New York City Council for conducting a Halloween rave, attended by numerous celebrities and featuring flaming trash cans and hulks of burnt-out and bullet-riddled cars. Mark-Viverito accused the developers of a lack of empathy and basic awareness.
Additional developments continued to take place at Port Morris. In June 2016, the Bluestone Group purchased a former factory building at 825 East 141st Street for $44 million; That building was renovated in 2019 and became Union Crossing, a mixed-use development with offices, retail spaces, and studios. In 2020, renting commenced for The Arches at 224-228 East 135th Street, the first market-rate high-rise rental development in Port Morris. Another rental development at 101 Bruckner Boulevard, with 55 units, was announced in early 2021. In addition, Brookfield Properties is currently developing "Bankside", a complex of seven high-rise residential towers on the banks of the Harlem River with over 1,350 units. The first phase at 2401 Third Avenue was topped out during 2021. Bankside will include a public esplanade along the Harlem River A high-rise residential development has been announced at 2455 Third Avenue.
Land use
![Bronx Grit 2021 (1) jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Bronx_Grit_2021_%281%29_jeh.jpg)
Port Morris contains a variety of zoning districts ranging from manufacturing, commercial, residential, and mixed-use. The eastern half of Port Morris contains primarily light industrial, warehousing and distribution uses guided by the Port Morris Industrial Business Zone. The Bruckner Boulevard corridor is primarily a mixed-use corridor transitioning from previous industrial uses to commercial and residential usage spurred by the Port Morris Special Mixed-Use District re-zoning laws.
The western end of Port Morris is rapidly transitioning from light-industrial uses to high-density residential developments along the newly created "Special Harlem River Waterfront District". The area centered in Alexander Avenue-Bruckner Blvd is now the main commercial corridor in the neighborhood with a growing crop of restaurants and other services.
Landmarked buildings
City landmarks
Two structures in Port Morris have been land-marked by the city's
Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
. The Estey Piano Company Factory, now referred to as the "Clock Tower", is located at the corner of Lincoln and Bruckner Boulevard. While the Clock Tower is now a commercial and residential building it is reminiscent of the time period in which Port Morris was a hub for piano manufacturing in the city. At least one piano manufacturer remains in the neighborhood.
The Bronx Grit Chamber is a 1937 Neo-classical structure located at East 132nd Street and St. Ann's Avenue, built as part of the larger sewage treatment complex in Wards Island. The Bronx Grit Chamber processes raw sewage by removing large particles on its way to further treatment at the
Wards Island Water Pollution Control Plant
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital#Departments or wards, Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a pe ...
. It is currently managed by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
National Register of Historic Places listings
Port Morris Ferry Bridges
Education
* South Bronx Charter School for International Cultures and the Arts (East 133rd Street and Cypress Pl)
*
''Per'' Scholas operates its main branch at 804 E 138th Street.
Media
The ''
Mott Haven Herald'' is a news outlet that reports in
Mott Haven
Mott Haven is an American primarily residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are East 149th Street to the north, the Bruckner ...
,
Melrose and Port Morris. It is produced by students at the
City University Graduate School of Journalism and edited by Joe Hirsch. The ''New York Post'' operates a printing plant in the neighborhood.
Transportation
The following
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
stations serve Port Morris:
*
138th Street–Grand Concourse ()
*
Third Avenue–138th Street ()
*
Brook Avenue ()
*
Cypress Avenue ()
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 Port Morris:
*: to Fordham Plaza via Crotona and Prospect Avenues
*: to
135th Street station (served by the ) via 138th Street
*: to
The Hub or
Manhattanville
Manhattanville (also known as West Harlem or West Central Harlem) is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan bordered on the north by 135th Street; on the south by 122nd and 125th Streets; on the west by Hudson River; and on t ...
via Willis Avenue and 125th Street
Bruckner Boulevard, which runs under the
Bruckner Expressway
The Bruckner Expressway is a freeway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It carries Interstate 278 (I-278) and I-95 (and formerly I-878) from the Triborough Bridge to the south end of the New England Thruway at the Pelham Parkw ...
(
Interstate 278
Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New Yor ...
), is the primary thoroughfare through Port Morris.
As part of a conceptualization by think tank ReThink Studio that was not recognized by the city or state, a train station in Port Morris will be the northern terminal for a trunk line that would be a regional hub for transportation to other places in the states of
New York and
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. The station's site and context could accommodate connections to Manhattan and
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...
via the trunk line,
Northeast Corridor, and
local bus routes. The station, a planned adjacent convention center, and supporting development is proposed to encourage other growth in the South Bronx.
[Sayer, Jason]
"Jim Venturi and ReThinkNYC want to revolutionize how NYC handles train infrastructure"
''The Architect's Newspaper
''The Architect's Newspaper'' is an architectural publication that covers the United States in monthly printed issues and online. The paper was founded in 2003 by William Menking, editor-in-chief, and Diana Darling, publisher, to bring architects ...
'', May 26, 2016. Accessed August 1, 2016.
References
External links
Port Morris in Forgotten NYMott Haven Herald
{{authority control
Populated coastal places in New York (state)
Neighborhoods in the Bronx