Kingsbridge Heights is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the northwest

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 ...

. Its boundaries are

Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park is a park located in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance. The park, the city's third-lar ...

to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, Kingsbridge Road to the south, and the

Major Deegan Expressway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. It is most of the main highway between New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New York ...

to the west. Sedgwick Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Kingsbridge Heights. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community District 8, and its ZIP Codes include 10463 and 10468. The area is patrolled by the 50th and 52nd Precincts of 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 Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...

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

Throgs 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.

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 serving ...

, the population of Kingsbridge Heights was 32,496, a decrease of 790 (2.4%) from the 33,286 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 -

Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 4.3% (1,389)

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 ...

, 18.5% (6,004)

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% (46) Native American, 4.7% (1,514) Asian, 0.0% (2)

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 ...

, 0.4% (124) from other races, and 1.0% (322) 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 71.1% (23,095) 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 neighborhood has a high concentration of Dominicans especially in the southern and central sections of the neighborhood. In these two areas over 30% of the population lives below the poverty line. A small aging White non-Hispanic population is concentrated near Van Cortlandt Park or Van Cortlandt Village. In more recent years young professionals, mostly White non-Hispanic, have started to move into Van Cortlandt Village. The vast majority of households are renter occupied. Due to

White flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

some of the homes in the southern and central parts of the area have been left vacant. Many homes today are being rehabilitated and offered as rentals to the booming Dominican population found in the area.

Land use and terrain

Kingsbridge Heights is dominated by multi-unit detached homes. There is also a significant presence of tenement buildings concentrated mostly in the central and southern sections of the neighborhood. In the 21st century due to intense

gentrification 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 ...

, the northern subsection known as Van Cortlandt Village has seen an increase in higher-end rental and co-op building construction. This subsection is bordered by the Major Deegan Expressway to the west, the Jerome Park Reservoir to the east, W 238th Street to the south, and Van Cortlandt Park to the north. In 2007,

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

called Van Cortlandt Village one of "America's next hot neighborhoods". The Fort Independence Street-Heath Avenue Houses are a one, 21-story NYCHA development in Kingsbridge Heights.

Landmarks

The Jerome Park Reservoir is the most dominant landmark in the area. It was originally part of the Bathgate Estate that was later purchased by Leonard Jerome and Associates, to build The Jerome Park Racetrack. The

Jerome Park Reservoir The Jerome Park Reservoir is a reservoir located in Jerome Park, a neighborhood in the North Bronx, New York City. The reservoir is surrounded by DeWitt Clinton High School, the Bronx High School of Science, Lehman College, and Walton High Scho ...

replaced the racetrack and was built in 1906 to serve the Croton Aqueduct as part of the New York City water supply system. The perimeter of this reservoir is approximately 2.2 miles.

Kingsbridge Armory The Kingsbridge Armory, also known as the Eighth Regiment Armory, is a decommissioned Arsenal, armory at Jerome Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road in the Kingsbridge, Bronx, Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. It was built in the ...

is on Kingsbridge Road. In 1866, Jerome bought the estate and mansion of James Bathgate near Old Fordham Village in what was then rural Westchester County, but is now The Bronx. Jerome and financier August Belmont, Sr. built Jerome Park Racetrack on the Bathgate land; the first Belmont Stakes was held there in 1867. Jerome and his brother Lawrence had a wide boulevard made from Macombs Dam to the track, which city authorities attempted to name "Murphy Avenue" after a local politician. This incensed Jerome's wife so much that she had bronze plaques saying "Jerome Avenue" made up and bolted into place along the road, forcing the city to accept the name. The racetrack was acquired and demolished by the city in 1894, to make way for Jerome Park Reservoir. The Bathgate mansion served as a summer home for the Jerome family. In the early 1900s, the mansion was razed and replaced by the Kingsbridge Armory. 2744 Kingsbridge Terrace, called the Castle of Kingsbridge, was built in 1914 by Samuel B. Reed.

Police and crime

Kingsbridge Heights is 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. 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 Heights contains a New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire station, Engine Co. 81/Ladder Co. 46, at 3025 Bailey Avenue.

Education

Schools

Public schools are operated by the New York City Department of Education. Kingsbridge Heights contains the following public elementary schools which serve grades PK-5 unless otherwise indicated: * PS 86 Kingsbridge Heights (grades PK-6) * PS 307 Eames Place (grades K-5) * PS 310 Marble Hill * PS 340 * PS 360 The following middle school serves grades 6-8: * New School for Leadership and Journalism The following high schools serve grades 9-12: *

Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music (CCBXHSM) is the first comprehensive high school of music in the Bronx, New York, United States. The current principal is Jerrod Mabry, who became principal in March 2013 after having taught English and acted ...

* Discovery High School * High School for Teaching and the Professions * Kingsbridge International High School * Marie Curie High School for Nursing, Medicine, and Health

Library

The

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

(NYPL) operates the Jerome Park branch at 118 Eames Place. The branch first opened in 1957, but moved to its current one-story structure in 1969 and was renovated in 2007.

Transportation

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Kingsbridge Heights: *: to Riverdale or Third Avenue–138th Street station ( ) (via Grand Concourse) *: to Third Avenue–138th Street station () (via Grand Concourse) *: to 238th Street station () or George Washington Bridge Bus Station (via University Avenue) *: to Riverdale or West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue station (, via East Kingsbridge Road) *: to Riverdale or Norwood–205th Street station () (via Kappock Street) *: to Castle Hill (via Castle Hill Avenue) *: to Third Avenue–138th Street station () (via Morris and Jerome Avenues) *: express to Yonkers or

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

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 ...

station serves Kingsbridge Heights: * Kingsbridge Road station ()

References

External links

Official website created by the City of New York

''Norwood News''
{{Bronx Neighborhoods in the Bronx