Morris Heights, Bronx
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Morris Heights is a residential neighborhood located in the
West Bronx The West Bronx is a region in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The region lies west of the Bronx River and roughly corresponds to the western half of the borough. The West Bronx is more densely populated than the East Bronx, and is clos ...
. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the south, and the
Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York City, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the United States mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyten Duyvi ...
to the west. University Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Morris Heights. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5, and its ZIP Codes include 10452 and 10453. The area is patrolled by the
New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
's 46th Precinct.
New York City Housing Authority 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 ...
(NYCHA) property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 7 at 737 Melrose Avenue in the Melrose section of the
Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
.


History

Morris Heights was formerly the home of Gas Engine & Power Company & Charles L. Seabury Company, a shipbuilding firm located on Mathewson Road near what is today the location of Roberto Clemente State Park. Founded in 1896 by the merger of the formerly separate Gas Engine & Power Company & Charles L. Seabury Company, the firm operated along Morris Heights' waterfront until it moved to City Island following
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After a wave of arson ravaged the low-income communities of New York City throughout the 1970s, many if not most residential structures in Morris Heights were left seriously damaged or destroyed. The city began to rehabilitate many formerly abandoned tenement-style apartment buildings and designate them low-income housing beginning in the late 1970s. Also, many subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings have been or are being built on vacant lots across the neighborhood. Morris Heights is believed to be the site where
Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
culture originated in the 1970s. However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, several disc jockeys protected by the
Black Spades The Black Spades were a mostly African-American street gang which started in the Bronx in the Bronxdale houses during the late 1960s and gained popularity in the 1970s. The gang began to spread from the Bronx to Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, S ...
(a violent but organized gang that promoted their own form of justice; originally from Bronxdale Housing Projects and later recruited several members from Bronx River Housing Projects), and other gangs took their DJ-led block parties in the South Bronx, the East Side of the Bronx, and the West Side.


Demographics

Morris Heights has a population of around 36,779. Almost half the population lives below the poverty line and receives public assistance (TANF, Home Relief, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid). The vast majority of residents in the area are of
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
descent. The majority of households are renter occupied. Based on data from the 2010 U.S. census, the population of University Heights and Morris Heights was 54,188, a change of -147 (-0.3%) from the 54,335 counted in
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
. 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.4% (760)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 31.8% (17,219)
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.2% (106) Native American, 1.3% (688) Asian, 0% (11)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.3% (158) from other races, and 0.8% (424) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 64.3% (34,822) 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
The entirety of Community District 5, which comprises Morris Heights, University Heights, and Fordham, had 136,151 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 79.9 years. This is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 28% are between the ages of between 0–17, 29% between 25 and 44, and 23% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 12% and 8% respectively. As of 2017, the median
household income Household income is a measure of income received by the household sector. It includes every form of cash income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, investment income and cash transfers from the government. It may include near-cash gover ...
in Community District 5 was $30,166. In 2018, an estimated 34% of Morris Heights and Fordham residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents (13%) 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 65% in Morris Heights and Fordham, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Morris Heights and Fordham are considered low-income relative to the rest of the city and not
gentrifying Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...
.


Land use and terrain

Morris Heights is dominated by five- and six-story tenement buildings, older multi-unit homes, vacant lots, newly constructed subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses, and apartment buildings. A significant percentage of the early 20th-century housing stock was structurally damaged by arson and eventually razed by the city. The total land area is less than half one square mile. The terrain is elevated and consists of many hills. Step streets connect areas located at different elevations.


Low-income public housing projects

Ten NYCHA developments are located in Morris Heights.NYCHA
#Harrison Avenue Rehab (Group A); one five-story rehabilitated tenement building. #Harrison Avenue Rehab (Group B); four rehabilitated buildings, five and six stories tall. #Macombs Road; two rehabilitated buildings, five and six stories tall. #Morris Heights Rehab; three rehabilitated tenement buildings, five and six stories tall #Sedgwick Houses; seven buildings, 14 and 16 stories tall. #University Avenue Rehab; four six-story rehabilitated tenement buildings. #West Tremont Avenue-Sedgwick Avenue Area; one 12-story building. #West Tremont Rehab (Group 1); two rehabilitated tenement buildings, five and six stories tall. #West Tremont Rehab (Group 3); one five-story rehabilitated tenement building. #West Tremont Rehab (Group 2); two six-story rehabilitated tenement buildings.


Police and crime

Morris Heights and Fordham are patrolled by the 46th Precinct of the
NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
, located at 2120 Ryer Avenue. The 46th Precinct ranked 27th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 126 per 100,000 people, Morris Heights and Fordham'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 (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...
s per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 1,033 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole. The 46th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 74.6% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 17 murders, 34 rapes, 384 robberies, 729 felony assaults, 218 burglaries, 611 grand larcenies, and 219 grand larcenies auto in 2022.


Fire safety

Morris Heights is served by the
New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
(FDNY)'s Engine Co. 43/Ladder Co. 59 fire station, located at 1901 Sedgwick Avenue.


Health

,
preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...
s and births to teenage mothers are more common in Morris Heights and Fordham than in other places citywide. In Morris Heights and Fordham, there were 93 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 35.3 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Morris Heights and Fordham has a relatively average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 14%, higher than the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of
air pollutant Air pollution is the presence of substances in the air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be gases like ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles like soot and dust. It affects both outdoor ...
, in Morris Heights and Fordham is , more than the city average. Sixteen percent of Morris Heights and Fordham residents are smokers, which is higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Morris Heights and Fordham, 34% of residents are
obese Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...
, 16% are
diabetic Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
, and 27% have
high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...
—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 24% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Seventy-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 67% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Morris Heights and Fordham, there are 20 bodegas. The nearest hospitals are
Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center The BronxCare Health System, previously known as "Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center", is a hospital in the Bronx, New York City. It was founded as the Lebanon Hospital by Jonas Weil in 1890. In 1962, Lebanon Hospital merged with Bronx Hospital, and s ...
in Claremont,
James J. Peters VA Medical Center The James J. Peters VA Medical Center (also known as the Bronx Veterans Hospital) is a US Department of Veterans Affairs hospital complex located at 130 West Kingsbridge Road in West Fordham, Bronx, Fordham, The Bronx, Bronx, New York City. The ...
in
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 ...
, and St Barnabas Hospital in Belmont. Morris Heights Health Center also provides health services in the area.


Post offices and ZIP Codes

Morris Heights is covered by ZIP Codes 10453 and 10452. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates two post offices nearby: the Morris Heights Station at 2024 Jerome Avenue and the University Heights Station at 1541 Shakespeare Avenue.


Education

Morris Heights and Fordham generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . While 10% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 34% have less than a high school education and 46% 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 Morris Heights and Fordham students excelling in math rose from 19% in 2000 to 43% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 24% to 28% during the same time period. Morris Heights and Fordham's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City. In Morris Heights and Fordham, 30% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per
school year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...
, higher than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 66% of high school students in Morris Heights and Fordham graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.


Schools

Public schools include: *PS 109 (Popham Avenue and West Tremont Avenue) *PS 204: Morris Heights (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and West Tremont Avenue) *PS 226: (Sedgwick Ave and Burnside Ave) *PS 274/IS 229: Roland N. Patterson (Harlem River Park Bridge and Sedgwick Avenue) *PS 306 (West Tremont and Jerome Avenues) *PS 396/MS 390 (West Burnside and Andrews Avenues) *IS 303: The Leadership and Community Service Academy (West 176th Street and Macombs Road) *MS 232: The Academy School (West 176th Street and Macombs Road) *MS 331: The Bronx School of Science Inquiry and Investigation (West Tremont and Davidson Avenue) *HS 365: The Academy for Language and Technology High School (West 176th Street and Macombs Road)


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 a ...
(NYPL) operates the Sedgwick branch at 1701 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The branch first opened in the Sedgwick Houses in 1951 before moving to its present two-story building in 1994.


Transportation

The following
MTA Regional Bus Operations MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the Public transport bus service, bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service (bus rapid transit ...
bus routes serve Morris Heights: *: to 238th Street station () or
George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter Bus station, bus terminal at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The bus stati ...
(via University Avenue) *: to 170th Street station () (loop, via Macombs Road) *: to VA Hospital or Third Avenue–138th Street station (, via Morris Avenue) *: to Castle Hill or
George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter Bus station, bus terminal at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The bus stati ...
(via Tremont Avenue) *: to SUNY Maritime College or River Park Towers (via 180th Street, Tremont and Burnside Avenues) *: to
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 o ...
or River Park Towers (via 180th Street, Tremont and Burnside Avenues) The following
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
stations serve Morris Heights: * 170th Street () * Mount Eden Avenue () * 176th Street () * Burnside Avenue () * 170th Street () * 174th–175th Streets () * Tremont Avenue () The
Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...
's Hudson Line also serves Morris Heights via the Morris Heights station.


References


External links


Living in Morris Heights
- slideshow by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' {{bronx Neighborhoods in the Bronx