Pelham Gardens, Bronx
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Pelham Gardens is a neighborhood located in the Northeast 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 ...
,
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 ...
. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are East Gun Hill Road to the north and east, Pelham Parkway to the south, and the IRT Dyre Avenue Line () to the west ending at the esplanade. Eastchester Road is the primary thoroughfare through Pelham Gardens. Pelham Gardens is located in Bronx Community Board 11, and its ZIP Code is 10469. 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 49th Precinct.


History

The area was originally home to the Siwanoy, a Native American tribe affiliated with the Algonquian peoples. The name Pelham Gardens derives from Thomas Pell, who purchased the land from the Siwanoy on June 27, 1654 at Treaty Oak, located next to Shore Road in what is now Pelham Bay Park. The town of Westchester was established at this time at what is now Westchester Square; the entire area was part of
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
until it was transferred to the city of
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 ...
in 1895. The oldest house in the area is what was once a farmhouse, located at the corner of Woodhull Avenue and Fielding Street. The neighborhood is socioeconomically diverse, with a considerable working class population as well as many upper middle class professionals, particularly in the eastern area of the community. The proximity to major hospitals and a high concentration of private medical facilities has drawn many health care professionals into the areas, as well as police officers, lawyers, and small business owners, particularly in the fields of construction and food services.


Land use and terrain

Pelham Gardens is dominated by single family homes with some small apartment buildings and 2-3 family homes. Many private homes have basement studio apartments but are classified as one family. The total land area is roughly two square miles. The area its largely flat but contains a significant valley between Eastchester Road and Laconia Avenue, with the most significant low point on Seymour Avenue. This dip was likely caused thousands of years ago by a glacier.


Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of the combined Allerton-Pelham Gardens neighborhood was 28,903, an increase of 393 (1.4%) from the 28,510 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 Allerton-Pelham Gardens neighborhood was 25.3% (7,316)
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 ...
, 32.5% (9,391)
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% (55) Native American, 7.9% (2,282) Asian, 0.0% (12)
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 ...
, 0.9% (252) from other races, and 1.4% (412) 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 31.8% (9,183) 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.
Demographically, the neighborhood has historically been home to a large Italian-American population as well as a sizable Jewish population, which has dramatically decreased since the 1970s. Smaller numbers of Irish-Americans and German-Americans have also made this largely Catholic community home since significant development began in the 1920s, with a construction boom in the 1950s. Large numbers of Puerto Rican families have moved into the area since the 1980s, with smaller but significant numbers of Filipino-Americans, African-Americans, Dominican-Americans, Albanian-Americans, Korean Americans, and Vietnamese Americans. The entirety of Community District 11, which comprises Pelham Gardens, Allerton, and Morris Park, had 116,180 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: 22% are between the ages of between 0–17, 30% between 25–44, and 24% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 14% respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 11 was $48,018. In 2018, an estimated 21% of Pelham Gardens and Morris Park residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents (12%) 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 55% in Pelham Gardens and Morris Park, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Pelham Gardens and Morris Park are considered high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.


Police and crime

Pelham Gardens and Morris Park are patrolled by the 49th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 2121 Eastchester Road. The 49th Precinct ranked 43rd safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 64 per 100,000 people, Pelham Gardens and Morris Park's rate of violent crimes per capita is slightly more than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 372 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 49th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 71.7% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 7 murders, 17 rapes, 273 robberies, 367 felony assaults, 133 burglaries, 611 grand larcenies, and 371 grand larcenies auto in 2022.


Fire safety

Pelham Gardens 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. 97 at 1454 Astor Avenue.


Health

, preterm births and births to teenage mothers are slightly more common in Pelham Gardens and Morris Park than in other places citywide. In Pelham Gardens and Morris Park, there were 90 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 19.7 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Pelham Gardens and Morris Park has a low population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 12%, the same as the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Pelham Gardens and Morris Park is , less than the city average. Fifteen percent of Pelham Gardens and Morris Park residents are smokers, which is slightly higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Pelham Gardens and Morris Park, 32% of residents are obese, 14% are diabetic, and 31% 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, 23% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-three percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 80% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", slightly higher than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Pelham Gardens and Morris Park, there are 17 bodegas. The nearest large hospitals are Calvary Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center's Jack D. Weiler Hospital, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in Morris Park. The Albert Einstein College of Medicine campus is also located in Morris Park.


Post office and ZIP Code

Pelham Gardens is located within ZIP Code 10469 east of Bronxwood Avenue. 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 the Baychester Station at 1525 East Gun Hill Road.


Education

Pelham Gardens and Morris Park generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . While 32% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 24% have less than a high school education and 44% 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 Pelham Gardens and Morris Park students excelling in math rose from 32% in 2000 to 48% in 2011, though reading achievement remained constant at 37% during the same time period. Pelham Gardens and Morris Park's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is slightly higher than the rest of New York City. In Pelham Gardens and Morris Park, 23% 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 ...
, a little more than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 74% of high school students in Pelham Gardens and Morris Park graduate on time, about the same as the citywide average of 75%.


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 Eastchester branch at 1385 East Gun Hill Road. It has operated since 1950 and moved to its current one-story, location in 1985.


Transportation

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Pelham Gardens: * Local and Select Bus Service: to Bay Plaza Shopping Center and Inwood–207th Street () (via Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway) *: to Co-op City and Lehman College (via Bedford Park Blvd and Allerton Av) *: to Co-op City and Fordham (via East Gun Hill Road) *: to Woodlawn and Westchester Square station (via Eastchester Road) *: to East Side, Manhattan 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 Pelham Gardens: * Pelham Parkway () * Gun Hill Road ()


Notable residents

* Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Aging, former New York Secretary of State * Philip Foglia (c.1951–2020), prosecutor, lawyer, and
Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
rights activist * Jake Lamotta, boxer (lived on Pelham Parkway) * Lea Michele, actress, known for '' Glee'' (lived on Tiemann Avenue)


References

{{Bronx Neighborhoods in the Bronx