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The South Bronx is an area of the
New York City borough The boroughs of New York City are the five major governmental districts that comprise New York City. They are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of the State of New ...
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 ...
. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as
Concourse A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space. The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or t ...
,
Mott Haven Mott Haven is a primarily residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is generally bounded by East 149th Street to the north, the Bruckner Expressway to the east and south, and the Harlem ...
,
Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...
, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was originally known as the Manor of Morrisania, as it was the manor of
Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Conti ...
. As the Morris family continued to expand on the land, an influx of German and Irish immigrants started to populate the area. By the 1930s, the Bronx was considered the "Jewish Borough", as nearly half the population was Jewish. This soon changed as World War II caused rent to increase in many apartments, pushing people out. By the end of the 1950s, the South Bronx was two-thirds African American or Hispanic (of any race). The South Bronx is known for its
hip-hop culture Hip-hop culture is an art movement that emerged in New York City, in the borough of The Bronx; Primarily within the black community. Hip Hop as an art form and culture has been heavily influenced by both male and female artists. It is charac ...
and
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
. Graffiti became popular in the Bronx in the early 1970s, spreading through the
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 ...
system. The South Bronx also became notable as the 1973 birthplace of
hip-hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...
and culture. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the South Bronx is the poorest
congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...
in the United States.


Boundaries

The geographic definitions of the South Bronx have evolved and are disputed, but certainly include the neighborhoods of
Mott Haven Mott Haven is a primarily residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is generally bounded by East 149th Street to the north, the Bruckner Expressway to the east and south, and the Harlem ...
,
Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...
, and Port Morris. Originally referring to the industrial area below East 138th Street, the name "South Bronx" symbolically has had its northern boundary shift northward to East 149th Street, East 161st Street, the
Cross Bronx Expressway The Cross Bronx Expressway is a major controlled-access highway, freeway in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is mainly designated as part of Interstate 95 in New York, Interstate 95 (I-95), but also includes portions of Interstate ...
, and
Fordham Road Fordham Road is a major thoroughfare in the Bronx, New York City, that runs west-east from the Harlem River to Bronx Park. Fordham Road houses the borough's largest and most diverse shopping district. It geographically separates the geopoli ...
over the years. The neighborhoods of Crotona Park East, Highbridge, Hunts Point, Longwood,
Concourse A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space. The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or t ...
, and
Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 163rd Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...
are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx. Generally, most consider any neighborhood west of the Bronx River and south of the Cross Bronx Expressway the South Bronx. The Cross Bronx Expressway is usually considered the dividing border between North and South Bronx. There has been debate that Fordham Road is the northern border of the South Bronx. The South Bronx is part of New York's 15th Congressional District. The South Bronx is served by 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 ...
's 40th, 41st, 42nd, 44th, and 48th Precincts.


History

The South Bronx was originally called the Manor of Morrisania, and later
Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 163rd Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...
. It was the private domain of the powerful and aristocratic Morris family, which includes
Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Conti ...
, signer of the
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
, and
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 the ...
, the penman of the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
. The Morris memorial is at St. Ann's Church of Morrisania. Morris' descendants own land in the South Bronx to this day. As the Morrises developed their landholdings, an influx of German and Irish immigrants populated the area. Later, the Bronx was considered the "
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
Borough," and at its peak in 1930 was 49% Jewish. Jews in the South Bronx numbered 364,000 or 57.1% of the total population in the area. The term was first coined in the 1940s by a group of
social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
s who identified the Bronx's first pocket of
poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
, in the Port Morris section, the southernmost section of the Bronx.


1950s: Demographic shift

After
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 ...
, as
White flight The white flight, also known as 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 Racism ...
accelerated and migration of ethnic and racial minorities continued, the South Bronx went from being two-thirds non-Hispanic white in 1950 to being two-thirds black or Puerto Rican in 1960. Originally denoting only
Mott Haven Mott Haven is a primarily residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is generally bounded by East 149th Street to the north, the Bruckner Expressway to the east and south, and the Harlem ...
and
Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...
, the South Bronx extended up to the Cross Bronx Expressway by the 1960s, encompassing Hunts Point,
Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 163rd Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...
, and Highbridge.


1960s: Start of decay

The South Bronx was populated largely by working-class families. Its image as a poverty-ridden area developed in the latter part of the 20th century. There were several factors contributing to the decay of the South Bronx:
White flight The white flight, also known as 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 Racism ...
creating empty buildings,
landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...
abandonment creating unsafe buildings, economic changes leading to a lack of tax dollars,
arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
, demographic shifts, and the reallocation of tax dollars from the South Bronx Fire Department to other places and the construction of the
Cross Bronx Expressway The Cross Bronx Expressway is a major controlled-access highway, freeway in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is mainly designated as part of Interstate 95 in New York, Interstate 95 (I-95), but also includes portions of Interstate ...
are common reasons given. The already poor and working-class neighborhoods were further disadvantaged by the decreasing property value, in combination with increasing vacancy rates. While some areas of the South Bronx were racially integrated as early as the 1930s, later larger scale influxes of African Americans immigrants from the American South, combined with the racially charged tension of the Civil Rights Movement, the rage following the assassination of Martin Luther King, and the dramatic rise in crime rates, further contributed to white middle-class flight and the decline of many South Bronx neighborhoods. Following the implementation of desegregation busing policies, white parents who worried about their children attending the racially integrated schools began to relocate to the suburbs, which remained predominately white due to cost as well as legal barriers created by restrictive housing covenants, and selective lending. In turn, areas of the Bronx that became predominately African American or Hispanic were considered bad risks by lenders ("
redlining Redlining is a Discrimination, discriminatory practice in which financial services are withheld from neighborhoods that have significant numbers of Race (human categorization), racial and Ethnic group, ethnic minorities. Redlining has been mos ...
"), contributing to the decline in real estate values and lack of investment in the existing housing stock. As early as the late 1960s, some neighborhoods were considered undesirable by homeowners, precipitating a population decline. Postwar
rent control Rent regulation is a system of laws for the rental market of dwellings, with controversial effects on affordability of housing and tenancies. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: *Price controls, limits on the rent that a landlord ...
policies which were ostensibly to keep apartments cheap have also been proposed as a contributing factor, for the laws forced landlords to price the apartments so cheaply the landlords were unable to generate a profit and therefore there was no incentive for them to mend and repair their buildings, leading to the decay of the apartments of the South Bronx.
New York City Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...
John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...
(who served from 1966 to 1973) suggested that socioeconomic factors (including low educational attainment and high unemployment) limited housing options for the remaining low-income tenants, prompting the reduced upkeep by landlords. In either case, while desirable housing options were scarce, vacancies further increased. In the late 1960s, by the time the city decided to consolidate welfare households in the South Bronx, its vacancy rate was already the highest of any place in the city.


1970s: "The Bronx is burning"

By the 1970s, significant poverty reached as far north as
Fordham Road Fordham Road is a major thoroughfare in the Bronx, New York City, that runs west-east from the Harlem River to Bronx Park. Fordham Road houses the borough's largest and most diverse shopping district. It geographically separates the geopoli ...
. Around this time, the Bronx experienced some of its worst instances of
urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...
, with the loss of 300,000 residents and the destruction of entire city blocks' worth of buildings. The media attention brought the South Bronx into common parlance nationwide.Purdy, Matthew
"Left to Die, the South Bronx Rises From Decades of Decay"
''
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 ...
'', November 13, 1994. Accessed September 27, 2018.
The early 1970s saw South Bronx property values continue to plummet to record lows. A progressively
vicious cycle A vicious circle (or cycle) is a complex chain of events that reinforces itself through a feedback loop, with detrimental results. It is a system with no tendency toward equilibrium (social, economic, ecological, etc.), at least in the short ...
began where large numbers of tenements and multi-story, multi-family apartment buildings, left vacant by White flight, sat abandoned and unsaleable for long periods of time, which, coupled with a stagnant economy and an extremely high unemployment rate made
street gangs A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...
attractive to many, which were exploding in number and beginning to support themselves with large-scale
drug dealing The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types ...
in the area. The abandoned property also attracted large numbers of
squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...
, who further lowered the borough's quality of living. The massive citywide spending cuts also left the few remaining building inspectors and fire marshals unable to enforce living standards or punish code violations. This encouraged slumlords and absentee landlords to neglect and ignore their property and allowed for gangs to set up protected enclaves and lay claim to entire buildings. This then spread crime and fear of crime to nearby unaffected apartments in a
domino effect A domino effect is the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a series of similar or related events, a form of chain reaction. The term is an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically refers to a linked sequence of events ...
. As the crisis deepened, the nearly bankrupt city government of
Abraham Beame Abraham David Beame (''né'' Birnbaum; March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was an American accountant, investor, and Democratic Party politician who served from 1974 to 1977 as the 104th mayor of New York City. Beame presided over the city during ...
placed most of the blame on unreasonably high rents levied by landlords. Beame began demanding that they convert their rapidly emptying buildings into
Section 8 housing Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (), commonly known as Section 8, provides rental housing assistance to low-income households in the United States by paying private landlords on behalf of these tenants. Approximately 68% of this assistan ...
. Section 8 paid a per capita stipend for low-income or
indigent Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse
tenants from Federal HUD funds rather than from the cash-strapped city bank. However, the HUD rate was not based on the property's actual value and was set so low by the city that it left little opportunity or incentive for landlords to maintain or improve their buildings while still making a profit. The result was a disastrous acceleration of both the speed and northward spread of the cycle of decay in the South Bronx as formerly desirable and well-maintained middle-to-upper class apartments in midtown, most notably along the Grand Concourse, were progressively vacated and either abandoned altogether or converted into federally funded
single room occupancy Single-room occupancy (SRO) is a type of low-cost housing typically aimed at residents with low or minimal incomes, or single adults who like a minimalist lifestyle, who rent small, furnished single rooms with a bed, chair, and sometimes a smal ...
" welfare hotels" run by absentee
slumlord A slumlord (or slum landlord) is a slang term for a landlord, generally an absentee landlord with more than one property, who attempts to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, and usually rents to tenants that they can ...
s. Police statistics show that as the crime wave moved north across the Bronx, the remaining White tenants in the South Bronx (mostly elderly Jews) were preferentially targeted for violent crime by the influx of young, minority criminals because they were seen as easy prey. This became so common that the street slang terms "crib job" (meaning how elderly residents were as helpless as infants) and "push in" (meaning what would now be called a home invasion robbery) were coined specifically in reference to them. At this time, landlords began to burn their buildings for their insurance value, relying on "fixers" (people who specializing in a form of
insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any intentional act committed to deceive or mislead an insurance company during the application or claims process, or the wrongful denial of a legitimate claim by an insurance company. It occurs when a claimant knowingly attem ...
) to buy property below cost, then selling and reselling, artificially driving up the value incrementally each time. Fraudulent "no questions asked" fire insurance policies would then be taken out on the overvalued buildings and the property stripped and burnt for the payoff. Flawed HUD and city policies encouraged local South Bronx residents to burn down their own buildings. Under the regulations, Section 8 tenants who were burned out of their current housing were granted immediate priority status for another apartment, potentially in a better part of the city. After the establishment of the (then) state-of-the-art
Co-op City Co-op City (short for Cooperative City) is a cooperative housing development located in the northeast section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by Interstate 95 to the southwest, west, and north and the Hutchinson River ...
, there was a spike in fires as tenants began burning down their Section 8 housing in an attempt to jump to the front of the 2–3 year long waiting list for the new units.Often, the properties were still occupied by subsidized tenants or squatters at the time, who were given short or no warning before the building was burnt down, and were forced to move to another slum building, where the process would usually repeat itself. HUD regulations also authorized lump-sum aid payments of up to $1000 to those who could prove they had lost property due to a fire in their Section 8 housing; although these payments were supposed to be investigated for fraud by a HUD employee before being signed off on, very little investigation was done and some HUD employees and social services workers were accused of turning a blind eye to suspicious fires or even advising tenants on the best way to take advantage of the HUD policies. On multiple occasions, firefighters were reported to have shown up to tenement fires only to find all the residents at an address waiting calmly with their possessions already on the curb. Firefighters in the South Bronx were also extremely strapped for resources, facing budget cuts galore amid the city's fiscal crisis, and struggled to maintain adequate staffing, equipment, and response times. Fire companies in the South Bronx, such as Engine 82 and Ladder 31, became legendary for their relentless service, often responding to dozens of alarms per day in neighborhoods plagued by poverty, unemployment, and crime. During this period, the NYPD's 41st Precinct station house at 1086 Simpson Street became famously known as "Fort Apache, The Bronx" as it struggled to deal with the overwhelming surge of violent crime, which for the entirety of the 1970s and 1980s made South Bronx the murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and arson capital of America. By 1980, the 41st Precinct was renamed the "
Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...
", as fully of the 94,000 residents originally served by the precinct had fled, leaving the fortified building as one of the few structures in the neighborhood (and the sole building on Simpson Street) that had not been abandoned or burnt out. By the time of Cosell's 1977 commentary, dozens of buildings were being burned in the South Bronx every day, sometimes whole blocks at a time and usually far more than the fire department could keep up with, leaving the area perpetually blanketed in a pall of smoke. Firefighters from the period reported responding to as many as 7 fully involved structure fires in a single shift, too many to even bother returning to the station house between calls ( ''Report from Engine Company 82''). The local police precincts—already struggling and failing to contain the massive wave of drug and gang crime invading the Bronx—had long since stopped bothering to investigate the fires, as there were simply too many to track. In total, over 80% of the South Bronx was burned or abandoned between 1970 and 1980, with 44 census tracts losing more than 50% and seven more than 97% of their buildings to arson, abandonment, or both. The appearance was frequently compared to that of a bombed-out and evacuated European city 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 ...
. On October 5, 1977, U.S. President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
paid an unscheduled visit to Charlotte Street while in New York City for a conference at the
headquarters of the United Nations , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004 (cropped).jpg , image_size = 275px , caption = View of the complex from Long Island City in 2021; from left to right: the Secretariat, Conference, and General Assembly buil ...
. Charlotte Street at the time was a three-block devastated area of vacant lots and burned-out and abandoned buildings. The street had been so ravaged that part of it had been taken off official city maps in 1974. Carter instructed
Patricia Roberts Harris Patricia Roberts Harris (May 31, 1924March 23, 1985) was an American politician, diplomat, and legal scholar. She served as the 6th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 1977 to 1979 and as the 13th United States secretar ...
, head of the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and ur ...
, to take steps to salvage the area. Progress did not come quickly. Three years later, in 1980, presidential candidate
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
paid a visit to Charlotte Street, declaring that he had not "seen anything that looked like this since
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
after
the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...
". The 1987 novel ''
The Bonfire of the Vanities ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City, and centers on three main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish a ...
'', by the American writer
Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...
, presented the South Bronx as a nightmare world, not to be entered by middle or upper-class whites. The PBS documentary show Independent Lens released an episode titled "Decade of Fire" on May 3, 2019. The episode was previewed at the Full Frame Film Festival the previous month.


Revitalization and current concerns

Primarily beginning in the 1980s, parts of the South Bronx started to experience
urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
with rehabilitated and new residential structures, including subsidized multifamily townhomes and apartment buildings. Between 1986 and 1994, over $1 billion were spent on rebuilding the area, with 19,000 apartments refurbished and more than 4,500 new houses built for the working class. More than fifty abandoned apartment buildings on the
Major Deegan Expressway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. I-87 is the main highway that connects New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New Yor ...
and the
Cross Bronx Expressway The Cross Bronx Expressway is a major controlled-access highway, freeway in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is mainly designated as part of Interstate 95 in New York, Interstate 95 (I-95), but also includes portions of Interstate ...
were renovated for residential use. Over 26,500 people moved into the area. On Charlotte Street, prefabricated ranch-style houses were built in the area in 1985, and the area changed so significantly that a Bronx borough historian ( Lloyd Ultan) could not locate where Carter had stopped to survey the scene. As of 2004, houses on the street were worth up to a million dollars. The
Bronx County Courthouse The Bronx County Courthouse, also known as the Mario Merola Building, is an historic courthouse building located in the Concourse and Melrose neighborhoods of the Bronx in New York City. It was designed in 1931 and built between 1931 and 1934. ...
has secured landmark status, and efforts are underway to do the same for much of the Grand Concourse, in recognition of the area's
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
architecture. In June 2010, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission gave consideration to the establishment of a historic district on the Grand Concourse from 153rd to 167th Street. A final decision was expected in the coming months. Construction of the new
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...
has stirred controversy over plans which, along with the new billion-dollar field, include new athletic fields, tennis courts, bicycle and walking paths, stores, restaurants, and a new
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 ...
station at East 153rd Street. During baseball season, the station helps ease overcrowding on the subway.
There is hope that these developments also will help to generate residential construction. However, the new park came at a price: a total of in Macombs Dam and John Mullaly Parks were used to build it. In April 2012, Heritage Field, a $50.8 million ballpark, was built atop the grounds of the original Yankee Stadium. The population of the South Bronx is currently increasing. Despite significant investment compared to the post war period, many exacerbated social problems remain, including high rates of violent crime, substance abuse, and overcrowded and substandard housing conditions. Its precincts have recorded high violent crime rates and are all considered to be
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 ...
"impact zones." The Bronx contains the highest rate of poverty in New York City, and the greater South Bronx is the poorest
Congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...
in the United States. Poverty in the public housing infrastructure has partially been caused by disinvestment by the city and state because, since the 1990s, a lack of state-funded operating subsidies to NYCHA created a $720 million shortfall by 2010 and, post 9/11, the city halted subsidies as well. The poorly maintained, substandard housing has caused disproportionately high asthma rates among children in the South Bronx, where residents are predominately minorities—mainly
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
and
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 ...
.


Arts and culture

Since the late 1970s, the South Bronx has been home to a renewed grassroots art scene. The arts scene that sprouted at the Fashion Moda Gallery, founded by a
Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...
artist, Stefan Eins, helped ignite the careers of artists like
Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...
and
Jenny Holzer Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950) is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick, New York. Her work focuses on the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, projectio ...
, and 1980s break dancers like the
Rock Steady Crew {{Infobox musical artist , name = Rock Steady Crew , image = , landscape = yes , caption = , alias = , origin = The Bronx New York, Manhattan New York, U.S. , genre ...
. It generated enough enthusiasm in the mainstream media for a short while to draw the art world's attention. The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance was located in the
American Bank Note Company Building The American Bank Note Company Building is a five-story building at 70 Broad Street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by architects Kirby, Petit & Green in the neo-classical style, and contain ...
in the South Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point before relocating to St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Westchester Square. Modern
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
is prominent in the South Bronx, and is home to many of the fathers of graffiti art such as Tats Cru. The Bronx has a very strong graffiti scene despite the city's crackdown on illegal graffiti. However, graffiti in the Bronx began to occur in the early 1970s and managed to travel to different boroughs via the
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 ...
system. The rise of
hip-hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...
,
rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...
,
breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...
, and
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
ing helped put the South Bronx on the musical map in the late 1970s. The South Bronx is also known worldwide as the birthplace of
hip-hop culture Hip-hop culture is an art movement that emerged in New York City, in the borough of The Bronx; Primarily within the black community. Hip Hop as an art form and culture has been heavily influenced by both male and female artists. It is charac ...
.Allatson, Paul. ''Key Terms in Latino/a Cultural and Literary Studies''. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons, 2007, 199.Schloss, Joseph G. ''Foundation: B-boys, B-girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, 125.''From Mambo to Hip Hop''. Dir. Henry Chalfant. Thirteen / WNET, 2006, film In addition, the
Bronx Museum of the Arts The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by ...
is located on the Grand Concourse.


Hip hop's birthplace

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- ...
is a broad conglomerate of
artistic Art is a diverse range of culture, cultural activity centered around works of art, ''works'' utilizing Creativity, creative or imagination, imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an express ...
forms that originated as a specific street
subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...
within South Bronx communities during the 1970s in
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 ...
. Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s when
block parties A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...
became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among
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 ...
and
Latin Americans Latin Americans (; ) 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-ethnic and multi-racial. Latin Americans are ...
residing in
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 ...
. Block parties incorporated DJs who played popular
genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
s of music, especially
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
and
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
. For example, many DJs played music by the artist
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
. Some songs played at these South Bronx house parties included "Give it Up or Turn it Loose" by James Brown and "Get Ready" by Rare Earth. Due to the positive reception, DJs began isolating the
percussive A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
breaks, or small portions of a song, often without vocals, which were easy to dance to, of popular songs.
DJ Kool Herc Clive Campbell (born April 16, 1955), better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican-American DJ who is credited with being the founder of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in 1973. Nicknamed the Father of Hip-Hop, Campbe ...
is known for generating the technique to produce these percussive breaks, which is known as merry-go-rounding. Merry-go-rounding when DJs would "use the two turntables in a typical DJ setup not as a way to make a smooth transition between two records, but as a way to switch back and forth repeatedly between two copies of the same record." The technique of percussive breaks was then common in Jamaican
dub music Dub is a musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p.&nb ...
, and was largely introduced into New York by immigrants from Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean, including
DJ Kool Herc Clive Campbell (born April 16, 1955), better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican-American DJ who is credited with being the founder of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in 1973. Nicknamed the Father of Hip-Hop, Campbe ...
, who is generally considered the father of hip-hop. Upon this, a technique known as Jamaican toasting, or the act of speaking over a beat which later became rapping, was introduced by DJ Kool Herc in the South Bronx at this point of time as well.
1520 Sedgwick Avenue 1520 Sedgwick Avenue is a 102-unit apartment building in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Described in ''The New York Times'' as a long-time "haven for working class families", it has been historically accepted as th ...
, an
apartment building An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) ...
in Morris Heights, is a long-time "haven for working-class families"; in 2010, ''
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 ...
'' reported that it is the "accepted birthplace of
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- ...
." As hip-hop grew from throughout the Bronx, 1520 was a starting point where Clive Campbell, later known as
DJ Kool Herc Clive Campbell (born April 16, 1955), better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican-American DJ who is credited with being the founder of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in 1973. Nicknamed the Father of Hip-Hop, Campbe ...
, presided over parties in the community room at a pivotal point in the genre's history. DJ Kool Herc is credited with helping to start hip hop and rap music at a
house concert A house concert or home concert is a musical concert or performance art that is presented in someone's home or apartment, or a nearby small private space such as a barn, apartment rec room, lawn, or backyard."VIDEO: House concert in Royal Oak," ...
at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on August 11, 1973. At the concert he was DJing and emceeing in the :recreation room of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue.Tukufu Zuberi ("detective"), ''BIRTHPLACE OF HIP HOP'',
History Detectives ''History Detectives'' was a documentary television series on PBS. It featured investigations made by members of a small team of researchers to identify and/or authenticate items which may have historical significance or connections to important h ...
, Season 6, Episode 11, New York City, found a
PBS official website
Accessed February 24, 2009.
Sources have noted that while 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was not the actual birthplace of hip-hop—the genre developed slowly in several places in the 1970s—it was verified to be the place where ''one of'' the pivotal and formative events occurred that spurred hip hop culture forward. During a rally to save the building, DJ Kool Herc said, "1520 Sedgwick is the
Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
of Hip-Hop culture." Many residents of the South Bronx during the early 1970s lived in poverty or were part of gangs.
Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...
, who has been described as the godfather of hip-hop, was a member of the street gang 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 ...
. As an effort to end the street violence within the South Bronx, Bambaataa created the Zulu Nation, which is a group founded on the concepts of "Peace, Love, Unity, Having Fun" instead of partaking in gang violence and unlawful activity. In Jeff Chang's book '' Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation'' Bambaataa explained that the Zulu Nation formed because "we had to come up with something to get the order back." As seen within the film ''The Hip Hop Years: Part 1'', hip-hop aided in keeping violence from forming on the streets of the South Bronx and eased tensions with the police within the area. People were creating art such as hip-hop music and dances at the block parties within the South Bronx, so the police did not have issues with it. Not only was music a major component of hip-hop culture being formulated within the South Bronx during the 1970s, a break dancing or
B-boying Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...
movement was being generated as well. After DJ Kool Herc and other DJs kept utilizing the break beat within their music, an abundance of people who were dancing normally, eventually hit the floor and began what is known as breakdancing. According to the documentary, ''The Freshest Kids: The History of the B-Boy'', break dancing occurred "spontaneously" and consisted of more "sporadic" dance moves. Additionally, a Zulu king and hip-hop historian stated that the dance consisted of "bouncing around, pivoting, turning, twists frontsweeps...". Many who participated in this form of dance were members of crews, such as the
Rock Steady Crew {{Infobox musical artist , name = Rock Steady Crew , image = , landscape = yes , caption = , alias = , origin = The Bronx New York, Manhattan New York, U.S. , genre ...
, the
New York City Breakers The New York City Breakers are an original Breaking Crew in early 1980s that was established in the Bronx borough of New York City formed by Michael Holman. The group originally consisted of members from Wildstyle and "Floor Master Crew" Hist ...
and the Magnificent Force. On July 5, 2007, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was recognized by the
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) is a state agency within the New York State Executive Department Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law § 3.03. "The office of parks, recreation and h ...
as the "Birthplace of Hip-Hop."(July 23, 2007
"An Effort to Honor the Birthplace of Hip-Hop"
''New York Times.'' Retrieved 9/3/10.
(July 23, 2007
"1520 Sedgwick Avenue Honored as a Hip-Hop Landmark Today"
, ''XXL Magazine''. Retrieved 9/3/10.


Education

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 (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...
operates district public schools. Community School Districts 7, 8, 9, and 12 are located in the South Bronx. Among the public schools are charter schools. Success Academies Bronx 1, 2, and 3 are part of
Success Academy Charter Schools Success Academy Charter Schools, originally Harlem Success Academy, is a charter school operator in New York City. Eva Moskowitz, a former city council member for the Upper East Side, is its founder and CEO. It has 47 schools in the New York ...
. An elementary charter school, Academic Leadership Charter School, opened on 141st Street and Cypress Avenue. Area private schools include
Cardinal Hayes High School Cardinal Hayes High School is a private, Catholic high school for boys in the Concourse Village neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, New York. The school serves the Archdiocese of New York. It is a member of the Catholic High School Athlet ...
, located at 650 Grand Concourse and
All Hallows High School All Hallows High School (formerly known as the All Hallows Institute) is a Catholic co-ed high school in the South Bronx, New York, United States. Located at 111 East 164th Street, near Yankee Stadium, the school has an enrollment of approximate ...
, located at 111 East 164th Street. Among the institutions of higher education,
Hostos Community College Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York is a public community college in the South Bronx, New York City. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and was created by an act of the Board ...
of the
City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
is located in Grand Concourse and 149th Street, ten blocks from Yankee Stadium. The South Bronx is also home to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations that offer a range of professional training and other educational programs. East Side House Settlement has been in the
Mott Haven Mott Haven is a primarily residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is generally bounded by East 149th Street to the north, the Bruckner Expressway to the east and south, and the Harlem ...
neighborhood since 1963, serving families and children. Their mission is to use education as a means of economic empowerment.
Per Scholas Per Scholas is a national nonprofit organization based in The Bronx, New York City founded in 1995 by John Stookey and Lewis Miller. For nearly 30 years, Per Scholas has been on a mission to drive economic mobility and opportunity in the ever-ad ...
, for example, is a nonprofit organization that offers free professional certification training directed towards successfully passing
CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association, more commonly known as CompTIA, is an American trade association that issues temporary vendor-neutral professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. Certifications All ce ...
A+ and Network+ certification exams as a route to securing jobs and building careers. Per Scholas also works with a growing number of Title One South Bronx
middle schools Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...
, their students, and their families to provide computer training and access.


Transportation

Major highways include the
Major Deegan Expressway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. I-87 is the main highway that connects New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New Yor ...
(
I-87 Interstate 87 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States: * Interstate 87 (New York), a highway running from New York City north to the Canadian border in Champlain, New York. * Interstate 87 (North Carolina) ...
);
Cross Bronx Expressway The Cross Bronx Expressway is a major controlled-access highway, freeway in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is mainly designated as part of Interstate 95 in New York, Interstate 95 (I-95), but also includes portions of Interstate ...
(
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
);
Bruckner Expressway The Bruckner Expressway is a freeway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It carries Interstate 278 and Interstate 95 from the Triborough Bridge to the south end of the New England Thruway at the Pelham Parkway interchange. Th ...
(I-278);
Triborough Bridge The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; also known by its previous name, the Triborough Bridge) is a complex of bridges and elevated expressway viaducts in New York City. The bridges link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. Th ...
; Grand Concourse. A variety of
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 ...
services run through the South Bronx. This includes the on the
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 i ...
, on the
IRT White Plains Road Line The White Plains Road Line is a rapid transit line of the A Division of the New York City Subway serving the central Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive ...
, on the
IRT Jerome Avenue Line The IRT Jerome Avenue Line, also unofficially known as IRT Woodlawn Line, is an A Division New York City Subway line mostly along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. Originally an Interborough Rapid Transit Company-operated route, it was built as part ...
, and on the
IND Concourse Line The Concourse Line is an IND rapid transit line of the New York City Subway system. It runs from 205th Street in Norwood, Bronx, primarily under the Grand Concourse, to 145th Street in Harlem, Manhattan. It is the only B Division line in th ...
. A South Bronx Greenway currently connects the South Bronx over the Bronx Kill to
Randalls Island Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City.
on a bike and pedestrian pathway known as the Bronx Connector. In 2000, 77.3% of all households in
New York's 15th congressional district New York's 15th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives is located in New York City, State of New York. The district has been represented by Democrat Ritchie Torres since 2021. It is the poorest congressional dis ...
, covering the South Bronx, did not own automobiles. Citywide, the percentage is only 55%.


Notable natives

*
Danny Aiello Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), ''The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide in ...
(1933–2019), actor *
Nate Archibald Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/ Kansas City–Omaha King ...
(born 1948), retired professional basketball player who spent 14 years playing in the NBA and was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
* Aventura, Dominican-American
bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a musical genre which originated in the Dominican Republic ** Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music ** Bachata (dance), a dance form * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bach ...
music group *
Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...
(born 1957), disc jockey, singer-songwriter and producer *
Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...
(born 1978), rapper, DJ and record producer *
Jellybean Benitez John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters. H ...
(born 1957), songwriter, DJ, remixer and music producer *
A Boogie wit da Hoodie Artist Julius Dubose (born December 6, 1995), known professionally as A Boogie wit da Hoodie or simply A Boogie, is an American rapper, and singer-songwriter. He released his debut studio album, '' The Bigger Artist'', via Atlantic Records in ...
, rapper, raised in
Highbridge, Bronx Highbridge is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the central-west section of the Bronx, New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Jerome Avenue to ...
*
Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...
, rapper, raised in
Highbridge, Bronx Highbridge is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the central-west section of the Bronx, New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Jerome Avenue to ...
*
Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-American rapper. First having gained recognition for his freestyling abilities, he signed with Universal Records to release his debut studio al ...
, rapper *
Majora Carter Majora Carter (born October 27, 1966) is an American urban revitalization strategist and public radio host from the South Bronx area of New York City. Carter founded and led the non-profit environmental justice solutions corporation Sustainable ...
, raised in Hunts Point, current resident of Hunts Point *
Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is a Puerto Rican and American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón was a pioneer of Salsa music and a be ...
, salsa musician *
Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...
, singer, musician, actor *
Dion DiMucci Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known Mononym, mononymously as Dion, is an American singer and songwriter. His music incorporates elements of doo-wop, Pop music, pop, Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B, folk music, folk an ...
& the Belmonts *
Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as consumerism, nuclear war, the complexities of language, art, televi ...
, novelist *
Rebel Diaz Rebel Diaz is a political hip hop duo out of New York City and Chicago consisting of the Chilean brothers Rodrigo Venegas (known as RodStarz) and Gonzalo Venegas (known as G1). Rebel Diaz uses their music as an organizing tool and to spread kno ...
, rap group * Rubén Díaz Jr. *
Tim Dog Timothy J. Blair (January 3, 1967 – February 14, 2013),Margaret Eby"Rapper Tim Dog slapped with arrest warrant on suspicion of faking own death,"''New York Daily News'', May 22, 2013. better known by his stage name Tim Dog, was an American rap ...
, rapper * Fr. Stan Fortuna, ordained as a priest in the Bronx in 1990 *
Harry Gibson Harry "The Hipster" Gibson (June 27, 1915 – May 3, 1991), born Harry Raab, was an American jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He played New York style stride piano and boogie woogie while singing in a wild, unrestrained style. His music ca ...
*
Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), p ...
(1911–1986), Hall of Fame baseball player *
Marcus Jansen Marcus Antonius Jansen (born 1968) is an American painter. Early life and education Jansen was born and raised in New York City. He attended the Kunstgewerbe Schule Berufskolleg für Technik und Medien am Platz der Republik in Mönchengladbac ...
(born 1968), urban/expressionist painter resided on Boynton Avenue near Soundview Park in the Boynton Apartments * Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs *
Carlos Henriquez Carlos Tony Henriquez is an American Democratic politician who represented the 5th Suffolk district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives prior to his expulsion from office in 2014. He was the first house member to be expelled from offi ...
jazz bassist *
DJ Kool Herc Clive Campbell (born April 16, 1955), better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican-American DJ who is credited with being the founder of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in 1973. Nicknamed the Father of Hip-Hop, Campbe ...
, DJ, raised in the West Bronx *
Monique Holsey-Hyman Monique Holsey-Hyman (born November 10, 1965) is an American social worker, professor, and politician. Prior to her work in politics and academia, Holsey-Hyman worked as a social worker in New York City. She was a caseworker for the New York Cit ...
, politician, social worker, and professor *
Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...
, fashion designer *
Tom Leykis Tom Leykis (pronounced: ; born ) is an American former talk radio personality best known for hosting ''The Tom Leykis Show'' from 1994 to 2009 (nationally syndicated), and April 2012 to 2018 (internet streamcast/podcast). The show follows the ho ...
(born 1956), radio personality *
Cuban Link Felix Delgado (born December 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Cuban Link, is a Cuban-American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discovery by fellow Bronx rapper Fat Joe and m ...
, rapper, born in Cuba, raised in
Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 163rd Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...
*
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...
, raised in Castle Hill *
Bernard McGuirk Bernard J. McGuirk (October 26, 1957 – October 5, 2022) was an American radio personality. He was host at WABC in New York City alongside Sid Rosenberg. He was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York, where he worked in his younger yea ...
, grew up in the South Bronx *
Drag-On Melvin Jason Smalls (born January 4, 1980), known professionally as Drag-On, is an American rapper. He is best known for his time on Ruff Ryders, through whom he released his debut album, '' Opposite of H2O'' (2000). The album was successful, ...
, rapper, raised in
Soundview Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White P ...
*
Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...
, rapper, raised in
Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 163rd Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...
*
Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...
, DJ, born in Barbados, raised in
Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 163rd Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...
*
KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...
, rapper, originally from
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, raised in both
Mott Haven Mott Haven is a primarily residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is generally bounded by East 149th Street to the north, the Bruckner Expressway to the east and south, and the Harlem ...
and
Soundview Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White P ...
*
T La Rock Terrence Ronnie Keaton known by the stage name T La Rock, (born September 16, 1961) is an American old school hip hop, old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 in music, 1984 Si ...
, rapper *
Scott La Rock Scott Monroe Sterling (March 2, 1962 – August 27, 1987), known by the stage name DJ Scott La Rock, was an American hip-hop disc jockey and music producer from the Bronx, New York. He was a founding member of the East Coast hip hop group Boog ...
*
Remy Ma Reminisce Kioni Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper and songwriter. Discovered by the late rapper Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad ...
, rapper, raised in Castle Hill *
Sonia Manzano Sonia Manzano (born June 12, 1950) is an American actress, writer and speaker. She is best known for playing Maria on ''Sesame Street'' from 1971 to 2015. She received a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2016. Her memoir, ''Becoming ...
(born 1950), actress, screenwriter, author, speaker and singer-songwriter best known for her role on ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' *
French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...
, rapper, born in Morocco, raised in Tremont *
Richard A. Muller Richard A. Muller (born January 6, 1944) is an American physicist and emeritus professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He was also a faculty senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In early 2010, Mu ...
, physicist *
Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, businessman, author, and former U.S. Army officer serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023. Moore was born in Maryland and raised primarily in New York. ...
(born 1978), governor of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, author *
Joe Negroni Jose Negroni (September 9, 1940 – September 5, 1978) was an American singer of Puerto Rican descent. He was a rock and roll pioneer and founding member of the rock and roll group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Early years Negroni's famil ...
(1940–1978), rock and roll pioneer and founding member of the rock and roll group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. *
Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...
, rapper *
Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...
, born in
East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...
, raised in the South Bronx *
Murray Perahia Murray David Perahia ( ; born April 19, 1947) is an American pianist and conductor. He has been considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. ...
, concert pianist and conductor *
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...
, raised in Longwood *
Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discover ...
, rapper, born in
Soundview Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White P ...
, raised in Highbridge *
Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer and pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the F ...
, novelist and screenwriter *
Alex Ramos Alex Ramos (born January 17, 1961) is a former middleweight boxer from the 1980s. A native of Manhattan, New York, whose parents were from Puerto Rico, Ramos won four Golden Gloves titles in New York City in the late 1970s (1977–1980) and wa ...
, professional boxer *
Charles Nelson Reilly Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 – May 25, 2007) was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher. He performed in the original Broadway casts of ''Bye Bye Birdie''; '' Hello, Dolly!''; and '' How to Succeed in Business With ...
(1931–2007), actor, comedian, director and drama teacher *
Hell Rell Durrell Mohammad (born May 3, 1979), better known by his stage name Hell Rell, is an American rapper. Career In 2007, he signed with Koch Records and began working on his debut album, '' For the Hell of It''. The album reached No. 5 on both th ...
, rapper raised in Tremont *
Neil Raymond Ricco Neil Raymond Ricco (born 1953), formerly known as Noel Rico, is a Spanish-Italian American poet and writer known for his works featured in publications by Nicolás Kanellos, Eileen Myles and Mike Marqusee. Ricco was an early member of the Nuyorica ...
, poet and writer *
Bobby Sanabria Bobby Sanabria (born June 2, 1957) is an American drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, documentary film producer, educator, activist, radio show host, and writer of Puerto Rican descent who specializes in jazz and Latin jazz. Biography S ...
(born 1957), Multi-Grammy nominated Latin and jazz drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, educator, bandleader * Herman Santiago,
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
pioneer and songwriter who was previously a member of the vocal group
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers The Teenagers were an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead ...
. He (disputedly) co-wrote the group's iconic hit " Why Do Fools Fall in Love". * Tony Santiago, better known as "Tony the Marine" is a United States Marine veteran, writer, and military historian. *
Dolph Schayes Adolph Schayes ( ; May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA select ...
, 12x All Star basketball player *
Richie Scheinblum Richard Alan Scheinblum (November 5, 1942 – May 10, 2021), nicknamed "Shane", Whiting, Robert. ''You Gotta Have Wa'' (Vintage Departures, 1989), pp. 82-83. was an American professional Major League Baseball (MLB) player. In 1971, he won the A ...
(1942–2021), Major League Baseball All Star outfielder *
Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
(born 1954), Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
*
Tony Sunshine Antonio Cruz (born April 23, 1977), known professionally as Tony Sunshine, is an American R&B singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known as a member of Fat Joe's hip hop group Terror Squad in the late 1990s, and notably guest appeared on ...
, R&B singer, raised in
Soundview Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White P ...
*
Leonard Susskind Leonard Susskind (; born June 16, 1940)his 60th birth anniversary was celebrated with a special symposium at Stanford University.in Geoffrey West's introduction, he gives Suskind's current age as 74 and says his birthday was recent. is an Americ ...
, theoretical physicist *
Neil deGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysics, astrophysicist, author, and science communication, science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia Univ ...
, astrophysicist, physical cosmologist, science communicator/educator *
Kemba Walker Kemba Hudley Walker (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a player enhancement coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was picked ninth overall by the C ...
, NBA player, raised in
Soundview Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White P ...
*
Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fil ...
, actress *
Steven Weinberg Steven Weinberg (; May 3, 1933 – July 23, 2021) was an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic inter ...
(1933–2021), theoretical physicist *
Barry Wellman Barry Wellman (30 September 1942 – 9 July 2024) was an American-Canadian sociologist and was the co-director of the Toronto-based international NetLab Network. His areas of research were community sociology, the Internet, human–computer i ...
(born 1942), sociologist * 645AR, rapper, born and raised partly in the region and attended
Hostos Community College Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York is a public community college in the South Bronx, New York City. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and was created by an act of the Board ...


In popular culture


Movies

* ''
Tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...
'', 1985 * ''
Rumble in the Bronx ''Rumble in the Bronx'' () is a 1995 action comedy film directed by Stanley Tong, and starring Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, and Françoise Yip. The film is set in the Bronx area of New York City, but was filmed in and around Vancouver, Canada. A ...
'', 1995 * '' 1990: The Bronx Warriors'', 1982 * '' Gloria'', 1980 * '' Willie Dynamite'', 1973 * ''
Fort Apache, The Bronx ''Fort Apache, The Bronx'' is a 1981 American crime drama film directed by Daniel Petrie. The film stars Paul Newman as Murphy, a hard-drinking, lonely veteran NYPD officer, and Ken Wahl as his young partner, Corelli, both of whom work in a cr ...
'', 1981 * '' Wanderers, The'', 1979 * '' Wolfen'', 1981 * ''
Wild Style ''Wild Style'' is a 1982 American hip hop film written, produced and directed by Charlie Ahearn. Regarded as the first hip hop motion picture, it includes appearances by seminal figures such as Adam Horowitz, Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quiñones, L ...
'', 1983 * ''
Beat Street ''Beat Street'' is a 1984 American dance drama film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to vari ...
'', 1984 * ''South Bronx Heroes'', 1985 * ''A Bronx Tale'', 1993 * ''Marty'', 1955


Music

* "
South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
" by
Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip-hop group formed in the Bronx, New York City, in 1986. It originally consisted of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the ...
* "
Jenny from the Block "Jenny from the Block" is a song by American singer Jennifer Lopez, which features American rappers Jadakiss and Styles P, both members of the Lox. It was released by Epic Records on September 26, 2002, as the lead single from her third studio al ...
" by
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...
featuring
Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...
&
Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...


Television

* ''
The Get Down ''The Get Down'' is an American musical drama television series created by Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis. The series debuted on Netflix on August 12, 2016, and was cancelled after one season. Produced by Sony Pictures Television, the s ...
'', 2016- Netflix series


Literature

* '' Dropsie Avenue'' (1995), by
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...
. ''Dropsie Avenue'' is the third story in the ''
A Contract With God ''A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories'' is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Will Eisner published in 1978. The book's short story cycle revolves around poor Jewish characters who live in a tenement in New York City. Eisner p ...
'' trilogy of graphic novels set in a fictional South Bronx neighborhood. * Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation. (1995), by
Jonathan Kozol Jonathan Kozol (born September 5, 1936) is an American writer, progressivism in the United States, progressive activist, and educator, best known for his books on public education in the United States. Education and experience Born to Harry Ko ...
. Awarded the
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...
in 1996.


See also

* '' 80 Blocks From Tiffany's''


References


Notes


Further reading

* Kozol, Jonathan (1995); ''Amazing Grace''; Crown Publishers. * * * * * * *


Pictorial works

* * (Pictorial work on historical social life and customs in the South Bronx)


External links


Walking tour of the Grand Concourse Boulevard-Cross Bronx Expy area
{{Coord, 40.81621, -73.91735, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title Neighborhoods in the Bronx History of hip-hop History of the Bronx