University Heights, Bronx
University Heights is a residential neighborhood of the West Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5 and Bronx Community Board 7. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are: West 190th Street to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, West Burnside Avenue to the south, and the Harlem River to the west. University Avenue is the primary thoroughfare in University Heights. The local subway is the IRT Jerome Avenue Line, operating along the Jerome Avenue. ZIP codes include 10453 and 10468.
Demographics
University Heights has a population of over 40,000. There is a mix of renter-occupied as well as owner-occupied households.[1] The demographics are 17.5% African American, 23.9% White, 7.4% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 50.6% Hispanic or Latino, the majority of which are of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent.
Land use and terrain
University Heights consists of 5- and 6-story buildings, older multi-unit homes, newly constructed multi-unit townhouses and apartment buildings, and co-ops. The total land area is roughly one square mile. The terrain is elevated and hilly.
Low-income public housing projects
- There are ten NYCHA developments located in Melrose.[2]
- Harrison Avenue Rehab (Group A); a 5-story building.
- Harrison Avenue Rehab (Group B); four buildings, 5 and 6 stories tall.
- Macombs Road; two buildings, 5 and 6 stories tall.
- Morris Heights Rehab; three buildings, 5 and 6 stories tall.
- Sedgwick Houses; seven buildings, 14 and 15 stories tall.
- University Avenue Rehab; four 6-story buildings.
- West Tremont Avenue-Sedgwick Avenue Area; a 12-story building.
- West Tremont Rehab (Group 1); two buildings, 5 and 6 stories tall.
- West Tremont Rehab (Group 2); two 6-story buildings.
- West Tremont Rehab (Group 3); a 5-story building.
History
The neighborhood takes it name from the hill on which New York University's Bronx campus was built in 1894. The campus includes the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. In 1973, NYU sold the campus to the City University of New York, which renamed the campus Bronx Community College, but the neighborhood name has remained.
With the opening of the IRT Jerome Avenue line in 1917, the neighborhood began a rapid transition from a one-time farm community that had become a place where wealthy people had their mansions and suburban villas, to an urban neighborhood built almost entirely of low-rise apartment buildings housing the prosperous middle classes.
Urban Renewal
There are many shops along Fordham Road and in neighboring Marble Hill, which is home to River Plaza, a mall that houses Target, Starbucks, and Marshall's stores.
Schools
- PS/MS 15/PS 291 (Hall of Fame Terrace and Andrews Avenue North)
- PS 33: Timothy Dwight (East 184th Street and Jerome Avenue)
- PS 79: Creston (East 181st Street and Creston Avenue)
- PS 91: Anthony Baez (Clinton Place and Aqueduct Avenue East)
- PS 226: Nadia J. Pagan (West Burnside Avenue and Sedgwick Avenue)
- PS/MS 279: Capt. Manuel Rivera (Walton Avenue and East 181st Street)
- MS 206: Ann Cross Mersereau (West 183rd Street and Aqueduct Avenue East)
- MS 331: The Bronx School of Science Inquiry and Investigation (West Tremont and Davidson Avenue)
- MS 390: (West Burnside Avenue and Andrews Avenue South)
- MS 399: Elizabeth Barrett Browning (East 184th Street and Morris Avenue)
Transportation
- Bx3: 238th Street station to George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via University Avenue)
- Bx12: Bay Plaza Shopping Center to Inwood–207th Street station (via Fordham Road–Pelham Parkway)
- Bx32: VA Hospital to Third Avenue–138th Street station (via Morris Avenue)
- Bx40: SUNY Maritime College to River Park Towers (via Tremont-Burnside Avenues)
- Bx42: Throggs Neck to River Park Towers (via Tremont–Burnside Avenues)
- Burnside Avenue station (4)
- 183rd Street station (4)
- Fordham Road station (4)
- Kingsbridge Road station (4)
- Metro-North University Heights station (Hudson Line)
See also
References
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