History of the Bronx

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 The history of the Bronx, a borough of New York City, started with Dutch settlers in 1639. The Bronx was originally part of Westchester County, but it was ceded to New York County in fragments before it became Bronx County.

Origins and name of The Bronx

The Bronx was called Rananchqua[1] by the native Siwanoy[2] band of Lenape (the Delawares to Europeans), while other Native Americans knew the Bronx as Keskeskeck.[3] It was divided by the Aquahung River.

Jonas Bronck (ca. 1600–1649), a Swedish sea-captain working for the Dutch, entering New Netherland in 1639, became the first recorded European settler in the area. He leased land from the Dutch West India Company on the neck of the mainland immediately north of the Dutch settlement in Harlem (on Manhattan island), and bought additional tracts from the local tribes. He eventually accumulated 500 acres (about 2 square km, or 3/4 of a square mile) between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which became known as Bronck's River, or The Bronx. Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as Bronck's Land.[4] The American poet William Bronk is a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Bronck's son or younger brother.[5]

The Bronx is referred to, both legally,[6] and colloquially,[7] with a definite article, as The Bronx. (The County of Bronx, unlike the coextensive Borough of the Bronx, does not place the immediately before Bronx in formal references, nor does the United States Postal Service in its database of Bronx addresses.)[8] The name for this region, apparently after the Bronx River, first appeared in the Annexed District of the Bronx created in 1874 out of part of Westchester County and was continued in the Borough of the Bronx, which included a larger annexation from Westchester County in 1898. The use of the definite article is attributed to the style of referring to rivers.[9][10] Another explanation for the use of the definite article in the borough's name is that the original form of the name was a possessive or collective one referring to the family, as in visiting The Broncks, The Bronck's or The Broncks'.[11]

Before 1914

See also: list of former municipalities in New York City

The development of the Bronx is directly connected to its strategic location between New England and New York (Manhattan). Control over the bridges across the Harlem River plagued the period of British colonial rule. Kingsbridge, built in 1693 where Broadway reached the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, was a possession of the lords of Philipse Manor. The tolls they charged were resented by Bronx farmers with crops and cattle to sell in New York. It was the angry farmers who built a "free bridge" across the Harlem River which led to the abandonment of tolls altogether.

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
17901,781—
18001,755−1.5%
18102,26729.2%
18202,78222.7%
18303,0238.7%
18405,34676.8%
18508,03250.2%
186023,593193.7%
187037,39358.5%
188051,98039.0%
189088,90871.0%
1900200,507125.5%
1910430,980114.9%
1920732,01669.8%
19301,265,25872.8%
19401,394,71110.2%
19501,451,2774.1%
19601,424,815−1.8%
19701,471,7013.3%
19801,168,972−20.6%
19901,203,7893.0%
20001,332,66610.7%
2008 (est.)1,391,903
Sources below.[12]

The territory now contained within Bronx County was originally part of Westchester County, one of the 12 original counties of the English Province of New York. The present Bronx County was contained in the town of Westchester and parts of the towns of Yonkers, Eastchester, and Pelham. In 1846, a new town, West Farms, was created by division of Westchester; in turn, in 1855, the town of Morrisania was created from West Farms. In 1873, the town of Kingsbridge (roughly corresponding to the modern Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Riverdale, and Woodlawn) was established within the former borders of Yonkers.

Among famous settlers in the Bronx in the 19th and early 20th centuries were the author Willa Cather, the tobacco merchant Pierre Lorillard, and the inventor Jordan L. Mott, who established Mott Haven to house the workers at his iron works.[13]

The consolidation of the Bronx into New York City proceeded in two stages. In 1873, the state legislature annexed Kingsbridge, West Farms and Morrisania to New York, effective in 1874; the three towns were abolished in the process.[14][15] In 1895, three years before New York's consolidation with Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, the whole of the territory east of the Bronx River, including the Town of Westchester (which had voted in 1894 against consolidation) and portions of Eastchester and Pelham, were annexed to the city.[16][14][17][18][19] City Island, a nautical community, voted to join the city in 1896.

On January 1, 1898, the consolidated City of New York was born, including the Bronx as one of the five distinct Boroughs. (At the same time the Bronx's territory moved from Westchester County into New York County, which already contained Manhattan and the rest of pre-1874 New York City.)

On April 19, 1912, those parts of New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County in the past decades were newly constituted as Bronx County, the 62nd and last county to be created by the state, effective in 1914.[14][20] Bronx County's courts opened for business on January 2, 1914 (the same day that John P. Mitchel started work as Mayor of New York City).[21]

Since 1914

At the end of World War I, the Bronx hosted the rather small 1918 World's Fair at 177th Street and DeVoe Avenue.[16][22]

The Bronx underwent rapid growth after World War I. Extensions of the New York City Subway contributed to the increase in population as thousands of immigrants flooded the Bronx, resulting in a major boom in residential construction. Among these groups, many Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans and especially Jewish-Americans settled here. In addition, French, German, and Polish immigrants moved into the borough. The Jewish population also increased notably during this time. In 1937, according to Jewish organizations, 592,185 Jews lived in the Bronx (43.9% of the borough's population),[23] while in 2002, only about 45,000 did. Many synagogues still stand in the Bronx, but most have been converted to other uses.[24]

In Prohibition days (1920-33), bootleggers and gangs ran rampant in the Bronx. Irish, Italian and Polish immigrants smuggled in most of the illegal whiskey. By 1926, the Bronx was noted for its high crime rate and its many speakeasies.

After the 1930s, the Irish immigrant population in the Bronx decreased. The German population followed suit in the 1940s, as did many Italians in the 1950s and Jews in the 1960s. As the generation of the 1930s retired, many moved to southeastern Florida, west of Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. The migration has left a Hispanic (mostly Puerto Rican and Dominican) and African-American population, along with some non-Hispanic white areas in the far southeastern and northwestern parts of the county.

Bronx residents born abroad or overseas, 1930 and 2000
1930 United States Census[25] 2000 United States Census[26]
Total population of the Bronx 1,265,258   Total population of the Bronx 1,332,650  
      All born abroad or overseas ‡ 524,410 39.4%
      Puerto Rico 126,649 9.5%
Foreign-born Whites 477,342 37.7% All foreign-born 385,827 29.0%
White persons born in Russia 135,210 10.7% Dominican Republic 124,032 9.3%
White persons born in Italy 67,732 5.4% Jamaica 51,120 3.8%
White persons born in Poland 55,969 4.4% Mexico 20,962 1.6%
White persons born in Germany 43,349 3.4% Guyana 14,868 1.1%
White persons born in the Irish Free State † 34,538 2.7% Ecuador 14,800 1.1%
Other foreign birthplaces of Whites 140,544 11.1% Other foreign birthplaces 160,045 12.0%
† the 26 counties now within the Republic of Ireland ‡ beyond the 50 states & District of Columbia

During the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the Bronx went into an era of sharp decline in the residents' quality of life. Historians and social scientists have put forward many factors. They include the theory (elaborated in Robert Caro's biography The Power Broker)[27] that Robert Moses' Cross-Bronx Expressway destroyed existing residential neighborhoods. Another (unintended) factor in the Bronx's decline may have been the development of high-rise housing projects. Yet another may have been a reduction in the real-estate listings and property-related financial services (such as mortgages or insurance policies) offered in some areas of the Bronx — a process known as redlining. Others have suggested a "planned shrinkage" of municipal services, such as fire-fighting.[28][29] There was also much debate as to whether rent control laws had made it less profitable (or more costly) for landlords to maintain existing buildings with their existing tenants than to abandon or destroy those buildings.[30]

In the 1970s, the Bronx was plagued by a wave of arson. The burning of buildings was mostly in the South Bronx, concentrated especially along Westchester Avenue and in West Farms. The most common explanation of what occurred was that landlords decided to burn their buildings and take the insurance money as profit.[31] Competing explanations blamed the insurance companies —since their non-renewals of policies might have encouraged the landlords— or the residents themselves. After the destruction of many buildings in the South Bronx, the arsons slowed significantly in the later part of the decade, but the after-effects were still felt into the early 1990s.

Since the mid-1980s, significant residential development has occurred, stimulated by the city's "Ten-Year Housing Plan"[32][33] and community members working to rebuild the social, economic and environmental infrastructure by creating affordable housing. Groups affiliated with South Bronx churches erected the Nehemiah Homes with about 1,000 units. The grass roots organization Nos Quedamos' endeavor known as Melrose Commons[34][35][36] began to rebuild the South Bronx. The ripple effects have been felt borough-wide. As a result of the growing population, the IRT White Plains Road Line has had an increase in riders. Chains such as Marshalls, Staples and Target have opened stores in the Bronx. More bank branches have opened in the Bronx as a whole (rising from 106 in 1997 to 149 in 2007), although not primarily in poor or minority neighborhoods, while the Bronx still has fewer branches per person than wealthier boroughs.[37][38][39][40]

In 1997, the Bronx was designated an All America City by the National Civic League, signifying its comeback from the decline of the 1970s. In 2006, The New York Times reported that "construction cranes have become the borough's new visual metaphor, replacing the window decals of the 1980s in which pictures of potted plants and drawn curtains were placed in the windows of abandoned buildings."[41] The borough has experienced substantial new building construction since 2002. Between 2002 and June 2007, 33,687 new units of housing were built or were under way and $4.8 billion has been invested in new housing. In the first six months of 2007 alone total investment in new residential development was $965 million and 5,187 residential units were scheduled to be completed. Much of the new development is springing up in formerly vacant lots across the South Bronx.[42]

References

  1. ^ "Bronx History: What's in a Name?". New York Public Library. Retrieved 2008-03-15. The Native Americans called the land Rananchqua, but the Dutch and English began to refer to it as Broncksland.
  2. ^ "Harding Park". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  3. ^ Ellis, Edward Robb (1966). The Epic of New York City. Old Town Books. p. 55. ISBN 0786714360.
  4. ^ Hansen, Harry (1950). North of Manhattan. Hastings House. OCLC 542679., excerpted at The Bronx... Its History & Perspective
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ See, for example, New York City Administrative Code §2–202
  7. ^ See, for example, references on the New York City website
  8. ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Note that the database also does not use punctuation, and other articles (like the) to improve automated scanning of addresses.
  9. ^ Lloyd Ultan, Bronx Borough Historian, letter to William F. Buckley, Jr. in "Notes & Asides", National Review, January 28, 2002, retrieved on July 3, 2008.
  10. ^ Steven Hess, "From The Hague to the Bronx: Definite Articles in Place Names", Journal of the North Central Name Society, Fall 1987.
  11. ^ Rev. David J. Born, letter to William F. Buckley, Jr. in "Notes & Asides", National Review, January 28, 2002, retrieved on July 3, 2008.
  12. ^ (1) Population 1790–1960: The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1966, page 452, citing estimates of the Department of Health, City of New York.
    (2) Population 1790–1990: Article on "population" by Nathan Kantrowitz in The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson (Yale University Press, 1995 ISBN 0-300-05536-6), citing the United States Census Bureau
    N.B., Estimates in (1) and (2) before 1920 re-allocate the Census population from the counties whose land is now partly occupied by Bronx County.
    (3) Population 1920–1990: Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990, Compiled and edited by Richard L. Forstall, Population Division, US Bureau of the Census, United States Census Bureau, Washington, D.C. 20233, March 27, 1995, retrieved July 4, 2008.
    (4) Population April 1, 2000 & estimate for July 1, 2007: American Fact Finder (U.S. Census Bureau): Table GCT-T1, 2007 Population Estimates for New York State by County, retrieved on July 4, 2008
  13. ^ Jordan L. Mott (1798–1866), inventor of a coal-fired, cast-iron stove and founder of the J. L. Mott Iron Works, formerly of the Bronx. See: John Thomas Scharf, History of Westchester County, New York.., vol. 1, pt. 2 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: L. E. Preston & Co., 1886), pages 830-832. Available on-line at: Google Books (retrieved July 27, 2009). See also: J. L. Bishop, E. T. Freedley, and E. Young, A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860..., vol. II (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Edward Young & Co., 1868), pages 576-578. also available on-line at Google Books (retrieved July 27, 2009)
  14. ^ a b c Thorne, Kathryn Ford, Compiler & Long, John H., Editor (1993). New York Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. Simon & Schuster. p. 33,118-133. ISBN 0130519626. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ New York. Laws of New York. 1873, 96th Session, Chapter 613, Section 1. p.928.
  16. ^ a b Lloyd Ultan, Bronx Borough Historian, "History of the Bronx River," Paper presented to the Bronx River Alliance, November 5, 2002 (notes taken by Maarten de Kadt, November 16, 2002), retrieved on August 29, 2008. This 2-1/2 hour talk covers much of the early history of the Bronx as a whole, in addition to the Bronx River.
  17. ^ Articles on "consolidation" (by David C. Hammack) and the "Bronx" (by David C. Hermalyn and Lloyd Ultan) in The Encyclopedia of New York City, Yale 1995 (see Further reading below)
  18. ^ New York. Laws of New York. 1895, 118th Session, Chapter 934, Section 1. p.1948.
  19. ^ Peck, Richard. "In the Bronx, the Gentry Live On; The Gentry Live On", The New York Times, December 2, 1973. Accessed July 17, 2008. "But the Harlem riverfront was industrializing, and in 1874 the city annexed the area west of the Bronx River: Morrisania, West Farms and Kingsbridge. A second annexation in 1894 gathered in Westchester and portions of Eastchester and Pelham." However, 1894 must refer to the referendum, since the enabling act was not passed or signed until 1895.
  20. ^ New York. Laws of New York. 1912, 135th Session, Chapter 548, Section 1. p.1352.
  21. ^ On the start of business for Bronx County: BRONX COUNTY IN MOTION. New Officials All Find Work to Do on Their First Day. The New York Times, January 3, 1914 (PDF retrieved on June 26, 2008):
    "Despite the fact that the new Bronx County Court House is not completed there was no delay yesterday in getting the court machinery in motion. All the new county officials were on hand and the County Clerk, the District Attorney, the Surrogate, and the County Judge soon had things in working order. The seal to be used by the new county was selected by County Judge Louis D. Gibbs. It is circular. In the centre is a seated figure of Justice. To her right is an American shield and over the figure is written 'Populi Suprema.' ..."
    "Surrogate George M. S. Schulz, with his office force, was busy at the stroke of 9 o'clock. Two wills were filed in the early morning, but owing to the absence of a safe they were recorded and then returned to the attorneys for safe keeping. ..."
    "There was a rush of business to the new County Clerk's office. Between seventy-five and a hundred men applied for first naturalization papers. Two certificates of incorporation were issued, and seventeen judgments, seven lis pendens, three mechanics' liens and one suit for negligence were filed."
    "Sheriff O'Brien announced several additional appointments."
  22. ^ Christopher Gray, "Streetscapes: The New York Coliseum; From Auditorium To Bus Garage to..." The New York Times, Real Estate section, March 22, 1992, retrieved on July 2, 2008
  23. ^ The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1943, page 494, citing the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Statistical Bureau of the Synagogue Council of America
  24. ^ Remembrance of Synagogues Past: The Lost Civilization of the Jewish South Bronx, by Seymour J. Perlin, Ed.D. (retrieved on August 10, 2008), citing population estimates in "The Jewish Community Study of New York: 2002", UJA [United Jewish Appeal] Federation of New York, June 2004, and his own survey of synagogue sites.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference census browser was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Quick Tables QT-P15 and QT-P22, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved on August 10, 2008
  27. ^ Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1974; ISBN 0-394-72024-5
  28. ^ Roderick Wallace: "A synergism of plagues: 'planned shrinkage,' contagious housing destruction, and AIDS in the Bronx." Environmental Research, October 1988, Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 1–33, and "Urban desertification, public health and public order: 'planned shrinkage', violent death, substance abuse and AIDS in the Bronx", Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 37, No. 7 (1990) pp. 801–813 — abstracts retrieved on July 5, 2008 from PubMed. One sentence in the abstract of the 1990 article reads, "Empirical and theoretical analyses strongly imply present sharply rising levels of violent death, intensification of deviant behaviors implicated in the spread of AIDS, and the pattern of the AIDS outbreak itself, have been gravely affected, and even strongly determined, by the outcomes of a program of 'planned shrinkage' directed against African-American and Hispanic communities, and implemented through systematic and continuing denial of municipal services--particularly fire extinguishment resources--essential for maintaining urban levels of population density and ensuring community stability."
  29. ^ Issues such as redlining, hospital quality and what looked like the planned shrinkage of garbage collection became the contentious issues that sparked the Puerto Rican activists known as the Young Lords. The Young Lords coalesced with similar groups fighting for neighborhood empowerment, such as the Black Panthers, to protest urban renewal and arson for profit with sit-ins and marches. See pages 6–9 of the guide to ¡Palante Siempre Palante! The Young Lords a "P.O.V." (Point of View) documentary on the Public Broadcasting Service.
  30. ^ For an example of this argument, as well as of several other theses mentioned here, see "When the Bronx was burning" City-data forum (blog), 2007, where rubygreta writes:"Rent control destroyed the Bronx, especially starting in the 1960s and 1970s, when oil prices rose through the roof, and heavily subsidized Coop City opened in the East Bronx. Essentially, tenants never moved out of their apartments because they had below-market rents thanks to rent control. The apartments deteriorated and common areas deteriorated because the landlords had no cash-flow. And no cash flow meant that they could not get mortgages for major repairs such as boilers, roofs and window replacement."
  31. ^ "Arson for Hate and Profit". Time. 1977-10-31. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  32. ^ PERSPECTIVES: The 10-Year Housing Plan; Issues for the 90's: Management and Costs, The New York Times, January 7, 1990
  33. ^ Neighborhood Change and the City of New York’s Ten-Year Housing Plan Housing Policy Debate • Volume 10, Issue 4. Fannie Mae Foundation 1999.
  34. ^ NOS QUEDAMOS/WE STAY Melrose Commons, Bronx, New York Sustainable Communities Network Case Studies Sustainability in Action 1997, retrieved on July 6, 2008
  35. ^ David Gonzalez, Yolanda Garcia, 53, Dies; A Bronx Community Force, The New York Times, February 19, 2005, retrieved on July 6, 2008
  36. ^ Meera Subramanian, HOMES AND GARDENS IN THE SOUTH BRONX, Portfolio, November 8, 2005, New York University Department of Journalism, retrieved on July 6, 2008
  37. ^ Wealthy are drowning in new bank branches, says study, New York Daily News, Monday, September 10 2007
  38. ^ Superintendent Neiman Addresses the Ninth Annual Bronx Bankers Breakfast June 15, 2007. Among the remarks of Richard H. Neiman, New York State's Superintendent of Banks, were these: "The Bronx was an economically stable community until the mid 1960s when the entire South Bronx struggled with major construction, real estate issues, red-lining, and block busting. This included a thoroughfare that divided communities, the deterioration of property as a result of rent control, and decrease in the value of real estate. By the mid 1970s, the South Bronx was considered one of the most blighted urban cities in the country, with a loss of 60% of the population and 40% of housing units. The entire area struggled during the 1980s and 1990s to recover from this damage. However, thanks to strong community leadership and the involvement of many of you, today, the Bronx is undergoing a resurgence, with new housing developments and thriving business. From 2000 to 2006, there was a 2.2% increase in population and home ownership rates increased by 19.6%. ... When I look at maps of the Bronx, it’s not difficult to see the areas that don’t have bank branches. These areas, which are prime locations for new bank branches, include Community districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 12."
  39. ^ New bank targets Latinos in South Bronx December 11, 2007
  40. ^ On June 30, 2005, there were 129 Federally-insured banking offices in the Bronx, for a ratio of 1.0 offices for every 10,000 inhabitants. By contrast the national financial center of Manhattan had 555 for a ratio of 3.5/10,000, Staten Island a ratio of 1.9, Queens 1.7 and Brooklyn 1.1. In New York State as a whole the ratio was 2.6 and in the United States, 3.5 (a single office can serve more people in a more-densely-populated area.) U.S. Census Bureau, City and County Data Book, 2007 Table B-11. Counties -- Banking, Retail Trade, and Accommodation and Food Services For 1997 and 2007, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Summary of Deposits; summary tables Deposits of all FDIC-Insured Institutions Operating in New York: State Totals by County — all retrieved on July 15–16, 2008.
  41. ^ Williams, Timothy (2006-06-27). "Celebrities Now Give Thonx for Their Roots in the Bronx". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  42. ^ Topousis, Tom (2007-07-23). "Bx is Booming". New York Post. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
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