Bedford Park is a residential neighborhood in the northwest Bronx, New York City, adjacent to the New York Botanical Garden. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are: Mosholu Parkway to the north, Webster Avenue to the east, East 196th Street to the south, and Jerome Avenue to the west.
The area now known as Bedford Park was mostly farmland outside the town of Kingsbridge, then an unincorporated suburb of New York City. The area began to be developed with the construction of the Jerome Park Racetrack, for thoroughbred horse racing, by Leonard Jerome and August Belmont, Sr. in 1866. Jerome Park Racecourse became the first home of the famous Belmont Stakes horse race, until 1890. To attract the wealthy to the racecourse, Leonard Jerome built what is today Jerome Avenue. The town of Kingsbridge was officially incorporated into New York City in 1874.[3][4]
In 1890, Jerome Park Racecourse was sold. Construction was started to convert it into the Jerome Park Reservoir, to store fresh water from the New Croton Aqueduct. At the same time, the neighborhood of Bedford Park was beginning to take shape. Forty "villas" (suburban houses) were built on a 23-acre (93,000m2) stretch, in a planned community, named Villa Avenue.[4]
The area became a part of the newly created Borough of the Bronx in 1898. The Italian and Irish immigrants who worked on the Jerome Park Reservoir project soon anchored the community there. In 1906, 200th Street was renamed Bedford Park Boulevard, likely named after Edward Thomas Bedford, a director of Standard Oil, president of the Bank of the State of New York, who was an associate of Leonard Jerome.[4]
Development continued with the completion of the Grand Concourse, a multilane thoroughfare, in 1914; and the extension of subway to the area with the IRT Jerome Avenue Line (present-day 4train) in 1917. The Grand Concourse saw a boom in housing construction in the post-World War I era.[3] Much of this was from middle-class people (primarily Jews, Italians, and Irish) moving from Manhattan.[4]
During the 1970s and 1980s, when poverty, crime, arson, and drug use were prevalent across the Bronx, Bedford Park was able to somewhat withstand this compared to other neighborhoods in the more southern parts of the borough. This was largely due to community activists and organizers taking an aggressive stance on drugs and demanding increased law enforcement in the area.[5]
Demographics
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Bedford Park was 54,415, a change of -914 (-1.7%) from the 55,329 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 343.81 acres (139.13ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 158.3 inhabitants per acre (101,300/sqmi; 39,100/km2).[6] The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 6.7% (3,637) White, 18% (9,805) African American, 0.3% (145) Native American, 5% (2,727) Asian, 0.1% (29) Pacific Islander, 0.9% (490) from other races, and 1.1% (623) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 67.9% (36,959) of the population.[7]
The entirety of Community District 7, which includes Bedford Park, Jerome Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge Heights and Norwood, had 148,163 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 79.4 years.[8]:2,20 This is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[9]:53 (PDF p. 84)[10] Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 26% are between the ages of 0 and 17, 31% between 25 and 44, and 23% between 45 and 64. The proportions of college-aged and elderly residents were lower, at 11% and 9% respectively.[8]:2
As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 7 was $35,355.[11] In 2018, an estimated 26% of Bedford Park and Norwood residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in seven residents (14%) were unemployed, compared to 13% in the Bronx and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 61% in Bedford Park and Norwood, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Bedford Park and Norwood are considered low-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.[8]:7
Culture
Bedford Park is home to people of many ethnicities including Korean, Indians, and Bangladeshis.[3] Reflecting a population greatly composed of foreign-born immigrants, there are distinct ethnic enclaves in Bedford Park.
Bedford Park's ethnic diversity manifests itself in an assortment of ways besides the formation of enclaves. Among the national symbols one may see strolling the neighborhood include the double-headed eagle (the emblem of Albania), the icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe (sacred to Catholic Mexicans), the shamrock of Ireland, the Arabic calligraphy of the shahadah (the Muslim profession of faith), or the coquí of Puerto Rico. A vast assortment of newspapers are sold in local convenience stores, including The Irish Echo, Albanian-language Bota Sot of Kosovo, and the Spanish-language local newspapers El Diario/La Prensa, and El Hoy.
Land use and terrain
Bedford Park is dominated by 5- or 6-story apartment buildings and three-story Victorian houses. The apartments on the Grand Concourse are often taller. Tracey Towers are two 41-story subsidized apartment buildings built close to the Jerome Park Reservoir. Designed by noted architect Paul Rudolph, they were completed in 1972 as a part of New York City's Mitchell Lama housing development initiative. The total land area is a little less than half a square mile.
NYPD 52nd Precinct building at 3016 Webster Avenue
Bedford Park is patrolled by the 52nd Precinct of the NYPD, located at 3016 Webster Avenue.[15] The 52nd Precinct ranked 49th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.[16]As of 2018[update], with a non-fatal assault rate of 97 per 100,000 people, Bedford Park's rate of violent crimes per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 583 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole.[8]:8
The 52nd Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 76.1% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 14 murders, 37 rapes, 410 robberies, 598 felony assaults, 192 burglaries, 666 grand larcenies, and 254 grand larcenies auto in 2022.[17]
As of 2018[update], preterm births are less common in Bedford Park and Norwood than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are more common. In Bedford Park and Norwood, there were 85 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 30.3 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[8]:11 Bedford Park and Norwood has a relatively average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 16%, higher than the citywide rate of 12%.[8]:14
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Bedford Park and Norwood is 0.0078 milligrams per cubic metre (7.8×10−9oz/cuft), more than the city average.[8]:9 Twelve percent of Bedford Park and Norwood residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.[8]:13 In Bedford Park and Norwood, 33% of residents are obese, 19% are diabetic, and 35% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.[8]:16 In addition, 25% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[8]:12
Eighty-four percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 67% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%.[8]:13 For every supermarket in Bedford Park and Norwood, there are 18 bodegas.[8]:10
Bedford Park is divided into two ZIP Codes. The area west of Grand Concourse is located within 10468, while the area east of Grand Concourse is in 10458.[21] The United States Postal Service operates two post offices near Bedford Park: the Botanical Station at 2963 Webster Avenue[22] and the Van Cott Station at 3102 Decatur Avenue.[23]
Education
New York Public Library, Mosholu branch
Bedford Park and Norwood generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update]. While 23% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 32% have less than a high school education and 45% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 26% of Bronx residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.[8]:6 The percentage of Bedford Park and Norwood students excelling in math rose from 21% in 2000 to 48% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 28% to 33% during the same time period.[24]
Bedford Park and Norwood's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City. In Bedford Park and Norwood, 28% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, higher than the citywide average of 20%.[9]:24 (PDF p. 55)[8]:6 Additionally, 70% of high school students in Bedford Park and Norwood graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.[8]:6
Schools
Ursuline Convent
In the 1930s, unclaimed land near the Jerome Park Reservoir offered opportunities for New Deal-related construction to alleviate unemployment from the Great Depression. Therefore, Bedford Park is home to a group of schools and a college located along the Jerome Park Reservoir, known as "Educational Mile". There are three high schools there (Walton, DeWitt Clinton, and Bronx Science), along with two elementary schools and Lehman College, formerly the Bronx Campus of Hunter College. After the end of World War II, in 1946 Hunter College's Bronx Campus served briefly as host of the United Nations. Currently, two of the nine specialized high schools in New York City are in the Bedford Park area, which includes Bronx High School of Science and the High School of American Studies at Lehman College. There was also a small private high school, Bedford Park Academy (founded in 1932, sold to Grace Lutheran Church in 1981), and a private Lutheran elementary school, Grace Lutheran School, which closed in 2006.[25][26]
The Convent of Mount St. Ursula is located on Bedford Park Boulevard and Bainbridge Avenue.[27] It was established by a group of Roman Catholic nuns from the Ursuline order in 1892. The Academy of Mount St. Ursula High School, an all-girls prep-school, is located there today; the order is also associated with the St Philip Neri Elementary School. It recently celebrated its 150th anniversary with the class of 2005. The academy is now the oldest, all female Catholic school in New York state.
One of the most notable places in the neighborhood is Lehman College, which was originally Hunter College's uptown campus.[28] The Works Progress Administration built the original four buildings of the campus in grey stone in the Collegiate Gothic style, with finials, turrets, and other decorative features. Additional buildings, including the Lehman Library and Center for the Performing Arts, were added in the style of modern architecture. The newest building, the APEX, has facilities for athletics and dance. The scenic campus, which spans into Kingsbridge, has been used as a shooting location for episodes of the television series Law & Order and its spin-offs.
Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates the Mosholu branch at 285 East 205th Street, next to Whalen Park. The branch opened in 1955 and contains two floors: a ground floor and a basement. The library hosts several programs, such as ESL for Non-English Speaking Adults and kids programs. The library contains a well stocked children area and brightly lit adult reading area.[29]
Religion
Church of St. Philip NeriBedford Park Presbyterian Church
Among Bedford Park's oldest buildings are its churches and other religious institutions. The oldest church in the area, Bedford Park Congregational Church at the corner of Bainbridge Avenue and East 201st Street, dates to 1882. Its American Queen Anne-style design hints at Bedford Park's origin as a small rural community. It was designated a City Landmark in 2000. (New York City Landmarks Commission 2005)
On the Grand Concourse lies the Roman Catholic Church of St. Philip Neri (Bronx, New York). The church was dedicated to the Italian saint due to its origin as a church for immigrant Italian laborers, who also worked on the construction of the Jerome Park Reservoir. The cornerstone of the church (dated 1899) was in fact quarried from what became Jerome Park Reservoir, and brought there by a horse-drawn carriage. (Greene 2002) When built and for many years thereafter, this parish served an Italian and Irish congregation. On June 13, 1997, the church suffered a massive fire, and was given major renovation into the mid-2000s.
The most notable roads in the area include Jerome Avenue, Grand Concourse, Bedford Park Boulevard, Sedgwick Avenue, and Mosholu Parkway.
Mosholu Parkway is a part limited access, part surface highway that is the main east-west arterial through the neighborhood, and acts as the northern border of Bedford Park. The limited access section ends at an intersection with Gun Hill Road and Goulden Avenue on the border between Bedford Park and Van Cortlandt Park.
Jerome Avenue is one of two main north-south arterials through Bedford Park. The Jerome Avenue elevated (4train) runs above Jerome Avenue.
Grand Concourse is the other main north-south arterial through Bedford Park, and is the widest street in the neighborhood. The Concourse subway (BandDtrains) runs below Grand Concourse.
Bedford Park Boulevard, the road most commonly associated with the neighborhood thanks to its name, is the main business district in Bedford Park. While not a major road, it is still an east-west arterial that serves as a slower alternate to the Mosholu Parkway. It is also served by two of the three subway stations in the neighborhood.
Other smaller but still noteworthy streets in Bedford Park include Goulden Avenue, which runs north-south along the Jerome Reservoir; Gun Hill Road, a major street that clips the corner of the neighborhood; Webster Avenue, which is just over the border in Bronx Park; and 198th Street, which is just across the border in Kingsbridge.
Woodlawn Heights, also known as Woodlawn, is a predominantly Irish-American working class neighborhood at the very north end of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by McLean Avenue to the north, the Bronx River to the east, Woodlawn Cemetery to the south, and Van Cortlandt Park to the west. Woodlawn Heights remains one of the few areas in New York City that still has young Irish immigrants still arriving to the area en masse.
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 the east, Macombs Dam Bridge to the south, and the Harlem River to the west. Ogden Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Highbridge.
Fordham Manor is a neighborhood located in the western Bronx, New York City. Fordham is roughly bordered by East 196th Street to the north, the Harlem River to the west, Fordham Road to the south, and Southern Boulevard to the east. The neighborhood's primary thoroughfares are Fordham Road and Grand Concourse.
Kingsbridge is a residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx, New York City. Kingsbridge's boundaries are Manhattan College Parkway to the north, the Major Deegan Expressway or Bailey Avenue to the east, West 230th Street to the south, and Irwin Avenue to the west.
Tremont is a residential neighborhood in the West Bronx, New York City. Its boundaries are East 181st Street to the north, Third Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the south, and the Grand Concourse to the west. East Tremont Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Tremont.
Melrose is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It adjoins the business and one-time theater area known as The Hub. Melrose is rectangular-shaped, being bordered by Saint Anns Avenue on the east, 149th Street on the south, Park Avenue on the west, and 163rd Street to the north. Melrose Avenue and Third Avenue are the primary thoroughfares through Melrose.
Norwood, also known as Bainbridge, is a residential neighborhood in the northwest Bronx, New York City, U.S. It is bound by Van Cortlandt Park and Woodlawn Cemetery to the north, the Bronx River to the east, and Mosholu Parkway to the southwest. The area is dominated topographically by what was once Valentine's Hill, the highest point being near the intersection of 210th Street and Bainbridge Avenue, where Gun Hill Road intersects, and around the Montefiore Medical Center, the largest landowner and employer of the neighborhood. Norwood's main commercial arteries are Gun Hill Road, Jerome Avenue, Webster Avenue, and Bainbridge Avenue.
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 the Bronx, and also the only line in the Bronx with all stations underground.
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 of the Dual Contracts expansion and opened in 1917 and 1918. It is both elevated and underground, with 161st Street–Yankee Stadium being the southernmost elevated station. The line has three tracks from south of the Woodlawn station to the 138th Street–Grand Concourse station. The Woodlawn Line also has a connection to the Jerome Yard, where 4 trains are stored, just north of the Bedford Park Boulevard–Lehman College station.
East Tremont is a residential neighborhood located in the West Bronx, New York City. From the north and moving clockwise, it is bounded by East 180th Street, Southern Boulevard, the Cross-Bronx Expressway and Third Avenue. East Tremont Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through the neighborhood.
University Heights is a neighborhood of the West Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are: West Fordham Road 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.
Kingsbridge Heights is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the northwest Bronx, New York City. Its boundaries are Van Cortlandt Park to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, Kingsbridge Road to the south, and the Major Deegan Expressway to the west. Sedgwick Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Kingsbridge Heights.
Morris Heights is a residential neighborhood located in the West Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the south, and the Harlem River to the west. University Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Morris Heights.
Mosholu Parkway is a 3.03-mile-long (4.88 km) parkway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City, constructed from 1935 to 1937 as part of the roadway network created under Robert Moses. The roadway extends between the New York Botanical Garden and Van Cortlandt Park. The New York City Department of Transportation is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the roadway while the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for the surrounding rights-of-way. The parkway is designated as New York State Route 908F (NY 908F), an unsigned reference route, by the New York State Department of Transportation.
Van Cortlandt Village is a subsection of the Kingsbridge neighborhood in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 8. Named after Van Cortlandt Park, it is bordered by the Major Deegan Expressway to the west, the Jerome Park Reservoir to the east, West 238th Street to the south, and Van Cortlandt Park to the north. Its ZIP Code is 10463.
The West Bronx is a region in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The region lies west of the Bronx River and roughly corresponds to the western half of the borough.
The Bx1 and Bx2 are two bus routes that run on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, New York City. The routes, which are operated by the MTA Regional Bus Operations, also follow Sedgwick Avenue and Mosholu Parkway for a short distance at their northern end. As the numbers suggest, these were the first two bus routes in the Bronx.
Jerome Avenue is one of the longest thoroughfares in the New York City borough of the Bronx, New York, United States. The road is 5.6 miles (9.0 km) long and stretches from Concourse to Woodlawn. Both of these termini are with the Major Deegan Expressway which runs parallel to the west. Most of the elevated IRT Jerome Avenue Line runs along Jerome Avenue. The Cross Bronx Expressway interchanges with Jerome and the Deegan. Though it runs through what is now the West Bronx neighborhood, Jerome Avenue is the dividing avenue between nominal and some named "West" and "East" streets in the Bronx; Fifth Avenue, and to a lesser extent, Broadway, also splits Manhattan into nominal "West" and "East" streets.
Concourse is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx which includes the Bronx County Courthouse, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Yankee Stadium. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are East 169th Street to the north, Webster Avenue to the east, East 149th Street to the south, and Jerome Avenue and Harlem River to the west. The neighborhood is divided into three subsections: West Concourse, East Concourse, and Concourse Village with the Grand Concourse being its main thoroughfare.
The Bx28 and Bx38 constitute a public transit line in The Bronx. These routes primarily run on Gun Hill Road between the northern part of West Bronx and Co-op City.
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