Kingsbridge, Bronx

Kingsbridge
Neighborhood of The Bronx
Looking west across Kingsbridge Avenue at Episcopal Church of the Mediator Looking west across Kingsbridge Avenue at Episcopal Church of the Mediator
Kingsbridge Location in New York City
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Bronx
Area
• Total	0.80 km2 (0.310 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	10,669
• Density	13,000/km2 (34,000/sq mi)
Economics
• Median income	$53,875
ZIP codes	10463
Area code	718, 347, 646

Kingsbridge is a working- and middle-class residential neighborhood geographically located in the northwest portion of The Bronx in New York City. Kingsbridge is actually made up of three distinct neighborhoods: Kingsbridge proper, Kingsbridge Heights, and Van Cortlandt Village. The neighborhood is considered a part of Bronx Community Board 8, and is sometimes considered a sub-section of Riverdale, since it shares the same zip code 10463 with Riverdale. Kingsbridge proper's ill-defined boundaries are Van Cortlandt Park to the north, Bailey Avenue to the east, West 230st Street to the south, and Broadway to the west. Kingsbridge is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 50th Precinct.

Land use and terrain

Kingsbridge has detached, semi detached, and attached homes, and Broadway has apartment buildings where many Dominicans reside. Streets connecting Riverdale and Kingsbridge include "step streets", with stairways of as many as 160 steps climbing the slope. Some jokingly refer to Riverdale as the "rich uncle" of Kingsbridge which has its origins during the Irish period. The neighborhood is also part of a business improvement district that is home to 200 merchants, which is one of the largest retail shopping districts in the Bronx. River Plaza Shopping Center is located nearby (in Marble Hill, Manhattan) but it is not part of the business improvement district. During the past several years there have been significant improvements in the infrastructure of the community. For example, the parks have been improved significantly and there are new elementary schools on 230th Street.

History

File:50 Pct NYPD KB Av 236 jeh.jpg

50th Precinct

The neighborhood is named for The King's Bridge, erected in 1693 by Frederick Philipse, a local Lord loyal to the British Monarch. The bridge spanned the a now-filled-in section of Spuyten Duyvil Creek, roughly south-parallel with today's 230th Street. The King's Bridge was part of Boston Post Road, connecting southern Westchester County (which became The Bronx) with Marble Hill, once part of the Manhattan island, but still today part of the Manhattan borough. The bridge is said to still be in place, having been buried when the creek bed was filled in. The creek water flow was redirected to the new and deeper shipping canal, south of Marble Hill.

Until the latter part of the 19th century Riverdale, Kingsbridge, and other areas now in the northwest Bronx were part of the Town of Yonkers. The areas that are inside the modern-day New York city line broke off to form the Town of Kingsbridge. In 1874, the City of New York annexed three towns that later became the western half of The Bronx, including the Town of Kingsbridge. As the trains to Manhattan were built in the 20th century, a stop in the northwest Bronx along the Hudson River called Riverdale-on-Hudson, now Riverdale, was created. This gave rise to the Riverdale neighborhood. The remainder of the old Town of Kingsbridge developed into the modern-day Kingsbridge neighborhood.

St John's Roman Catholic Church

Kingsbridge has a population of over 10,000. It was once a neighborhood of predominately Irish immigrants. From the late 1970s the Irish population has decreased significantly, being replaced by large numbers of African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Albanians, and Greeks. The largest Hispanic group in Kingsbridge today are Dominicans, replacing the earlier Puerto Ricans and Cubans, who were the first Hispanics to settle in the neighborhood in the 1970s. There still is a strong Irish population centered on Bailey Avenue and Tibbett Avenue. The Dominicans predominantly live along Broadway and adjacent side streets, with a predominantly mixed ethnic area east and west of Broadway.

The Irish legacy can still be seen in the Roman Catholic churches and schools that serve the current residents, such as the St. John's Roman Catholic Church on Kingsbridge Avenue near 231st Street, and its two schools; the elementary school on Godwin Terrace (just south of 231st Street), and the junior high school on Kingsbridge Avenue just a block north of 231st Street. In northern Kingsbridge the Visitation Roman Catholic Church and School is located on West 239th street. To the east, on Sedgwick Avenue is Our Lady of Angels Church and School. For recreation Gaelic Park, (now operated by Manhattan College), is located on 240th Street & Broadway and is the venue for a variety of sports including Gaelic football and hurling. The neighborhood is also home to Manhattan College.

The area is patrolled by the 50th Precinct located at 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue. NYCHA property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx.

Kingsbridge was home to the 77-year-old Stella D'Oro factory, which was relocated to Ashland, Ohio when Stella D'Oro was sold to Lance after labor unrest in 2009.

Education

• P.S. 007 Kingsbridge
• P.S. 207
• Riverdale / Kingsbridge Academy (Middle School / High School 141)
• P.S.86

Transportation

• Bx1: to Third Avenue – 138th Street station (via Grand Concourse)
• Bx7: to College of Mount Saint Vincent or 168th Street station (via Broadway)
• Bx9: to Riverdale or West Farms Square – East Tremont Avenue station (via Kingsbridge Road)
• Bx10: to College of Mount Saint Vincent or Norwood – 205th Street station (via Riverdale Avenue)
• Bx20: to Riverdale or Inwood – 207th Street station (via Henry Hudson Parkway)
• BxM1: express to Riverdale or Midtown Manhattan (via 5th Av)
• BxM2: express to Penn Station (via West Side)
• BxM18: express to Lower Manhattan
• 231st Street station (1 train)
• 238th Street station (1 train)

See also

• John F. Kennedy High School (Bronx, New York)
• Walton High School (New York City)
• Episcopal Church of the Mediator (Bronx, New York)

External links

• The Riverdale Press