The Bronx

"Bronx" redirects here. For other uses, see Bronx (disambiguation).

The Bronx
Bronx County, New York
Borough and county
Co-op City, as seen from the east, sits along the Hutchinson River.
Co-op City, as seen from the east, sits along the Hutchinson River.
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Bronx Zoo
Bronx Zoo
Bronx Museum of the Arts
Bronx Museum of the Arts
The Hub - East 149th Street, The Bronx
The Hub
Flag of The Bronx
Flag
Official seal of The Bronx
Seal
Nickname(s): 
BX, The Boogie Down
Motto(s): 
Ne cede malis – "Yield Not to Evil"
(lit. "Yield Not to Evil Things")
Map
Interactive map outlining the Bronx
The Bronx is located in New York City
The Bronx
The Bronx
Location within New York City
The Bronx is located in New York
The Bronx
The Bronx
Location in the State of New York
The Bronx is located in the United States
The Bronx
The Bronx
Location in the United States
The Bronx is located in Earth
The Bronx
The Bronx
Location on Earth
Coordinates: 40°50′14″N 73°53′10″W / 40.83722°N 73.88611°W / 40.83722; -73.88611
Country United States
State New York
CountyBronx (coterminous)
CityNew York
Settled1639; 385 years ago (1639)
Named forJonas Bronck
Government
 • TypeBorough of New York City
 • Borough PresidentVanessa Gibson (D)
– (Borough of the Bronx)
 • District AttorneyDarcel Clark (D)
– (Bronx County)
Area
 • Total
57 sq mi (150 km2)
 • Land42.2 sq mi (109 km2)
 • Water15 sq mi (40 km2)  27%
Highest elevation
280 ft (90 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
1,472,654[1]
 • Density34,918/sq mi (13,482/km2)
 • Demonym
Bronxite[2]
GDP
[3]
 • TotalUS$43.675 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
ZIP Code prefix
104
Area codes718/347/929, 917
Websitebronxboropres.nyc.gov Edit this at Wikidata

The Bronx (/brɒŋks/ BRONKS) is the northernmost borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York City borough of Queens, across the East River. The Bronx, the only New York City borough not primarily located on an island, has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km2) and a population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census.[1] Of the five boroughs, it has the fourth-largest area, fourth-highest population, and third-highest population density.[4]

The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a hillier section in the west, and a flatter eastern section. East and west street names are divided by Jerome Avenue. The West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895.[5] Bronx County was separated from New York County (modern-day Manhattan) in 1914.[6] About a quarter of the Bronx's area is open space,[7] including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo in the borough's north and center. The Thain Family Forest at the New York Botanical Garden is thousands of years old and is New York City's largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered the city.[8] These open spaces are primarily on land reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north and east from Manhattan.

The word "Bronx" originated with Swedish-born (or Faroese-born) Jonas Bronck, who established the first European settlement in the area as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639.[9][10][11] European settlers displaced the native Lenape after 1643. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bronx received many immigrant and migrant groups as it was transformed into an urban community, first from European countries particularly Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe, and later from the Caribbean region (particularly Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Haiti, Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic), and immigrants from West Africa (particularly from Ghana and Nigeria), African American migrants from the Southern United States, Nicaraguans,Panamanians, Hondurans, and South Asians.[12]

The Bronx contains the poorest congressional district in the United States, New York's 15th. The borough also features upper- and middle-income neighborhoods, such as Riverdale, Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil, Schuylerville, Pelham Bay, Pelham Gardens, Morris Park, and Country Club.[13][14][15] Parts of the Bronx saw a steep decline in population, livable housing, and quality of life starting from the mid-to-late 1960s, continuing throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, ultimately culminating in a wave of arson in the late 1970s, a period when hip hop music evolved.[16] The South Bronx, in particular, experienced severe urban decay. The borough began experiencing new population growth starting in the late 1990s and continuing to the present day.[17]

  1. ^ a b "2020 Census Demographic Data Map Viewer". US Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  2. ^ Moynihan, Colin. "F.Y.I.", The New York Times, September 19, 1999. Accessed December 17, 2019. "There are well-known names for inhabitants of four boroughs: Manhattanites, Brooklynites, Bronxites and Staten Islanders. But what are residents of Queens called?"
  3. ^ "Gross Domestic Product by County and Metropolitan Area, 2022" (PDF). Bureau of Economic Analysis.
  4. ^ New York State Department of Health, Population, Land Area, and Population Density by County, New York State – 2010, retrieved on August 8, 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ultan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ 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 center 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."
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference blooming was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Conde, Ed García (July 31, 2017). "12 Bronx Facts You Probably Didn't Know". Welcome2TheBronx™. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Wylie, Jonathon (1987). The Faroe Islands: Interpretations of History. University of Kentucky Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-8131-1578-8. Jónas Bronck (or Brunck) was the son of Morten Jespersen Bronck ... Jónas seems to have gone to school in Roskilde in 1619, but found his way to Holland where he joined an expedition to Amsterdam.
  10. ^ * "Jonas Bronx". Bronx Notables. Bronx Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
    • van Laer, A.J.F. (October 1916). "Scandinavian Immigrants in New York, 1630–1674". The American Historical Review. 22 (1). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the American Historical Association: 164–166. doi:10.1086/ahr/22.1.164. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 1836219. ... Jonas Bronck was a Dane ...
    • Burrows, Edwin G.; Wallace, Mike (Michael L.) (1999). Gotham, A History of New York City to 1898. Vol. 1. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 30–37. ISBN 0-19-511634-8. ... many of these colonists, perhaps as many as half of them, represented the same broad mixture of nationalities as New Amsterdam itself. Among them were Swedes, Germans, French, Belgians, Africans, and Danes (such as a certain Jonas Bronck)...
  11. ^ Van Rensselaer, Mariana Griswold (1909). History of the city of New York in the seventeenth century. Vol. 1. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 161. OCLC 649654938.
  12. ^ Braver (1998)
  13. ^ "datatables". www.frac.org. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  14. ^ The Almanac of American Politics 2008, edited by Michael Barone with Richard E. Cohen and Grant Ujifusa, National Journal Group, Washington, D.C., 2008 ISBN 978-0-89234-117-7 (paperback) or ISBN 978-0-89234-116-0 (hardback), chapter on New York state
  15. ^ U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003, Section 31, Table 1384. Congressional District Profiles – 108th Congress: 2000
  16. ^ Ruth Blatt (April 10, 2014). "Why Rap Creates Entrepreneurs". Forbes. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  17. ^ See the "Historical Populations" table in History above and its sources.