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100-487: Water Tunnel No. 3 is the largest capital construction project in New York City history. Construction began in 1970. Portions of the tunnel were placed into service in 1998 and 2013 and the remaining sections are expected to be complete by 2032. The complete tunnel will be more than 60 miles (97 km) long, travel 500 feet (150 m) below street level in sections, and will cost over $ 6 billion. The project

200-561: A 12-year-old boy, Don-re Carroll, who fell 500 feet (150 m) to his death down a riser shaft while exploring uncapped water pipes in the Bronx . No deaths have occurred since 1997. In 2002, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg made completion of the tunnel a priority, and set a goal date of 2021. Commissioner Christopher O. Ward helped move this project along for the Mayor. A New York Times report in 2016 stated that mayor Bill de Blasio

300-526: A boom period during 1900–1929, with a population growth by a factor of six from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.3 million in 1930. The Great Depression and post World War II years saw a slowing of growth leading into an eventual decline. The mid to late century were hard times, as the Bronx changed during 1950–1985 from a predominantly moderate-income to a predominantly lower-income area with high rates of violent crime and poverty in some areas. The Bronx has experienced an economic and developmental resurgence starting in

400-475: A capacity of 300 million gallons per day. The New Croton Dam was added in 1906. The Old Croton Aqueduct continued supplying water to the city until 1955 and closed in 1965. In 1905, the city's newly established Board of Water Supply launched the Catskill Aqueduct project, which would play an additional role in supplying the city's ever-growing population of residents and visitors. Construction of

500-441: A considerable danger of causing epidemics. In April 1831, a new water supply and distribution system opened, for fighting fires. It included a well and cistern on 13th Street between Bowery (today 4th Avenue) and Third Avenue, which was then at the northern fringes of the city. The well was immense—16 feet across and 112 feet deep—blasted largely through rock, resulting in a quarry of over 175,000 gallons of water. A steam engine had

600-799: A free bridge across the Harlem River. After the American Revolutionary War , the King's Bridge toll was abolished. 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 in Yonkers , Eastchester , and Pelham . In 1846,

700-558: A mostly poor African American and Hispanic (largely Puerto Rican ) population in the West Bronx. One significant factor that shifted the racial and economic demographics was the construction of Co-op City , built to house middle-class residents in family-sized apartments. The high-rise complex played a significant role in draining middle-class residents from older tenement buildings in the borough's southern and western fringes. Most predominantly non-Hispanic White communities today are in

800-426: A new town was created by division of Westchester, called West Farms. The town of Morrisania was created, in turn, from West Farms in 1855. In 1873, the town of Kingsbridge was established within the former borders of the town of Yonkers, roughly corresponding to the modern Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Riverdale , and Woodlawn Heights , and included Woodlawn Cemetery . Among the famous people who settled in

900-407: A place for "the vicious elements, bootleggers, gamblers and their friends in all walks of life" to cooperate and to "evade the law, escape punishment for their crimes, [and] to deter the police from doing their duty". Between 1930 and 1960, moderate and upper income Bronxites (predominantly non-Hispanic Whites) began to relocate from the borough's southwestern neighborhoods. This migration has left

1000-462: A population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census . Of the five boroughs, it has the fourth-largest area, fourth-highest population, and third-highest population density . 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

1100-807: A promontory on the Hudson in Riverdale . Nearer the borough's center, and along the Bronx River , is Bronx Park ; its northern end houses the New York Botanical Gardens , which preserve the last patch of the original hemlock forest that once covered the county, and its southern end the Bronx Zoo , the largest urban zoological gardens in the United States. In 1904 the Chestnut Blight pathogen ( Cryphonectria parasitica )

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1200-515: A storage capacity of 550 billion US gal (2.1 billion m ) and provides over 1.2 billion US gal (4.5 million m ) per day of drinking water to more than eight million city residents, and another one million users in four upstate counties bordering on the system. Three separate sub-systems, each consisting of aqueducts and reservoirs, bring water from Upstate New York to New York City: The latter two aqueducts provide 90% of New York City's drinking water, and

1300-485: A system of major Bronx parks connected by park-like thoroughfares is usually attributed to John Mullaly . Woodlawn Cemetery , located on 400 acres (160 ha) and one of the largest cemeteries in New York City, sits on the western bank of the Bronx River near Yonkers . It opened in 1863, in what was then the town of Yonkers, at the time a rural area. Since the first burial in 1865, more than 300,000 people have been interred there. The borough's northern side includes

1400-424: A workforce of over 7,000 employees. It includes three bureaus in charge of, respectively, the upstate water supply system, New York City's water and sewer operations, and wastewater treatment : The NYW finances the capital needs of the water and sewer system of the city through the issuance of bonds , commercial paper , and other debt instruments. It is a public-benefit corporation created in 1985 pursuant to

1500-468: Is 560 feet (170 m) long and 24 feet (7.3 m) in diameter and is currently in operation. Additional, though smaller, valve chambers are in use under Central Park at 79th Street, under Roosevelt Island, and in Jackson Heights. Since 1970, when construction on the tunnel began, twenty-four people have died in construction-related accidents. The deaths have included twenty-three workers and

1600-517: Is New York City's largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered the city. 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. European settlers displaced

1700-700: Is a concrete-lined tunnel that is 24 feet (7.3 m) in diameter and reduces to 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter before connecting to 14 vertical shafts. Stage Two was built using tunnel boring machines and comprises two sections. The Brooklyn and Queens section runs 10 miles (16 km) and begins in Red Hook, Brooklyn , where it connects to the Richmond Tunnel for Staten Island . It passes through Park Slope , Bedford-Stuyvesant , and Bushwick before reaching Maspeth, Queens . From Maspeth it runs through Woodside and Astoria , where it connects to

1800-409: Is based on the Bronx River , while the other strictly separates South Bronx from the rest of the borough. The Bronx River divides the borough nearly in half, putting the earlier-settled, more urban, and hillier sections in the western lobe and the newer, more suburban coastal sections in the eastern lobe. It is an accurate reflection on the Bronx's history considering that the towns that existed in

1900-601: 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. The King's Bridge, built in 1693 where Broadway reached the Spuyten Duyvil Creek , was a possession of Frederick Philipse , lord of Philipse Manor . Local farmers on both sides of the creek resented the tolls, and in 1759, Jacobus Dyckman and Benjamin Palmer led them in building

2000-691: Is land and 15 square miles (39 km ) (27%) is water. The Bronx is New York City's northernmost borough, New York State's southernmost mainland county and the only part of New York City that is almost entirely on the North American mainland, unlike the other four boroughs that are either islands or located on islands. The bedrock of the West Bronx is primarily Fordham gneiss , a high-grade heavily banded metamorphic rock containing significant amounts of pink feldspar . Marble Hill – politically part of Manhattan but now physically attached to

2100-413: Is made up of an extensive grid of water mains stretching approximately 6,800 miles (10,900 km). As of 2015 , it costs the city $ 140 million to maintain these mains. There are 965 water sampling stations in New York City. The water-sampling system has been in use since 1997. They consist of small cast-iron boxes with spigots inside them, raised 4.5 feet (1.4 m) above the ground. Scientists from

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2200-545: Is no time to let down one’s guard". The construction of Water Tunnel No. 3 is intended to provide the city with a critical third connection to its upstate supply system so that the city can, for the first time, close tunnels No. 1 and No. 2 for repair. The tunnel will eventually be more than 60 miles (97 km) long. Construction began in 1970 and portions of the tunnel opened in 1998 and 2013. The remaining sections are expected to be complete by 2032. The Bronx The Bronx ( / b r ɒ ŋ k s / BRONKS )

2300-738: Is now being referred to as a separate project, the "Kensico–City Tunnel". It will be 24 feet (7.3 m) in diameter, running from the Kensico Reservoir in Westchester to the Van Cortlandt Valve Chamber complex in the Bronx. Stage Four is a proposed tunnel that would start at the Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, pass through the eastern Bronx and then through Queens, where it would eventually meet

2400-407: Is stored first in the large Kensico Reservoir and subsequently in the much smaller Hillview Reservoir closer to the city. The water is monitored by robotic buoys that measure temperature as well as pH, nutrient, and microbial levels in the reservoirs. A computer system then analyzes the measurements and makes predictions for the water quality. In 2015, the buoys took 1.9 million measurements of

2500-566: 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 km ) and

2600-508: The Bedford Park neighborhood; the reservoir was built in the 1890s on the site of the former Jerome Park Racetrack . Further south is Crotona Park , home to a 3.3-acre (1.3 ha) lake, 28 species of trees, and a large swimming pool. The land for these parks, and many others, was bought by New York City in 1888, while land was still open and inexpensive, in anticipation of future needs and future pressures for development. Some of

2700-763: The Croton Aqueduct , was built during 1837 to 1842, from the Croton River in Westchester County , down to Manhattan, a distance of 41 miles (66 km). The aqueduct was supported by the Old Croton Dam . The Old Croton Aqueduct's capacity was around 90 million gallons per day. To meet the city's growing needs, the city started construction of the New Croton Aqueduct in 1885. The new aqueduct opened for operation in 1890 with

2800-595: The Hutchinson River (named after the religious leader Anne Hutchinson , killed along its banks in 1641), passes through the East Bronx and empties into Eastchester Bay . The Bronx also includes several small islands in the East River and Long Island Sound , such as City Island and Hart Island . Rikers Island in the East River, home to the large jail complex for the entire city, is also part of

2900-543: The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has purchased or protected, through conservation easement , over 130,000 acres (53,000 ha) since 1997. With all the care given, the city's water supply system is partially exempted from filtration requirements by both the federal and the state government, saving more than "$ 10 billion to build a massive filtration plant, and at least another $ 100 million annually on its operation". Moreover,

3000-514: The New York City Subway contributed to the increase in population as thousands of immigrants came to 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 , Polish , and other immigrants moved into the borough. As evidence of the change in population, by 1937, 592,185 Jews lived in

3100-479: The Southern United States , Nicaraguans , Panamanians , Hondurans , and South Asians . 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 . Parts of

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3200-465: The Spuyten Duyvil Creek ; Marble Hill's postal ZIP code , telephonic area codes and fire service, however, are shared with the Bronx and not Manhattan. The Bronx River flows south from Westchester County through the borough, emptying into the East River; it is the only entirely freshwater river in New York City. It separates the West Bronx from the schist of the East Bronx . A smaller river,

3300-470: The definite article as "the Bronx" or "The Bronx", both legally and colloquially. The "County of the Bronx" also takes "the" immediately before "Bronx" in formal references, like the coextensive "Borough of the Bronx". The United States Postal Service uses "Bronx, NY" for mailing addresses. The region was apparently named after the Bronx River and first appeared in the "Annexed District of The Bronx", created in 1874 out of part of Westchester County . It

3400-438: The 62nd and last county to be created by the state, effective in 1914. 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 ). Marble Hill, Manhattan , was now connected to the Bronx by filling in the former waterway, but it is not part of the borough or county. The history of the Bronx during the 20th century may be divided into four periods:

3500-488: The Bronx (43.9% of the borough's population), while only 54,000 Jews lived in the borough in 2011. Many synagogues still stand in the Bronx, but most have been converted to other uses. Bootleggers and gangs were active in the Bronx during Prohibition (1920–1933). Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Polish gangs smuggled in most of the illegal whiskey, and the oldest sections of the borough became poverty-stricken. Police Commissioner Richard Enright said that speakeasies provided

3600-557: The Bronx began in 1639. The Bronx was originally part of Westchester County , but it was ceded to New York County in two major parts ( West Bronx , 1874 and East Bronx , 1895) before it became Bronx County. Originally, the area was part of the Lenape 's Lenapehoking territory inhabited by Siwanoy of the Wappinger Confederacy. Over time, European colonists converted the borough into farmlands. The Bronx's development

3700-404: The Bronx during the 19th and early 20th centuries were author Willa Cather , tobacco merchant Pierre Lorillard , and inventor Jordan L. Mott , who established Mott Haven to house the workers at his iron works. 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;

3800-407: 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. The South Bronx , in particular, experienced severe urban decay . The borough began experiencing new population growth starting in

3900-701: The Bronx was designated an All America City by the National Civic League , acknowledging its comeback from the decline of the mid-century. 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." 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

4000-532: The Bronx – is so-called because of the formation of Inwood marble there as well as in Inwood, Manhattan , and parts of the Bronx and Westchester County. The Hudson River separates the Bronx on the west from Alpine , Tenafly and Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County, New Jersey ; the Harlem River separates it from the island of Manhattan to the southwest; the East River separates it from Queens to

4100-508: The Bronx's decline may have been the development of high-rise housing projects , particularly in the South Bronx . Yet another factor may have been a reduction in the real estate listings and property-related financial services offered in some areas of the Bronx, such as mortgage loans or insurance policies—a process known as redlining . Others have suggested a " planned shrinkage " of municipal services, such as fire-fighting. There

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4200-542: The Bronx-based organization Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx, arguing the definite article is part of the proper name. In particular, the Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx is leading efforts to make the city refer to the borough with an uppercase definite article in all uses, comparing the lowercase article in the Bronx's name to "not capitalizing the 's' in 'Staten Island ' ". European colonization of

4300-577: The Bronx. The Bronx's highest elevation at 280 feet (85 m) is in the northwest corner, west of Van Cortlandt Park and in the Chapel Farm area near the Riverdale Country School . The opposite (southeastern) side of the Bronx has four large low peninsulas or "necks" of low-lying land that jut into the waters of the East River and were once salt marsh : Hunt's Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck and Throggs Neck . Further up

4400-572: The Manhattan tunnel begins on the west side at approximately 34th Street , goes to the east side and then turns north under Second Avenue to about 59th Street . The tunnel itself was completed in 2008, and after the construction of seven riser shafts was completed, this section of the tunnel opened in 2013. Two additional riser shafts, each over 700 feet (210 m) deep, are under construction in Queens as of 2022. What used to be called Stage Three

4500-506: The Mayor, and one by the Governor. The New York City Water Board was established in 1905. It sets water and sewer rates for New York City sufficient to pay the costs of operating and financing the system, and collects user payments from customers for services provided by the water and wastewater utility systems of the City of New York. The five Board members are appointed to two-year terms by

4600-501: The New Croton Aqueduct and build a filtration plant . The plant includes a UV disinfection system. The city had been studying possible sites for such a plant for more than 20 years in both the Bronx and Westchester. From the Hillview reservoir water flows by gravity to three tunnels under New York City. Water rises again to the surface under natural pressure, through a number of shafts. The three tunnels are: The distribution system

4700-665: The New Croton Aqueduct. The 830-by-550-foot (250 by 170 m) plant, which is bigger than Yankee Stadium , is the city's first water filtration plant. The plant was built after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of New York filed suit against the city in 1997 for violating the Safe Drinking Water Act and the New York State Sanitary Code. The city government agreed to rehabilitate

4800-727: The New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority Act. The authority is administered by a seven-member Board of Directors. Four of the members are ex officio members: the Commissioner of Environmental Protection of the City, the Director of Management and Budget of the City, the Commissioner of Finance of the City, and the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation of the State . The remaining three members are public appointments: two by

4900-510: The South Bronx. The IRT White Plains Road Line ( 2 and ​ 5 trains) began to show an increase in riders. Chains such as Marshalls , Staples , and Target opened stores in the Bronx. More bank branches 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 other boroughs. In 1997,

5000-608: The Stage Two section. The largest valve chamber is in Van Cortlandt Park . It is built 250 feet (76 m) below the park surface. It controls the flow of water from the city's Catskill and Delaware systems. These systems provide 90 percent of the city's current drinking water. The Van Cortlandt Park Valve Chamber is 620 feet (190 m) long, 43 feet (13 m) wide and 41 feet (12 m) high. The complex has nine vertical shafts; and two manifolds . Each manifold

5100-798: The State of New York from using the Delaware River as a water source. New York won the case in May 1931 and construction of the Delaware Aqueduct began in March 1937. The aqueduct was completed in 1944. From 1950 to 1964, Rondout , Neversink , Pepacton and Cannonsville reservoirs were established successively to complete the Delaware System. The Delaware Aqueduct supports half of the whole city's water usage by supplying more than 500 million gallons of water daily. Responsibility for

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5200-553: The Third Avenue Bridge as people buy apartments and renovate them. Several boutique and chain hotels opened in the 2010s in the South Bronx . New developments are underway. The Bronx General Post Office on the corner of the Grand Concourse and East 149th Street is being converted into a market place, boutiques, restaurants and office space with a USPS concession. The Kingsbridge Armory , often cited as

5300-687: The acquired land was set aside for the Grand Concourse and Pelham Parkway , the first of a series of boulevards and parkways ( thoroughfares lined with trees, vegetation and greenery). Later projects included the Bronx River Parkway , which developed a road while restoring the riverbank and reducing pollution, Mosholu Parkway and the Henry Hudson Parkway . In 2006, a five-year, $ 220-million program of capital improvements and natural restoration in 70 Bronx parks

5400-705: The areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. Bronx County was separated from New York County (modern-day Manhattan) in 1914. About a quarter of the Bronx's area is open space, 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

5500-492: The borough's name is sometimes disputed. Generally, the definite article is lowercase in place names ("the Bronx") except in some official references. The definite article is capitalized ("The Bronx") at the beginning of a sentence or in any other situation when a normally lowercase word would be capitalized. However, some people and groups refer to the borough with a capital letter at all times, such as Bronx Borough Historian Lloyd Ultan , The Bronx County Historical Society , and

5600-404: The building they lived in so they could qualify for emergency relocations by city social service agencies to better residences, sometimes being relocated to other parts of the city. Out of 289 census tracts in the Bronx borough, 7 tracts lost more than 97% of their buildings to arson and abandonment between 1970 and 1980; another 44 tracts had more than 50% of their buildings meet the same fate. By

5700-481: The capacity to lift nearly half a million gallons a day. An octagonal iron tank, 43 feet in diameter and 20 feet high was installed atop a 27-foot-high stone tower. Mains under Broadway and the Bowery delivered the water to hydrants on Pearl, William, Hudson, and a dozen other major streets, in six-, ten-, and twelve-inch pipes, delivering water to a height of 60 feet above the highest streets. The city's first aqueduct,

5800-554: The city announced a plan for a major repair project for the aqueduct. In 2013 work began on a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) bypass tunnel under the Hudson River, the largest construction project in DEP's history. The tunnel construction completed in 2019 and the overall bypass project is expected to be complete in 2023. In 2018, the city announced a US$ 1 billion investment to protect the integrity of its municipal water system and to maintain

5900-577: The city in 1896. Following these two annexations, the Bronx's territory had moved from Westchester County into New York County, which already included Manhattan and the rest of pre-1874 New York City. On January 1, 1898, the consolidated City of New York was born, including the Bronx as one of the five distinct boroughs . However, it remained part of New York County until Bronx County was created in 1914. On April 19, 1912, those parts of New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County in previous decades were newly constituted as Bronx County,

6000-417: The city measure water from 50 stations every day. The samples are then tested for microorganisms, toxic chemicals, and other contaminants that could potentially harm users of the water supply system. In 2015, the DEP performed 383,000 tests on 31,700 water samples. Leaks were first discovered in the Delaware Aqueduct in 1988, with water losses up to 36 million US gallons (140,000 m ) per day. In 2010

6100-665: The city water supply is shared among three institutions: the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which operates and maintains the system and is responsible for investment planning; the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority (NYW), which raises debt financing in the market to underwrite the system's costs; and the Water Board, which sets rates and collects user payments. The DEP has

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6200-468: The city's water goes through the disinfection process, only 10% of the water is filtered. The Croton Water Filtration Plant was built to address constant turbidity problems that are specific to the Croton water supply system. The plant was completed in 2015 at a cost of over $ 3 billion. The facility was constructed 160 feet (49 m) under Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and filters water delivered by

6300-483: The city, its water supply system is one of the most extensive municipal water systems in the world. New York's water treatment process is simpler than most other American cities. This largely reflects how well protected its watersheds are. The city has sought to restrict development surrounding them. One of its largest watershed protection programs is the Land Acquisition Program, under which

6400-514: The coastline, Rodman's Neck lies between Pelham Bay Park in the northeast and City Island . The Bronx's irregular shoreline extends for 75 square miles (194 km ). Although Bronx County was the third most densely populated county in the United States in 2022 (after Manhattan and Brooklyn ), 7,000 acres (28 km ) of the Bronx—about one fifth of the Bronx's area, and one quarter of its land area—is given over to parkland. The vision of

6500-608: The construction of the two deep riser shafts in Brooklyn and Queens, the Tunnel No. 3 project will be completed in 2032. 40°53′38″N 73°53′24″W  /  40.894°N 73.890°W  / 40.894; -73.890 New York City Water Tunnel No. 1 A combination of aqueducts , reservoirs , and tunnels supplies fresh water to New York City . With three major water systems ( Croton , Catskill , and Delaware ) stretching up to 125 miles (201 km) away from

6600-412: The early 1980s, the Bronx was considered the most blighted urban area in the country, particularly the South Bronx which experienced a loss of 60% of the population and 40% of housing units. However, starting in the 1990s, many of the burned-out and run-down tenements were replaced by new housing units. In May 1984, New York Supreme Court justice Peter J. McQuillan ruled that Marble Hill, Manhattan ,

6700-497: The eastern and northwestern sections of the borough . From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, the quality of life changed for some Bronx residents. Historians and social scientists have suggested many factors, including the theory that Robert Moses ' Cross Bronx Expressway destroyed existing residential neighborhoods and created instant slums, as put forward in Robert Caro 's biography The Power Broker . Another factor in

6800-613: The end of the Stage One section. The Brooklyn section is 16 feet (4.9 m) in diameter, and the Queens section is 20 feet (6.1 m). The Manhattan section is 10 feet (3.0 m) in diameter and runs for 9 miles (14 km). It begins at a valve chamber in Central Park, runs south along the west side of Manhattan, and curves around the southern end of the island to come partway through the Lower East Side. A spur of

6900-497: The first reservoir was built on the East Side of Manhattan in 1776 after the population grew up to 22,000. Collect Pond , or "Fresh Water Pond", was a body of fresh water in what is now Chinatown in Lower Manhattan . For the first two centuries of European settlement in Manhattan, it was the main water supply system for the growing city. Later, the city was aware of its deteriorated water quality, owing to its rapid population growth (60,000 to 200,000 from 1800 to 1830), which had

7000-415: 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. In addition there came a revitalization of the existing housing market in areas such as Hunts Point, the Lower Concourse, and the neighborhoods surrounding

7100-404: The furthest away from the city, approximately 125 miles (201 km). The Board of Water Supply submitted a request to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment in 1927 to use the Delaware River as an additional water source for New York City. Even though the request was approved, the Delaware Aqueduct project was delayed due to a Supreme Court case filed by the State of New Jersey to prevent

7200-411: The largest armory in the world, is currently slated for redevelopment. Under consideration for future development is the construction of a platform over the New York City Subway 's Concourse Yard adjacent to Lehman College . The construction would permit approximately 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m ) of development and would cost US$ 350–500 million . Despite significant investment compared to

7300-546: The largest park in New York City— Pelham Bay Park , which includes Orchard Beach —and the third-largest, Van Cortlandt Park , which is west of Woodlawn Cemetery and borders Yonkers . Also in the northern Bronx, Wave Hill , the former estate of George W. Perkins —known for a historic house, gardens, changing site-specific art installations and concerts—overlooks the New Jersey Palisades from

7400-438: The late 1980s that continues into today. The Bronx was a mostly rural area for many generations, with small farms supplying the city markets. In the late 19th century, however, it grew into a railroad suburb. Faster transportation enabled rapid population growth in the late 19th century, involving the move from horse-drawn street cars to elevated railways and the subway system, which linked to Manhattan in 1904. The South Bronx

7500-650: The late 1990s and continuing to the present day. The Bronx was called Rananchqua by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape (also known historically as the Delawares ), while other Native Americans knew the Bronx as Keskeskeck . It was divided by the Aquahung River (now known in English as the Bronx River ). The Bronx was named after Jonas Bronck ( c.  1600–1643 ), a European settler whose precise origins are disputed. Documents indicate he

7600-569: The mainland immediately north of the Dutch settlement of New Haarlem (on Manhattan Island ), and bought additional tracts from the local tribes. He eventually accumulated 500 acres (200 ha) between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which became known as Bronck's River or the Bronx [River] . Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as Bronck's Land . The American poet William Bronk

7700-500: The mayor. New York City's water system consists of aqueducts, distribution pipes, reservoirs, and water tunnels that channel drinking water to residents and visitors. A comprehensive raised-relief map of the system is on display at the Queens Museum of Art . Until the early 21st century, some places in southeastern Queens received their water from local wells of the former Jamaica Water Supply Company. The water system has

7800-645: 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

7900-566: The official maps of the city. Since the late 1980s, significant development has occurred in the Bronx, first stimulated by the city's "Ten-Year Housing Plan" and community members working to rebuild the social, economic and environmental infrastructure by creating affordable housing . Groups affiliated with churches in the South Bronx erected the Nehemiah Homes with about 1,000 units. The grass roots organization Nos Quedamos' endeavor known as Melrose Commons began to rebuild areas in

8000-427: The post war period, many exacerbated social problems remain including high rates of violent crime, substance abuse, overcrowding, and substandard housing conditions. The Bronx has the highest rate of poverty in New York City, and the greater South Bronx is the poorest area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , Bronx County has a total area of 57 square miles (150 km ), of which 42 square miles (110 km )

8100-524: The purity of its unfiltered water supply. A significant portion of the investment will be used to prevent the turbidity that might be caused by climate change , including relocating the residents and cleaning up decaying plantations near the watersheds, and conducting flood-preventing research for infrastructures near the watersheds. According to Eric A. Goldstein, a senior lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council : "This

8200-457: The southeast; and to the east, Long Island Sound separates it from Nassau County in western Long Island. Directly north of the Bronx are (from west to east) the adjoining Westchester County communities of Yonkers , Mount Vernon , Pelham Manor and New Rochelle . There is also a short southern land boundary with Marble Hill in the Borough of Manhattan, over the filled-in former course of

8300-490: The special topography the waterways run on allows 95% of the system's water to be supplied by gravity. The percentage of pumped water does change when the water level in the reservoirs is out of the normal range. Until the eighteenth century, New York City solely depended on primitive means, such as wells and rainwater reservoirs to collect water for daily use. The first public well was dug in Bowling Green in 1677, and

8400-523: The system began in 1907. Portions of the Catskill system began operation in 1916, and the overall system of dams, reservoirs and tunnels was complete by 1924. The Schoharie Reservoir was added to the system and began operation in 1926. The Catskill system has an operational capacity of approximately 850 million gallons per day. Within the city's overall water system, the Catskill Aqueduct is

8500-457: The three towns were soon abolished in the process. The whole territory east of the Bronx River was annexed to the city in 1895, three years before New York's consolidation with Brooklyn , Queens , and Staten Island . This included the Town of Westchester (which had voted against consolidation in 1894) and parts of Eastchester and Pelham. The nautical community of City Island voted to join

8600-707: The water in the reservoirs. The water in the Kensico Reservoir flows to the Catskill-Delaware Water Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility , located in Westchester County. Although the city water system uses chlorination as a basic disinfection technology, the ultraviolet disinfection (UV) facility was built to control microorganisms such as giardia and cryptosporidium which are resistant to chlorine treatment. Ultraviolet treatment

8700-503: The watershed for these aqueducts extends a combined 1 million acres (400,000 ha). Two-fifths of the watershed is owned by the New York City, state, or local governments, or by private conservancies. The rest of the watershed is private property that is closely monitored for pollutants; development upon this land is restricted. The DEP has purchased or protected over 130,000 acres (53,000 ha) of private land since 1997 through its Land Acquisition Program. Water from both aqueducts

8800-598: Was a Swedish-born immigrant from Komstad, Norra Ljunga parish in Småland , Sweden, who arrived in New Netherland during the spring of 1639. Bronck became the first recorded European settler in the present-day Bronx and built a farm named "Emmaus" close to what today is the corner of Willis Avenue and 132nd Street in Mott Haven . He leased land from the Dutch West India Company on the neck of

8900-526: Was a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Bronck's son or his younger brother, but most probably a nephew or cousin, as there was an age difference of 16 years. Much work on the Swedish claim has been undertaken by Brian G. Andersson, former Commissioner of New York City's Department of Records, who helped organize a 375th Anniversary celebration in Bronck's hometown in 2014. The Bronx is referred to with

9000-416: Was a manufacturing center for many years and was noted as a center of piano manufacturing in the early part of the 20th century. In 1919, the Bronx was the site of 63 piano factories employing more than 5,000 workers. At the end of World War I , the Bronx hosted the rather small 1918 World's Fair at 177th Street and DeVoe Avenue. The Bronx underwent rapid urban growth after World War I. Extensions of

9100-411: 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. In the 1970s, parts of the Bronx were plagued by a wave of arson. The burning of buildings was predominantly in the poorest communities, such as the South Bronx. One explanation of this event

9200-420: Was authorized in 1954 and imagined as "the greatest nondefense construction project in the history of Western Civilization". The city determined that it needed a third water tunnel so that Tunnels 1 and 2 could be closed for inspection and repairs. Stage One construction of Tunnel 3 began in 1970 and completed in 1993. This portion was put into service in 1998 and cost about $ 1 billion. This first section

9300-485: Was begun (financed by water and sewer revenues) as part of an agreement that allowed a water filtration plant under Mosholu Golf Course in Van Cortlandt Park. One major focus is on opening more of the Bronx River 's banks and restoring them to a natural state. The Bronx adjoins: There are two primary systems for dividing the Bronx into regions, which do not necessarily agree with one another. One system

9400-461: Was bored through bedrock between 250 and 800 feet (76 and 244 m) underground, using drilling and blasting techniques. Section one is 13 miles (21 km) long and starts at Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, New York then crosses under Central Park in Manhattan , to reach Fifth Avenue at 78th Street. From there it runs under the East River and Roosevelt Island into Astoria, Queens . It

9500-478: Was continued in the "Borough of The Bronx", created in 1898, which included a larger annexation from Westchester County in 1895. The use of the definite article is attributed to the style of referring to rivers. A time-worn story purportedly explaining the use of the definite article in the borough's name says it stems from the phrase "visiting the Broncks", referring to the settler's family. The capitalization of

9600-546: Was found for the first time outside of Asia , here, at the Bronx Zoo. Over the next 40 years it spread throughout eastern North America and killed back essentially every American Chestnut ( Castanea dentata ), causing ecological and economic devastation. Just south of Van Cortlandt Park is the Jerome Park Reservoir , surrounded by 2 miles (3 km) of stone walls and bordering several small parks in

9700-540: Was postponing completion of the project indefinitely, but he subsequently stated that this was a miscommunication between his press office and the Times , and that the completion date was actually being pushed up to 2020. In 2017 De Blasio authorized city expenditures of $ 300 million for Tunnel No. 3, with an expected project completion date of 2025. Work on the final shafts for the tunnel began in 2021. In September 2022 NYCDEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala stated that following

9800-456: Was seen as the least risky way to control such microorganisms and avoid higher levels of chlorination, which can lead to unintended health effects. The UV facility opened on October 8, 2013, and was built at a cost of $ 1.6 billion. The compound is the largest ultraviolet germicidal irradiation plant in the world; it contains 56 UV reactors designed to treat up to 2.2 billion US gal (8.3 billion L) per day. While all of

9900-525: Was simultaneously part of the Borough of Manhattan (not the Borough of the Bronx) and part of Bronx County (not New York County) and the matter was definitively settled later that year when the New York Legislature overwhelmingly passed legislation declaring the neighborhood part of both New York County and the Borough of Manhattan and made this clarification retroactive to 1938, as reflected on

10000-423: Was that landlords decided to burn their low property-value buildings and take the insurance money, as it was easier for them to get insurance money than to try to refurbish a dilapidated building or sell a building in a severely distressed area. The Bronx became identified with a high rate of poverty and unemployment, which was mainly a persistent problem in the South Bronx. There were cases where tenants set fire to

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