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139-730: The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx . The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse , Mott Haven , Melrose , and Port Morris . In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was originally known as the Manor of Morrisania, as it was the manor of Lewis Morris . As the Morris family continued to expand on the land, an influx of German and Irish immigrants started to populate

278-461: A domino effect . Police statistics show that as the crime wave moved north across the Bronx, the remaining White tenants in the South Bronx (mostly elderly Jews) were preferentially targeted for violent crime by the influx of young, minority criminals because they were seen as easy prey. This became so common that the street slang terms "crib job" (meaning how elderly residents were as helpless as infants) and "push in" (meaning what would now be called

417-493: A home invasion robbery ) were coined specifically in reference to them. Property owners who had waited too long to try to sell their buildings found that almost all of the property in the South Bronx had already been redlined by the banks and insurance companies. Unable to sell their property at any price and facing default on back property taxes and mortgages, landlords began to burn their buildings for their insurance value. A type of sophisticated white collar criminal known as

556-454: A "fixer" sprung up during this period, specializing in a form of insurance fraud that began with buying out the property of redlined landlords at or below cost, then selling and reselling the buildings multiple times on paper between several different fictitious shell companies under the fixer's control, artificially driving up the value incrementally each time. Fraudulent "no questions asked" fire insurance policies would then be taken out on

695-492: A HUD employee before being signed off on, very little investigation was done and some HUD employees and social services workers were accused of turning a blind eye to suspicious fires or even advising tenants on the best way to take advantage of the HUD policies. On multiple occasions, firefighters were reported to have shown up to tenement fires only to find all the residents at an address waiting calmly with their possessions already on

834-496: A better part of the city. After the establishment of the (then) state-of-the-art Co-op City , there was a spike in fires as tenants began burning down their Section 8 housing in an attempt to jump to the front of the 2–3 year long waiting list for the new units. HUD regulations also authorized lump-sum aid payments of up to $ 1000 to those who could prove they had lost property due to a fire in their Section 8 housing; although these payments were supposed to be investigated for fraud by

973-414: A college education or higher, 41% have less than a high school education and 43% 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. The percentage of Melrose and Mott Haven students excelling in math rose from 18% in 2000 to 37% in 2011, though reading achievement decreased slightly from 25% to 24% during

1112-467: A conference at the headquarters of the United Nations . Charlotte Street at the time was a three-block devastated area of vacant lots and burned-out and abandoned buildings. The street had been so ravaged that part of it had been taken off official city maps in 1974. Carter instructed Patricia Roberts Harris , head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development , to take steps to salvage

1251-631: A decade between Irish immigrants and Black people for work. Rioters burned the Colored Orphan Asylum to the ground. At least 120 people were killed. Eleven Black men were lynched over five days, and the riots forced hundreds of Blacks to flee. The Black population in Manhattan fell below 10,000 by 1865. The White working class had established dominance. It was one of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history . In 1886,

1390-526: A long way from a previously "forgotten" neighborhood. Four historic Melrose churches date to before 1900. The German Methodist Church (1878) 790 Elton Ave., The German Reformed Church (1885) (seen in the distance with white steeple picture above) 744 Elton Ave., Immaculate Conception Church (1887) 389 E. 150th St. and the German Lutheran Church (1895) 376 E. 156th St. The Melrose neighborhood has grown since Jimmy Carter 's famous visit to

1529-677: A non-fatal assault rate of 186 per 100,000 people, Melrose and Mott Haven's rate of violent crimes per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 1,214 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole. The 40th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 60.2% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 15 murders, 31 rapes, 559 robberies, 850 felony assaults, 365 burglaries, 753 grand larcenies, and 306 grand larcenies auto in 2022. Melrose contains two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:   In addition, FDNY EMS Station 14

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1668-526: A relatively high population of residents who are uninsured . In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 14%, slightly higher than the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter , the deadliest type of air pollutant , in Melrose and Mott Haven is 0.0086 milligrams per cubic metre (8.6 × 10  oz/cu ft), more than the city average. Fifteen percent of Melrose and Mott Haven residents are smokers , which

1807-531: A result of Sandy, and the economic losses in New York City were estimated to be roughly $ 19 billion. The disaster spawned long-term efforts towards infrastructural projects to counter climate change and rising seas, with $ 15 billion in federal funding received through 2022 towards those resiliency efforts. In March 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in the city was confirmed. With its population density and its extensive exposure to global travelers,

1946-414: A song, often without vocals, which were easy to dance to, of popular songs. DJ Kool Herc is known for generating the technique to produce these percussive breaks, which is known as merry-go-rounding. Merry-go-rounding when DJs would "use the two turntables in a typical DJ setup not as a way to make a smooth transition between two records, but as a way to switch back and forth repeatedly between two copies of

2085-485: A speech denying the request, which was paraphrased on the front page of the New York Daily News as "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD." The Municipal Assistance Corporation was formed and granted oversight authority over the city's finances. While a resurgence in the financial industry greatly improved the city's economic health in the 1980s, New York's crime rate continued to increase through that decade and into

2224-407: A stagnant economy and an extremely high unemployment rate, produced a strong attraction for criminal elements such as street gangs , which were exploding in number and beginning to support themselves with large-scale drug dealing in the area. The abandoned property also attracted large numbers of squatters such as the poor and marginalized, drug addicts and the mentally ill , who further lowered

2363-479: A very strong graffiti scene despite the city's crackdown on illegal graffiti. However, graffiti in the Bronx began to occur in the early 1970s and managed to travel to different boroughs via the New York City Subway system. The rise of hip-hop music , rap , breakdancing , and disc jockeying helped put the South Bronx on the musical map in the late 1970s. The South Bronx is also known worldwide as

2502-594: Is a news outlet that reports in Mott Haven , Melrose, and Port Morris . It is produced by students at the City University Graduate School of Journalism and edited by Joe Hirsch. Melrose and Mott Haven are patrolled by the 40th Precinct of the NYPD , located at 257 Alexander Avenue. The 40th Precinct ranked 59th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. As of 2018 , with

2641-416: Is higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Melrose and Mott Haven, 42% of residents are obese , 20% are diabetic , and 38% have high blood pressure —compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 24% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-two percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which

2780-500: Is hope that these developments also will help to generate residential construction. However, the new park came at a price: a total of 22 acres (89,000 m) in Macombs Dam and John Mullaly Parks were used to build it. In April 2012, Heritage Field, a $ 50.8 million ballpark, was built atop the grounds of the original Yankee Stadium. The population of the South Bronx is currently increasing. Despite significant investment compared to

2919-400: Is less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 72% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Melrose and Mott Haven, there are 25 bodegas . The nearest hospital is NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln . Melrose is covered by multiple ZIP Codes . Most of the neighborhood is located in 10451, but

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3058-494: Is located at Lincoln Hospital at 234 East 149th Street. Also FDNY EMS Station 55 is located at 3134 Park Avenue. As of 2018 , preterm births and births to teenage mothers are more common in Melrose and Mott Haven than in other places citywide. In Melrose and Mott Haven, there were 95 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 35.1 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Melrose and Mott Haven has

3197-482: Is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 28% are between the ages of between 0–17, 28% between 25–44, and 21% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 12% and 10% respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community Districts 1 and 2, including Longwood ,

3336-471: Is now primarily Latino . Grupo TACA operates a Bronx-area TACA Satellite at 570 Melrose Avenue. Melrose is considered part of the socioeconomic South Bronx . Melrose was a village in the town of Morrisania , in the county of Westchester before being incorporated into New York City in 1874 as part of the Twenty-Third Ward. Originally a dense working-class neighborhood, the housing that

3475-468: Is one of the world's most populous megacities . The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States . As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. In 2021, the city was home to nearly 3.1 million residents born outside the U.S., the largest foreign-born population of any city in

3614-490: Is patrolled by the New York City Police Department 's 40th Precinct. New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 7 at 737 Melrose Avenue. Predominantly German American in the 19th century it was home to Haffen Brewing Company . The German population waned especially post-World War II. The neighborhood until the 1960s was mostly Irish and Italian . It

3753-518: Is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area , the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area . New York is a global center of finance and commerce , culture , technology , entertainment and media , academics and scientific output , the arts and fashion , and, as home to the headquarters of

3892-643: The New York Post , the words used by the two broadcasters during the game were later "spun by credulous journalists" into the now ubiquitous phrase "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning" without either of the two announcers actually having phrased it that way. The early 1970s saw South Bronx property values continue to plummet to record lows. A progressively vicious cycle began where large numbers of tenements and multi-story, multi-family apartment buildings, left vacant by White flight, sat abandoned and unsaleable for long periods of time, which, coupled with

4031-614: The American South . During construction in Foley Square in the 1990s, the African Burying Ground was discovered; the cemetery included 10,000 to 20,000 graves of colonial-era Africans, some enslaved and some free. The 1735 trial and acquittal in Manhattan of John Peter Zenger , who had been accused of seditious libel after criticizing colonial governor William Cosby , helped to establish freedom of

4170-866: The Atlantic port to the agricultural markets and commodities of the North American interior via the Hudson River and the Great Lakes . Local politics became dominated by Tammany Hall , a political machine supported by Irish and German immigrants . In 1831, New York University was founded. Several prominent American literary figures lived in New York during the 1830s and 1840s, including William Cullen Bryant , Washington Irving , Herman Melville , Rufus Wilmot Griswold , John Keese , Nathaniel Parker Willis , and Edgar Allan Poe . Members of

4309-668: The Bill of Rights there. The Supreme Court held its first organizational sessions in New York in 1790. In 1790, for the first time, New York City surpassed Philadelphia as the nation's largest city. At the end of 1790, the national capital was moved to Philadelphia . During the 19th century, New York City's population grew from 60,000 to 3.43 million. Under New York State's gradual emancipation act of 1799, children of slave mothers were to be eventually liberated but to be held in indentured servitude until their mid-to-late twenties. Together with slaves freed by their masters after

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4448-726: The Caribbean . The attempt at a peaceful solution to the war took place at the Conference House on Staten Island between American delegates, including Benjamin Franklin , and British general Lord Howe on September 11, 1776. Shortly after the British occupation began, the Great Fire of New York destroyed nearly 500 buildings, about a quarter of the structures in the city, including Trinity Church . In January 1785,

4587-557: The City University of New York is located in Grand Concourse and 149th Street, ten blocks from Yankee Stadium. New York City New York , often called New York City or NYC , is the most populous city in the United States , located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors . The city comprises five boroughs , each coextensive with a respective county . The city

4726-652: The Cross Bronx Expressway . The Cross Bronx Expressway, completed in 1963, was a part of Robert Moses 's urban renewal project for New York City, funded by the Housing Act of 1949 . The expressway is now known to have been a significant factor in the extreme urban decay seen by the borough in the 1970s and 1980s. Cutting through the heart of the South Bronx, the highway displaced thousands of residents from their homes, as well as several local businesses. The neighborhood of East Tremont , in particular,

4865-681: The Grand Concourse , were progressively vacated by White flight and either abandoned altogether or converted into federally funded single room occupancy " welfare hotels " run by absentee slumlords . The massive citywide spending cuts also left the few remaining building inspectors and fire marshals unable to enforce living standards or punish code violations. This encouraged slumlords and absentee landlords to neglect and ignore their property and allowed for gangs to set up protected enclaves and lay claim to entire buildings. This then spread crime and fear of crime to nearby unaffected apartments in

5004-905: The Hudson River , which he named Río de San Antonio ('Saint Anthony's River'). In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson rediscovered New York Harbor while searching for the Northwest Passage to the Orient for the Dutch East India Company . He sailed up what the Dutch called North River (now the Hudson River), named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange . Hudson claimed

5143-721: The Lower Hudson Valley . The first documented visit into New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano . He claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême (New Angoulême ). A Spanish expedition, led by the Portuguese captain Estêvão Gomes sailing for Emperor Charles V , arrived in New York Harbor in January 1525 and charted the mouth of

5282-742: The New York City Fire Department and 71 law enforcement officers. The area was rebuilt with a new World Trade Center , the National September 11 Memorial and Museum , and other new buildings and infrastructure, including the World Trade Center Transportation Hub , the city's third-largest hub. The new One World Trade Center is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and the seventh-tallest building in

5421-545: The Port Morris section, the southernmost section of the Bronx. After World War II , as white flight accelerated and migration of ethnic and racial minorities continued, the South Bronx went from being two-thirds non-Hispanic white in 1950 to being two-thirds black or Puerto Rican in 1960. Originally denoting only Mott Haven and Melrose , the South Bronx extended up to the Cross Bronx Expressway by

5560-685: The Rock Steady Crew , the New York City Breakers and the Magnificent Force. On July 5, 2007, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was recognized by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as the "Birthplace of Hip-Hop." The New York City Department of Education operates district public schools. Community School Districts 7, 8, 9, and 12 are located in the South Bronx. Among

5699-511: The Statue of Liberty , a gift from France , was dedicated in New York Harbor. The statue welcomed 14 million immigrants as they came to the U.S. via Ellis Island by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a symbol of the United States and American ideals of liberty and peace. In 1898, the City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then a separate city),

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5838-709: The Stonewall riots were a series of violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village . They are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights . Wayne R. Dynes , author of the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality , wrote that drag queens were

5977-612: The steamship General Slocum caught fire in the East River , killing 1,021 people. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , the city's worst industrial disaster, killed 146 garment workers and spurred the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and major improvements in factory safety standards. New York's non-White population was 36,620 in 1890. New York City

6116-486: The waterfronts since Dutch colonial times; reclamation is most prominent in Lower Manhattan, with developments such as Battery Park City in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the natural relief in topography has been evened out, especially in Manhattan. Melrose, Bronx, New York Melrose is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx . It adjoins

6255-464: The 1960s, encompassing Hunts Point , Morrisania , and Highbridge . The South Bronx was populated largely by working-class families. Its image as a poverty-ridden area developed in the latter part of the 20th century. There were several factors contributing to the decay of the South Bronx: white flight , landlord abandonment, economic changes, crime , demographics and also the construction of

6394-530: The 1970s, with many residents reporting being burnt out of numerous apartment blocks one after the other. Other fires were caused by unsafe electrical wiring, fires set indoors for heating, and random vandalism associated with the general crime situation. Flawed HUD and city policies also encouraged local South Bronx residents to burn down their own buildings. Under the regulations, Section 8 tenants who were burned out of their current housing were granted immediate priority status for another apartment, potentially in

6533-464: The 1970s—it was verified to be the place where one of the pivotal and formative events occurred that spurred hip hop culture forward. During a rally to save the building, DJ Kool Herc said, "1520 Sedgwick is the Bethlehem of Hip-Hop culture." Many dwellings in the South Bronx during the early 1970s lived in poverty or were part of gangs. One example of this is Afrika Bambaataa , a former member of

6672-460: The 1980s the neighborhood had decayed severely, and much of the original housing stock was lost. Vacant buildings and then lots became commonplace. Since the mid-1990s, but especially in the 2000s, significant renewal has taken place. A prominent player in the revitalization efforts has been the group Nos Quedamos which in English means "we stay". Many abandoned structures have been renovated and many lots have been constructed on. In most recent years

6811-538: The 19th century, the city was transformed by both commercial and residential development relating to its status as a national and international trading center , as well as by European immigration, respectively. The city adopted the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , which expanded the city street grid to encompass almost all of Manhattan. The 1825 completion of the Erie Canal through central New York connected

6950-607: The American South, combined with the racially-charged tension of the Civil Rights Movement, the rage following the assassination of Martin Luther King, and the dramatic rise in crime rates, further contributed to white middle-class flight and the decline of many South Bronx neighborhoods. Following the implementation of desegregation busing policies, white parents who worried about their children attending

7089-420: The Bronx . Block parties incorporated DJs who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music . For example, many DJs played music by the artist James Brown . Some songs played at these South Bronx house parties included "Give it Up or Turn it Loose" by James Brown and "Get Ready" by Rare Earth. Due to the positive reception, DJs began isolating the percussive breaks, or small portions of

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7228-514: The Bronx River and south of the Cross Bronx Expressway the South Bronx. The Cross Bronx Expressway is usually considered the dividing border between North and South Bronx. However, lately, there has been much debate that Fordham Rd is the new northern border of the South Bronx. The South Bronx is part of New York's 15th Congressional District . The South Bronx is served by the NYPD 's 40th, 41st, 42nd, 44th, and 48th Precincts. The South Bronx

7367-486: The Bronx experienced some of its worst instances of urban decay , with the loss of 300,000 residents and the destruction of entire city blocks' worth of buildings. The media attention brought the South Bronx into common parlance nationwide. The phrase "The Bronx is burning," attributed to Howard Cosell during Game 2 of the 1977 World Series featuring the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers , refers to

7506-497: The Bronx in 1977 and will continue to do so as the city's last parcels are sold for development. Many parcels are still in the development phase but will skyrocket the Melrose population. In 2012, residents expressed concern regarding the Melrose Metro-North station in the neighborhood. Residents would like to see more frequent service, but track and capacity limitations hinder the amount of service available for

7645-477: The Bronx in the early 1970s, spreading through the New York City Subway system. The South Bronx also became notable as the 1974 birthplace of hip-hop music and culture. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the South Bronx is the poorest Congressional district in the United States. The geographic definitions of the South Bronx have evolved and are disputed but certainly include the neighborhoods of Mott Haven , Melrose , and Port Morris . Originally referring to

7784-705: The Continental Army at the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776 eliminated the last American stronghold in Manhattan, causing George Washington and his forces to retreat across the Hudson River to New Jersey , pursued by British forces. After the battle, in which the Americans were defeated, the British made the city their military and political base of operations in North America. The city

7923-504: The County of New York (which then included parts of the Bronx), the County of Richmond, and the western portion of the County of Queens. The opening of the New York City Subway in 1904, first built as separate private systems, helped bind the new city together. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication. In 1904,

8062-640: The Duke of York (the future King James II and VII). The duke gave part of the colony to proprietors George Carteret and John Berkeley . On August 24, 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War , Anthony Colve of the Dutch navy seized New York at the behest of Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and rechristened it "New Orange" after William III , the Prince of Orange . The Dutch soon returned

8201-717: The Dutch West India Company had operated as a monopoly in New Netherland, on authority granted by the Dutch States General . In 1639–1640, in an effort to bolster economic growth, the Dutch West India Company relinquished its monopoly over the fur trade, leading to growth in the production and trade of food, timber, tobacco, and slaves (particularly with the Dutch West Indies ). In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant began his tenure as

8340-444: The HUD rate was not based on the property's actual value and was set so low by the city that it left little opportunity or incentive for landlords to maintain or improve their buildings while still making a profit. The result was a disastrous acceleration of both the speed and northward spread of the cycle of decay in the South Bronx as formerly desirable and well-maintained middle-to-upper class apartments in midtown, most notably along

8479-450: The Hip-Hop Generation in a section where Chang is discussing why the Zulu Nation formed. The quote by Bambaataa on page 105 of the text states "we had to come up with something to get the order back." As seen within the film The Hip Hop Years: Part 1 , hip-hop aided in keeping violence from forming on the streets of the South Bronx and eased tensions with the police within the area. People were creating art such as hip-hop music and dances at

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8618-424: The Melrose branch at 910 Morris Avenue. The branch, a two-story, 10,000-square-foot (930 m ) Carnegie library , opened in 1914. It originally had four stories, but the top two floors were removed in a 1959 renovation. The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Melrose: The following New York City Subway stations serve Melrose: The Metro-North Railroad also stops at Melrose station ,

8757-414: The Morrises developed their landholdings, an influx of German and Irish immigrants populated the area. Later, the Bronx was considered the " Jewish Borough," and at its peak in 1930 was 49% Jewish. Jews in the South Bronx numbered 364,000 or 57.1% of the total population in the area. The term was first coined in the 1940s by a group of social workers who identified the Bronx's first pocket of poverty , in

8896-405: The New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan economy in the world , with a gross metropolitan product of over US$ 2.16 trillion. If the New York metropolitan area were its own country , it would have the tenth-largest economy in the world . Despite having a 24/7 rapid transit system , New York also leads the world in urban automobile traffic congestion . The city is home to

9035-578: The Revolutionary War and escaped slaves, a significant free-Black population gradually developed in Manhattan. The New York Manumission Society worked for abolition and established the African Free School to educate Black children. It was not until 1827 that slavery was completely abolished in the state . Free Blacks struggled with discrimination and interracial abolitionist activism continued. New York City's population jumped from 123,706 in 1820 (10,886 of whom were Black and of which 518 were enslaved) to 312,710 by 1840 (16,358 of whom were Black). Also in

9174-407: The South Bronx at this point of time as well. 1520 Sedgwick Avenue , an apartment building in Morris Heights , is a long-time "haven for working-class families"; in 2010, The New York Times reported that it is the "accepted birthplace of hip hop ." As hip-hop grew from throughout the Bronx, 1520 was a starting point where Clive Campbell, later known as DJ Kool Herc , presided over parties in

9313-450: The South Bronx, where residents are predominately minorities—mainly Black and Hispanic . Since the late 1970s, the South Bronx has been home to a renewed grassroots art scene. The arts scene that sprouted at the Fashion Moda Gallery, founded by a Viennese artist, Stefan Eins, helped ignite the careers of artists like Keith Haring and Jenny Holzer , and 1980s break dancers like the Rock Steady Crew . It generated enough enthusiasm in

9452-497: The United Nations , international diplomacy . With an estimated population in 2023 of 8,258,035 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km ), the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles , the nation's second-most populous city. With more than 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York City

9591-412: The United States. Poverty in the public housing infrastructure has partially been caused by disinvestment by the city and state because, since the 1990s, a lack of state-funded operating subsidies to NYCHA created a $ 720 million shortfall by 2010 and, post 9/11, the city halted subsidies as well. The poorly maintained, substandard housing has caused disproportionately high asthma rates among children in

9730-399: The area has seen a significant "Green" construction boom. Leading the borough in the number of LEED certified apartment buildings, the largest being Via Verde, winner of the 2013 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence silver medal. Melrose is also home to The Bronx campus of Boricua College . Despite lingering social problems due to a continued significant poverty presence, Melrose has come

9869-541: The area. Progress did not come quickly. Three years later, in 1980, presidential candidate Ronald Reagan paid a visit to Charlotte Street, declaring that he had not "seen anything that looked like this since London after the Blitz ". The 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities , by the American writer Tom Wolfe , presented the South Bronx as a nightmare world, not to be entered by middle or upper-class whites. The PBS documentary show Independent Lens released an episode titled "Decade of Fire" on May 3, 2019. The episode

10008-406: The area. By the 1930s, the Bronx was considered the "Jewish Borough", as nearly half the population was Jewish. This soon changed as World War II caused rent to increase in many apartments, pushing people out. By the end of the 1950s, the South Bronx was two-thirds African American or Hispanic (of any race). The South Bronx is known for its hip hop culture and graffiti . Graffiti became popular in

10147-455: The arson epidemic caused by the total economic collapse of the South Bronx during the 1970s. During the game, as ABC switched to a generic helicopter shot of the exterior of Yankee Stadium , an uncontrolled fire could clearly be seen burning in the ravaged South Bronx surrounding the park. Many believe Cosell intoned, "There it is, ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning." Review of the game footage shows that he did not say this. According to

10286-659: The assembly of the Congress of the Confederation made New York City the national capital. New York was the last capital of the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation and the first capital under the Constitution of the United States . As the U.S. capital, New York City hosted the inauguration of the first President, George Washington , and the first Congress , at Federal Hall on Wall Street . Congress drafted

10425-548: The beginning of the 1990s. By the mid-1990s, crime rates started to drop dramatically due to revised police strategies, improving economic opportunities, gentrification , and new residents, both American transplants and new immigrants from Asia and Latin America. New York City's population exceeded 8 million for the first time in the 2000 United States census ; further records were set in 2010 , and 2020 U.S. censuses. Important new sectors, such as Silicon Alley , emerged in

10564-592: The birthplace of hip-hop culture . In addition, the Bronx Museum of the Arts is located on the Grand Concourse. Hip hop is a broad conglomerate of artistic forms that originated as a specific street subculture within South Bronx communities during the 1970s in New York City . Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African American and Latin Americans residing in

10703-416: The block parties within the South Bronx, so the police did not have issues with it. Not only was music a major component of hip-hop culture being formulated within the South Bronx during the 1970s, a break dancing or B-boying movement was being generated as well. After DJ Kool Herc and other DJs kept utilizing the break beat within their music, an abundance of people who were dancing normally, eventually hit

10842-436: The borough's quality of living. As the crisis deepened, the nearly bankrupt city government of Abraham Beame placed most of the blame on unreasonably high rents levied by landlords. He began demanding that they convert their rapidly emptying buildings into Section 8 housing . Section 8 paid a per capita stipend for low-income or indigent tenants from Federal HUD funds rather than from the cash-strapped city coffers. However,

10981-419: 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. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 1 , and its ZIP Codes include 10451, 10455, and 10456. The area

11120-587: The business elite lobbied for the establishment of Central Park , which in 1857 became the first landscaped park in an American city. The Great Irish Famine brought a large influx of Irish immigrants, of whom more than 200,000 were living in New York by 1860, representing over a quarter of the city's population. Extensive immigration from the German provinces meant that Germans comprised another 25% of New York's population by 1860. Democratic Party candidates were consistently elected to local office, increasing

11259-561: The city from New Jersey. The East River—a tidal strait —flows from Long Island Sound and separates the Bronx and Manhattan from Long Island. The Harlem River , another tidal strait between the East and Hudson rivers, separates most of Manhattan from the Bronx. The Bronx River , which flows through the Bronx and Westchester County , is the only entirely freshwater river in the city. The city's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along

11398-439: The city rapidly replaced Wuhan , China as the global epicenter of the pandemic during the early phase, straining the city's healthcare infrastructure. Through March 2023, New York City recorded more than 80,000 deaths from COVID-19-related complications. New York City is situated in the northeastern United States , in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and Boston . Its location at

11537-632: The city's economy. The advent of Y2K was celebrated with fanfare in Times Square . New York City suffered the bulk of the economic damage and largest loss of human life in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks . Two of the four airliners hijacked that day were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of both buildings and the deaths of 2,753 people, including 343 first responders from

11676-794: The city's ties to the South and its dominant party. In 1861, Mayor Fernando Wood called on the aldermen to declare independence from Albany and the United States after the South seceded, but his proposal was not acted on. Anger at new military conscription laws during the American Civil War (1861–1865), which spared wealthier men who could afford to hire a substitute, led to the Draft Riots of 1863 , whose most visible participants were ethnic Irish working class. The draft riots deteriorated into attacks on New York's elite, followed by attacks on Black New Yorkers after fierce competition for

11815-430: The community room at a pivotal point in the genre's history. DJ Kool Herc is credited with helping to start hip hop and rap music at a house concert at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on August 11, 1973. At the concert he was DJing and emceeing in the recreation room of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. Sources have noted that while 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was not the actual birthplace of hip-hop—the genre developed slowly in several places in

11954-429: The curb. By the time of Cosell's 1977 commentary, dozens of buildings were being burnt in the South Bronx every day, sometimes whole blocks at a time and usually far more than the fire department could keep up with, leaving the area perpetually blanketed in a pall of smoke. Firefighters from the period reported responding to as many as 7 fully involved structure fires in a single shift, too many to even bother returning to

12093-417: The development of large housing tracts in eastern Queens and Nassau County , with Wall Street leading America's place as the world's dominant economic power. The United Nations headquarters was completed in 1952, solidifying New York's global geopolitical influence, and the rise of abstract expressionism in the city precipitated New York's displacement of Paris as the center of the art world. In 1969,

12232-418: The early 18th century, New York grew in importance as a trading port while as a part of the colony of New York . It became a center of slavery , with 42% of households enslaving Africans by 1730. Most were domestic slaves ; others were hired out as labor. Slavery became integrally tied to New York's economy through the labor of slaves throughout the port, and the banking and shipping industries trading with

12371-532: The existing housing stock. As early as the late 1960s, some neighborhoods were considered undesirable by homeowners, precipitating a population decline. Postwar rent control policies have also been proposed by one author as a contributing factor; in this milieu, building owners had little motivation to keep up their properties. New York City Mayor John Lindsay (who served from 1966 to 1973) suggested that socioeconomic factors (including low educational attainment and high unemployment) limited housing options for

12510-485: The floor and began what is known as breakdancing. According to the documentary, The Freshest Kids: The History of the B-Boy , break dancing occurred "spontaneously" and consisted of more "sporadic" dance moves. Additionally, a Zulu king and hip-hop historian stated that the dance consisted of "bouncing around, pivoting, turning, twists frontsweeps...". Many who participated in this form of dance were members of crews , such as

12649-567: The former territory of New Netherland , including the city of New Amsterdam , when the Kingdom of England seized it from Dutch control. In the pre-Columbian era , the area of present-day New York City was inhabited by Algonquians , including the Lenape . Their homeland, known as Lenapehoking , included the present-day areas of Staten Island , Manhattan , the Bronx , the western portion of Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens ), and

12788-473: The ice (and its subsequent retreat) contributed to the separation of what is now Long Island and Staten Island. That action left bedrock at a relatively shallow depth, providing a solid foundation for most of Manhattan's skyscrapers. The Hudson River flows through the Hudson Valley into New York Bay . Between New York City and Troy, New York , the river is an estuary . The Hudson River separates

12927-447: The industrial area below East 138th Street, the name "South Bronx" symbolically has had its northern boundary shift northward to East 149th Street, East 161st Street , the Cross Bronx Expressway , and Fordham Road over the years. The neighborhoods of Crotona Park East , Highbridge , Hunts Point , Longwood , Concourse , and Morrisania are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx. Generally, most consider any neighborhood west of

13066-677: The island to England under the Treaty of Westminster of November 1674. Several intertribal wars among the Native Americans and epidemics brought on by contact with the Europeans caused sizeable population losses for the Lenape between 1660 and 1670. By 1700, the Lenape population had diminished to 200. New York experienced several yellow fever epidemics in the 18th century, losing ten percent of its population in 1702 alone. In

13205-671: The last Director-General of New Netherland. During his tenure, the population of New Netherland grew from 2,000 to 8,000. Stuyvesant has been credited with improving law and order; however, he earned a reputation as a despotic leader. He instituted regulations on liquor sales, attempted to assert control over the Dutch Reformed Church , and blocked other religious groups from establishing houses of worship. In 1664, unable to summon any significant resistance, Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to English troops, led by Colonel Richard Nicolls , without bloodshed. The terms of

13344-545: The local population as a representative of the Dutch colonists. A permanent European presence near New York Harbor was established in 1624, making New York the 12th-oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States , with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island . In 1625, construction was started on a citadel and Fort Amsterdam , later called Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam), on present-day Manhattan Island. The colony of New Amsterdam extended from

13483-588: The mainstream media for a short while to draw the art world's attention. The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance was located in the American Bank Note Company Building in the South Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point before relocating to St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Westchester Square. Modern graffiti is prominent in the South Bronx, and is home to many of the fathers of graffiti art such as Tats Cru . The Bronx has

13622-419: The most populous urbanized area in the world in the early 1920s, overtaking London . The metropolitan area surpassed 10 million in the early 1930s, becoming the first megacity . The Great Depression saw the election of reformer Fiorello La Guardia as mayor and the fall of Tammany Hall after eighty years of political dominance. Returning World War II veterans created a post-war economic boom and

13761-556: The mouth of the Hudson River , which feeds into a naturally sheltered harbor and then into the Atlantic Ocean , has helped the city grow in significance as a trading port. Most of the city is built on the three islands of Long Island, Manhattan, and Staten Island. During the Wisconsin glaciation , 75,000 to 11,000 years ago, the New York City area was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet . The erosive forward movement of

13900-548: The neighborhood (and the sole building on Simpson Street) that had not been abandoned or burnt out. In total, over 40% of the South Bronx was burned or abandoned between 1970 and 1980, with 44 census tracts losing more than 50% and seven more than 97% of their buildings to arson, abandonment, or both. The appearance was frequently compared to that of a bombed-out and evacuated European city following World War II . On October 5, 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter paid an unscheduled visit to Charlotte Street while in New York City for

14039-505: The neighborhood was 1.5% (571) White , 27.5% (10,787) African American , 0.2% (84) Native American , 0.8% (314) Asian , 0% (11) Pacific Islander , 0.2% (93) from other races , and 0.7% (260) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 69.1% (27,094) of the population. The entirety of Community District 1, which comprises Melrose and Mott Haven, had 98,403 inhabitants as of NYC Health 's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 77.6 years. This

14178-496: The only " transgender folks around" during the June 1969 Stonewall riots. The transgender community in New York City played a significant role in fighting for LGBT equality. In the 1970s, job losses due to industrial restructuring caused New York City to suffer from economic problems and rising crime rates. Growing fiscal deficits in 1975 led the city to appeal to the federal government for financial aid; President Gerald Ford gave

14317-423: The overvalued buildings and the property stripped and burnt for the payoff. This scheme became so common that local gangs were hired by fixers for their expertise at the process of stripping buildings of wiring, plumbing, metal fixtures, and anything else of value and then effectively burning it down with gasoline. Many finishers became extremely rich buying properties from struggling landlords, artificially driving up

14456-466: The overwhelming surge of violent crime, which for the entirety of the 1970s and 1980s made South Bronx the murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and arson capital of America. By 1980, the 41st Precinct was renamed the " Little House on the Prairie ", as fully 2 ⁄ 3 of the 94,000 residents originally served by the precinct had fled, leaving the fortified building as one of the few structures in

14595-522: The percentage of owners versus renters. The neighborhood contains one of the highest concentrations of NYCHA projects in the Bronx. The terrain is somewhat hilly. The Hub -Third Avenue BID is a major local retail district located where five major thoroughfares converge: East 149th Street, Westchester, Willis, Melrose and Third Avenues. The area is served by the 2 and 5 lines at East 149th Street and Third Avenue. One of The Bronx's largest shopping areas (eclipsed only by Fordham Road). The Mott Haven Herald

14734-422: The population lives below the federal poverty line. Based on data from the 2010 United States Census , the population of Melrose, including northeastern Mott Haven, was 39,214, a change of 6,019 (15.3%) from the 33,195 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 396.81 acres (160.58 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 98.8 inhabitants per acre (63,200/sq mi; 24,400/km ). The racial makeup of

14873-437: The post war period, many exacerbated social problems remain, including high rates of violent crime, substance abuse, and overcrowded and substandard housing conditions. Its precincts have recorded high violent crime rates and are all considered to be New York City Police Department "impact zones." The Bronx contains the highest rate of poverty in New York City, and the greater South Bronx is the poorest Congressional district in

15012-728: The press in North America . In 1754, Columbia University was founded. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York in October 1765, as the Sons of Liberty organization emerged in the city and skirmished over the next ten years with British troops stationed there. The Battle of Long Island , the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War , was fought in August 1776 within modern-day Brooklyn. A British rout of

15151-460: The public schools are charter schools. Success Academies Bronx 1, 2, and 3 are part of Success Academy Charter Schools . An elementary charter school, Academic Leadership Charter School, opened on 141st Street and Cypress Avenue. Area private schools include Cardinal Hayes High School , located at 650 Grand Concourse and All Hallows High School , located at 111 East 164th Street. Among the institutions of higher education, Hostos Community College of

15290-417: The racially integrated schools began to relocate to the suburbs, which remained predominately white due to cost as well as legal barriers created by restrictive housing covenants, and selective lending. In turn, areas of the Bronx that became predominately African American or Hispanic were considered bad risks by lenders (" redlining "), contributing to the decline in real estate values and lack of investment in

15429-539: The region for the Dutch East India Company. In 1614, the area between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay was claimed by the Netherlands and called Nieuw-Nederland (' New Netherland '). The first non–Native American inhabitant of what became New York City was Juan Rodriguez , a merchant from Santo Domingo who arrived in Manhattan during the winter of 1613–14, trapping for pelts and trading with

15568-429: The remaining low-income tenants, prompting the reduced upkeep by landlords. In either case, while desirable housing options were scarce, vacancies further increased. In the late 1960s, by the time the city decided to consolidate welfare households in the South Bronx, its vacancy rate was already the highest of any place in the city. By the 1970s, significant poverty reached as far north as Fordham Road . Around this time,

15707-491: The rest of the city and is gentrifying . Melrose is dominated by large residential housing complexes of various types, primarily public housing, and tenement style apartment buildings. Most of the original housing stock which consisted of older multi-unit homes and tenements were structurally damaged by arson during the citywide fiscal crisis and eventually razed by the city. In the last decade, construction of modern 2- and 3-unit row-houses and apartment buildings have increased

15846-536: The same record." The technique of percussive breaks was then common in Jamaican dub music , and was largely introduced into New York by immigrants from Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean, including DJ Kool Herc , who is generally considered the father of hip-hop. Upon this, a technique known as Jamaican toasting , or the act of speaking over a beat which later became rapping, was introduced by DJ Kool Herc in

15985-492: The same time period. Melrose and Mott Haven's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City. In Melrose and Mott Haven, 32% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year , higher than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 62% of high school students in Melrose and Mott Haven graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%. Public schools: Private School: The New York Public Library operates

16124-457: The scene. As of 2004, houses on the street were worth up to a million dollars. The Bronx County Courthouse has secured landmark status, and efforts are underway to do the same for much of the Grand Concourse , in recognition of the area's Art Deco architecture. In June 2010, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission gave consideration to the establishment of a historic district on the Grand Concourse from 153rd to 167th Street. A final decision

16263-568: The southeastern corner is part of 10455 and the northeastern corner is part of 10456. The United States Postal Service operates two post offices in Melrose: The Melcourt Station at 860 Melrose Avenue, and the Bronx Station at 558 Grand Concourse. Melrose and Mott Haven generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018 . While 16% of residents aged 25 and older have

16402-611: The southern tip of Manhattan to modern-day Wall Street , where a 12-foot (3.7 m) wooden stockade was built in 1653 to protect against Native American and English raids. In 1626, the Dutch colonial Director-General Peter Minuit , as charged by the Dutch West India Company , purchased the island of Manhattan from the Canarsie , a small Lenape band, for "the value of 60 guilders " (about $ 900 in 2018). A frequently told but disproved legend claims that Manhattan

16541-562: The station house between calls ( Report from Engine Company 82 ). The local police precincts—already struggling and failing to contain the massive wave of drug and gang crime invading the Bronx—had long since stopped bothering to investigate the fires, as there were simply too many to track. During this period, the NYPD's 41st Precinct station house at 1086 Simpson Street became famously known as "Fort Apache, The Bronx" as it struggled to deal with

16680-490: The stop. Other concerns regarded the lack of handicap access, and the past closure of the main entrance to the stop. The main entrance was closed when the community was at the height of its turmoil, but as the community has regained its footing the desire to have the station open to the primary commercial street, East 161st Street , has grown. Melrose is a high-density neighborhood with a population consisting primarily of Latin Americans and African Americans . Almost half of

16819-460: The street gang, The Black Spades, who is now deemed as the god-father of hip-hop. As an effort to end the street violence within the South Bronx, Bambaataa created the Zulu Nation , which is a group founded on the concepts of "Peace, Love, Unity, Having Fun" instead of partaking in gang violence and unlawful activity. Jeff Chang quotes Bambaataa in his text Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of

16958-507: The surrender permitted Dutch residents to remain in the colony and allowed for religious freedom. In 1667, during negotiations leading to the Treaty of Breda after the Second Anglo-Dutch War , the victorious Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of what is now Suriname , which they had gained from the English, and in return the English kept New Amsterdam. The settlement was promptly renamed "New York" after

17097-399: The value, insuring them and then burning them. Often, the properties were still occupied by subsidized tenants or squatters at the time, who were given short or no warning before the building was burnt down. They were forced to move to another slum building, where the process would usually repeat itself. The rate of unsolved fatalities due to fire multiplied sevenfold in the South Bronx during

17236-504: The working class. More than fifty abandoned apartment buildings on the Major Deegan Expressway and the Cross Bronx Expressway were renovated for residential use. Over 26,500 people moved into the area. On Charlotte Street, prefabricated ranch-style houses were built in the area in 1985, and the area changed so significantly that a Bronx borough historian ( Lloyd Ultan ) could not locate where Carter had stopped to survey

17375-597: The world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet (541.3 m), a reference to the year of U.S. independence . The Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan began on September 17, 2011, receiving global attention and popularizing the Occupy movement against social and economic inequality worldwide. New York City

17514-493: The world's two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization of their listed companies: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq . New York City is an established safe haven for global investors. As of 2023 , New York City is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates and has by a wide margin the highest U.S. city residential rents; and Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in

17653-525: The world. New York City traces its origins to Fort Amsterdam and a trading post founded on Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists around 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was temporarily renamed New York after King Charles II granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York , before being permanently renamed New York in November 1674. New York City

17792-402: The world. New York City is home by a significant margin to the highest number of billionaires , individuals of ultra-high net worth (greater than US$ 30 million), and millionaires of any city in the world. In 1664, New York was named in honor of the Duke of York (later King James II of England ). James's elder brother, King Charles II , appointed the Duke as proprietor of

17931-566: Was heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. Sandy's impacts included flooding that led to the days-long shutdown of the subway system and flooding of all East River subway tunnels and of all road tunnels entering Manhattan except the Lincoln Tunnel . The New York Stock Exchange closed for two days due to weather for the first time since the Great Blizzard of 1888 . At least 43 people died in New York City as

18070-562: Was $ 20,966. In 2018, an estimated 29% of Melrose and Mott Haven residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents (12%) 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 58% in Melrose and Mott Haven, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018 , Melrose and Mott Haven are considered to be low-income relative to

18209-535: Was a haven for Loyalist refugees and escaped slaves who joined the British lines for freedom promised by the Crown , with as many as 10,000 escaped slaves crowded into the city during the British occupation, the largest such community on the continent. When the British forces evacuated New York at the close of the war in 1783, they transported thousands of freedmen for resettlement in Nova Scotia , England, and

18348-475: Was a prime destination in the early 20th century for Blacks during the Great Migration from the American South, and by 1916, New York City had the largest urban African diaspora in North America. The Harlem Renaissance of literary and cultural life flourished during the era of Prohibition . The larger economic boom generated construction of skyscrapers competing in height. New York City became

18487-496: Was completely destroyed by the Expressway. Others have argued that the construction of such highways has not harmed communities. The already poor and working-class neighborhoods were further disadvantaged by the decreasing property value, in combination with increasing vacancy rates. While some areas of the South Bronx were racially integrated as early as the 1930's, later larger scale influxes of African Americans immigrants from

18626-400: Was expected in the coming months. Construction of the new Yankee Stadium has stirred controversy over plans which, along with the new billion-dollar field, include new athletic fields, tennis courts, bicycle and walking paths, stores, restaurants, and a new Metro-North Railroad station at East 153rd Street . During baseball season, the station helps ease overcrowding on the subway. There

18765-473: Was often hastily built to capitalize on the turn of the 20th century immigrant escape from Manhattan soon became unsuitable to all but the poorest. A mass exodus soon took place as New York City policy–induced arson soon ravaged the neighborhood throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the City of New York dismantled the Third Avenue El (an original draw to the neighborhood) due to low ridership. By

18904-558: Was originally called the Manor of Morrisania, and later Morrisania . It was the private domain of the powerful and aristocratic Morris family, which includes Lewis Morris , signer of the Declaration of Independence , and Gouverneur Morris , the penman of the United States Constitution . The Morris memorial is at St. Ann's Church of Morrisania . Morris' descendants own land in the South Bronx to this day. As

19043-510: Was previewed at the Full Frame Film Festival the previous month. Primarily beginning in the 1980s, parts of the South Bronx started to experience urban renewal with rehabilitated and new residential structures, including subsidized multifamily townhomes and apartment buildings. Between 1986 and 1994, over $ 1 billion were spent on rebuilding the area, with 19,000 apartments refurbished and more than 4,500 new houses built for

19182-415: Was purchased for $ 24 worth of glass beads. Following the purchase, New Amsterdam grew slowly. To attract settlers, the Dutch instituted the patroon system in 1628, whereby wealthy Dutchmen ( patroons , or patrons) who brought 50 colonists to New Netherland would be awarded land, local political autonomy, and rights to participate in the lucrative fur trade. This program had little success. Since 1621,

19321-417: Was the U.S. capital from 1785 until 1790. The modern city was formed by the 1898 consolidation of its five boroughs : Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens , the Bronx , and Staten Island . Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District, Manhattan , New York City has been called both the world's premier financial and fintech center and the most economically powerful city in the world. As of 2022 ,

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