The Bronx

==History==
{{For timeline}}
[[File:History of Bronx borough, city of New York; (IA historyofbronxbo00comf).pdf|page=9|upright=0.7|thumb|right|The first published book of Bronx history: ''History of Bronx Borough, City of New York'' by Randall Comfort|link=File:History_of_Bronx_borough,_city_of_New_York;_(IA_historyofbronxbo00comf).pdf%3Fpage=9]]

European colonization of the Bronx began in 1639. The Bronx was originally part of [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester County]], but it was ceded to [[Manhattan|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.

===Before 1914===
{{See also|List of former municipalities in New York City}}
The Bronx's development 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 (Manhattan)|Broadway]] reached the [[Spuyten Duyvil Creek]], was a possession of [[Frederick Philipse]], lord of [[Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site|Philipse Manor]].<ref name="CrotonHarlemFSEIS-7-12"/> Local farmers on both sides of the creek resented the tolls, and in 1759, Jacobus Dyckman and Benjamin Palmer led them in building a free bridge across the Harlem River.<ref name=Fordam>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medny/ganelli2.html |title=Dyckman House – History |work=fordham.edu |access-date=July 30, 2014 |archive-date=October 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014214304/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medny/ganelli2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> After the [[American Revolutionary War]], the King's Bridge toll was abolished.<ref name="Jenkins1912">{{cite book |author=Stephen Jenkins |title=The Story of the Bronx from the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in 1639 to the Present Day |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9nIC6Lva5sC&pg=PA177 |access-date=January 2, 2017 |year=1912 |publisher=[[G. P. Putnam's Sons]] |pages=177–208}}</ref><ref name="CrotonHarlemFSEIS-7-12">{{cite web |title=Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Croton Water Treatment Plant at the Harlem River Site; 7.12: Historic and Archaeological Resources |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/croton/7-12resources.pdf#page=5 |publisher=[[New York City Department of Environmental Protection]] |access-date=January 2, 2017 |date=June 30, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211054643/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/croton/7-12resources.pdf#page=5 |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The territory now contained within Bronx County was originally part of [[Westchester County, New York|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, New York|Yonkers]], [[Eastchester (town), New York|Eastchester]], and [[Pelham, New York|Pelham]]. In 1846, a new town was created by division of Westchester, called West Farms. The town of [[Morrisania, Bronx|Morrisania]] was created, in turn, from West Farms in 1855. In 1873, the town of [[Kingsbridge, Bronx|Kingsbridge]] was established within the former borders of the town of Yonkers, roughly corresponding to the modern Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]], and [[Woodlawn Heights, Bronx|Woodlawn Heights]], and included [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)|Woodlawn Cemetery]].

Among famous settlers in the Bronx during the 19th and early 20th centuries were author [[Willa Cather]], tobacco merchant [[Pierre Lorillard IV|Pierre Lorillard]], and inventor [[Jordan L. Mott]], who established [[Mott Haven]] to house the workers at his iron works.<ref>For Jordan L. Mott:
* {{cite book|author=John Thomas Scharf|title=History of Westchester County: New York, Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which Have Been Annexed to New York City|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkgVAAAAYAAJ|year=1886|publisher=L. E. Preston & Company|pages=830–832}}
* {{cite book|first1=Edwin |last1=Troxell Freedley|first2=Edward |last2=Young|title=A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860...: Comprising Annals of the Industry of the United States in Machinery, Manufactures and Useful Arts, with a Notice of the Important Inventions, Tariffs, and the Results of Each Decennial Census|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mugJAAAAIAAJ|year=1868|publisher=E. Young|pages=576–578}}</ref>

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; the three towns were soon abolished in the process.<ref name="thorne">{{cite book|author1=Thorne, Kathryn Ford|editor=Long, John H.|title=New York Atlas of Historical County Boundaries |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1993 |pages=33, 118–133 <!-- "P. 033" was cited in error? --> |isbn=0-13-051962-6}}</ref><ref>New York. ''Laws of New York''. 1873, 96th Session, Chapter 613, Section 1. p. 928.</ref>

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.<ref name="ultan"/><ref name="thorne"/><ref>Articles on "consolidation" (by David C. Hammack) and the "Bronx" (by David C. Hermalyn and Lloyd Ultan) in ''[[The Encyclopedia of New York City]]'', Yale 1995</ref><ref>New York. ''Laws of New York''. 1895, 118th Session, Chapter 934, Section 1. p. 1948.</ref><ref name=NYT1973>Peck, Richard. [https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/02/archives/in-the-bronx-the-gentry-live-on-the-gentry-live-on.html "In the Bronx, the Gentry Live On; The Gentry Live On"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 2, 1973. Accessed July 17, 2008. "But the Harlem riverfront was industrializing, and in 1874 the city annexed the area west of the Bronx River: Morrisania, West Farms and Kingsbridge. A second annexation in 1894 gathered in Westchester and portions of Eastchester and Pelham." However, 1894 must refer to the referendum, since the enabling act was not passed or signed until 1895.</ref> The nautical community of [[City Island, Bronx|City Island]]<!---what on earth is a "nautical community"??---> voted to join the city in 1896.<ref>[https://www.cityisland.com/history.html History of City Island], CityIsland.com. Accessed January 2, 2024. "In 1896, residents of City Island voted to detach themselves from Westchester County and to become part of New York City proper."</ref>

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 Greater New York|City of New York]] was born, including the Bronx as one of the five distinct [[Borough (New York City)|boroughs]]. However, it remained part of New York County until Bronx County was created in 1914.<ref>Macy, Harry Jr. [https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/blog/five-borough-city-old-cities-towns-and-villages-came-together-form-greater-new-york "Before the Five-borough City: The Old Cities, Towns, and Villages That Came Together to Form 'Greater New York'"], [[New York Genealogical and Biographical Society]], January 11, 2021. Accessed January 2, 2024. "The present City of New York, consisting of five boroughs, came into existence on January 1, 1898.... In 1914, The Bronx became a separate county of the same name."</ref>

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, the 62nd and last county to be created by the state, effective in 1914.<ref name="thorne"/><ref>New York. ''Laws of New York''. 1912, 135th Session, Chapter 548, Section 1. p. 1352.</ref> 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]]).<ref name="courtstart" /> [[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.<ref name=NYT1993>Steinhauer, Jennifer. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/nyregion/fyi-123693.html "F.Y.I."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 10, 1993. Accessed August 23, 2021. "Marble Hill's Exile Q. Why is there a small piece of Manhattan in the Bronx?.&nbsp;... A. Marble Hill was originally attached to the northern part of Manhattan, but was severed in 1895 when the city deepened and straightened the waterway that connected the Hudson River to what was known as Spuyten Duyvil Creek (Dutch for 'in Spite of the Devil', thought to be a reference to the trouble it took to cross it).&nbsp;... Around 1914, Spuyten Duyvil Creek was filled in and the area became physically a part of the Bronx, but it remained politically part of Manhattan."</ref>

===After 1914===
The history of the Bronx during the 20th century may be divided into four periods: a boom period during 1900–1929, with a population growth by a factor of six from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.3&nbsp;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 the late 1980s that continues into today.<ref name="Olmsted 1989; Olmsted 1998"/>

====New York City expands====
[[File:Bronx 1900.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|[[Grand Concourse (Bronx)|Grand Concourse]] and [[161st Street (Bronx)|161st Street]] as they appeared around 1900]]
[[File:Simpson Street Station.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The [[Simpson Street (IRT White Plains Road Line)|Simpson Street]] elevated station was built in 1904 and opened on November 26, 1904. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 2004.]]

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.<ref name="Olmsted 1989; Olmsted 1998">Olmsted (1989); Olmsted (1998)</ref>

The South Bronx 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.<ref name="Piano Workers May Strike">{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/08/29/103460481.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/08/29/103460481.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |title=Piano Workers May Strike |date=August 29, 1919 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 25, 2011}}</ref>

At the end of [[World War I]], the Bronx hosted the rather small [[Bronx International Exposition of Science, Arts and Industries|1918 World's Fair]] at 177th Street and DeVoe Avenue.<ref name="ultan">[[Lloyd Ultan (historian)|Lloyd Ultan]], [http://www.bronxriver.org/?pg=content&p=abouttheriver&m1=9&m2=58 "History of the Bronx River"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619231425/http://bronxriver.org/?pg=content&p=abouttheriver&m1=9&m2=58 |date=June 19, 2019 }} Paper presented to the [[Bronx River Alliance]], November 5, 2002 (notes taken by Maarten de Kadt, November 16, 2002), retrieved on August 29, 2008. This {{frac|2|1|2}} hour talk covers much of the early history of the Bronx as a whole, in addition to the [[Bronx River]].</ref><ref>[[Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|Gray, Christopher Gray]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/22/realestate/streetscapes-the-new-york-coliseum-from-auditorium-to-bus-garage-to.html "Streetscapes: The New York Coliseum; From Auditorium To Bus Garage to..."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', Real Estate section, March 22, 1992. Accessed January 2, 2024</ref>

The Bronx underwent rapid urban growth after World War I. Extensions of 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.<ref>Tarver, Denton. [https://cooperatornews.com/article/the-new-bronx "The New Bronx A Quick History of the Iconic Borough"], ''Cooperator News'', April 2007. Accessed January 2, 2024. "The urbanization of the Bronx truly began with the entrance of the subway into the area in 1904. As the rapid transit came in spurts: 1905, 1910, 1918, and 1920, the subway and elevated train access to Manhattan caused the population of the Bronx to surge, as these rail lines built their tracks into the still-green fields and meadows."</ref> Among these groups, many [[Irish Americans]], [[Italian Americans]], and especially [[Jewish Americans]] settled here. In addition, [[French American|French]], [[German Americans|German]], [[Polish American|Polish]], and other immigrants moved into the borough. As evidence of the change in population, by 1937, 592,185 Jews lived in the Bronx (43.9% of the borough's population),<ref>''[[The World Almanac and Book of Facts]], 1943'', page 494, citing the [[American Jewish Committee]] and the Jewish Statistical Bureau of the [[Synagogue Council of America]]</ref> while only 54,000 Jews lived in the borough in 2011. Many [[synagogue]]s still stand in the Bronx, but most have been converted to other uses.<ref name="Remembrance">Seymour J. Perlin, [http://www.bronxsynagogues.org/ic/bronxsyn/survey.html "Remembrance of Synagogues Past: The Lost Civilization of the Jewish South Bronx"] (retrieved on August 10, 2008), citing population estimates in "The Jewish Community Study of New York: 2002", UJA [United Jewish Appeal] Federation of New York,
June 2004, and his own survey of synagogue sites.</ref>

====Change====
[[rum-running|Bootleggers]] and gangs were active in the Bronx during [[Prohibition in the United States|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BNew York – The Bronx |url=https://chsserver01.org/jwalker012017/Q3/Assignment00CSC2/bronx.html |access-date=October 15, 2023 |website=chsserver01.org}}</ref> Police Commissioner Richard Enright said that speakeasies provided 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2019/3/8/prohibition|title = Prohibition|publisher=NYC Department of Records & Information Services|date=March 8, 2019|access-date=May 23, 2023|website=[[Government of New York City]]}}</ref>

Between 1930 and 1960, moderate and upper income Bronxites (predominantly non-Hispanic Whites) began to [[White flight|relocate]] from the borough's southwestern neighborhoods. This migration has left a mostly poor African American and Hispanic (largely [[Puerto Ricans in the United States|Puerto Rican]]) population in the West Bronx. One significant factor that shifted the racial and economic demographics was the construction of [[Co-op City, Bronx|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 [[Demographics of the Bronx|are in the eastern and northwestern sections of the borough]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bronx |url=https://chsserver01.org/jmora012017/Q3/Assignment001csc/thebronx.html |access-date=September 13, 2022 |website=chsserver01.org}}</ref>

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]]''.<ref>{{Cite Power Broker}}</ref> Another factor in the Bronx's decline may have been the development of [[high-rise]] [[Public housing#United States|housing projects]], particularly in the [[South Bronx]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://americanrealities.org/locations/south_bronx/ |title=The South Bronx |publisher=American Realities |access-date=December 23, 2014 |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812035736/http://americanrealities.org/locations/south_bronx/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 loan]]s or insurance policies—a process known as [[redlining]]. Others have suggested a "[[planned shrinkage]]" of municipal services, such as fire-fighting.<ref>Roderick Wallace (October 1988). [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3168963/ "A synergism of plagues: 'planned shrinkage', contagious housing destruction, and AIDS in the Bronx"]. ''Environmental Research'', Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 1–33. Retrieved July 18, 2022.</ref><ref>Roderick Wallace (1990). [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2244222/ "Urban desertification, public health and public order: 'planned shrinkage', violent death, substance abuse and AIDS in the Bronx"], ''Social Science & Medicine'', Vol. 37, No. 7 (1990) pp. 801–813. Retrieved July 18, 2022. "Empirical and theoretical analyses strongly imply present sharply rising levels of violent death, intensification of deviant behaviors implicated in the spread of AIDS, and the pattern of the AIDS outbreak itself, have been gravely affected, and even strongly determined, by the outcomes of a program of 'planned shrinkage' directed against African-American and Hispanic communities, and implemented through systematic and continuing denial of municipal services—particularly fire extinguishment resources—essential for maintaining urban levels of population density and ensuring community stability."</ref><ref>Issues such as [[redlining]], hospital quality, and what looked like the planned shrinkage of garbage collection were alleged as the motivations which sparked the [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] activists known as the [[Young Lords]]. The Young Lords coalesced with similar groups who claimed to be fighting for neighborhood empowerment, such as the [[Black Panthers]], to protest urban renewal and arson for profit with sit-ins, marches, and violence. See pages 6–9 of the guide to [https://www.pbs.org/pov/utils/youthviews/pov_palante_toolkit.pdf "''¡Palante Siempre Palante!'' The Young Lords"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326014741/http://www.pbs.org/pov/utils/youthviews/pov_palante_toolkit.pdf |date=March 26, 2009 }}, a "point of view" documentary on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]].</ref> There 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.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}<!-- User-generated sources such as (in this case) forum posts are generally not acceptable as sources; see [[WP:RS]]. Cite a reputable secondary source instead. <ref>For an example of this argument, as well as of several others mentioned here, see [https://city-data.com/forum/new-york-city/257896-when-bronx-burning-6.html "When the Bronx was burning"], ''City-data'' forum (blog), 2007, where rubygreta writes:

{{quote|Rent control destroyed the Bronx, especially starting in the 1960s and 1970s, when oil prices rose through the roof, and heavily subsidized Coop City opened in the East Bronx.
Essentially, tenants never moved out of their apartments because they had below-market rents thanks to rent control. The apartments deteriorated and common areas deteriorated because the landlords had no cash-flow. And no cash flow meant that they could not get mortgages for major repairs such as boilers, roofs and window replacement.}}</ref> -->

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 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945795-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615050753/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945795-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 15, 2008 |title=Arson for Hate and Profit |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=October 31, 1977 |access-date=March 14, 2008}}</ref> The Bronx became identified with a high rate of poverty and unemployment, which was mainly a persistent problem in the South Bronx.<ref name="Gonzalez 2004">Gonzalez (2004)</ref> There were cases where tenants set fire to 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 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.<ref name="Gonzalez 2004" />

In May 1984, [[New York Supreme Court]] justice [[Peter J. McQuillan]] ruled that [[Marble Hill, Manhattan]], was simultaneously part of the Borough of Manhattan (not the Borough of the Bronx) and part of Bronx County (not New York County)<ref>Chambers, Marcia. [https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/16/nyregion/judge-s-ruling-revives-dispute-on-marble-hill.html "Judge's Ruling Revives Dispute On Marble Hill"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 16, 1984. Accessed January 8, 2024. "After a painstaking legal and historical analysis, Justice Peter J. McQuillan said rather, that Marble Hill lies in both. 'The conclusion is irresistible,' he said in a 36-page opinion, that Marble Hill is situated in the Borough of Manhattan, but is not part of New York County. By statute, he said, 'it is in Bronx County.' Contrary to what the Legislature may have thought when it redefined boundary lines for Manhattan in 1938 and again in 1940, it 'dealt only with boroughs and not counties,' the judge wrote. In short, the boundaries of New York County and Manhattan are not the same, he said."</ref> 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 the official maps of the city.<ref name="Bloom 1995">{{cite web | last=Bloom | first=Jennifer Kingson | title=If Your Thinking of Living In/Marble Hill; A Bit of Manhattan in the Bronx | website=The New York Times | date=July 23, 1995 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/23/realestate/if-your-thinking-of-living-in-marble-hill-a-bit-of-manhattan-in-the-bronx.html | access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/27/nyregion/bill-would-clarify-marble-hill-s-status.html "Bill Would Clarify Marble Hill's Status"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 27, 1984. Accessed January 8, 2024. "The Assembly voted tonight to move the Marble Hill section of the Borough of Manhattan into New York County, thereby correcting a 46-year old mistake.... A dispute over Marble Hill followed, but the matter was mostly put to rest in 1938, when the boundaries of the Borough of Manhattan were shifted to include Marble Hill.... Tonight the Assembly voted 140 to 4 and joined the Senate in moving to change that, and the measure now goes to the Governor. It would be retroactive to Jan. 1, 1938."</ref><ref>[https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-division-first-department/2007/2007-09955.html ''Montesano v New York City Hous. Auth.''], Justia, as corrected through March 19, 2008. Accessed January 8, 2024. "Less than 10 weeks after the Boyd decision, the Legislature eliminated any doubt that the Borough of Manhattan and New York County were conterminous in this respect by specifically including Marble Hill in both the Borough of Manhattan and New York County, 'for all purposes,' retroactive to 1938 (L 1984, ch 939). The official map of the City of New York now shows that Marble Hill is located in New York County."</ref>

===Revitalization===
[[File:Melrosebx1.JPG|thumb|[[Row houses]] on a location where there was once burnt rubble. The Bronx has since seen revitalization.|alt=four-story houses along a city street]]

Since the late 1980s, significant development has occurred in the Bronx, first stimulated by the city's "Ten-Year Housing Plan"<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/realestate/perspectives-the-10-year-housing-plan-issues-for-the-90-s-management-and-costs.html "Perspectives: The 10-Year Housing Plan; Issues for the 90's: Management and Costs"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 7, 1990. Accessed January 2, 2024.</ref><ref>[http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/programs/hpd/pdf/hpd_1004_ryzin.pdf "Neighborhood Change and the City of New York's Ten-Year Housing Plan]. ''Housing Policy Debate'', Volume 10, Issue 4. Fannie Mae Foundation 1999.</ref> 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<ref>[http://www.sustainable.org/casestudies/SIA_PDFs/SIA_New_York.pdf NOS QUEDAMOS/WE STAY "Melrose Commons, Bronx, New York"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819191424/http://www.sustainable.org/casestudies/SIA_PDFs/SIA_New_York.pdf |date=August 19, 2008 }}. Sustainable Communities Network Case Studies. ''Sustainability in Action'', 1997, retrieved on July 6, 2008</ref><ref>David Gonzalez, [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/19/obituaries/19garcia.html "Yolanda Garcia, 53, Dies; A Bronx Community Force"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 19, 2005, retrieved on July 6, 2008</ref><ref>Meera Subramanian, [http://journalism.nyu.edu/portfolio/subramanian/SBxGardens.html "Homes and Gardens in the South Bronx"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821135846/http://journalism.nyu.edu/portfolio/subramanian/SBxGardens.html |date=August 21, 2008 }}, ''Portfolio'', November 8, 2005, [[New York University]] Department of Journalism, retrieved on July 6, 2008</ref> began to rebuild areas in the South Bronx.<ref>{{cite news | last=Powell | first=Michael | title=How the South Bronx's Ruins Became Fertile Ground | department=City Room | newspaper = The New York Times | date=July 27, 2011 | url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/how-the-south-bronxs-ruins-became-fertile-ground/ | access-date=November 1, 2015}}</ref> The [[IRT White Plains Road Line]] ({{NYCS trains|White Plains}}) began to show an increase in riders. Chains such as [[Marshalls]], [[Staples Inc.|Staples]], and [[Target Corporation|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.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/09/10/2007-09-10_wealthy_are_drowning_in_new_bank_branche.html "Wealthy are drowning in new bank branches, says study"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724203846/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/09/10/2007-09-10_wealthy_are_drowning_in_new_bank_branche.html |date=July 24, 2008 }}, ''[[New York Daily News]]'', September 10, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.banking.state.ny.us/sp070615.htm "Superintendent Neiman Addresses the Ninth Annual Bronx Bankers Breakfast"], June 15, 2007 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109212357/http://www.banking.state.ny.us/sp070615.htm |date=January 9, 2009 }}. Among the remarks of Richard H. Neiman, New York State's Superintendent of Banks, were these: "The Bronx was an economically stable community until the mid-1960s when the entire South Bronx struggled with major construction, real estate issues, red-lining, and block busting. This included a thoroughfare that divided communities, the deterioration of property as a result of rent control, and decrease in the value of real estate.

Due to strong community leadership, advances in policing, social services, and changing economic migration patterns to New York City, the Bronx is undergoing a resurgence, with new housing developments and thriving business. From 2000 to 2006, there was a 2.2% increase in population, and home ownership rates increased by 19.6%. Still, bank branches were absent in places such as Community districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 12."</ref><ref>[http://www.hispanicmpr.com/2007/12/11/new-bank-targets-latinos-in-south-bronx/ "New bank targets Latinos in South Bronx"] December 11, 2007</ref>{{full citation needed|date=July 2022}}<ref>On June 30, 2005, there were 129 federally insured banking offices in the Bronx, for a ratio of 1.0 offices for every 10,000 inhabitants. By contrast the national financial center of Manhattan had 555 for a ratio of 3.5/10,000, Staten Island a ratio of 1.9, Queens 1.7 and Brooklyn 1.1. In New York State as a whole the ratio was 2.6 and in the United States, 3.5 (a single office can serve more people in a more densely populated area). [[U.S. Census Bureau]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110102191509/http://www.census.gov/statab/ccdb/cc07_tabB11.xls "Table B-11. Counties – Banking, Retail Trade, and Accommodation and Food Services"], ''City and County Data Book'', 2007. For 1997 and 2007, [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]], [http://www4.fdic.gov/SOD/sodSummary.asp?barItem=3 "Summary of Deposits; summary tables"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218061429/http://www2.fdic.gov/sod/sodSummary.asp?barItem=3 |date=December 18, 2008 }}. Deposits of all FDIC-Insured Institutions Operating in New York: State Totals by County – all retrieved on July 15–16, 2008.</ref>

[[File:The Bronx - All-America City sign - panoramio.jpg|The Bronx – All-America City sign|alt=The Bronx – All-America City sign|thumb]]

In 1997, the Bronx was designated an ''[[All America City]]'' by the [[National Civic League]], acknowledging its comeback from the decline of the mid-century.<ref>{{cite news | last=Smalls | first=F. Romall | title=The Bronx Is Named an 'All-America' City | website=The New York Times | date=July 20, 1997 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/20/nyregion/the-bronx-is-named-an-all-america-city.html | access-date=November 1, 2015}}</ref> 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."<ref name="thonx">{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Timothy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/nyregion/27bronx.html |title=Celebrities Now Give Thonx for Their Roots in the Bronx |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 27, 2006 |access-date=March 14, 2008}}</ref> 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&nbsp;billion has been invested in new housing. In the first six months of 2007 alone total investment in new residential development was $965&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/07232007/news/regionalnews/bx__is_booming_regionalnews_tom_topousis.htm |title=Bx is Booming |work=[[New York Post]] |first=Tom |last=Topousis |date=July 23, 2007 |access-date=March 15, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111114655/http://www.nypost.com/seven/07232007/news/regionalnews/bx__is_booming_regionalnews_tom_topousis.htm |archive-date=January 11, 2009 }}</ref>

In addition there came a revitalization of the existing housing market in areas such as Hunts Point, the Lower Concourse, and the neighborhoods surrounding the Third Avenue Bridge as people buy apartments and renovate them.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kaysen|first1=Rhonda|title=The South Bronx Beckons|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/realestate/the-south-bronx-beckons.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 17, 2015}}</ref> Several boutique and chain hotels opened in the 2010s in the [[South Bronx]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Slattery|first1=Denis|title=The Bronx is booming with boutique and luxury hotels|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/bronx-booming-boutique-luxury-hotels-article-1.1937956|newspaper=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]]|location=New York City|date=September 15, 2014}}</ref>

New developments are underway. The Bronx General Post Office<ref>[http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews/ny/2009/ny_2009_0211.htm "NYC Post Offices to observe Presidents' Day"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606073444/http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews/ny/2009/ny_2009_0211.htm |date=June 6, 2011 }}. [[United States Postal Service]]. February 11, 2009. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.</ref><ref>"[https://archive.today/20120715092933/http://usps.whitepages.com/service/post_office/33768?p=1&s=ny&service_name=post_office&z=10451 "Post Office Location – BRONX GPO"]. [[United States Postal Service]]. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Anthony|first1=Madeline|title=Bronx GPO conversion to retail space in motion|publisher=Bronx Times Reporter|date=March 18–24, 2016|page=28}}</ref> The [[Kingsbridge Armory]], often cited as 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 {{convert|2,000,000|ft2|m2}} of development and would cost {{US$|350–500 million}}.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wirsing|first1=Robert|title=Concourse Yard revisited as 'new' development site|publisher=Bronx Times Reporter|date=February 12, 2016}}</ref>

Despite significant investment compared to the post war period, many exacerbated social problems remain including high rates of violent crime, substance abuse, overcrowding, and substandard housing conditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gothamist.com/news/bronx-has-highest-crime-rate-nyc-what-do-locals-want-next-mayor-do-about-it |title=The Bronx Has The Highest Crime Rate In NYC. What Do Locals Want The Next Mayor To Do About It? |work=The Gothamist |last=Cruz |first=David |date=June 17, 2021 |access-date=February 16, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief129.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief129.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |title=Epi Data Brief: Unintentional Drug Poisoning (Overdose) Deaths in New York City in 2020 |date=November 2021 |number=129 |publisher=New York City Health |access-date=February 16, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://gothamist.com/news/fatal-fire-bronx-tragedy-rooted-past |title=Fatal Fire In The Bronx: Tragedy Rooted In The Past |work=The Gothamist |last=Venugopal |first=Arun |date=January 19, 2022 |access-date=February 16, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Seiden |first=Aidan |url=https://www.amny.com/news/report-finds-the-bronx-was-the-coldest-borough-with-several-heat-complaints-this-winter/ |title=Report finds the Bronx was the coldest borough with several heat complaints this winter &#124; amNewYork |publisher=Amny.com |date=January 25, 2022 |accessdate=February 4, 2022}}</ref> The Bronx has the highest rate of poverty in New York City, and the greater South Bronx is the poorest area.<ref>{{cite news|first=Richard |last=Sisk |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/south-bronx-poorest-district-nation-u-s-census-bureau-finds-38-live-poverty-line-article-1.438344 |title=South Bronx is poorest district in nation, U.S. Census Bureau finds: 38% live below poverty line |newspaper=New York Daily News |date=September 29, 2010 |access-date=February 4, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2010/09/30/the-poorest-congressional-district-in-america-right-here-in-new-york-city/ |title=The Poorest Congressional District in America? Right Here, in New York City |work=The Village Voice |date= September 30, 2010|access-date=February 4, 2022}}</ref>