A Portrait of The Bronx

Out of the five boroughs in New York City, the Bronx seemingly has the worst reputation. But where did this stigma come from?

Anna Hunt, Staff Reporter • December 25, 2024

Anna Hunt

This is one of the many murals on the side of a building. The text reads, “Enjoy Life.” It can be found near the Prospect Avenue and Westchester Avenue train station in the South Bronx.

Last year, on a gloomy Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving break, my English teacher tasked me and my classmates with writing down who or what we were thankful for. As we worked, the topic of where we lived arose. The students around me were all from Queens while I hailed from the Bronx. One of them said that they wouldn’t last a day in the Bronx, that it was too dangerous. They all agreed that they were thankful for the safety of their area and that they did not live in the Bronx. I quietly seethed, exasperated at the thought. The Bronx isn’t as bad as people say, right?

Due to it being a relatively low-income area, the Bronx has acquired an unsavory reputation over the past five decades. When a tourist comes to New York, they are excited for the magnificent might of Manhattan. Or perhaps they are drawn to the increasingly artsy Brooklyn or the culture of Queens. Staten Island tends to be forgotten, but remains a somewhat popular tourist spot because of the Staten Island Ferry. To most, the Bronx doesn’t have a lot going for it.

Origins

Almost 400 years ago, Jonas S. Bronck, a Swedish seaman, moved to the area that is now Mott Haven, the southeastern most section of the Bronx that is closest to Harlem. Years earlier, in 1629, a document known as the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was signed by the Dutch West India Company. This allowed Bronck to settle on land in New Netherland and avoid taxes for the first ten years. He lived on 652 acres of land. Bronck resided there along with his wife Teuntie Jeurieans, until his death in 1643 at the age of 43.

Despite there being two communities of Lenape residing there previously, the whole area, including the river, was named after him. It became known as Bronck’s Land, Broncksland, and eventually just Broncks. Over 50 years later in 1697, the spelling we know today came into use. When the borough was officially established in 1898, the entire area was labeled “The Bronx.”

Student Perspective

Despite going to the Bronx High School of Science, many students have pre-established biases towards the borough. I set out to discover more by navigating the pandemonium of the school cafeteria. Most students were open to answering my questions, though curious about my intentions.

For the most part, when asked whether they feel safe in the Bronx, students said yes. However, it depended on the area. Those who live in the Bronx feel safe, but mainly in the East/North section, or around the school. Mahea Mazumder ’27 said, “Usually, yeah. I feel less safe in Fordham, near the 4 train.” Mazumder takes the Bx22 to school, as many from her area of Parkchester do.

Those from Queens also mostly agreed. “I take the school bus, so yeah. I feel safe around the school,” said Ankit Kumar ’27. Allegra Mark ’27 said that she “hasn’t had any incidents on the train.” On the other hand, some have had less than positive experiences. One student, James Franco ’27 from Queens, has been threatened in the Bronx. “Some guy walked up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, ‘I’m gonna beat you up!’” Franco was taken aback by this and said that he only feels partly safe in the Bronx.

When asked about what they had heard about the Bronx from the news or other sources, there was one common thread among all students. They have all been told that the Bronx is dangerous.

“My parents say it’s dangerous, but it depends on the area. This area is friendly. Queens has bad areas too, though,” said Fei Ji ’25 from Queens. He said that his parent’s influence gave him a dangerous impression of the Bronx. Koroush Moussavi ’26 from Manhattan added, “It’s described as very dangerous, with violent crime.” A student from the south Bronx, Jayden Moncion ’27, agrees. “People say, ‘It’s not that bad,’ even though it is.”

Jadyn Sinclair ‘25, the Student Council president of Bronx Science and a Bronx native, said that often people stereotype those from the Bronx as socially or academically disadvantaged. Sinclair also added that people from the South Bronx are painted as worse off in most stereotypes.

Statistics

Pictured is the intersection of Laconia and Allerton Avenue in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx. This area is considered to be one of the safer ones in the borough. The photo was taken from a Bx25/26 bus stop. (Anna Hunt)

Despite my affinity for the Bronx, the borough may be more dangerous than I originally thought. Statistically speaking, the Bronx has higher rates of crime compared to the other boroughs in the city. In particular, the South-East section has the most crime. Based on the NYC Crime Map, the 48th police precinct, which includes the East Tremont section of the Bronx, has 45 crimes per 1,000 residents as of August 2024, with a population of a little over 88,000 people. This contrasts the crime rates of the 112th precinct, a part of Queens that includes Forest Hills, which has 14 crimes per 1,000 residents as of August 2024; the area has a population of around 115,000 people. That being said, the area surrounding Bronx Science is safer than the south Bronx, but not necessarily safer than Forest Hills, Queens. The 52nd precinct, which includes our school, has a rate of 30 crimes per 1,000 residents, with a population of over 142,000 people. In addition, based on the NYC Crime Map created by the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation, Midtown South currently has more crime per 1,000 people at 250 crimes.

So overall, the Bronx is somewhat more dangerous in the South-East Bronx. At times, East Tremont in the south Bronx is not worse than Jamaica in Central Queens. So why does the Bronx still face so much of a negative stigma? These preconceived notions mainly date back to the 1970s.

The Bronx is Burning

At the start of the 20th century, the Bronx experienced an increase in population following the new developments that were built there. This includes apartment buildings and housing, as well as iconic cultural spots such as Fordham Road. The population that arrived in the Bronx mainly consisted of immigrants, including Italian, Irish, Jewish, and German people; there was also a sizable African-American community living in the area. However, the area is now made up of a mostly Hispanic and African-American population.

This shift in demographic is in part due to the Cross-Bronx Expressway, which began construction in 1948. Headed by Robert Moses, who worked as an urban planner in New York for more than 40 years, the expressway was built to act as a highway that connects one side of the Bronx to the other.

Here is a view east across the Harlem River, looking at the Cross Bronx Expressway and Major Deegan Expressway interchange on a sunny midday. (Photo Credit: Jim.henderson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Due to the nature of constructing an expressway that would cut through the Bronx, many buildings were torn down in favor of building the expressway. Over the course of the 25 years it took to finish, there was a steep decrease in the property value of the area that the Cross-Bronx Expressway ripped through. This led to the phenomenon known as “white flight.” Many white residents moved to more suburban areas of the city, like Queens and Brooklyn. African-American and Latino residents had fewer options due to redlining, dividing neighborhoods based on race. Then the neighborhoods with the minorities were deprived of resources like funding for supporting the upkeep of their neighborhoods, and for hospitals. The overall neglect of the areas affected by the Cross-Bronx Expressway led to increased crime rates with no one to address them.

Furthermore, for nearly a decade during the 1970s, fires were destroying neighborhoods in the Bronx. Flames tore through buildings across the South Bronx, and the fire department’s lack of funding hindered it from resolving the situation. Many of the fires were started by landlords who burnt the buildings down to receive reimbursement via insurance. Even so, it was the residents of the Bronx themselves who faced the punishment for their poor living conditions. These systemic issues continue to plague the Bronx today.

But these stories are not told to younger New Yorkers. Many only see a rundown neighborhood full of impoverished people. It is assumed that those in poverty are in that situation due to their own accord. Yet, more often than not, poverty is a generational ailment that proves difficult to get out of. It’s a problem that is caused by racial inequities like redlining. There’s a lack of opportunities for the poorer residents, and a lack of help reaching them.

Looking Towards the Future

Here is a photo of the newly opened Bronx Music Hall, on East 163th Street, located in the South Bronx. Its grand opening was held on October 18th, 2024. Each record on the wall represents a donor who contributed to the opening of the concert venue. (Anna Hunt)

Recently, though, interest in improving the Bronx has grown. Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she was investing in revitalizing the Cross-Bronx Expressway back in January 2024. The project includes adding specific lanes for buses, bicycles, and pedestrians, which will help to connect the east and west Bronx. Later, in August of this year, the city council also approved a rezoning of the Bronx Metro-north stations. This will lead to the construction of thousands of new homes and developments, as well as easier transportation from the South Bronx to upper Manhattan. Lastly, this past year on October 18th, 2024, the Bronx Music Hall opened as a performing arts and cultural center for the borough. The venue is the first of its kind with this level of funding and will serve as a keystone for cultural education in years to come. With time, it could potentially become a Bronx parallel to the Kaufman Music Center.

The Bronx has a history of being overlooked or ignored, but its culturally diverse story deserves to be known. The Bronx is home to many different enclaves and communities of people: Italian, Hispanics, African Americans, South-East Asian, and many more. Its culture is influenced both by the variety of ethnicities, and the resilience that keeps it going. The Bronx is also a borough of resilience, surviving through both the neglect of the government as well as the destruction of the borough. The narrative has to be shifted on the Bronx: the negatives of the borough are at times exaggerated, and its residents are often blamed. It is important to understand the past so that we can look towards the future.

This photo was taken from Pelham Bay Park in The Bronx, New York City. It depicts ‘American Boy,’ a statue created by Louis St. Lannes, which sat atop Rice Stadium when it was finished in the early 1920s. The stadium was demolished in 1989, but the statue was restored. It stands tall in the park as a symbol of American youth and the importance of giving future generations a brighter future. (Anna Hunt)

The Bronx has a history of being overlooked or ignored, but its culturally diverse story deserves to be known.

About the Contributor

Anna Hunt, Staff Reporter

Anna Hunt is an Arts and Entertainment editor for ‘The Science Survey.' While this is her first year, she enjoys telling a story through journalistic writing. Anna likes interviewing people about their perspective because she finds it fascinating. She wants to do more investigative journalism in the future. Photography is also very interesting to Anna because she wants to capture feelings when she takes pictures, to capture the essence of the moment. Anna enjoys reading fantasy and realistic fiction, as well as playing video games. She particularly enjoys the Percy Jackson series and the Artemis Fowl series. She also likes playing the trumpet in her music class. Someday, Anna wants to be a journalist at a major publication, and tell the stories of average people. If that fails, maybe she will go into graphic design, or music. Overall, Anna has a passion to create.