Crotona Park East, also known as Crotona or East Morrisania, is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the southwest

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Crotona Park East is considered part of the South Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, the

Bronx River The Bronx River (), approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. Besides the Hutchinson River, the Bronx River is the only fresh water river in ...

to the east, East 167th Street to the south, and Crotona/Prospect Avenues to the west. Southern Boulevard is the primary thoroughfare through the area. The neighborhood is adjacent to, but distinct from, the nearby park named

Crotona Park Crotona Park is a public park in the South Bronx in New York City, covering . The park is bounded by streets of the same name on its northern, eastern, southern, and western borders, and is adjacent to the Crotona Park East and Morrisania neig ...

. The neighborhood is part of

Bronx Community Board 3 Bronx Community Board 3 is a local government unit in the New York City borough, of the Bronx, encompassing the neighborhoods of Crotona Park East, Claremont, Concourse Village, Melrose, and Morrisania. It is delimited by Sheridan Boulevard to ...

, and its ZIP Codes include 10459 and 10460. The area is patrolled by the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

's 42nd Precinct. NYCHA property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 7 at 737 Melrose Avenue in the Melrose section of the Bronx.

History

From 1670, the land of the neighborhood was the estate of the Morris family in

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. In the 1970s, Crotona Park East and many other low income sections of the New York City were being ravaged by arson. By 1980, the South Bronx had become a national symbol of urban decay; Charlotte Street, a street in the neighborhood's heart, had decayed the worst.The South Bronx Through a New Lens - NY Times
/ref> The area was filled with many burned-out tenement buildings, empty lots, and arsons happening nearly every day, as more than 66% of residents left the area. On October 5, 1977, then-President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

visited Charlotte Street, declaring the South Bronx to be the worst neighborhood in the United States. A year later, the city still had not renovated Charlotte Street. The urban decay of Charlotte Street was used as one of the symbolic locations for the 1981 film '' Wolfen''. Community groups such as Banana Kelly CIA Inc., the Mid-Bronx Desperadoes, and SEBCO (South East Bronx Community Organization) were helping to maintain existing buildings which were structurally intact after fires. They played a pivotal role in the construction of subsidized multi-family homes and apartment buildings in most of Crotona Park East. The subsidized homes built along Charlotte Street during the late 1980s in Crotona Park East, which originally cost $50,000 were the first and still are the only ranch style homes in the South Bronx today; these homes are now worth over $500,000. This type of housing was selected due to its desirable traits. Today they are home to many African American and Puerto Rican families. The funding for these homes was provided in part by former Assemblyman Louis Niñé, in whose honor Wilkins Avenue was renamed "Louis Niñé Boulevard", following his death in 1983.The greatest real estate turnaround - CNN
/ref>

Demographics

Crotona Park East is a low-income neighborhood that predominantly consists of

Latin Americans Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...

and African Americans. The vast majority of households, 93.5% of all housing, are renter-occupied. Almost half of the population lives below the federal poverty line. Based on data from the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, the population of Crotona Park East was 20,277, a change of 2,205 (10.9%) from the 18,072 counted in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division -

Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 0.9% (179)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 32% (6,493)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% (65) Native American, 0.6% (123)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0% (3)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.2% (39) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.7% (138) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 65.3% (13,237) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division -

Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016. The entirety of Community District 3, which comprises Crotona Park East and Morrisania, had 91,601 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 76.2 years. This is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 29% are between the ages of between 0–17, 29% between 25–44, and 21% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 12% and 9% respectively. As of 2017, the median

household income Household income is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamp ...

in Community Districts 3 and 6, including Tremont and Belmont, was $25,972. In 2018, an estimated 31% of Crotona Park East and Morrisania residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in six residents (16%) 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 60% in Crotona Park East and Morrisania, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Crotona Park East and Morrisania are

gentrifying Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

Land use and terrain

Crotona Park East is dominated by public housing projects and newly constructed subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and apartment buildings, although tenement buildings, older multi-unit homes, and vacant lots are also present. Most of the original housing stock was structurally damaged by arson and were eventually razed by the city. The total land area is less than a square mile. The terrain is somewhat hilly.

Low-income public housing projects

There are eight NYCHA properties located in Crotona Park East. # Bryant Avenue-East 174th Street; one 6-story building # East 173rd Street-Vyse Avenue; seven buildings, 3 stories tall # Hoe Avenue-East 173rd Street; one 6-story building # Murphy Houses; two 20-story buildings # Prospect Avenue M.H.O.P. (Multi Family Homeownership Program); one rehabilitated 5-story tenement building # West Farms Square Rehab; four rehabilitated tenement buildings, 6 stories tall # West Farms Square (Conventional); one 5-story rehabilitated tenement building # West Farms Square M.H.O.P. (Multi Family Homeownership Program); two rehabilitated tenement buildings, 5 and 6 stories tall

Police and crime

Crotona Park East and Morrisania are patrolled by the 42nd Precinct of the

, located at 830 Washington Avenue. The 42nd Precinct ranked 45th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 161 per 100,000 people, Crotona Park East and Morrisania's rate of

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objecti ...

s per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 1,243 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole. The 42nd Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 61.1% between 1990 and 2020. The precinct reported 14 murders, 28 rapes, 332 robberies, 549 felony assaults, 243 burglaries, 400 grand larcenies, and 155 grand larcenies auto in 2020.

Fire safety

Crotona Park East contains a

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

(FDNY) fire station, Engine Co. 82/Ladder Co. 31, at 1213 Intervale Avenue.

Health

preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 2 ...

s and births to teenage mothers are more common in Crotona Park East and Morrisania than in other places citywide. In Crotona Park East and Morrisania, there were 107 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 35.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Crotona Park East and Morrisania has a relatively average population of residents who are

uninsured Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to Hedge ( ...

. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 12%, equal to the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of

air pollutant Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

, in Crotona Park East and Morrisania is , more than the city average. Sixteen percent of Crotona Park East and Morrisania residents are smokers, which is higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Crotona Park East and Morrisania, 36% of residents are

obese Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

, 22% are

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, and 32% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 20% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-one percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 69% of residents described their health as "good," "very good," or "excellent," lower than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Crotona Park East and Morrisania, there are 10 bodegas. The nearest hospitals are

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln Lincoln Hospital is a full service medical center and teaching hospital affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College, in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, New York. The medical center is municipally owned by NYC Health + ...

in Melrose and

Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center The BronxCare Health System, previously known as "Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center," is a hospital in the Bronx, New York City. It was founded as the Lebanon Hospital by Jonas Weil in 1890. In 1962, Lebanon Hospital merged with Bronx Hospital, and si ...

in Claremont.

Post office and ZIP Codes

Crotona Park East is covered by the ZIP Codes 10459 south of Jennings Street and 10460 north of Jennings Street. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates the Boulevard Station post office at 1132 Southern Boulevard.

Education

Crotona Park East and Morrisania generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . While 19% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 36% have less than a high school education and 45% 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 Crotona Park East and Morrisania students excelling in math rose from 19% in 2000 to 41% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 28% to 32% during the same time period. Crotona Park East and Morrisania's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City. In Crotona Park East and Morrisania, 34% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per

school year A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

, higher than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 63% of high school students in Crotona Park East and Morrisania graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.

Schools

The

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

operates public schools. Schools include: *PS 50: Clara Barton (East 172nd Street and Vyse Avenue) *PS 61/MS 190: Francisco Oller (Charlotte Street and Crotona Park East) *PS 66: Daniel Boone (Jennings Street and Boone Avenue) *PS 134: George Frederic Bristow (Freeman and Bristow Streets) *IS 98: Herman Ridder (East 173rd Street and Boston Road)
PS 271: East Bronx Academy for the Future
The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encom ...

operates Catholic schools in the Bronx. St. Martin of Tours School was in Crotona. After it opened in 1925, its student body was mostly Irish American and Italian American, and most parents were in the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

fields. African-American and Latino families began entering the area in the 1960s. In its heyday it had over 1,000 students. Throughout the school's life, many of tits students originated from immigrant families. The

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

of the 1970s and the increasingly low socioeconomic profile of the neighborhood impacted the school. In 2011 it had nine

lay teachers Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France * Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) ...

and 104 students. It closed that year.

Library

The New York Public Library operates the Morrisania branch at 610 East 169th Street. The branch, a Carnegie library, opened in 1908 and was designed by

Babb, Cook & Willard Babb, Cook & Willard was a New York City-based architectural firm established in 1884 that designed many important houses and commercial buildings. The principals of the firm were George Fletcher Babb (1836–1915), Walter Cook (1843–1916), ...

Transportation

The following

MTA Regional Bus Operations MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...

bus routes serve Crotona Park East: *: to

Parkchester Parkchester is a planned community and neighborhood originally developed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and located in the central Bronx, New York City. The immediate surrounding area also takes its name from the complex. Its boundari ...

station () or

George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City. The bus station is owned and operated by the Port Authori ...

(via 170th Street, Claremont Parkway, 174th Street) *: to

Fordham Plaza Bus Terminal Fordham station, also known as Fordham–East 190th Street station, is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem and New Haven Lines, serving Fordham Plaza in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. The platforms ...

or Port Morris (via Prospect–Crotona Avenues) *: to

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

Riverbank State Park Riverbank State Park is a state park built on top of a sewage treatment facility on the Hudson River, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It was opened in 1993. On September 5, 2017, it was renamed Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park, afte ...

(via 149th Street–Southern Boulevard) *: to

Westchester Square Westchester Square is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the eastern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East Tremont Avenue and Silver Street, Blon ...

station or Third Avenue–138th Street station (via Boston Road–Morris Park Avenue) *: to Clason Point (via Rosedale Avenue) *: to West Farms Road (Crotona Park East) or

(via 167th Street) *: to Castle Hill or

(via Tremont Avenue) The following New York City Subway stations serve Crotona Park East: * 174th Street () * Freeman Street () * West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue ()

References

External links

* http://bronxmall.com/commboards/cd3.html {{Bronx Neighborhoods in the Bronx