Highbridge is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the central-west section of the Bronx, New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, Macombs Dam Bridge to the south, and the Harlem River to the west. Ogden Avenue runs north–south through Highbridge.
The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 4, and its ZIP Code is 10452. The local subway is the IND Concourse Line (), operating along the Grand Concourse, and the IRT Jerome Avenue Line (), operating along Jerome Avenue. The area is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 44th 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 At the time of European settlement, the southern Bronx was inhabited by the Siwanoy, a tribe of the Wappinger confederacy. They called the hill that is now Highbridge "Nuasin", or "the land between", for its location between the Harlem River and an estuary that formerly flowed in the area of modern-day Jerome Avenue.
The neighborhood takes its name from the High Bridge, built in 1848 by Irish immigrants. The structure originally carried Croton Aqueduct water across the Harlem River. In 1864, a walkway was built across the High Bridge. Use of the structure to deliver water to Manhattan ceased in 1949. The bridge was closed to pedestrian traffic in the early 1960s and allowed to fall into disrepair; in 2015, a reconstruction project was undertaken and completed, with the bridge opening in 2019.
In the mid-late 19th century, the area was developed as a suburban retreat for the elite, who built large homes overlooking the Harlem River. The names of these families and their estates are reflected in the names of Highbridge's north–south avenues: Ogden Avenue and Boscobel Place for William B. Ogden, Merriam Avenue for Francis W. Merriam, Anderson Avenue and Woodycrest Avenue for the Anderson family, and Shakespeare Avenue for the Shakespeare Garden on the Marcher family estate. Around the turn of the 20th century, many of these estates were subdivided for urban development, however a few older houses remain.
In the early 20th century, the neighborhood was served by the Anderson–Jerome Avenues station, which connected the New York City Subway's Ninth Avenue elevated Line with the IRT Jerome Avenue Line ().
In the late 1960s, the residents of Highbridge were predominantly of Irish, Italian and Eastern European Jewish descent. Large numbers of Hispanic and African American residents have since replaced them. As of 2017, the neighborhood is undergoing gentrification.
Demographics Before the 1960s, Highbridge was a predominantly Irish American neighborhood. Today the vast majority of residents in the area are of Dominican, Puerto Rican and African American descent. Almost 40% of families live below the federal poverty line.
Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Highbridge was 37,727, an increase of 3,883 (11.5%) from the 33,844 counted in 2000. 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 - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
In 2010, the racial makeup of the neighborhood was 32.9% (12,397) African American, 1.2% (462) White, 0.2% (69) Native American, 0.5% (176) Asian, 0.0% (2) Pacific Islander, 0.3% (103) from other races, and 0.7% (253) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 64.3% (24,265) 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 - New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
The entirety of Community District 4, which comprises Highbridge and Concourse, had 155,835 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 78.6 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: 27% are between the ages of between 0–17, 29% between 25 and 44, and 23% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 11% and 10%, respectively.
As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 4 was $30,900. In 2018, an estimated 32% of Highbridge and Concourse residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents (13%) was 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 61% in Highbridge and Concourse, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51%, respectively. Based on this calculation, , Highbridge and Concourse are considered low-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying. However, , rents in Highbridge have risen more than any other neighborhood in New York City, at a rate of 22%.
Land use and terrain
Highbridge is dominated by townhouses and 5 and 6-story apartment buildings, including numerous Art Deco landmarks built by the developer Bernard J. Noonan and the architects Horace Ginsberg and Marvin Fine. , New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed March 8, 2018. Many older detached mansions remain on Woodycrest Avenue and Ogden Avenue. The total land area is roughly one square mile. The terrain is elevated and very hilly.
Stair streets connect parts of the neighborhood at different elevations. One particular stair street between Shakespeare and Anderson Avenues became known as the "Joker Stairs", drawing tourists after the 2019 film Joker was filmed there.
Landmarks
The Woodycrest Children's Home on Woodycrest Avenue was built as an orphanage by the American Female Guardian Society and Home for the Friendless to rescue from degradation, physical and moral, the children of want, homelessness and sorrow. This grand Beaux Arts building was designed by William Tuthill, the architect of Carnegie Hall. Opening in 1902, it housed 120 children in five dormitories, and contained a chapel, a kindergarten, a hospital, a dining room and a quarantine ward for new arrivals. The building is now managed by the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center as the Highbridge-Woodycrest center, providing long-term geriatric and AIDS care. , Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center. Accessed June 21, 2017. The Art Deco style Park Plaza Apartments on Jerome Avenue, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. , New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed March 8, 2018. The Art Deco style Noonan Plaza Apartments on West 168th Street. The Richardsonian Romanesque style Union Reformed Church of Highbridge on Ogden Avenue, with stained glass by Tiffany and Company. , New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed March 8, 2018. The Polychrome Gothic style Public School 91, now PS11, on Ogden Avenue. The "Lighthouse" building at Sedgewick Avenue and University Avenue has housed the H.W. Wilson Company, an educational publisher and index services provider, since 1917. The building's distinctive lighthouse was added in 1929. The company merged with EBSCO Publishing in June 2011.
Parks
The eponymous High Bridge, part of the former Croton Aqueduct and now a pedestrian bridge. terminates in a park in the northwest corner of the neighborhood.Highbridge Park, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed June 12, 2017. The High Bridge connects it to Highbridge Park in Manhattan. Merriam PlaygroundMerriam Playground, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed June 12, 2017. Macombs Dam Park to the south is built in the footprint of the original Yankee Stadium.Macombs Dam Park, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed June 12, 2017. Mullaly Park bounds the eastern edge of the High Bridge neighborhood.Mullaly Park, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed June 12, 2017. Nelson PlaygroundNelson Playground, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed July 9, 2018. Corporal Irwin Fischer ParkCorporal Fischer Park, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed July 9, 2018.
Community gardens The neighborhood has dozens of community gardens occupying lots that were left vacant between the 1970s and 1990s, including:
Las Casitas Community Garden La Isla Garden Mosaic Success Garden Taqwa Community Farm Target Bronx Community Garden, renovated by the New York Restoration ProjectTarget Bronx Community Garden, New York Restoration Project. Accessed June 12, 2017. Woodycrest Community Garden
Public housing There are three NYCHA developments located in Highbridge:Bronx Development Maps, New York City Housing Authority. Accessed April 3, 2017.
Highbridge Gardens: six, 13-story buildings.Highbridge Gardens, New York City Housing Authority. Accessed April 3, 2017. Highbridge Rehabs (Nelson Avenue); three, 5 and 6-story rehabilitated tenement buildings.Highbridge Rehabs (Nelson Avenue), New York City Housing Authority. Accessed April 3, 2017.
Politics
Highbridge is part of New York's 15th congressional district, the United States' smallest congressional district by area. The district is represented by Democrat Ritchie Torres.http://cookpolitical.com/house/pvi#The Median & Most Partisan Districts, 1998-2014
Highbridge is part of New York State Senate District 29, represented by José M. Serrano. Highbridge is divided between two districts of the New York State Assembly. The 77th District is represented by Latoya Joyner, while the 84th District is represented by Carmen E. Arroyo.
Highbridge is part of the New York City Council District 8. As of 2017, it is represented by Diana Ayala.
Police and crime Highbridge and Concourse are patrolled by the 44th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 2 East 169th Street. The 44th Precinct ranked 39th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 123 per 100,000 people, Highbridge and Concourse's rate of violent crimes per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 813 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole.
The 44th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 77.3% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 19 murders, 36 rapes, 713 robberies, 1,048 felony assaults, 421 burglaries, 934 grand larcenies, and 396 grand larcenies auto in 2022.
Fire safety High Bridge is located near two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations. Engine Co. 50/Ladder Co. 19/Battalion 26 is located at 1155 Washington Avenue, while Engine Co. 68/Ladder Co. 49 is located at 1160 Ogden Avenue.
In addition, FDNY EMS Station 17 is located at 1080 Ogden Avenue.
Health , preterm births and births to teenage mothers are more common in Highbridge and Concourse than in other places citywide. In Highbridge and Concourse, there were 93 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 34 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Highbridge and Concourse has a relatively average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, the uninsured rate among residents was estimated at 13%, slightly higher than the citywide rate of 12%.