Riverdale, Bronx

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Riverdale

Riverdale (population approximately 45,000, according to the 2000 U.S. Census) is a middle- and upper-class residential neighborhood in the northwest Bronx, New York City.

Riverdale is about three square miles in area. It is bordered on the north by the city of Yonkers, Westchester County, New York; to the east by Van Cortlandt Park and the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx; to the west by the Hudson River; and to the south by the Harlem River. The five subsections of Riverdale are Spuyten Duyvil, South Riverdale, Central Riverdale, Fieldston, and North Riverdale. The leafy, scenic enclave of Fieldston, a private community, was designated as an historic district in by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2006.

Housing in Riverdale ranges from multi-story apartment buildings dating from the 1950's and 60's to large, architecturally distinguished houses built in the early 20th Century, mostly in Georgian- and Tudor-revival styles. In 2005-06, Central Riverdale experienced a building boom with the addition of over a dozen mid- and high-rise condominium buildings.

Riverdale is in a sense the closest northern suburb of New York City although it is not its own municipality. Administratively, Riverdale is part of Bronx Community District 8.

Wave Hill, a combination botanical garden and outdoor art gallery, is located in the so-called Estate Area overlooking the Hudson River. Two weekly newspapers, the Riverdale Press and the Riverdale Review, focus on news of interest to residents of the neighborhood.

Riverdale is home to three prominent private schools (Horace Mann, Riverdale Country, and Fieldston), and two Roman Catholic colleges, (Manhattan College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent). The public elementary schools are P.S. 24 and P.S. 81. The public middle school and high school is M.S./H.S 141 (The Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy). Many Riverdale residents also attend Bronx Science and the High School for Environmental Studies. Riverdale is also home to SAR Academy, a private Jewish day school near the Riverdale train station, and SAR High School. Catholic elementary schools in the area are St. Gabriel's School and St. Margaret of Cortona School.

The Riverdale train station on the Metro-North Railroad

The New York City Subway 1 line serves the area just beyond its eastern border while the Hudson line of the Metro-North commuter railroad runs along its western edge, the Hudson River. Commuting time from the Spuyten Duyvil station to Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan is around 25 minutes. Manhattan can also be easily reached by MTA Bus Company's (Formerly Liberty Lines) express routes. By car, Riverdale is commonly reached by the Henry Hudson Parkway (Route 9A), which bisects much of the neighborhood. This major thoroughfare connects it to Manhattan over the Henry Hudson Bridge to the south.

Many residents of Riverdale are reluctant to be associated with the Bronx, and use "Riverdale, New York" as an address. The U.S. postal service once did not consider this acceptable and hence letters addressed as such were often returned to the sender. Now it has no problem sending letters to Riverdale residents. However, further complicating matters, some residents insist on using the "Bronx" address so as not to appear politically incorrect. Riverdale's zip codes are 10463 and 10471; while 10471 is entirely in Riverdale, 10463 largely covers the less prestigious neighborhoods of Kingsbridge and Marble Hill, leading some to mistakenly call those areas "Riverdale."

Riverdale is home to large Jewish (especially and increasingly Orthodox Jewish) and Irish American communities. Greeks and Koreans are also a presence.

The exteriors of many of Riverdale's mansions have been used in movies, most notably the "Corleone House" located on Independence Avenue (across from Wave Hill) was used for the exterior shots in the film, The Godfather.

[edit] Celebrities who have lived in Riverdale

John F. Kennedy, U.S. President, lived at 5040 Independence Avenue, across the street from Wave Hill
Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City during the 1930s and 1940s. He lived at 5020 Goodridge Avenue.
Eliot Spitzer, Former New York State Attorney General and Governor-elect of New York, was born in Riverdale
Lou Gehrig, Yankee baseball star, lived at 5204 Delafield Avenue
Chris Chambliss, former Yankee First Basemen
Willie Mays, baseball star, lived at The Whitehall, 3333 Henry Hudson Parkway
Carly Simon, singer/songwriter. She is a Riverdale native.
Ed Sullivan, television personality, lived at the Whitehall
U Thant, U.N. Secretary General
Arturo Toscanini, Conductor, lived at Wave Hill
Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer. lived at the Riverdale Children's Association
Tracy Morgan, starred on Saturday Night Live
Mark Twain, Author, lived at Wave Hill
Béla Bartók, Composer and pianist, lived at 3242 Cambridge Ave.
Fred Friendly, former president of CBS News lived in Riverdale
Desmond Harrington, Actor lived in Riverdale
Steven Tyler, American musician and songwriter (Aerosmith), lived in Netherland Gardens