Morrisania, Bronx
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Morrisania is a low income residential neighborhood geographically located in the southwestern Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 3. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 161st Street to the south, and the Webster Avenue to the west. Third Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Morrisania. Zip codes include 10456, 10457, and 10459. The area is patrolled by the 42nd Precinct located at 830 Washington Ave. NYCHA property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 7 at 737 Melrose Avenue in the Melrose section of the Bronx.
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[edit] Demographics
Morrisania has a population over 35,000. For decades Morrisania has been one of the poorest communities in America. Over half the population lives below the poverty line and receives public assistance (AFDC, Home Relief, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid). Over half the population resides in units managed by the NYCHA. The majority of residents in the area are of African American or Puerto Rican descent. The vast majority of households are renter occupied.[1]
[edit] Land Use and Terrain
Morrisania is dominated by public housing complexes of various types, vacant lots, and tenement buildings. Most of the original housing stock which consisted of older multi-unit homes and tenements were structurally damaged by arson and eventually razed by the city. The total land area is over a square mile. The terrain is somewhat hilly.
[edit] The Morris High School Historic District
The landmarked Morris High School Historic District is located adjacent the Forest Houses. Two square blocks between Boston Road, Forest Avenue, and East 166th Street. The district consist of Morris High School and adjacent brownstones, most of which have been converted into S.R.O.'s (Single Room Occupancy).[2]
[edit] Low Income Public Housing Projects
- There are twenty NYCHA developments located in Morrisania.[3]
- 1162-1176 Washington Avenue; one rehabilitated 6-story tenement building.
- Butler Houses; six, 21-story buildings.
- Claremont Parkway-Franklin Avenue Area; three buildings, 3 and 7-stories tall.
- Davidson Houses; one 8-story building.
- Eagle Avenue-East 163rd Street; one 6-story building.
- Forest Houses; fifteen buildings, 9, 10 and 14-stories tall.
- Franklin Avenue I (Conventional); three rehabilitated tenement buildings, 5-stories tall.
- Franklin Avenue I M.H.O.P. (Multi Family Homeownership Program); two rehabilitated tenement buildings, 5-stories tall.
- Franklin Avenue II (Conventional); three rehabilitated tenement buildings, 5-stories tall.
- Franklin Avenue III (Conventional); one 5-story rehabilitated tenement building.
- Franklin Avenue III M.H.O.P. (Multi Family Homeownership Program); three rehabilitated tenement buildings, 5-stories tall.
- Jennings Street M.H.O.P. (Multi Family Homeownership Program); three rehabilitated tenement buildings, 5-stories tall.
- McKinley Houses; five, 16-story buildings.
- Morris I; ten buildings, 16 and 20-stories tall.
- Morris II; seven buildings, 16 and 20-stories tall.
- Morrisania Houses; two, 16-story buildings.
- PSS Grandparent; one 6-story building.
- Union Avenue-East 163rd Street; one nine-story building.
- Union Avenue-East 166th Street; six, 3-story buildings.
- Webster Houses; five, 21-story buildings.
[edit] History
From 1670, the land of the neighborhood was the estate of the Morris family in Westchester County.
The area was sparsely populated until 1840, when Gouverneur Morris Jr., son of the famous congressional delegate and grandson of Lewis, allowed a railroad to be built across the property. In 1848, he sold the land next to the line for the development of a new town called Morrisania Village. In 1855, additional settlements along the rail line became the town of Morrisania, with its political center in the original 1840 village. At first the village was an early forerunner of today's bedroom communities, populated by people who worked in Manhattan, but it quickly developed their own local industries and craftsmen as it developed into a full-fledged town (Jackson, 1995). In 1874, the area was annexed to New York City (then consisting only of Manhattan) as part of the Twenty-Third Ward. In 1887, the Third Avenue Elevated was extended to area and provided easy and quick access to and from Manhattan. By the time the New York City Subway was extended to the area in 1904, a large influx of European immigrants had given the neighborhood an urban character, with tenements replacing houses as the dominant form of dwelling (Jackson, 1995).
In the 1950s along with changing demographics, Robert Moses destroyed various tenements in favor of a colony of public housing. After the construction of the Cross-Bronx Expressway, the poverty that East Tremont suffered spread into Morrisania. As a result, the Third Avenue El closed in 1973. During this time period a wave of arson destroyed or damaged many of the residential, commercial, and industrial structures in the area.
[edit] Social Problems
Many social problems associated with poverty from crime to drug addiction have plagued the area for some time. Despite crime declines versus their peaks during the crack and heroin epidemics violent crime continues to be a serious problem in the community. [4] Morrisania has significantly higher drop out rates and incidents of violence in its schools.[5] Students must pass through metal detectors and swipe ID cards to enter the buildings. Reminiscent a prison environment which many feel encourages bad behavior. Other problems in local schools include low test scores and high truancy rates. Drug addiction is also a serious problem in the community. Due to the lucrative drug trade in the area many addicted reside in the community. Peer pressure among children who come from broken homes contributes to the high rate of usage. Many households in the area are headed by a single mother which contributes to the high poverty rate.[6] Many of whom had their children at a very young age and unfortunately could not provide for their children. Many of the families living in Morrisania have been in poverty for generations. The incarceration rate in the area is also very high.[7] Many if not most males in the community have been arrested at some point in their lives. This has a direct correlation to aggressive policing tactics including "sweeps" due to the area's high crime rate. Morrisania is home to a significant number of inmates currently held in New York state prison and jail facilities.
[edit] Urban Renewal
After a wave of arson ravaged the low income communities of New York City throughout the 1970s, most of the residential structures in Morrisania were left seriously damaged or destroyed. The city began to rehabilitate many formally abandoned tenement style apartment buildings and designate them low income housing beginning in the late 1970s. Also many subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings have been or are being built on vacant lots across across the neighborhood.
[edit] Schools
[edit] Public
- PS 2/63: Morrisania (East 169th St and Franklin Av)
- PS/MS 4: Crotona Park West (East 173rd St and Fulton Av)
- PS 42: Claremont Village (Claremont Parkway and Washington Av)
- PS 55: Benjamin Franklin (St. Paul's Pl and Washington Av)
- PS 110: Theodore Schoenfield (Crotona Park South and Fulton Av)
- PS 132: Garrett A. Morgan (East 168th St and Washington Av)
- PS 140: Eagle (East 163rd St and Eagle Av)
- PS 146: Edward "Pops" Collins (East 164th St and Cauldwell Av)
- PS 198: Basil Behagen (East 168th St and Tinton Av)
- PS/MS 212: Theodore Gathings (Home St and Union Av)
- MS 219: Charles Richard Drew (East 169th St and Third Av)
- MS 301: Paul Laurence Dunbar (East 161st St and Cauldwell Av)
- MS 313/339: Diana Sands (East 172nd St and Webster Av)
- Morris High School (East 166th St and Boston Rd)
- Jane Addams High School (East 161st St and Tinton Av)
- Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics (East 169th St and Fulton Av)
- Bathgate High School Campus (Claremont Parkway and Bathgate Av)
[edit] Transportation
- Bx6: to Hunt's Point or Riverside Drive (via 161st St)
- Bx11: to Simpson St Station or George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via 170th St)
- Bx15: to Fordham Plaza or West Harlem (via 3rd Av)
- Bx21: to Westchester Square or 3rd Av-138th St Station (via Boston Rd-Morris Park Av)
- Bx35: to Simpson St Station or George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via 167th St)
- Bx41: to Wakefield-241st St station or 3rd Av-149th St station (via Webster Av)
- Bx55: to Gun Hill Rd station or 3rd Av-149th St station (via 3rd Av Limited)
[edit] Facts
- The neighborhood's name is of somewhat low currency, possibly due to the difficult pronunciation (it is pronounced "mohr-ih-'san-ee-ə", or in the speech of many New Yorkers "mahr-ih-'san-ee-ə") as well as the preference among many to simply refer to the general area as the South Bronx rather than by individual neighborhood names.
- In 1790, Lewis Morris, owner of the estate and signer of the Declaration of Independence, proposed the land as the site of the federal capital.
- In 2003, the City rezoned several blocks along Third and Washington Avenues, allowing for residential development in a manufacturing area. As a result, several formerly vacant parcels of land have been redeveloped with affordable housing and retail projects.
- PSS Grandparent is the first-ever low income housing development in the United States constructed to meet the special needs of grandparents or elderly caregivers who care for grandchildren or other relatives.
- Morrisania is considered part of the socioeconomic South Bronx.
[edit] Notable Natives
- Grandmaster Flash is rumored to be a current resident of the neighborhood.
- Rapper Fat Joe was raised in the Forest Houses.
[edit] References
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