Highbridge is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the Southwestern section of The Bronx, New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 4. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, East 161st Street to the south, and the Harlem River to the west. Ogden Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Highbridge. The local subway is the 4 line; operating along Jerome Avenue. ZIP codes include 10452. The area is patrolled by the 44th Precinct located at 2 E 169th Street in Concourse. 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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Highbridge has a population under 35,000. For decades Highbridge 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). The majority of residents in the area are of Puerto Rican, or African American descent. A small but growing Dominican community exists in this area. The vast majority of households are renter occupied.[1]
Highbridge is dominated by 5 and 6-story tenement buildings, older multi-unit homes, vacant lots, and newly constructed subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and apartment buildings. A significant percentage of the original housing stock was structurally damaged by arson and eventually razed by the city. The total land area is roughly one square mile. The terrain is elevated and very hilly. Stair streets connect areas located at different elevations.
The neighborhood takes its name from the High Bridge built in 1848 by Irish immigrants to carry Croton Aqueduct water across the Harlem River. Up until the late 1960s, the residents of Highbridge were predominately of Irish and Eastern European descent. They have since been replaced by large numbers of Hispanics and African Americans.
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.[3] Highbridge has significantly higher drop out rates and incidents of violence in its schools.[4] Students must pass through metal detectors and swipe ID cards to enter the buildings. This is reminiscent of 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.[5] 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 Highbridge have been in poverty for generations. The incarceration rate in the area is also very high.[6]
After a wave of arson ravaged the low income communities of New York City throughout the 1970s, many if not most residential structures in Highbridge 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 the neighborhood.
