Wakefield, Bronx

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Location of Wakefield in New York City
Factory building on Bronx Boulevard

Wakefield is a working-class and middle class section of the northern borough of the Bronx in New York City, bounded by the New York city line with Westchester County or 243rd street to the north, 222nd Street to the south, and the Bronx River, Bronx River Parkway and Metro-North Railroad tracks to the west. Wakefield is the northernmost neighborhood in New York City (although the city's northernmost point is actually in Riverdale, at the College of Mount Saint Vincent). The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 12. The 2000 United States Census reported a total of 68,787 residents. Wakefield was named after the Virginia plantation where George Washington was born, just as neighboring Mount Vernon was named after the plantation where he lived and died.[1]

Wakefield, like the rest of the Bronx, was once woods and farmland. That started to change in 1840 when the New York and Harlem Railroad arrived. The current Wakefield station of the Metro-North Harlem Line was on the site of a village called Washingtonville, which was incorporated into Wakefield.

Formerly, Wakefield was home to large Irish American and Italian-American populations. During the 1980s, these communities were replaced with large African American populations (commonly known as white flight), which now comprise 72.3% of the neighborhood's total population. 19.6% of the population is Hispanic [2] Many residents are or are descended from Jamaican and West Indian immigrants.[3] The neighborhood is home to the prominent all-male Catholic secondary school Mount Saint Michael Academy, which serves 1,100 students from grades 7-12. The all-female St. Barnabas High School is located further west in Woodlawn and serves many students from Wakefield itself. The Wakefield Metro-North Railroad station on the Harlem Line is located at 241st Street. The neighborhood is served by the IRT White Plains Road Line (2 5) of the New York City Subway. The neighborhood's primary ZIP Code is 10466, with certain areas around East 241st Street and White Plains Road listed as 10470.

Social problems

Though the crime rate has historically been high, like other sections of New York, Wakefield has shown a steep decline in both violent and non-violent crime.[4] The neighborhood has also seen a rise in gangs and gang-related violence from neighboring Edenwald[5] The high school drop-out rate is higher than the city average, but lower than central Bronx neighborhoods.[6] Many households in the area are headed by a single mother.[7]

Transportation

Popular culture

Several scenes from the hit 1970 film Love Story starring Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw were filmed on on East 223rd Street, East 238th Street (Nereid Avenue) and Barnes Avenue, all located within the neighborhood. The Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church located at 4360 Barnes Avenue (corner of Boyd Avenue) is featured in the film.

Notable natives and residents

References

  1. ↑ Cohen, Joyce (January 31, 1999). "If You're Thinking of Living In / Wakefield, the Bronx; Hugging Westchester At the Subway's End". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  2. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau
  3. ↑ Brown, Kristen V. (February 13, 2008). "City Living: Wakefield, Bronx". amNewYork. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  4. ↑ 47th Precinct Comp Stat Report, August 2008
  5. ↑ Parker, Billy (April 29, 2009). "Major Bloods Arrests Remind Us: NYC Still Terrifying". Gothamist. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  6. ↑ Losen, Daniel J. (March 20, 2006). "Behind the Dropout Rate". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
  7. ↑ Bronx Census Data Analysis
  8. ↑ Koppel, Niko (April 12, 2009). "New Roots in the Bronx for a Lion of Reggae". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-17. 
  9. ↑ Bronx County Clerk's Office
  10. ↑ Government Conspiracy to Remove Potential Social Security Recipients From Baby Boomer Generation 17 April 2004

External links

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Coordinates: 40°53′52″N 73°51′08″W / 40.8978772°N 73.8523569°W / 40.8978772; -73.8523569

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