Crotona Park East, Bronx

Location of East Morrisania in New York City

Older multifamily home in East Morrisania.

Crotona Park East, also known as Crotona (not to be confused with Crotona Avenue in nearby East Tremont), is a low income residential neighborhood geographically located in the southwest Bronx in New York City. 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, the Bronx River to the east, East 167th Street to the south, and Crotona–Prospect Avenue to the west. Southern Boulevard is the primary thoroughfare through East Morrisania. Zip codes include 10459 and 10460. The area is patrolled by the 42nd Precinct located at 830 Washington Ave in Morrisania. NYCHA property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 7 at 737 Melrose Avenue in the Melrose section of the Bronx.

Demographics

Crotona Park East has a population of 75,656. The demographics are 14.2% White, 51.5% African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 26.3% other, 6.0% two or more races and 50.4% Hispanic or Latino. For decades East Morrisania has been one of the poorest communities in America. Over half the population lives below the poverty line and receives public assistance. The majority of residents in the area are of Puerto Rican or African American descent. The vast majority of households are renter occupied, 93.5% of all housing.^[1]

Land use and terrain

Crotona Park East is dominated by tenement buildings, older multi-unit homes, vacant lots, public housing projects, and newly constructed subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and apartment buildings. Most of the original housing stock was structurally damaged by arson and eventually razed by the city. The total land area is less than a square mile. The terrain is somewhat hilly.

Low income public housing projects

• There are eight NYCHA properties located in East Morrisania.^[2]

1. Bryant Avenue-East 174th Street; one, 6-story building.
2. East 173rd Street-Vyse Avenue; seven buildings, 3-stories tall.
3. Hoe Avenue-East 173rd Street; one, 6-story building.
4. Murphy Houses; two, 20-story buildings.
5. Prospect Avenue M.H.O.P. (Multi Family Homeownership Program); one, rehabilitated 5-story tenement building.
6. West Farms Square Rehab; four rehabilitated tenement buildings, 6-stories tall.
7. West Farms Square (Conventional); one, 5-story rehabilitated tenement building.
8. West Farms Square M.H.O.P. (Multi Family Homeownership Program); two rehabilitated tenement buildings, 5 and 6-stories tall.

History

From 1670, the land of the neighborhood was the estate of the Morris family in Westchester County.

In the 1970s, Crotona Park East and many other low income sections of the New York City were being ravaged by arson. By the 1980s, the South Bronx had become a national symbol of urban decay. Community groups such as Banana Kelly, the Mid-Bronx Desperadoes, and SEBCO (Southeast Bronx Community Organization) were helping to maintain existing buildings which were structurally intact after fires. They played a pivotal role in the construction of subsidized multi-family homes and apartment buildings in most of Crotona Park East

Schools

• PS 50: Clara Barton (East 172nd Street and Vyse Avenue)
• PS 61/MS 190: Francisco Oller (Charlotte Street and Crotona Park East)
• PS 66: Daniel Boone (Jennings Street and Boone Avenue)
• PS 134: George Frederic Bristow (Freeman and Bristow Streets)
• IS 98: Herman Ridder (East 173rd Street and Boston Road)
• PS 271: East Bronx Academy for the Future (Southern Boulevard and 174th Street at Boston Road)

Transportation

• Bx11: to Simpson Street station or George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via 170th Street–Claremont Parkway)
• Bx17: to Fordham Plaza or Port Morris (via Prospect–Crotona Avenues)
• Bx19: to New York Botanical Gardens or Riverbank State Park (via 149th Street–Southern Boulevard)
• Bx21: to Westchester Square station or Third Avenue–138th Street station (via Boston Road–Morris Park Avenue)
• Bx27: to Clason Point (via Rosedale Avenue)
• Bx35: to Simpson Street station or George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via 167th Street)
• Bx36: to Castle Hill or George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via 180th Street)
• 174th Street (IRT White Plains Road Line) (2 5)
• Freeman Street (IRT White Plains Road Line) (2 5)

Facts

Ranch style homes along Charlotte Street.

• Crotona Park East is the site of the infamous Charlotte Street, which then-President Jimmy Carter visited, declaring the South Bronx to be the worst neighborhood in the United States.
• The 1981 film Fort Apache, The Bronx was filmed in the area.
• The subsidized homes built along Charlotte Street during the late 1980s in Crotona Park East were the first and still are the only ranch style homes in the South Bronx today. This type of housing was selected due to its desirable traits. Today they are home to many African American and Puerto Rican families. The funding for these homes were provided in part by former Assemblyman Louis Nine, whom after dying in 1983, Wilkins Avenue was renamed to Louis Nine Boulevard in his honor.
• Crotona Park East is considered part of the socioeconomic South Bronx.

Notable natives

• Former New York City mayor Ed Koch was raised in East Morrisania.

References

1. ^ Bronx Community District 3
2. ^ NYCHA