Williamsbridge, Bronx

Williamsbridge is a working class neighborhood geographically located in the northeast Bronx borough of New York City in the United States. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 12. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East 222nd Street to the north, Boston Road to the east, East Gun Hill Road to the south, and the Bronx River to the west. White Plains Road is the primary thoroughfare through Williamsbridge. The local subway is the 2 line, operating along White Plains Road. Zip codes include 10466. 10467, and 10469. The area is patrolled by the 47th Precinct located at 4111 Laconia Avenue. New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx.

Demographics

Williamsbridge has a population over 65,000. The neighborhood has the highest concentration of Black West Indians in the Bronx and also contains a very significant African American population. Over 20% of the population lives below the poverty line. [ [http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/lucds/bx12profile.pdf Bronx Community District 12] ]

Land use and terrain

Williamsbridge is dominated by multi-unit homes of various types. There are also tenements concentrated near the El at White Plains Road. The total land area is roughly a mile and a half. The area is low laying and flat.

Low income public housing projects

There are two NYCHA developments located in Williamsbridge. [ [http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/home/home.shtml NYCHA] ]
#Baychester Houses; eleven, 6-story buildings.
#Edenwald Houses; forty buildings, 3 and 14-stories tall. (The largest public housing development in The Bronx).

History

The neighborhood was historically heavily Jewish and Italian-American, however, during the 1970s it became predominantly African American and from the 1980s on received an influx of Caribbean and West Indian immigrants. Currently, the neighborhood is overwhelmingly Black.

Although Williamsbridge was once called Edenwald, it is claimed that Edenwald houses is part of Wakefield rather than Williamsbridge. [citation needed] The Gun Hill Housing Projects is also located in the area.

ocial 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. [http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs047pct.pdf 47th Precinct CompStat Report] ] Williamsbridge has significantly higher drop out rates and incidents of violence in its schools. [http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/fea/20060320/202/1792 NYC Dropout Rates] ] 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. [ [http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/deannss/bronxdatactr/discover/bxtext.htm Bronx Census Data Analysis] ] 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 Williamsbridge have been in poverty for generations. The incarceration rate in the area is also very high. [ [http://www.wnyc.org/blog/lehrer/archives/archive/NYC%20Analysis-9%20copy2.gifNYC Prison Expenditure] ] 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. Williamsbridge is home to a significant number of inmates currently held in New York state prison and jail facilities. White Plains Road and its cross streets in particular have been a violence and drug prone area for some time. In recent years the NYPD has launched an Impact Zone covering this corridor.

Urban renewal

Due to White flight some of the homes in the area have been left vacant. Many homes today are being rehabilitated and offered as rentals to the growing West Indian population found in the area.

Transportation

*Bx8: to Locust Point (via Williamsbridge Rd)
*Bx28: to Co-op City or Fordham Center (via Gun Hill Rd)
*Bx30: to Co-op City or Norwood-205th St station (via Boston Rd)
*Gun Hill Rd station (IRT 2)
*219th St station (IRT 2)

References

Bronx bus 39 to classon point (South) or Williamsbridge (North)Bronx 55 bus to 149 th street(South) or Williamsbridge(North)Bronx 41 bus(To Hub-South) or to east 241 street (North)Williamsbridge Metro North train stopBx/Manhattan 11 express liberty lines bus to Manhattan