According to published reports, The Bronx is the New York City, New York, the borough with the third-most-densely populated county in the United States. Located south of Westchester County; northeast and east of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of Queens, across the East River.
The County has a land area of 42 square miles 109 km and a population of well over 1,418,207. Of the five boroughs, it has the fourth-largest area, fourth-highest population, and third-highest population density. It is the only borough predominantly on the U.S. mainland. If each borough were its own city, the Bronx would rank as the eighth-most-populous in the United States.
The Borough is divided by the Bronx River into a hillier section in the west, and a flatter eastern section. East and west street names are divided by Jerome Avenue. The West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. The Bronx was separated from New York County in 1914. About a quarter of The Bronx's area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo in the borough's north and center. The Thain Family Forest at The New York Botanical Garden is thousands of years old; it is New York City's largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered the city. These open spaces are situated primarily on land deliberately reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north and east from Manhattan.
“The Bronx" name began with Swedish-born Jonas Bronck, who established the first settlement in the area as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639. The native Lenape were displaced after 1643 by European settlers. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bronx received many immigrant and migrant groups as it was transformed into an urban community, first from various European countries (particularly Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe and later from the Caribbean region (particularly Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic, as well as African American migrants from the southern United States. This cultural mix has made the Bronx a wellspring of Latin music, Hip hop, and Rap.
The Bronx contains the poorest congressional district in the United States, the 15th. There are, however, some upper-income, as well as middle-income neighborhoods such as Riverdale, Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil, Schuylerville, Pelham Bay, Pelham Gardens, Morris Park, and Country Club. Parts of the Bronx saw a decline in population, livable housing, and quality of life in the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s culminating in a wave of arson. The South Bronx, in particular, experienced severe urban decay. The borough experienced some redevelopment starting in the 1990s, with some gentrification following.
Hidden away from all those so-called safest neighborhoods of The Bronx is a very special gem where I have lived for over two decades. - City Island A Slice of NYC Paradise.
City Island is located in the northeastern most point of New York City, located on an island of the same name approximately 1.5 miles long by 0.5 miles wide. City Island can be found at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay, and east of Eastchester Bay.
I first moved to City Island to build, recruit, train, and launch an unbelievably diverse and talented staff of media professionals who sustained News 12 The Bronx for the first couple of years, until each one of them left for better paying jobs. The location was perfect and its proximity to the newsroom which is located on the US mainland made for a smooth commute.
City Island is a 1.5-mile-long seaport community floating just off Pelham Bay Park 40°51′56″N 73°48′30″W The 2,772 acres park was created in 1888.
The island has boats surrounding the many Yacht Clubs and restaurants offering, lobster, shrimp, crab-legs that make it on most menus, with a small-town charm that always wins out. It's the type of impossibly quaint seaside scene you might expect to find in New England, but magically it can be found within New York City limits.
The island only has a few thousand full-time residents who normally experience traffic jams during the summer, because of its proximity to The Bronx Riviera, better known as Orchard Beach, which is part of Pelham Park, NYC largest by far.