The Story of One of the Five Boroughs of New York: The Bronx

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The Bronx Week has been celebrated in New York City for more than 40 years. It takes place in May and includes festivals, live music, and other fun events. The Bronx is New York City's only borough located on the mainland.

The borough was named after the Dutch captain Bronk, who owned the land in the 1640s. The borough became part of New York City in 1874. The Bronx is separated from Manhattan by the Harlem River and is located in upstate New York.

The Bronx history

The Bronx history is eventful. In 1639, a native of Sweden named Jonas Bronck landed in the borough and took possession of the land. He later took possession of the land of New Amsterdam and then bought the territory between the two rivers from the Dutch company.

From village to industrial center

For many years the Bronx was a huge village consisting of farms. However, by the end of the 19th century, changes began to take place - a railroad came along, and later in 1904, the subway. In the early 20th century, the Bronx was a center for piano-making. Until 1930, the Bronx remained a tourist area where people came to see such famous sites as the New York Botanical Gardens.

A flood of immigrants

The rapid development of the Bronx began after World War I. That time gave rise to a housing development that attracted immigrants to the neighborhood - Jews, Irish, Italians, and then French, Germans, and Poles.

Gangsters and bandits became active in the Bronx when Prohibition began. The Irish, Poles, and Italians were mostly involved in whiskey smuggling.

In 1926, the Bronx was a criminal city. It had the largest number of clandestine bars in New York City.

By the 1960s, many of the immigrants from the 30s had aged and ceased to have much influence in the Bronx. Many left to Florida, Palm Beach. Hispanics began to migrate, and whites moved to the southeast and northwest Bronx.

Bad Reputation

In the 1960s and 1970s the "quality of life" began to deteriorate. There were several reasons, but the main reason was drugs. The 60s and 70s were filled with marijuana and LSD, and the early 80s were the time of cocaine, which was replaced by cheap crack because of its high price.

During these years the country was in decline, social programs were being cut. In the Bronx, demolitions began. In bad neighborhoods, houses were bought back from owners at a low price; vacant houses were burnt down by local gangs to get insurance.

In the early 1980s, the Bronx was considered one of the most polluted neighborhoods in the United States, losing about 60 percent of its entire population.

Improving Lives

The government did not begin to take action until the mid-1980s, adopting a ten-year plan to develop and build low-cost social housing. By the turn of the century, about a billion dollars had been invested in new construction, and slowly things began to move forward.

In 1940, actor Al Pacino was born in the South Bronx, and in 1942, the famous fashion designer Calvin Klein was born to a family of Jewish immigrants from Hungary. Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain and Arturo Toscanini — they all lived at the lavish Wave Hill estate in Riverdale. And Duke Ellington's ashes rest in the old Woodlawn Cemetery.

And the Bronx's reputation has improved ever since.

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