Kingsbridge is a residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx, New York City. Kingsbridge's boundaries are Manhattan College Parkway to the north, the Major Deegan Expressway or Bailey Avenue to the east, West 230th Street to the south, and Irwin Avenue to the west.
The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 8, and its ZIP Code is 10463. Kingsbridge is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 50th Precinct.
Land use and terrain Kingsbridge has detached, semi detached, and attached homes, and apartment buildings. Streets connecting Riverdale and Kingsbridge include "step streets", with stairways of as many as 160 steps climbing the slope. The neighborhood is also part of a business improvement district that is home to 200 merchants, and is one of the largest retail shopping districts in the Bronx. River Plaza Shopping Center is located nearby (in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Manhattan), but it is not part of the business improvement district. During the past several years there have been significant improvements in the infrastructure of the community. For example, the parks have been improved significantly and there are new elementary schools on 230th Street.
On 233rd Street and Bailey Avenue, there is a baseball field that is run by Kingsbridge Little League. The field has lights, dugouts, stands, and a small food court.
History
The neighborhood is named for the King's Bridge, likely erected by enslaved Africans in 1693 and owned by Frederick Philipse, lord of Philipsburg Manor, which encompassed parts of present-day Bronx and much of Westchester County. The bridge spanned a now-filled-in section of Spuyten Duyvil Creek, roughly parallel to today's 230th Street. The King's Bridge was part of Boston Post Road, connecting southern Westchester County (which later became the Bronx) with Marble Hill, once part of Manhattan Island and still part of the borough of Manhattan. The bridge is said to still be in place, having been buried when the creek bed was filled in. The creek's water flow was redirected to the new and deeper shipping canal, south of Marble Hill.
For most of the American Revolutionary War, the area was under British control. Initially fortified by American Patriots in 1776, it quickly fell to British forces, who held the area for three years and built forts there to defend northern Manhattan and control the approach from Westchester. A stone wall in Fort Independence Park/Playground (on Sedgwick Avenue and Giles Place) is believed to be the only extant physical trace of Fort Independence built by the Continental Army in 1776 and later destroyed by British forces. On January 18–28, 1777, an American force led by General William Heath unsuccessfully attempted to recapture Fort Independence.Hufeland, Otto (1926). Westchester County during the American Revolution, 1775–1783. Westchester County Historical Society, p.187-193. The nearby Old Fort Four Park/Playground (at 2890 Sedgwick Ave.) is named for Fort Number Four, which was the largest in a series of eight outer defenses built by the Continental Army in 1777.
Until the later part of the 19th century Riverdale, Kingsbridge, and other areas now in the northwest Bronx were part of the Town of Yonkers. The areas that are within modern-day New York City's modern borders broke off to form the Town of Kingsbridge. In 1874, the City of New York annexed three towns that later became the western half of the Bronx, including the Town of Kingsbridge. As the trains to Manhattan were built in the 20th century, a stop in the northwest Bronx along the Hudson River called Riverdale-on-Hudson, now Riverdale, was created. This gave rise to the Riverdale neighborhood. The remainder of the old Town of Kingsbridge developed into the modern-day Kingsbridge neighborhood.
Historical documents reveal that the Black population of Kingsbridge was proportionally much higher in the distant past than it is today, due to the number of Africans enslaved by local landowners from the late 1600s to mid 1800s. In more recent history, it became a neighborhood of predominately Irish immigrants. From the late 1970s the Irish population has decreased significantly, being replaced by large numbers of African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Albanians, and Greeks. According to an account by The New York Times, the largest Hispanic group in Kingsbridge today are Dominicans, replacing the earlier Puerto Ricans and Cubans, who were the first Hispanics to settle in the neighborhood in the 1970s. There still is a strong Irish population centered on Bailey Avenue and Tibbett Avenue. The Dominicans predominantly live along Broadway and adjacent side streets, with a predominantly mixed ethnic area east and west of Broadway.
The Irish legacy can still be seen in the Roman Catholic churches and schools that serve the current residents, such as the St. John's Roman Catholic Church on Kingsbridge Avenue near 231st Street, and its two schools; the elementary school on Godwin Terrace (just south of 231st Street), and the junior high school on Kingsbridge Avenue just a block north of 231st Street. In northern Kingsbridge the Visitation Roman Catholic Church and School is located on West 239th street. To the east, on Sedgwick Avenue is Our Lady of Angels Church and School. For recreation Gaelic Park (now operated by Manhattan University) is located on 240th Street & Broadway and is the venue for a variety of sports including Gaelic football and hurling. The neighborhood is also home to Manhattan University.
Kingsbridge was home to the 77-year-old Stella D'Oro factory, which was relocated to Ashland, Ohio when Stella D'Oro was sold to Lance after labor unrest in 2009.
Demographics Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Kingsbridge and Spuyten Duyvil was 30,161, a change of 289 (1%) from the 29,872 counted in 2000. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 , Population Division – New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
The racial makeup of the neighborhoods were 49.3% (14,872) White, 8.9% (2,691) African American, 0.1% (40) Native American, 5.7% (1,731) Asian, 0% (15) Pacific Islander, 0.3% (98) from other races, and 1.7% (510) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33.8% (10,204) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 , Population Division – New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
The entirety of Community District 8, which comprises Kingsbridge and Riverdale, had 102,927 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 80.9 years. This is about the same as the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 20% are between the ages of between 0–17, 28% between 25 and 44, and 25% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 18% respectively.
As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 8 was $53,986. In 2018, an estimated 15% of Kingsbridge and Riverdale residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in 11 residents (9%) were unemployed, compared to 13% in the Bronx and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 52% in Kingsbridge and Riverdale, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Kingsbridge and Riverdale were considered high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.
Police and crime
Kingsbridge and Riverdale are patrolled by the 50th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue. NYCHA property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx.
The 50th Precinct ranked 13th-safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 40 per 100,000 people, Kingsbridge and Riverdale's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 225 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.
The 50th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 69.9% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported three murders, 22 rapes, 185 robberies, 213 felony assaults, 126 burglaries, 695 grand larcenies, and 288 grand larcenies auto in 2022.
Fire safety Kingsbridge contains a New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire station, Engine Co. 81/Ladder Co. 46, at 3025 Bailey Avenue.
Health
, preterm births were slightly more common in Kingsbridge and Riverdale than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers were less common. In Kingsbridge and Riverdale, there were 89 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 13.1 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Kingsbridge and Riverdale have a relatively average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 16%, higher than the citywide rate of 12%.
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Kingsbridge and Riverdale is , more than the city average. Ten percent of Kingsbridge and Riverdale residents are smokers, which is lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Kingsbridge and Riverdale, 24% of residents are obese, 12% are diabetic, and 28% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 21% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.
Eighty-six percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is slightly less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 83% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", higher than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Kingsbridge and Riverdale, there are 10 bodegas.
The nearest hospitals are James J. Peters VA Medical Center in Kingsbridge Heights, North Central Bronx Hospital, and Montefiore Medical Center in Norwood.
Politics
Politically, Kingsbridge is in New York's 13th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives represented by Democrat Adriano Espaillat since 2017, and in New York's 15th congressional district represented by Democrat Ritchie Torres since 2021.
On the state level, it is also part of the 33rd New York State Senate District, represented by Democrat Gustavo Rivera, and part of the 34th New York State Senate District represented by Democrat Nathalia Fernandez. In the New York State Assembly, it is represented by Democrat Jeffrey Dinowitz (81st District).Senate District 33 , New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. Retrieved May 5, 2017.2012 Senate District Maps: New York City , New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.Assembly District 71 , New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.Assembly District 81 , New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.2012 Assembly District Maps: New York City , New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.