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Kingsbridge Heights is a working class residential neighborhood geographically located in the northwest Bronx, New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 8. Its boundaries are Van Cortlandt Park to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, Kingsbridge Road to the south, and the Major Deegan Expressway to the west. Sedgwick Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through Kingsbridge Heights. Zip codes include 10463 and 10468. The area is patrolled by the 50th Precinct located at 3450 Kingsbridge Ave in Kingsbridge. NYCHA property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx.
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Demographics
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Kingsbridge Heights was 32,496, a decrease of 790 (2.4%) from the 33,286 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 300.86 acres (121.75 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 108.0 inhabitants per acre (69,100/sq mi; 26,700/km2).
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 4.3% (1,389) White, 18.5% (6,004) African American, 0.1% (46) Native American, 4.7% (1,514) Asian, 0.0% (2) Pacific Islander, 0.4% (124) from other races, and 1.0% (322) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 71.1% (23,095) of the population.
The neighborhood has a high concentration of Dominicans especially in the southern and central sections of the neighborhood. In these two areas over 30% of the population lives below the poverty line. A small aging White non-Hispanic population is concentrated near Van Cortlandt Park or Van Cortlandt Village. In more recent years young professionals, mostly White non-Hispanic, have started to move into Van Cortlandt Village. The vast majority of households are renter occupied.
Recently the northern subsection known as Van Cortlandt Village has seen an increase in higher-end rental and co-op building construction. This subsection is bordered by the Major Deegan Expressway to the west, the Jerome Park Reservoir to the east, W 238th Street to the south, and Van Cortlandt Park to the north. On April 4, 2007, Business Week Online (MSNBC.com) called Van Cortlandt Village one of "America's next hot neighborhoods".
The Fort Independence Street-Heath Avenue Houses are a one, 21-story NYCHA development in Kingsbridge Heights.
Land use and terrain
Kingsbridge Heights is dominated by multi-unit detached homes. There is also a significant presence of tenement buildings concentrated mostly in the central and southern sections of the neighborhood.
The Jerome Park Reservoir is the most dominant landmark in the area. It was originally part of the Bathgate Estate that was later purchased by Leonard Jerome and Associates, to build The Jerome Park Racetrack. The Jerome Park Reservoir replaced the racetrack and was built in 1906 to serve the Croton Aqueduct as part of the New York City water supply system. The perimeter of this reservoir is approximately 2.2 miles.
Kingsbridge Armory is on Kingsbridge Road.
In 1866, Jerome bought the estate and mansion of James Bathgate near Old Fordham Village in what was then rural Westchester County, but is now The Bronx. Jerome and financier August Belmont, Sr. built Jerome Park Racetrack on the Bathgate land; the first Belmont Stakes was held there in 1867. Jerome and his brother Lawrence had a wide boulevard made from Macombs Dam to the track, which city authorities attempted to name "Murphy Avenue" after a local politician. This incensed Jerome's wife so much that she had bronze plaques saying "Jerome Avenue" made up and bolted into place along the road, forcing the city to accept the name.[5] The racetrack was acquired and demolished by the city in 1894, to make way for Jerome Park Reservoir. The Bathgate mansion served as a summer home for the Jerome family. In the early 1900s, the mansion was razed and replaced by the Kingsbridge Armory
Urban renewal
Due to White flight some of the homes in the southern and central parts of the area have been left vacant. Many homes today are being rehabilitated and offered as rentals to the booming Dominican population found in the area. At the same time higher end construction is taking place in the northernmost section of the neighborhood.