University Heights, Bronx

University Heights is a low income residential neighborhood geographically located in the west Bronx, New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 7. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: Fordham Road to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, West Burnside Avenue to the south, and the Harlem River to the west. University Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through University Heights. The local subway is the IRT Jerome Avenue Line, operating along the Jerome Avenue. Zip codes include 10453 and 10468. The area is patrolled by the 52nd Precinct located at 3016 Webster Ave in the Norwood section of the Bronx. 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

University Heights has a population of over 40,000. For decades University Heights has been one of the poorest communities in America. Over half the population lives below the poverty line and receives public assistance (AFDC, Home Relief, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid). The neighborhood is now predominantly Dominican with a significant longstanding Puerto Rican population. The vast majority of households are renter occupied. [ [http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/lucds/bx7profile.pdf Bronx Community District 7] ]

Land use and terrain

University Heights is dominated by 5 and 6-story tenement buildings, older multi-unit homes, vacant lots, and newly constructed subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and apartment buildings. A significant percentage of the original housing stock was structurally damaged by arson and eventually razed by the city. The total land area is roughly one square mile. The terrain is elevated and very hilly. Stair streets connect areas located at different elevations.

Bronx Community College

Bronx Community College is a community college part of CUNY located in the University Heights section of The Bronx.

Low income public housing projects

*There is one NYCHA development located in University Heights.
#Bailey Avenue-West 193rd Street; one, 19-story building.

History

The neighborhood takes it name from the hill where New York University's Bronx campus was built in 1894. The campus includes the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. In 1973, NYU sold the campus to the City University of New York, which renamed the campus Bronx Community College, but the neighborhood name has remained.

Through the 20th century, until the 1970s, the area was primarily Irish-American. After African-Americans and Puerto Ricans moved from the rapidly-decaying South Bronx, they remained there until the 2000s. Like neighboring Morris Heights, many Dominicans from Washington Heights and Inwood crossed the bridge and moved to University Heights. As a result, most of the neighborhood's schools, including Bronx Community College, are heavily Dominican.

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/cs052pct.pdf 52nd Precinct CompStat Report] ] University Heights 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 University Heights 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. University Heights is home to a significant number of inmates currently held in New York state prison and jail facilities.

Urban renewal

After a wave of arson ravaged the low income communities of New York City throughout the 1970s, many of the residential structures in University Heights were left seriously damaged or destroyed. The city began to rehabilitate many formally abandoned tenement style apartment buildings and designate them low income housing beginning in the late 1970s. Also many subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings have been or are being built on vacant lots across across the neighborhood.

chools

*PS/MS 15/PS 291 (Hall of Fame Terrace and Andrews Avenue North)
*PS 33: Timothy Dwight (East 184th Street and Jerome Avenue)
*PS 79: Creston (East 181st Street and Creston Avenue)
*PS 91: Anthony Baez (Clinton Place and Aqueduct Avenue East)
*PS 226: Nadia J. Pagan (West Burnside Avenue and Sedgwick Avenue)
*PS/MS 279: Capt. Manuel Rivera (Walton Avenue and East 181st Street)
*MS 206: Ann Cross Mersereau (West 183rd Street and Aqueduct Avenue East)
*MS 390: (West Burnside Avenue and Andrews Avenue South)
*MS 399: Elizabeth Barrett Browning (East 184th Street and Morris Avenue)
*Bronx Community College

Transportation

*Bx3: 238th Street station to George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via University Avenue)
*Bx12: Bay Plaza Shopping Center to Inwood–207th Street station (via Fordham Road–Pelham Parkway)
*Bx32: VA Hospital to Third Avenue–138th Street station (via Morris Avenue)
*Burnside Avenue station (NYCS Jerome)
*183rd Street station (NYCS Jerome)
*Fordham Road station (NYCS Jerome)

Facts

*University Heights is often considered part of the socioeconomic South Bronx.

References

ee also

* Hall of Fame for Great Americans