138-705: Van Cortlandt Village is a subsection of the Kingsbridge neighborhood in the New York City borough of the Bronx . The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 8 . Named after Van Cortlandt Park , it is bordered by the Major Deegan Expressway to the west, the Jerome Park Reservoir to the east, West 238th Street to the south, and Van Cortlandt Park to the north. Its ZIP Code is 10463. The arrival of
276-575: A New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire station, Engine Co. 81/Ladder Co. 46, at 3025 Bailey Avenue. As of 2018 , preterm births are slightly more common in Kingsbridge and Riverdale than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are 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 has
414-454: A metamorphic rock that is very hard to weather . The Tibbetts Brook valley is set in Inwood marble , which weathers more easily. The east side of the park near Indian Field contains Yonkers granite, an igneous rock that mixed with Fordham gneiss as a hot magma before later cooling. Van Cortlandt Park contains the Bronx's largest freshwater lake , the eponymous Van Cortlandt Lake. The lake
552-496: A nursery needed to be built to transport the plants during the garden's reconstruction. The rustic wooden bridges were to be replaced with stone bridges, while the wooden stairs were to be superseded by stone stairs. Not only did many plants die during the process, but the actual rebuilding was delayed until 1911. Two years later, the Parks Commissioner for the Bronx refused to allocate reconstruction funds because, he stated,
690-608: A 1,110-acre (4.5 km) swath of forest with various trails and recreational fields. It is the city's fourth-largest park and includes the Van Cortlandt Golf Course. Stretching along part of Sedgwick Avenue is Fort Independence Park , a popular neighborhood spot with handball courts, a basketball court and a playground. The Jerome Park Reservoir offers a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) walking-jogging scenic pathway. The Amalgamated Co-op offers various social activities: ceramics classes, writers' workshops and art exhibits. Many of
828-533: A 1910s excavation for a sewer pipe, stones were unearthed that were suspected to be from the old van der Donck estate. During World War I , the Parade Ground was used to train soldiers. Eight tennis courts opened in 1914 with admission being $ 1 per person, and owing to the Van Cortlandt Golf Course's immense popularity, the Mosholu Links also opened that year. By 1917, the Parade Ground contained 10 out of
966-399: A boat. To thwart robbers, besieged golfers quit playing in traditional foursomes and instead ventured forth in football-team-sized units. Some players added an extra club—a night stick—or tucked tear gas spray into their golf bags." Years later, one writer recalled that dozens of the course's trees died, and "flagsticks were reduced to broken bamboo poles stuck into the ground." Weeds overgrew
1104-467: A college education or higher. The percentage of Kingsbridge and Riverdale students excelling in math rose from 21% in 2000 to 48% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 28% to 33% during the same time period. Kingsbridge and Riverdale's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is about the same as the rest of New York City. In Kingsbridge and Riverdale, 20% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year , higher than
1242-544: A distinct area, according to Lloyd Ultan , the Bronx Borough Historian. In 1975, a member of the local community board proposed that the Amalgamated and its surroundings be renamed, and a sign was unveiled designating the area Van Cortlandt Village. The Historic Districts Council in early January 2012 recognized Van Cortlandt Village as a New York City neighborhood in need of preservation. In Van Cortlandt Village,
1380-533: A local lord loyal to the British monarch. 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
1518-575: 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. Van Cortlandt Village contains a New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire station, Engine Co. 81/Ladder Co. 46, at 3025 Bailey Avenue. PS 95 on Hillman Avenue serves grades K-8. The Am Park Neighborhood School serves grades PK-5. The Bronx High School of Science (75 West 205th Street)
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#17328737158011656-547: A need for a larger water supply. Major David Bates Douglass was appointed to perform engineering studies on the future Old Croton Aqueduct in March 1833. Douglass made estimates for the new aqueduct in 1833–1834 and John Martineau performed a separate study in 1834. Both found the proposed route, which ran through the present-day park, to be okay. Thus, in 1837, construction started on the Aqueduct, which ran 41 miles (66 km) from
1794-577: 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. Kingsbridge contains
1932-467: 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 0.0075 milligrams per cubic metre (7.5 × 10 oz/cu ft), more than the city average. Ten percent of Kingsbridge and Riverdale residents are smokers , which
2070-473: A sawmill, creating a mill pond at the site where the lake is. Later, he also added a gristmill. The sawmill was relocated around 1823 and stayed in operation until 1889. The gristmill was destroyed by lightning in 1901. By the time the park was created, Van Cortlandt Lake needed to be cleaned, as cesspools in Yonkers had leaked sewage into Tibbetts Brook, which fed into the lake. A 1903 annual report from
2208-423: A series of culverts before draining into the south edge of the lake at approximately West 242nd Street. There are efforts to daylight this south end into the former New York and Putnam Railroad right-of-way that runs through the park as part of the park's faster plan. There is no surviving documentation for the creation of Van Cortlandt Lake. In 1699, Jacobus Van Cortlandt dammed Tibbetts Brook to power
2346-433: A significant number of one- and two-family detached and semi-detached houses. Even the multifamily apartment buildings in the area are seldom taller than 70 feet (21 m). Its housing stock is diverse, including spacious single-family homes, multiple-family attached homes and postwar co-op buildings. The New York Times describes the area as a "serene enclave of quaint homes, winding streets and abundant trees." The area
2484-563: A single room. There are no New York City Subway stations in the neighborhood. The nearest subway stations are the 1 train, which serve 242nd Street , 238th Street , and 231st Street on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Other stations include Mosholu Parkway and Bedford Park Boulevard–Lehman College , serving the 4 train on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line , and Bedford Park Boulevard , serving
2622-533: A sprawling lawn dubbed the "Parade Ground," while the Van Cortlandt House was converted into a public museum. The construction of the Parade Ground required demolition of a few old buildings and cornfields. The Parade Ground was immediately used by the National Guard for brigade practice, replacing the parade ground of Prospect Park . The ground received unspecified "improvements" in 1893–1894. With
2760-415: A study to determine the specific elements of the park that needed restoration. Highway structures were also reconfigured to clean runoff from these structures. An excavation in the 1990s yielded over 2,500 artifacts. A set of tennis courts were proposed within the park east of the Van Cortlandt House in the 1990s; despite concerns from preservationists, though the courts were approved. The city built
2898-418: Is 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 m) deep at various times of year, and has an area of 18 acres (7.3 ha). The lake is used for recreational fishing, as it includes species such as largemouth bass , black crappie , brown bullhead , bluegill , pumpkinseed , golden shiner , common carp , white sucker , and yellow perch . It is fed by Tibbetts Brook , a stream originating in Yonkers, which runs through
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#17328737158013036-533: Is 52% in Kingsbridge and Riverdale, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018 , Kingsbridge and Riverdale are considered high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying . Kingsbridge and Riverdale are patrolled by the 50th Precinct of the NYPD , located at 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue. The 50th Precinct ranked 13th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. As of 2018 , with
3174-1082: Is a 1,146-acre (464 ha) park located in the borough of the Bronx in New York City . Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation , it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance. The park, the city's third-largest, was named for the Van Cortlandt family , which was prominent in the area during the Dutch and English colonial periods. Van Cortlandt Park's sports facilities include golf courses and several miles of paths for running, as well as facilities for baseball , basketball , cricket , cross-country running , football , horseback riding , lacrosse , rugby , soccer , softball , swimming , tennis and track and field . The park also contains five major hiking trails and other walking trails. Its natural features include Tibbetts Brook; Van Cortlandt Lake ,
3312-526: Is about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from Van Cortlandt Village. DeWitt Clinton High School , is also located nearby on West Mosholu Parkway. There are various parochial and private schools in the area, including the Ethical Culture Fieldston School , Horace Mann School , Riverdale Country School and SAR Academy in Riverdale. Manhattan University , a small institution of higher education,
3450-404: Is described by Anthony Perez Cassino, a former chairman of Bronx Community Board 8 who helped to rezone the neighborhood, as a "vulnerable" area, as it is more affordable than nearby Riverdale . A garland of greenery wends through the neighborhood. In the heart of the area, on twisting hilly streets like Giles Place and Cannon Place, are elegant brick homes with porticos and manicured hedges. Along
3588-571: Is known as the Peach War . This forced the settlers, including van der Donck's widow, to flee to Manhattan. Following the takeover of the New Netherland colony by the British in 1664, the claim to the estate was awarded to Hugh O'Neale, the new husband of van der Donck's widow. Because the O'Neales lived far away from the land, the claim was awarded to O'Neale's brother-in-law and van der Donck's widow's brother, Elias Doughty, who proceeded to sell off
3726-538: Is 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 . Kingsbridge
3864-517: Is located in Kingsbridge: The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates two branches near Kingsbridge. The Van Cortlandt branch is located at 3882 Cannon Place. The two-story, 5,800-square-foot (540 m ) branch opened in 2019, replacing a smaller one-story branch a few blocks away, which opened in 1969 and consisted of a single room. The Kingsbridge branch is located at 3874 Sedgwick Avenue. The current two-story building
4002-592: Is located nearby. Lehman College , a senior college that is part of the City University of New York (CUNY), is directly across the Jerome Park Reservoir. The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates the Van Cortlandt branch at 3882 Cannon Place. The two-story, 5,800-square-foot (540 m) branch opened in 2019, replacing a smaller one-story branch a few blocks away, which opened in 1969 and consisted of
4140-462: 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 . The area is patrolled by the 50th Precinct located at 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue. NYCHA property in
4278-624: Is located within ZIP Code 10463. The United States Postal Service operates the Kingsbridge Station post office at 5517 Broadway. Kingsbridge and Riverdale generally have a similar rate of college-educated residents to the rest of the city as of 2018 . While 45% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 18% have less than a high school education and 37% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 26% of Bronx residents and 43% of city residents have
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4416-418: 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
4554-635: Is the branch's fourth structure since the establishment of the Kingsbridge Free Library in 1894. McKim, Mead & White designed a Carnegie library for Kingsbridge when the NYPL took over the Kingsbridge branch in 1905; a third library structure was built at 280 West 231st Street in 1959, across from the current site. The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Kingsbridge: The following New York City Subway stations serve Kingsbridge: Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park
4692-543: Is the third-largest park in New York City, behind the Staten Island Greenbelt (1,778 acres (720 ha)) and Pelham Bay Park (2,772 acres (1,122 ha)). It has numerous attractions and features that are both recreational and educational. The different parts of Van Cortlandt Park have a varied geology. The Northwest Woods and Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway have a steep terrain dotted with Fordham gneiss ,
4830-550: The B and D trains on the IND Concourse Line . The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Van Cortlandt Village: The nearby Major Deegan Expressway ( Interstate 87 ) and Henry Hudson Parkway offer a relatively quick route to Upper Manhattan as well as to Bergen County, New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge . Mosholu Parkway leads to Southern Boulevard and
4968-519: The Bronx River Parkway , and Pelham Parkway between Jerome Avenue and Pelham Bay Park. By the 1960s, large portions of the park, such as Tibbetts Brook, were being polluted by human activity; in addition, the brook now flowed into the Broadway sewer at the south end of Van Cortlandt Lake. Pollution from upstream and the highways, and spillover of chemicals used in the golf course, killed fish in
5106-528: The Croton Water Filtration Plant , a drinking water treatment facility, under the park's Mosholu Golf Course. Plant operations began in 2015. The plant was needed in order to filter contaminants from urban runoff pollution in the Croton River watershed and protect the public from Giardia and Cryptosporidium , microorganisms which can cause serious health problems. The Croton plant
5244-532: The New York Botanical Garden . In addition, the nearby Saw Mill Parkway also offers local access to places in Westchester . Kingsbridge, Bronx 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
5382-606: The New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera performed in the field during the summer. However, it too had deteriorated because of intensive use: the grounds' topsoil had eroded away and the sidewalks started to buckle. In 1978, the Perrier Company donated a fitness trail consisting of 12 exercise machines to the park; there were originally supposed to be 18 machines, but the extra six machines were deemed unnecessary. Two shuffleboard courts were also installed in
5520-634: The Unami language . The strip of land on the Hudson River's east bank, between the current-day Spuyten Duyvil Creek and Yonkers , was sold to the Dutch West India Company in the early 17th century. Adriaen van der Donck , a Dutch settler, bought the land from the company in 1646. Van der Donck also paid the Indian chief Tacharew, whose tribe used to live on the land, as a friendly gesture. He named
5658-494: The 29,872 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 540.92 acres (218.90 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 55.8 inhabitants per acre (35,700/sq mi; 13,800/km ). 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
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5796-492: The 50,607 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 506.77 acres (205.08 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 98.9 inhabitants per acre (63,300/sq mi; 24,400/km). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 12.1% (6,087) White , 17.0% (8,498) African American , 0.2% (93) Native American , 4.8% (2,386) Asian , 0.0% (7) Pacific Islander , 0.5% (259) from other races , and 1.0% (479) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 64.5% (32,291) of
5934-413: The Amalgamated's original tenants remain, a more diverse collection of residents carry on its legacy, with communal enterprises like children's play groups and art classes. As elsewhere in the city, street parking is scarce and some co-ops have resident parking lots. Shopping in the neighborhood is limited to a small but serviceable collection of retailers at the northern end of Sedgwick Avenue. Shopping
6072-595: 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 ,
6210-495: The Bronx's cultural amenities are a short distance away, including the New York Botanical Garden and Wave Hill. The Van Cortlandt Jewish & Senior Centers (JASA) are also located on Sedgwick Avenue. Van Cortlandt Village is patrolled by the 50th Precinct of the NYPD , located at 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue. The 50th Precinct ranked 13th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The 50th Precinct has
6348-621: The Croton River upstate to the New York Public Library Main Branch and Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan . The project was built by 3,000–4,000 laborers who completed the entire aqueduct in five years. The aqueduct's builders constructed a gatehouse within the present-day park to provide access to the aqueduct's interior. The old aqueduct was supplemented by the New Croton Aqueduct in 1890, which also ran through
6486-577: The Croton Water Filtration Plant project, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection was given $ 200 million to mitigate the effects of constructing the plant. A feasibility study in 2009 found that a bridge near the location of 233rd Street was the most feasible, and would connect the two sections of the trail. This bridge was deferred over lack of funding in 2014 before planning resumed in 2015. The John Kieran Nature Trail (1.25 miles (2.01 km), easy), which connects to
6624-563: The Fort Independence Park Neighborhood Association has been fighting a handful of land grabs and new housing projects. The community sits atop the ruins of a Revolutionary War fort and was designed by legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted . It boasts small Tudor revival homes and during the 1920s became a mecca for socialist factory workers fleeing the tenements of the lower East Side to build cooperative housing. As of 2015 some former co-ops such as
6762-522: The Mosholu Golf Course, was also built using Croton mitigation funds. As part of the "Van Cortlandt Park Master Plan 2034", critical ecological elements of the park, such as the forest, the rural landscape, and Tibbetts Brook, would be restored, and the brook would be diverted. As of March 2014 when the report was written, the lack of natural drainage points within Van Cortlandt Park led to
6900-530: The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation mentioned that the lake had probably not been cleaned since the mid-18th century, and now contained a layer of "refuse and vegetation on top, and an ooze two to three feet deep on the bottom," with qualities more like a "semi-bog." Cleaning of the lake started in 1903. The lake's original earthen dam was removed, the lake was emptied, and 30,000 cubic yards (23,000 m ) of deposits were dredged from
7038-563: The Parade Grounds the same year, but went unused because of a lack of playing equipment. In response to studies and accounts that showed the bad condition of the lake, the state restored the fish population of the lake in 1978. In 1977, the Bronx Borough Board created a special committee to oversee and develop plans for improving Van Cortlandt Park. The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park soon came up with its own suggestions to improve
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#17328737158017176-573: The Parks Department proposed to dredge the swamp and create a lake in its stead, but despite this plan receiving $ 70,000 in funding in 1906, it was deemed "not feasible" to drain the swamp directly into the Broadway sewer. Another plan to remove the swamps in the park's southwest was approved in 1904. The plan was to build an athletic field in the southwest swamp's place, but all swamp-infill proposals for this sector were rejected in 1917. By 1922, there were 23 acres (9.3 ha) of swampland left in
7314-531: The Putnam Branch tracks, and a fungicide with 8.5% cadmium content that was being sprayed on the golf course. A year later, a private landscaping firm estimated that it would cost $ 4–7 million to restore the Van Cortlandt Lake. By this point, the lake was so dirty that a small boat could not float on it, even though the lake was 15 feet (4.6 m) deep. Catfish were the only fish that could survive in
7452-543: The Putnam Trail, opened in 1987 and is named after local writer and naturalist John Kieran. The path features 13 stone pillars, each made of a different variety of stone, that were tested for the facade of Grand Central Terminal during the terminal's construction . The variety eventually chosen was Indiana limestone because it was cheap. The trail hugs the edge of the Van Cortlandt Lake and Tibbetts Brook marsh. The John Muir Trail (1.5 miles (2.4 km), moderate)
7590-635: 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
7728-542: The Shalom Aleichem Houses had fallen on hard times and the character of the neighborhood was threatened by overdevelopment, so HDC committed to help FIPNA get it listed on the national historic register, according to Kristin Hart, president of the community group. Originally the "Yiddish Cooperative Heimgesellschaft", the historic Shalom Aleichem Houses cooperative housing project was started by socialist Yiddish members of
7866-816: The Socialist and Communist Parties. Construction on the 15-building Neo-Tudor fortress-like structure culminated in 1927. As of 2014 the multi-ethnic rental complex is located in what is considered to be the heart of the Van Cortlandt Village community. As part of the Office of the Bronx Borough President's Bronx 2008 historic preservation project, the Shalom Aleichem Co-operative complex was being reviewed for landmark status. The community, eventually named for legendary Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem ,
8004-525: The Van Cortlandt Course during winters. Also in the late 1960s, the city decided to build a series of public pools on the site of the Colonial Garden, consisting of a diving, a swimming, and a wading pool. Construction on the $ 1.5 million pools started in early 1969 and was completed by 1970. Because of the swampy nature of the ground underneath it, the pools soon began to crackle and set. By 1979,
8142-520: The Van Cortlandt Golf Course compounded the lake's dirty condition, and by 1912, the lake and brook contained significant sedimentation. Nearby residents also disliked the wetlands near the lake, as they could be used to breed malaria -borne mosquitoes, and were thus seen as "unsightly and unsanitary." In 1896, they proposed to fill the wetlands in, and the infill proposal was funded by the New York City Board of Estimate in 1899. Subsequently,
8280-556: The Van Cortlandt House on the former Tippett property, but died before its completion. The Van Cortlandts did not primarily live in that house, instead staying in Manhattan most of the time. A family burial ground was created in 1749, later to be known as "Vault Hill." Frederick, who was buried in Vault Hill, had willed the massive home and surrounding lands to his son, James Van Cortlandt (1727–1787). The Van Cortlandt family land
8418-637: The Van Cortlandt House on the property, but died before its completion. Later, the land was used during the Revolutionary War when the Stockbridge militia was destroyed by the Queen's Rangers . In 1888, the family property was sold to the City of New York and made into a public parkland. The Van Cortlandt House, later designated as a historic landmark, was converted into a public museum, and new paths were created across
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#17328737158018556-471: The area is patrolled by P.S.A. 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx. 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. 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
8694-581: The broader avenues are handsome co-op buildings, capped on the northern end by the Amalgamated Cooperative Houses , one of the city's historically significant co-op complexes. With nearly 1,500 units in 11 buildings, the complex was founded in 1927 by leaders of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union, who fashioned it as a sort of proletarian paradise. While some of the descendants of the mostly Jewish immigrants who made up
8832-434: The city border. The new course, which started at the original polo fields, did not conflict with either of the golf courses. In 1922, there was a proposal to acquire land for the future Saw Mill River Parkway , which would connect the park to 424 acres (172 ha) of open space in Westchester when completed. Through the 1930s, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation kept adding new recreational facilities in
8970-575: The city purchase the property. Around the same time, New York Herald editor John Mullaly pushed for the creation of parks in New York City, particularly lauding the Van Cortlandt and Pell families' properties in the western and eastern Bronx respectively. He formed the New York Park Association in November 1881. There were objections to the system, which would apparently be too far from Manhattan, in addition to precluding development on
9108-480: The city to propose alternate sites for the plant. The plant was built 160 feet (49 m) below the Mosholu Golf Course, at a cost of $ 3.2 billion. To lessen the disruption caused by the plant's construction, in 2010 the city used mitigation funds from the construction budget to restore the Van Cortlandt Park Parade Ground. The Sachkerah Woods Playground, located at the park's southeast corner near
9246-463: The city's approval, particularly overgrown areas of the property were made passable. Wide walking paths were built over original walkways, including the thin paths that led to the Van Cortlandt family cemetery, high on the nearby bluffs. "Certain lands" around the house were then filled in for the purpose of creating a "Colonial Garden," which was proposed in 1897. During excavation of the grounds, Indian artifacts and graves were found, corresponding to
9384-399: The citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 78% of high school students in Kingsbridge and Riverdale graduate on time, higher than the citywide average of 75%. Public schools are operated by the New York City Department of Education . Kingsbridge is located near the following public elementary schools, which serve grades PK-5 unless otherwise indicated: The following middle/high school
9522-419: The community. For example, the parks have been improved significantly and there are new elementary schools on 230th Street. On 233rd 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. The neighborhood is named for the King's Bridge , likely erected by enslaved Africans in 1693 and owned by Frederick Philipse ,
9660-433: The course, and golfers would wear long-sleeved shirts to ward off against the city's insufficient mosquito repellents. Homeless squatters moved into the park, while courses fell into disrepair, replaced by dirt tracks and "huts and forts" built by neighborhood kids. In 1985, the city licensed control of the courses to Los Angeles -based American Golf Corporation for 60 years, leading to their restoration. Other parts of
9798-446: The creek bed was filled in. The creek's water flow was redirected to the new and deeper shipping canal, south of Marble Hill. 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 inside the modern-day New York city line broke off to form the Town of Kingsbridge. In 1874, the City of New York annexed three towns that later became
9936-426: The elevated IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line subway line around the turn of the 20th century brought an influx of immigrants to Kingsbridge Heights, including the section of the neighborhood that would eventually become known as Van Cortlandt Village. The still-thriving Amalgamated Housing Cooperative , because of its distinctive culture and high population density, came to define its corner of Kingsbridge Heights as
10074-490: The fact that Luther R. Marsh, vice president of the New York Park Association, owned land near Van Cortlandt Park in particular. Opponents argued that building a park system would divert funds from more important infrastructure like schools and docks; that everyone in the city, instead of just the property owners near the proposed park, was required to pay taxes to pay for the parks' construction; and that since Marsh
10212-523: The first recorded people to inhabit in the area now referred to as Van Cortlandt Park. They settled in the area around the 14th or 15th centuries. The Lenapes used the geographic features of the area to support their community; for instance, they used the Tibbetts Brook , Spuyten Duyvil Creek , or Hudson River for fishing, and flatland areas for farming. They formed a village named Keskeskick, whose name roughly translates to "sharp grass or sedge marsh" in
10350-432: The flooding of recreational areas within the park during heavy rains. The park's paths would also be restored with the addition of three new pedestrian bridges; a playground; four activity centers, of which two would be outdoors and two would be indoors; a skate park; an athletic field; and three basketball courts built within the park. "Comfort stations" and food concessions would also be added. The Van Cortlandt Golf Course
10488-408: The following June. Besides plants, the garden had rustic wooden bridges and wooden stairs and a "handsome fountain and central court." A "Shakespeare Garden" was also opened that year, with a grand stairway leading down to it. The next year, park officials realized that the Colonial Garden's construction was of poor quality and hard to cultivate. The garden had to be raised 3.5 feet (1.1 m), and
10626-515: The forests. The stock of younger, replacement trees in the old-growth forest had relatively little diversity compared to other natural forests. In 1979, New York City Councilwoman June Eisland released a report on Van Cortlandt Park. The report noted that pollutants from the Major Deegan Expressway were entering Van Cortlandt Lake, and that the park ecosystem was also being harmed by inadequate drainage, soil sterilants that were used on
10764-449: The former Van Cortlandt Park station can be seen along the trail. As part of the park's 2034 master plan, NYC Parks undertook a project to pave the entirety of the trail through Van Cortlandt Park as well as a short extension to the south, making it usable for both pedestrians and bicyclists. A construction contract for the paving project was awarded in October 2018 to Grace Industries, and it
10902-449: The garden looked just fine. Under threat of tearing the garden down, the city had to find money to fill and drain the ground. The rebuilding contract was awarded in 1909 and completed by 1911. Various adjustments were made over succeeding years. A network of roads through the park was built soon after, allowing the construction of picnic areas and hiking trails as well as making the forests more accessible to visitors. A stone memorial
11040-465: The house to deceive the British into thinking that his troops were still on the grounds. Washington used the house one final time in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris . The British had just withdrawn their troops from Manhattan, and Washington and George Clinton were getting ready to enter the island, stopping over at the house before doing so. In the 1830s, officials in a rapidly expanding New York City saw
11178-476: The lake and forest, which had been overtaken by invasive species introduced during highway construction. Since then, there have been seven plans for restoring natural elements of the park, as well as three plans for park restoration. Gradual improvements began taking place in the late 1980s, including the addition of new pathways, signage, and security, as well as the restoration of playgrounds and other recreational facilities. In January 1988, NYC Parks conducted
11316-415: The lake bed. A new 2,270-foot (690 m) retaining wall was then erected along the lake's eastern shore, and a new dam was installed to reform the lake and to allow future cleaning of the lake without having to dredge it. After the opening of an overflow drain in 1911–1912, which connected to the sewer under Broadway completed in 1907, Tibbetts Brook was directed into the new sewer, The construction of
11454-753: The lake was used by up to 3,000 skaters on weekdays and 10,000 on weekends. The ice-skating house, shared with the golf course, was added in 1902. By 1935, the lake was used by approximately 20,000 skaters daily. There are several old-growth forests with tree species and genera such as black oak , hickory , beech , cherry birch , sweetgum , red maple , and tuliptree . The forests also contain wild turkeys , red-tailed hawks , great horned owls , bats , Eastern chipmunks , Eastern gray squirrels , groundhogs , gypsy moths , Eastern cottontail rabbits , striped skunks , North American raccoons , Virginia opossums , white-tailed deer and Eastern coyotes . In addition, over 130 species of butterflies can be found in
11592-517: The lake water. The city of Yonkers eventually attributed the cause of the Van Cortlandt Lake's pollution to four storm sewers that were found to be illegally connected to Tibbetts Brook upstream. The utter disrepair in the park prompted some informal rules at the park's golf courses. For instance, the Los Angeles Times noted that "a player was allowed to drop his ball a club length away if it rolled up against an abandoned auto, or, in one case,
11730-432: The lake's surface area was being lost to sedimentation every year. In addition, an algal bloom caused the lake to be in a low-oxygen condition, endangering plants and animals in and around the lake. "Unpleasant odors" in the summer also reduced recreational opportunities on the lake, and these conditions combined made it virtually impossible to come into contact with the lake's water without getting sick. By 1976, there
11868-493: The lake. This problem was first noticed in May 1961 when thousands of dead bass , pickerel , catfish , perch , and carp floated up at the edge of the lake. The mass-death of fish was blamed on siltation, Three years later, fish were still being killed by siltation. City investigators took water samples from the lake and found that they contained large amounts of weeds and sediment . About 22,000 square feet (2,000 m ) of
12006-521: The land " Colen Donck " and built a house upon the land. The house was built between current-day Van Cortlandt Lake and Broadway . It faced south, probably because this was the location of a natural marshland. What is now the parade ground was used by van der Donck for farming. Van der Donck died in 1655. That year the Munsee bands that lived in the lower Hudson River valley briefly occupied New Amsterdam and attacked Pavonia and Staten Island during what
12144-489: The land part of the Philipsburg Manor , which extended from Spuyten Duyvil Creek to the Croton River in modern Westchester County . Philipse's wife died, and he remarried Olof Stevense Van Cortlandt's daughter, herself a widow. Philipse's daughter Eva later married Jacobus Van Cortlandt , who was Mrs. Philipse's brother. The land that Van Cortlandt Park now occupies was acquired by Van Cortlandt from Philipse in
12282-506: The largest freshwater lake in the Bronx; old-growth forests; and outcrops of Fordham gneiss and Inwood marble . Contained within the park is the Van Cortlandt House , the oldest known surviving house in the Bronx, and the Van Cortlandt Golf Course, the oldest public golf course in the country. The land that Van Cortlandt Park now occupies was purchased by Jacobus Van Cortlandt from John Barrett around 1691. His son Frederick built
12420-455: 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
12558-400: The locker rooms were heavily vandalized and the diving pool had been closed. The city's fiscal crisis in the 1970s caused the rest of the park to fall into disrepair. A dearth of funds exacerbated the pollution of the park. Hands-on education programs at the park were reduced to passive observations of flora and fauna. Elsewhere in the park, excessive foot traffic was eroding the soil in
12696-496: The mid-to-late 1690s. In 1699, Van Cortlandt dammed Tibbetts Brook in order to power a sawmill (and later, a gristmill , ), creating Van Cortlandt Lake as a mill pond in the process. In 1732, Van Cortlandt acquired an additional parcel from the Tippett family. The estate was then passed on to Jacobus's son Frederick Van Cortlandt (1699–1749) and family in 1739; it was once a vast grain plantation. In 1748, Frederick built
12834-631: The new park was being planned, the New York City & Northern Railroad, later the New York and Putnam Railroad , was built through the center of the park. It had two stops in the Bronx: one inside the park, and another to the south at Kingsbridge . South of Kingsbridge, the railroad merged with the present-day Hudson Line of the Metro-North Railroad . The tracks were used for passenger traffic until 1958, and by freight trains until 1981. A shuttle train
12972-539: The old aqueduct. The trail features vestiges of an old, disused brick tunnel that brought water to Manhattan, as well as a gatehouse for the aqueduct. Within the park, the Old Croton Aqueduct trail borders Mosholu Golf Center and Driving Range, as well as the Allen Shandler Recreation Area. Its southern end is cut off by the Major Deegan Expressway in the southwestern end of the park. As part of
13110-460: The old village of Keskeskick. The nine-hole Van Cortlandt Golf Course opened on July 6, 1895, as the country's first and oldest public golf course. The 2,561-yard (2,342 m) course comprised current holes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, and 14. The first eight holes were easier and less than 200 yards (180 m) apart, but the last one had a fairway 700 yards (640 m) in length. The ninth hole, which spanned two stone walls and two small brooks,
13248-504: The park also fell into disrepair, such as Vault Hill, whose headstones and crypts were vandalized in the 1960s. As early as 1962, a New York Times reader wrote of vandalism on Vault Hill. A lack of annual maintenance of the park's jogging tracks and bridle paths had caused them to erode and become overgrown at some places. In 1978–1979, NYC Parks performed a wholesale renovation of the park's eroded and dilapidated bridle paths and jogging tracks. The Parade Ground remained popular, and
13386-405: The park into six pieces and demolished most of the remaining marsh in the park. This construction also induced siltation of the brook, leading to further creation of marshes. Moses also made improvements to the park itself, building new walkways, paving dirt roads, creating playgrounds, and installing lights. Baseball, soccer, and cricket fields were added in 1938. The Van Cortlandt Stadium
13524-460: The park since 1875, when records were first kept. Amphibians present include American bullfrogs , red-backed salamanders , and spring peepers . Also present in and around the park's waterways and wetlands are common snapping turtles and Eastern painted turtles , as well as red-eared sliders that were introduced to the region. There are five major hiking trails in the park. The Putnam Trail (1.5 miles (2.4 km), easy), runs north through
13662-457: The park to fall into disrepair. Gradual improvements began taking place from the late 1980s on including the addition of new pathways, signage, and security. In 2014, the "Van Cortlandt Park Master Plan 2034" was published. The forest in what is now Van Cortlandt Park has been around for 17,000 years, since the end of the Wisconsin glaciation . The Wiechquaskeck , a Wappinger people, were among
13800-500: The park's baseball diamonds. The park's recreational facilities were quite popular, with more than 10,000 people using them on a busy day. However, during and following World War I, the Parade Ground was used for war training. Until 1926, the baseball fields did not contain backstops , and had to be vacated by July 4 of every year, so the National Guard could use the field. The 6.2-mile (10.0 km) cross-country running course
13938-406: The park, and two airplane pilots were fined in 1947 for unauthorized airplane landings. Around 1939, the old aqueduct, which was now a popular hiking trail, started becoming a popular route with cyclists. Soon after, there was a proposal to redevelop the trail as a bike path. This proposal never came to fruition, although in the mid-1970s, the city built a separate bike path along Mosholu Parkway,
14076-475: The park, and the Parks Department hoped to convert parts of it for some athletic purpose, but this required the New York Central Railroad to raise one of its bridges first so the swampland could be accessed. However, there are no records of that bridge being raised or of the swamp being converted. In its early years, the lake was used for boating , canoeing , curling , and ice skating . By 1899,
14214-467: The park, the width of the parkways ' lanes was reduced. Tibbetts Brook was dredged and landscaped in 1938 to accommodate construction. Such construction continued until 1955, during which the Major Deegan Expressway (current Interstate 87 ) was also built, bisecting the Mosholu Parkway. This conflicted with Moses's plans for the park as a "rural oasis", as highway construction ultimately separated
14352-414: The park. In 1937, it was noted that the marshlands had fauna such as red-winged blackbirds , yellowthroats , green bottle flies , beetles , dragonflies , tadpoles , herons , kingfishers , and ospreys . Its flora included cattail , skunk cabbage , and moss . Its avian population during the winters has exceeded that of either Central or Prospect Parks; a total of 301 bird species have been seen in
14490-441: The park. After the parcourse for the parade grounds was approved in 1978, the New York City Department of Parks promised to cooperate on the Van Cortlandt Park improvement plans. The 1979 Eisland plan also detailed suggestions for park improvements. This culminated in the 1980 appointment of a park coordinator who would start devising details of a "master plan" for the park. In 1985, a study recommended ecological restoration of
14628-488: The park. The Colonial and Shakespeare Gardens had a combined 250,000 flowers by 1931, but both were demolished by the end of the decade due to bad drainage. In 1934, Robert Moses became the New York City Parks Commissioner, and during his 16-year tenure as commissioner, altered almost every aspect of the park. His job partially entailed balancing the needs of area residents, whose numbers had grown in
14766-437: The park. The Old Croton Aqueduct was in use until 1955, though the part that ran through the park was closed down in 1897 after the new aqueduct was connected to the Jerome Park Reservoir . In 1876, Frederick Law Olmsted was hired to survey the Bronx and map out streets based on the local geography. Olmsted noted the natural beauty of the Van Cortlandt estate, comparing it to Central Park which he designed, and recommended
14904-428: The parks would appreciate greatly over time; that the commission had only chosen property that could easily be converted into a park; and that Pelham Bay Park would soon be annexed to the city. Ultimately, the parks were established despite the objections of major figures like Mayors William Russell Grace and Abram Hewitt ; Comptroller Edward V. Loew; and Assemblymen Henry Bergh and Theodore Roosevelt. In 1880 while
15042-535: The past decade, with transit users who traveled to the park from the north and south. Moses's development plans in the 1930s called for the construction of the Henry Hudson Parkway and Mosholu Parkway to bisect Van Cortlandt Park and meet at a trumpet interchange about half a mile north of the center, merging into the Saw Mill River Parkway. Due to objections over the construction of roads inside
15180-508: The population. 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 25–44, and 25% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents
15318-405: The population. Van Cortlandt Village has traditionally been classified as part of Kingsbridge, and in particular, as part of the northern section of Kingsbridge Heights . The 0.5 square miles (1.3 km) neighborhood is generally thought to extend from its namesake Van Cortlandt Park on the north, to Dickinson and Sedgwick Avenues on the east, to Bailey Avenue on the west and Albany Crescent on
15456-497: The portions of the property. In 1668, a portion of the land was sold to William Betts, an English turner , and his son-in-law George Tippett, whom Tibbetts Brook would later be named for. This property included the modern park parade grounds. Next, Doughty sold a 2,000-acre (810 ha) tract of land, including the current site of the Van Cortlandt House , to Frederick Philipse , Thomas Delavall , and Thomas Lewis. Philipse bought out Delavall's and Lewis's land shares, making
15594-568: The property to make it more passable. In the 1930s, the Robert Moses –directed construction of the Henry Hudson Parkway and Mosholu Parkway fragmented Van Cortlandt Park into its six discontinuous pieces. The last remaining freshwater marsh in New York State , Tibbetts Brook , was dredged and landscaped to accommodate construction, causing large-scale ecological disruption within the park. The 1975 New York City fiscal crisis caused much of
15732-596: The site. However, newspapers and prominent lobbyists, who supported such a park system, were able to petition the bill into the New York State Senate , and later, the New York State Assembly (the legislature's lower house ). In June 1884, Governor Grover Cleveland signed the New Parks Act into law, authorizing the creation of the park system. Legal disputes carried on for years, exacerbated by
15870-456: 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 Marble Hill , 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
16008-539: 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. 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
16146-472: The south. Van Cortlandt Village is a mostly low density residential neighborhood. On September 28, 2004, the New York City Department of City Planning approved the rezoning all or portions of 15 blocks in this northwestern Bronx neighborhood (bounded by Van Cortlandt Park South to the north, Fort Independence Park and Sedgwick Avenue to the east, West 231st Street and Albany Crescent to the south, and by Heath Avenue, Fort Independence Street and Orloff Avenue to
16284-477: The southwest of the Van Cortlandt Station was converted to a lake. An "outlet sewer" under Broadway was built in 1907. From 1903 to 1911, NYC Parks cleaned the 13-foot-deep (4.0 m) Van Cortlandt Lake, removed the original earthen dam , and emptied the lake in order to dredge the lake bed to a lower depth. A new dam was installed to reform the lake. The former marshland was filled in. During
16422-429: The war, however. Later, the grounds were used by Patriot militia leaders Comte de Rochambeau , Marquis de Lafayette , and George Washington . The house itself was Washington's headquarters after his troops were defeated in the 1776 Battle of Long Island . That same year, Augustus Van Cortlandt hid city records under Vault Hill to protect them during the war, turning them over to the new American government after
16560-430: The war. It was in "Indian Field," at the present-day intersection of Van Cortlandt Park East and 233rd Street, that the Stockbridge militia was destroyed by the Queen's Rangers , and 38 Indians from the militia were killed in 1778. In 1781, Washington returned to the house to strategize with Rochambeau while their troops waited outside on what is now the Parade Ground and Vault Hill. He later lit campfires outside
16698-483: The west) into Van Cortlandt Village, which is located within Community District 8. The zoning changes aimed to preserve the community's low-rise/low-density character by ensuring that new development is compatible in scale, both with the one- and two-family detached homes that prevail in parts of the neighborhood and with the more diverse housing stock in others. The area is predominantly low-density residential, with
16836-521: 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
16974-580: The woods to the east of this lawn and west of Van Cortlandt Lake, through the golf course and along Tibbetts Brook and the former New York and Putnam Railroad line into Yonkers, where it connects to Westchester County's paved South County Trailway . Previously unpaved, the Putnam Trail underwent a reconstruction project starting in August 2019 and was reopened in October 2020 as a paved pedestrian and bicycle path. The rails themselves were overrun with weeds, but they were no longer usable by trains. The remains of
17112-401: Was a moratorium on all boating activities on the lake. The Van Cortlandt Golf Course was used as a ski slope during the winters starting in 1961, and up to 3,000 visitors would use the slopes each weekend. By 1964, with the use of artificial snow, it was also possible to ski during warmer days. The seasonal ski slope was closed in the late 1960s when the city decided to allow golfers to use
17250-474: Was added in 1939 on the site of a former swamp, and a pool followed in 1970. Moses also landscaped the areas near the Woodlawn and 242nd Street subway stations to attract park visitors from other neighborhoods. During his tenure as Parks Commissioner, Moses took aggressive approach to preserving the park's quality. For instance, six mothers were issued court summonses in 1942 after letting their children dig in
17388-436: Was among the country's hardest holes. Four years after the course opened, the city hired Tom Bendelow , nicknamed the "Johnny Appleseed of Golf", to expand it to 18 holes. The course added a clubhouse in 1902, which also doubled as an ice-skating house. At first, the park was sparsely used for sports. In 1899, there were 10, 7, and 5 permits issued for lawn tennis, baseball, and football, respectively. The Parade Ground
17526-459: Was built after a lawsuit was filed in 1997 against the city by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of New York . The city settled the suit and a consent decree was issued with the condition that the city would build the plant by 2006. The project experienced delays and ballooning costs due to objections from the local community, which required
17664-472: Was completed in October 2020. The Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway (1.1 miles (1.8 km), easy/moderate), was created in 1968 when the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation had bought a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) stretch of the Old Croton Aqueduct, for use as a walking trail. It starts in Van Cortlandt Park as a grass-and-dirt trail and runs north along the route of
17802-536: Was converted to recreational use starting in 1902, when the National Guard added fields for polo . In 1907, due to overcrowding, Dr. William Hornaday transferred 15 of the Bronx Zoo 's then-rare bison to the Parade Ground, where they stayed until they were shipped to prairie land in Oklahoma later that year. The Colonial Garden, designed by landscape architect Samuel Parsons , started construction in 1902 and opened
17940-471: Was founded as one of the country's first housing cooperatives. It failed during the Great Depression and became a rental complex. In the spring of 2013 it was acquired by an owner to restore it to its original grandeur and the complex was renamed the Shalom Aleichem Houses. Based on data from the 2010 United States Census , the population of Van Cortlandt Village was 50,100, a decrease of 507 (1.0%) from
18078-574: Was inaugurated in 1914. The track started out as a flat path, became hilly, turned onto a "little spell of road work," went into the forest, and crossed a water before turning back. A year later, it hosted the Metropolitan Association of the Amateur Athletic Union's Junior and Senior Cross Country championships. A modified 3.1-mile (5.0 km) cross-country course opened on November 5, 1921, with runners simply changing direction at
18216-457: 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 eleven 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,
18354-467: Was operated by Yonkers Rapid Transit Railway between Kingsbridge and Yonkers . It ran off the main New York and Putnam Railroad line immediately north of the Van Cortlandt station. Service began in March 1888 and ran until 1942 (see § Former railroads ). The family property was sold to the City of New York and made into a public parkland in 1888. The majority of the grain fields were converted into
18492-443: Was placed at Indian Field in 1906, with a plaque misspelling the name of the Indian chief, Abraham Ninham, as "Abraham Nimham." One particular concern was the threat of the wetlands serving as breeding grounds for malaria -borne mosquitoes, which had drawn the ire of local residents and property owners as they believed the wetlands to be "unsightly and unsanitary." The marshlands were filled in between 1906 and 1922. The marsh to
18630-479: Was renovated in 2016. The skate park, new playground, and path improvements were completed in 2020. NYC Parks started renovating the Woodlawn Playground in 2021 for $ 1 million. One of the pedestrian bridges, which would have crossed the Major Deegan Expressway, was postponed in 2020 after its cost had increased to $ 23 million; the bridge was canceled in 2023. At 1,146 acres (464 ha), Van Cortlandt Park
18768-588: Was traditionally also available along Jerome Avenue and Broadway . Close nearby, to the west and southwest of Van Cortlandt Village, two new large commercial shopping malls were constructed and opened in 2014. The first to open in July 2014 is Riverdale Crossing located at West 237th Street and Broadway, and the second one, opened in fall 2014, is the Broadway Plaza mall located at West 230th Street/Kimberly Place and Broadway. The neighborhood abuts Van Cortlandt Park ,
18906-420: Was trying to parcel off some of his land to developers, the park's size should be reduced in order to prevent him from profiting off park usage. However, most of this opposition was directed at the construction of Pelham Bay Park , which was then in Westchester. Supporters argued that the parks were for the benefit of all the city's citizens, thus justifying the citywide park tax; that the value of properties near
19044-670: Was used during the American Revolution by both the Loyalists and Patriots , owing to James's leadership role early on in the revolution. On May 30, 1775, the New York Provincial Congress placed James on a committee to create a report on whether it was feasible to build a fort near his family's house. British General William Howe made the house his headquarters on November 13, 1776, thus placing it behind British-held ground. The Van Cortlandts wished to stay neutral in
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