Port Morris, Bronx

Port Morris is a mixed use, primarily industrial neighborhood geographically located in the southwest Bronx, New York City.[4] The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 1.[5] Its boundaries are the Major Deegan Expressway and Bruckner Expressway to the north, East 149th Street to the east, the East River to the southeast, the Bronx Kill to the south, and the Harlem River to the west. Its ZIP Code is 10454. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 40th Precinct.[6]

Port Morris
Neighborhood of the Bronx
The Clock Tower, former factory now serving residential and commercial tenants
Location in New York City
Coordinates: 40.802°N 73.91°W / 40.802; -73.91
Country United States
State New York
City New York City
Borough The Bronx
Community DistrictBronx 1[1]
Area
 • Total1.92 km2 (0.742 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total3,523
 • Density1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi)
Economics
 • Median income$38,834
Ethnicity[3]
 • Hispanic and Latino Americans72.3%
 • African-American24.7%
 • White1.7%
 • Asian0.4%
 • Others1%
ZIP Codes
10454
Area code718, 347, 929, and 917
Websitewww.portmorris.nyc

Oak Point, the southern tip of the South Bronx is in Port Morris. The area is also traversed by the Bruckner Expressway, a major freeway. Most of the neighborhood is within walking distance from the Cypress Avenue station of the IRT Pelham Line (6 train).

Demographics
Union Standard Equipment at 141st Street

Port Morris predominantly consists of Latin Americans (primarily Puerto Rican), African Americans as well as a small white population concentrated mainly in the western portion of Bruckner Boulevard. Almost half of the population lives below the federal poverty line and receives public assistance (TANF, Home Relief, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid). The median income is significantly higher than that of other South Bronx neighborhoods. This is likely due to recent rezoning[4] to increase commercial and residential activity in the area.[2][7]

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Mott Haven and Port Morris was 52,413, a change of 3,383 (6.5%) from the 49,030 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 951.01 acres (384.86 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 55.1 inhabitants per acre (35,300/sq mi; 13,600/km2).[8]

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.7% (867) White, 24.7% (12,927) African American, 0.2% (95) Native American, 0.4% (214) Asian, 0% (7) Pacific Islander, 0.2% (124) from other races, and 0.6% (310) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 72.3% (37,869) of the population.[9]

History

The history of Port Morris, as with other neighborhoods, is sometimes confused by the lack of fixed official boundaries. Late in the 20th century the name was sometimes applied to the area to the west, into Mott Haven. Mott Haven by older definition lies to the west rather than north of Port Morris.

Settlement
Bruckner Bar & Grill at Bruckner Blvd and Third Avenue

There is some evidence that a British paymaster ship went down off Port Morris's coast during the American Revolutionary War with millions of dollars in gold aboard. No recovery was ever made.[10][11]

The name comes from a deep water port established along the neighborhood's East River (Long Island Sound) waterfront by Gouverneur Morris Jr., son of Gouverneur Morris, in 1842. He built a two-mile (3 km) railroad from Melrose to his family's holdings on the waterfront, later called the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad, abandoned a hundred years later.[12]

Development

The area is dominated by factory and warehouse buildings constructed in the mid-to-late 19th century, convenient to the railroad yards, of which the Oak Point Yard is the main survivor. Notable early businesses were the R. Hoe Co.; Cutler & Hammer Tool Works; Mothers Friend Shirt Waist factory (1888) at Willow Avenue between East 135th and 136th Streets;[13] and the Estey Piano Company Factory (now designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission).[14] While many of the early industrial buildings remain, they are little used for manufacturing anymore.

The area was the site of the Hell Gate generating plant of Consolidated Edison, where George Metesky, the Mad Bomber who plagued New York City for decades was injured.[15]

The most notable architectural/engineering feature of Port Morris is the northern approach to the Hell Gate Bridge supported by concrete arches (1917) northward from East 132nd Street, between Willow & Walnut Avenues. Plans are afoot to extend the South Bronx Greenway to Randalls Island, crossing Bronx Kill via the Randall's Island Connector under Hell Gate Bridge. The Connector opened in November 2015.[16][17][18]

A wave of arson during the 1970s destroyed or damaged many residential, commercial, and industrial structures in the area. Late in the century industry began to return to Port Morris. Many abandoned residential buildings are also being rehabilitated and designated low income housing.[19]

Gentrification
133rd Street gate of New York Post printing plant

The neighborhood has been experiencing massive revitalization with many historic warehouses, factories and various manufacturing buildings being converted into lofts. The former Estey Piano Corp factory, now The Clock Tower, has the restaurant Charlies Bar & Kitchen operating on the ground level.[20] Port Morris has become a burgeoning community of artists and other young professionals looking for more reasonable options outside of Manhattan.[21] Efforts by the New York Restoration Project are underway to revive the waterfront in an area that historically suffers from high asthma rates. This will create much-needed green space for the community.[22][23] As a result of these changes, the neighborhood is slowly becoming well known as a hub for upscale eateries in the South Bronx.[24]

Silvercup Studios is planning on converting a 115,000-square-foot warehouse located on 295 Locust Avenue for film and television productions. The facility is scheduled to open in June 2016.[25]

A NYC based real estate developer The Bluestone Group, has been actively acquiring buildings in the Port Morris and Mott Haven area, purchasing large warehouse buildings for conversion to creative office space, charter schools, hotels, as well as housing. in June 2016 Bluestone purchased the 275,000 square foot former Union Standard Equipment Co. building at 825 East 141st Street for $44 million.

Looking north along Third Avenue at Beethoven Piano factory, the site of one of the proposed luxury towers

The Piano District is the name proposed by two developers for Port Morris. The two developers, Somerset Partners and The Chetrit Group, purchased two riverfront properties for $58 million with the goals of establishing luxury residences and retail.[26] However, there is opposition to the renaming, and critics and proponents have accused one another of racism.[27] The developers were criticized by Melissa Mark-Viverito, the president of the New York City Council for conducting a Halloween rave, attended by numerous celebrities and featuring flaming trash cans and hulks of burnt-out and bullet-riddled cars. Mark-Viverito accused the developers of a lack of empathy and basic awareness.[28]

Education
  • South Bronx Charter School for International Cultures and the Arts (East 133rd Street and Cypress Pl)
  • Per Scholas operates its main branch at 804 E 138th Street.[29]

Media

The Mott Haven Herald is a news outlet that reports in Mott Haven, Melrose and Port Morris. It is produced by students at the City University Graduate School of Journalism and edited by Joe Hirsch.

Transportation

Port Morris is served by the New York City Subway via the Cypress Avenue (6 train) station.[30]

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Port Morris:[31]

  • Bx15: to Fordham Plaza or Manhattanville via Third Avenue
  • Bx17: to Fordham Plaza via Crotona and Prospect Avenues
  • Bx33: to 135th Street station (served by the 2 and ​3 trains) via 138th Street

Bruckner Boulevard, which runs under the Bruckner Expressway (Interstate 278), is the primary thoroughfare through Port Morris.

As part of a conceptualization by think tank ReThink Studio that was not recognized by the city or state, a train station in Port Morris will be the northern terminal for a trunk line that would be a regional hub for transportation to other places in the states of New York and Connecticut. The station’s site and context could accommodate connections to Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport via the trunk line, Northeast Corridor, and local bus routes. The station, a planned adjacent convention center, and supporting development is proposed to encourage other growth in the South Bronx.[32]

References
  1. "NYC Planning | Community Profiles". communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  2. "Port Morris neighborhood in New York". Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  3. "Center for Urban Research". Archived from the original on October 13, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  4. "Port Morris Rezoning". Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  5. "Bronx Community District 1" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  6. 40th Precinct, NYPD.
  7. "Mott Haven, the Bronx, in Transition". Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. "Port Morris in Forgotten NY". Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  11. "Ship of Dreams". Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  12. Port Morris Branch, the so-called Bronx Swamp December 23, 2009, The LTV Squad
  13. "Historic Districts Council — Port Morris History" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  14. "Estey Piano Company Factory" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. May 16, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  15. "Printers Row Preview 'Curiosity's Cats' editor recounts Mad Bomber research". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  16. Small, Eddie. "Bronxites Can Get Free Rides to the Randall's Island Connector This Spring". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  17. South Bronx Greenway
  18. Miller, Stephen. "Eyes on the Street: Randall's Island Connector to Open in "Coming Weeks"". Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  19. "Port Morris & The 134th Street Ferry Bridges, The Bronx". Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  20. "Charlies Bar & Kitchen Is a Pioneering Dining Option in a Poor Bronx Neighborhood". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  21. "The South Bronx Beckons". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  22. "The Haven Project". Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  23. "Green Space and Health Linked in Vision for South Bronx". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  24. Wall, Patrick. "New Upscale Bars and Eateries Make Their Way to Port Morris". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on April 25, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  25. "Silvercup Studios Is Turning a Bronx Warehouse Into Its 3rd Production Complex". Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  26. Small, Eddie. "South Bronx is Now the 'Piano District,' Billboard Proclaims". DNAInfo:NY. Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
  27. Ramos, Andrew. "Community outraged after developers attempt to rename South Bronx 'The Piano District'".
  28. Yakas, Ben. "Real Estate Developers' "Bronx Is Burning" Rave Criticized For Tone-Deafness". Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  29. "Per Scholas Official Website". Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  30. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 21, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  31. "Bronx Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  32. Sayer, Jason. "Jim Venturi and ReThinkNYC want to revolutionize how NYC handles train infrastructure", The Architect's Newspaper, May 26, 2016. Accessed August 1, 2016.
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