The Bronx

The Bronx is New York City's only borough that's not an island. It's predominately on the US mainland and it's certainly not isolated from culture. Head northeast out of Manhattan and you'll reach the borough of the Bronx. There are more bridges connecting Manhattan to the Bronx than any other borough; so it shouldn't be too hard to get there. The High Bridge, which runs over the Harlem River, is the oldest bridge in New York City. It's also home to New York's largest park, Pelham Bay Park which is 3 times bigger than Central Park. 25 percent of this borough is parkland, making the Bronx the city's greenest borough. But bridges and parks are not what the Bronx is known for. It's the birthplace of hip-hop and home plate for the New York Yankees. Cultural movements have been born in the Bronx. It was once the hub of Latin jazz in the early Nineteenth Century. In the nineteen-seventies, the Bronx got a new reputation as the home of hip-hop. South Bronx has become the formative location for New York African-American culture, which led Fordham University to create the Bronx African-American History Project (BAAHP). The Bronx is also home to an avant-garde theatre movement, where several Off-off Broadway theatrical productions are performed. Theaters, like the Pregones Theater, often perform works by immigrant playwrights from Latin America and Africa. These productions are representative of the demographics of the Bronx, with African-American and Latino communities making up a significant portion of the population. Culture is alive in the Bronx. Breakdancing and salsa were born here and Edgar Allen Poe lived here. And many New Yorkers consider the Bronx's Arthur Avenue the "real" Little Italy. Explore NY2C to find out how the Bronx dares to stand out from the crowd.