There are many unsafe areas in New York City in Manhattan, but do you know which are the worst neighborhoods in The Bronx?
The Bronx is considered to be the northernmost borough of New York City. It has 42 square miles and a population of 1,455,720, while at the same time it is the only part of the Big Apple which belongs to the mainland of the North America. Another interesting fact about The Bronx is that it got its name after the Swedish sea captain Jonas Bronck, who established the first settlement in the Bronx in 1639, as part of the New Netherland colony. According to U.S. Census Bureau from 2016, there was 44.9%of white population, 43.7% of African-Americans, 2.9% of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 0.4% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, and 3.5% of two or more races in this area. Moreover, 56.0% of Bronx’s population was of Hispanic or Latino origin, which makes it the only borough in NYC with a Hispanic majority. This cultural diversity dates back to 19th and 20th century when this neighborhood received many immigrant groups from European countries like Ireland, Germany, Italy, and the Caribbean region including Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Furthermore, this multiculturalism also influenced the development of hip hop music and break dancing.
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Nowadays, what is the first thing that comes to the mind of an American when you mention the Bronx? New York Yankees, the Bronx Zoo and the astonishing New York Botanical Garden! Moreover, there are many cultural attractions as well and many touristic places to enjoy, such as, restaurants in The Bronx’s “Little Italy”. All in all, it is worth of visiting even though there are many bad voices advising that is not the safest part of the town for tourists. That’s partially correct depending on the area, but The Bronx is a big place, and not everywhere is unsafe.
Since the 1990s, The Bronx has desperately tried to fight the past and deal with major crime rates, and on the one hand they have succeeded. From 1993 to 2010, there was a big reduction in murders by 75%, in shooting 68%, in burglaries 82% and in car thefts 86%. All in all, the major statistics is that there was a drop by 71% in total major crimes, from 1993 to 2008, which is a big progress, but there was also a rise in robbery by 12% from 2009 to 2010. Some make the connection between the crime rate and poverty, as it is the poorest New York City borough, while others don’t agree with it. Manhattan could be one of the good examples, as it is also considered to be dangerous even though it is not poor. In any case, the Bronx has been doing a lot of campaigns in order to change its negative picture, mostly by highlighting their famous natives and successful stories about them. However, there are still many bad boroughs all over NYC and if you are interested which ones they are, you should check out our previous article about 10 Worst Poorest and Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in New York City.
The New York Police Department and the U.S. Census Bureau, DNAinfo calculated the 2010 crime rates for 69 areas in five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and The Bronx. How did they do it? Their methodology was to divide the number of reported crimes in one neighborhood by the number of people who are living there and voila, you get a per capita crime rate. They ranked those 69 areas from least safe to the safest ones. Among many boroughs, we concentrated on the Bronx’s neighborhoods, and singled out ten most dangerous according to this DNA report. We ranked them according to their overall crime safety position in the report. For reference’s sake, the 69th neighborhood is considered to be the least safe and as the number goes higher, it means the borough is safer. We also used the Class Curious database, which is a go to for all things New York City.
If you are ready to find out which ones are the most unsafe, just start reading by clicking on next to check out the worst neighborhoods in The Bronx.
10. Throgs Neck
Overall crime safety: 28th
Throgs Neck is an area in the eastern part of The Bronx. From 1993 to 2010, the crime rate dropped by 65%. For the same period there was 94% of murder decline, but there was also an increase in rape percentage by 36%, from 2008 to 2010. It is widely known as one of the neighborhoods, together with City Island and Pelham Bay, that resisted the urban decay in the 1970s. Co-op City, which is very close, is an inland which has serious surveillance, security patrols and department for public safety in order to keep the crime rate low.
9. Eastchester
Overall crime safety: 35th
Eastchester is considered to be a working-class neighborhood, situated in the northeast part of The Bronx. It is on this list for many reasons. Firstly, in just one year, from 2009 to 2010, there was an increase in overall crime rate at 4%. In more detail, that 4% included a rise in murders by 28%, rapes by 61% and car theft by a 16%. This neighborhood took 67th place out of 69 in per capita car thefts. Moreover, people are still reporting drug dealing and suspicious grouping on the streets.
8. Soundview
Overall crime safety: 36th
This neighborhood is predominantly made up of Latin Americans (mostly Porto Ricans) and African Americans. It is known for gatherings of many street gangs, such as the Black Spades from the 60s. There was a big reduction in car thefts from 1993 to 2010, by 88%. However, murders, robberies and felony assaults are still a big issue. One interesting fact is that studios of News 12 The Bronx is located in Soundview.
7. High Bridge
Overall crime safety: 39th
Besides High Bridge, among the poorest and worst neighborhoods in The Bronx and US are Concourse Village and Mount Eden, as well. Moreover, the crime rates in these parts were very high. From 2010, there was a major increase in violent crimes in High Bridge, which made it in 56th place out of 69 on the ranking for violent crimes according to Crime & Safety Report. Also, from 2009 to 2010, there was an increase in murder rate by 27%, but also a decrease in burglaries by 88%, from the year 1993 to 2010.
6. Pelham Parkway
Overall crime safety: 43rd
Pelham Parkway is located in the northeast part of The Bronx. It got its name because of the major parkway, while it was originally called The Bronx and Pelham Parkway. Even though from 1993 until 2010 there were significant decreases in property crimes, car theft and grand larceny, from 2001 to 2010, murders have doubled while rapes and felonies increased as well. Among all of that, the highest increase was in shooting incidents with the rise of 238%, from 2001 to 2010.
5. Melrose & Morrisania
Overall crime safety: 45th
Halfway through our list of worst neighborhoods in The Bronx is the Melrose & Morrisania areas. The crime rate in these two neighborhoods dropped significantly from 1993 to 2010 by 73%. Moreover, the total crime rate rise for the same period was just 3%. Out of 69 neighborhoods in the report, it is on the 19th place for the safest property crime. However, it is still considered to be one of the toughest boroughs, with 148 reported crimes per 10 000 residents.
4. Norwood
Overall crime safety: 49th
We are continuing our list of worst neighborhoods in The Bronx with Norwood, or Bainbridge, that is the neighborhood in the northeast Bronx, which is well known for its Irish population that inhabited the area from the 1970s to 1990s. In that time, it was known for one more name – Little Belfast. From 2009 to 2010, there was an increase in murders by 57%, whereas the drop in car theft from 2001 to 2010 was 66%. Moreover, there is still a lot of drugs and prostitution on the Norwood streets.
3. Belmont & Bathgate
Overall crime safety: 56th
Belmont, that’s up next on the list of worst neighborhoods in The Bronx is widely known as the “Little Italy” of the Bronx. Even though it was considered to be one of the safest neighborhood in the Bronx concerning ordinary street crime, it wasn’t however the case with murders and rapes. In 2010, in both Belmont and Bathgate, there were 20 rapes, 5 murders and 400 robberies. Out of 69, they are ranked 45th for property crimes. On the other hand, if we look at the period between 1993 and 2010, we could see there is a decrease in crime rate by 66%. However, these neighborhoods still have a lot to change in order to be safer.
2. Mott Haven
Overall crime safety: 59th
The second place on our list of worst neighborhoods in The Bronx goes to Mott Haven that is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern part of the Bronx. For many years, this area was considered among the least safe, until the 1990s. Then, the police took over through many actions and as a result, the crime rate dropped by 72%, from 1993 to 2010. Car thefts were reduced by 80%, burglaries by 85% and the most important one is that percentage of murders dropped by 80%. However, it is not among the safest ones, which is why it is second on our list of worst neighborhoods in The Bronx and 59th on the DNA ranking, out of 69 neighborhoods.
1. Hunts Point
Overall crime safety: 67th
Even though it is on the 67th place for overall crime safety, it is in the 69th place out of 69 neighborhoods for the violent crime rate. It is located in southern part of the Bronx, and it is considered to be a red-light district, because of the prostitution. From 1993 to 2010, there was a major decrease in burglaries by 80%, but, on the other hand, from 2009 to 2010 there was an increase in robberies by 26%. All we can conclude is that this neighborhood is still in big need for changes.
That concludes our list of worst neighborhoods in The Bronx. If you are a tourist, it may be best to stay away from these areas for now.
