The Bronx immigration waves

The Bronx immigration waves

Since 1914, the borough has had the same boundaries as Bronx County, the third-most densely populated county in the United States. 

The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a hillier section in the west, and a flatter eastern section. East and west street names are divided by Jerome Avenue—the continuation of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. About a quarter of the Bronx's area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo in the borough's north and center. These open spaces are situated primarily on land deliberately reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north and east from Manhattan. 

The Bronx's Motto(s): 

Ne cede malis – "Yield Not To Evil"

(lit. "Yield Not to Evil Things")

In this motto we can see the echo of the influence of religious immigrants on the life of this area of New York. 

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bronx received many immigrant and migrant groups as it was transformed into an urban community, first from various European countries (particularly Ireland, Germany, and Italy) and later from the Caribbean region (particularly Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic), as well as African American migrants from the southern United States. This cultural mix has made the Bronx a wellspring of Latin music, hip hop and rock. 

The immigrants influenced on the social life of Bronx. The Bronx, particularly the South Bronx, saw a sharp decline in population, livable housing, and the quality of life in the late 1960s and the 1970s, culminating in a wave of arson. Since then the communities have shown significant redevelopment starting in the late 1980s before picking up pace from the 1990s until today. 

The history of the Bronx during the 20th century may be divided into four periods: a boom period during 1900–29, with a population growth by a factor of six from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.3 million in 1930. The Great Depression and post World War II years saw a slowing of growth leading into an eventual decline. The mid to late century were hard times, as the Bronx declined 1950–85 from a predominantly moderate-income to a predominantly lower-income area with high rates of violent crime and poverty. The Bronx has experienced an economic and developmental resurgence starting in the late 1980s that continues into today.

The parts of Bronx were totally different. They developed under the influence of immigrants. The Latin people made The South Bronx a manufacturing center for many years and it was noted as a center of piano manufacturing in the middle part of the 20th century. In 1954, the Bronx was the site of 93 piano factories employing more than 5,000 workers.

As we said, a lot of immigrants came to the Bronx in the middle of 20th century, among these groups, many Irish Americans, Italian Americans, and especially Jewish Americans settled here. In addition, French, German, Polish, and other immigrants moved into the borough. The Jewish population also increased notably during this time. In 1957, 792,185 Jews lived in The Bronx (48.9% of the borough's population), while only 54,000 Jews lived in the borough in 2011. Many synagogues still stand in the Bronx, but most have been converted to other uses.

Bootleggers and gangs were active in the Bronx during Prohibition (1920–33). Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Polish gangs smuggled in most of the illegal whiskey, and the oldest sections of the borough became poverty-stricken.

Between 1930 and 1960, moderate and upper income Bronxites (predominantly non-Hispanic Whites) began to relocate from the southwestern neighborhoods of the borough. This migration has left a mostly poor African American and Hispanic (largely Puerto Rican) population in the West Bronx. One significant factor that shifted the racial and economic demographics was the construction of Co-op City, built with the intent of housing middle-class residents in family-sized apartments. The high-rise complex played a significant role in draining middle-class residents from older tenement buildings in the borough's southern and western fringes. Most predominantly non-Hispanic White communities today are located in the eastern and northwestern sections of the borough. 

Since the late 1980s, significant development has occurred in the Bronx, first stimulated by the city's "Ten-Year Housing Plan" and community members working to rebuild the social, economic and environmental infrastructure by creating affordable housing. This act highly increased the number of immigrants. 

The Census of 1930 counted only 1.0% (12,930) of the Bronx's population as Negro (while making no distinct counts of Hispanic or Spanish-surname residents)

Foreign or overseas birthplaces of Bronx residents, 1930 and 2000
1930 United States Census			2000 United States Census
Total population of the Bronx	1,265,258		Total population of the Bronx	1,332,650
			All born abroad or overseas ‡	524,410	39.4%
			Puerto Rico	126,649	9.5%
Foreign-born Whites	477,342	37.7%	All foreign-born	385,827	29.0%
White persons born in Russia	135,210	10.7%	Dominican Republic	124,032	9.3%
White persons born in Italy	67,732	5.4%	Jamaica	51,120	3.8%
White persons born in Poland	55,969	4.4%	Mexico	20,962	1.6%
White persons born in Germany	43,349	3.4%	Guyana	14,868	1.1%
White persons born in the Irish Free State †	34,538	2.7%	Ecuador	14,800	1.1%
Other foreign birthplaces of Whites	140,544	11.1%	Other foreign birthplaces	160,045	12.0%
† the 26 counties now within the Republic of Ireland			‡ beyond the 50 states & District of Columbia

Arts

The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, founded in 1998 by Arthur Aviles and Charles Rice-Gonzalez, provides dance, theatre and art workshops, festivals and performances focusing on contemporary and modern art in relation to race, gender, and sexuality. It is home to the Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre, a contemporary dance company, and the Bronx Dance Coalition. The Academy was formerly in the American Bank Note Company Building before relocating to a venue on the grounds of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts, founded in 1971, exhibits 20th century and contemporary art through its central museum space and 11,000 square feet (1,000 m²) of galleries. Many of its exhibitions are on themes of special interest to the Bronx. Its permanent collection features more than 800 works of art, primarily by artists from Africa, Asia and Latin America, including paintings, photographs, prints, drawings, and mixed media. The museum was temporarily closed in 2006 while it underwent a major expansion designed by the architectural firm Arquitectonica. 

Community celebrations

"Bronx Week," traditionally held in May, originated as a one day celebration. Initiated by Bronx historian Lloyd Ultan and supported by then borough president Robert Abrams, the original one-day program was based on the "Bronx Borough Day" festival which took place in the 1920s. The following year, at the height of the decade's civil unrest, the festival was extended to a one-week event. In the 1980s the key event, the "Bronx Ball," was launched. The week includes the Bronx Week Parade as well as inductions into the "Bronx Walk of Fame."

Various Bronx neighborhoods conduct their own community celebrations. The Arthur Avenue "Little Italy" neighborhood conducts an annual Autumn Ferragosto Festival that celebrates Italian culture.Hunts Point hosts an annual "Fish Parade and Summer Festival" at the start of summer.Edgewater Park hosts an annual "Ragamuffin" children's walk in November. There are several events to honor the borough's veterans. Albanian Independence Day is also observed.

There are also parades to celebrate Dominican, Italian, and Irish heritage.