31 October 2011, 5:45 am
NYC was just Manhattan until 1874 when the West Bronx was annexed to NYC. In 1895, all the areas east of the Bronx River were annexed to NYC (I thought that meant the whole Bronx until I recently found an 1895 NYC map). Here’s an 1895 map of NYC I found recently so that you would see and understand what I’m talking about. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1895_Bien_Map_of_New_York_City_(w-_Queens_%5E_the_Bronx)_-_Geographicus_-_NYC-bien-1895.jpg The Bronx first assumed a distinct legal identity when it became a borough of Greater New York in 1898. Manhattan’s street grid was extended partly in the western Bronx. The Bronx was part of New York County until 1914. The NYC history of the western half of the Bronx hasn’t been reflected there. Some New Yorkers refer to Manhattan as the original city by calling it “the city,” but the western part of the Bronx is not included. If I were to write to someone in Manhattan, I’d write “New York, NY” in the address in part because Manhattan is part of the original NYC. If I were to write to someone in Riverdale or in any part of the western Bronx, I would write “Bronx, NY” as it is done in the rest of the Bronx. The NYC histories of the other boroughs have been reflected. One would write “Brooklyn, NY” in the address since Brooklyn was originally a city, and one would only use one of Queens’ neighborhoods in the address (“Flushing, NY;” “Long Island City, NY;” Astoria, NY, etc.) because they were separate towns before 1898. So, why has the western part of the Bronx since 1898 not been considered nor treated as part of the original NYC? Why hasn’t that part of history been reflected in the western Bronx, especially in West Bronx? Do you think that it should?... Read More »
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