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As implied by the name of the neighborhood, Crotona Park is the most defining feature of Crotona Park East. That is the place you go to get away from people. Barbershops, bodegas, delis, hair salons, churches, pharmacies, and mechanics are the easiest businesses to find in the area. The primary method of public transit is the overground 2/5 train line along with seven bus routes that service the community, although that number is set to reduce to six given the MTA’s plan to streamline bus services across NYC.
The demography of Crotona Park East is about 2/3rd hispanic and 1/3rd black with small but growing white and asian populations each around 1%. Along with the rest of the Bronx, it is also more religious on average than NYC as a whole; a larger percentage of its population identifying as christian. It is also younger on average than NYC as a whole, with roughly a quarter of the people living here being under the age of 18. Crotona Park East was the epicenter of the arson epidemic in the south bronx during the 70s which destroyed 80% of the housing market. The renewal project that followed created a slice of suburbia.
Despite the rapid developments, the area still lags behind the rest of the city in several indicators: crime, poverty, education, unemployment, cleanliness, air pollution, health, obesity, substance abuse; all worse off than the average of NYC as a whole. What’s more, all of the city’s largest job centers lay at least an hour away via train ride. While substantial progress has been made in the past few decades on all those fronts, more work certainly remains to be done.
The development of the area has largely been a success story, albeit one that if community and governmental leaders aren’t careful could displace the very people this community has served for decades. Gentrification comes with as many cons as it does pros, depending on who you ask, and there is no doubt that this community is gentrifying before our eyes. While Crotona Park East is riding the wave of progress, we need to make sure it doesn’t get swept up by the tide.
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