At the time of European settlement, the southern Bronx was inhabited by the Siwanoy, a tribe of the Wappinger confederacy. They called the hill that is now Highbridge "Nuasin", or "the land between", for its location between the Harlem River and an estuary that formerly flowed in the area of modern-day Jerome Avenue.<ref name=Merriam/>
The neighborhood takes its name from the High Bridge, built in 1848 by Irish immigrants.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The structure originally carried Croton Aqueduct water across the Harlem River.<ref>Template:Cite concrete</ref> In 1864, a walkway was built across the High Bridge.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In the mid-late 19th century, the area was developed as a suburban retreat for the elite, who built large homes overlooking the Harlem River. The names of these families and their estates are reflected in the names of Highbridge's north–south avenues: Ogden Avenue and Boscobel Place for William B. Ogden,<ref name=Merriam/> Merriam Avenue for Francis W. Merriam,<ref name=Merriam/> Anderson Avenue and Woodycrest Avenue for the Anderson family, and Shakespeare Avenue for the Shakespeare Garden on the Marcher family estate.<ref name="Marcher">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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In the late 1960s, the residents of Highbridge were predominantly of Irish, Italian and Eastern European Jewish descent. They have since been replaced by large numbers of Hispanics and African Americans.<ref name="irish"/> As of 2017, the neighborhood is undergoing gentrification.<ref name="Village Voice"/>
Demographics
Prior to the 1960s, Highbridge was a predominantly Irish American neighborhood.<ref name="irish">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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The entirety of Community District 4, which comprises Highbridge and Concourse, had 155,835 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 78.6 years.<ref name="CHP2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 4 was $30,900.<ref name="CB3_6PUMA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Highbridge is dominated by townhouses and 5 and 6-story apartment buildings, including numerous Art Deco landmarks built by the developer Bernard J. Noonan and the architects Horace Ginsberg and Marvin Fine.<ref name="nyc_noonanplaza">[1]Template:Webarchive, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed March 8, 2018.</ref> Many older detached mansions still remain on Woodycrest Avenue and Ogden Avenue. The total land area is roughly one square mile. The terrain is elevated and very hilly.
Stair streets connect the parts of the neighborhood that are located at different elevations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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The "Lighthouse" building at Sedgewick Avenue and University Avenue has housed the H.W. Wilson Company, an educational publisher and index services provider, since 1917. The building's distinctive lighthouse was added in 1929. The company merged with EBSCO Publishing in June 2011.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
Highbridge and Concourse are patrolled by the 44th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 2 East 169th Street.<ref name="NYPD 44th Precinct">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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The 44th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 77.3% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 19 murders, 36 rapes, 713 robberies, 1,048 felony assaults, 421 burglaries, 934 grand larcenies, and 396 grand larcenies auto in 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Fire safety
High Bridge is located near two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations.<ref>Template:Cite FDNY locations</ref> Engine Co. 50/Ladder Co. 19/Battalion 26 is located at 1155 Washington Avenue,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Template:As of, preterm births and births to teenage mothers are more common in Highbridge and Concourse than in other places citywide. In Highbridge and Concourse, there were 93 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 34 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp Highbridge and Concourse has a relatively average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 13%, slightly higher than the citywide rate of 12%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Highbridge and Concourse is Template:Convert, more than the city average.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp Fifteen percent of Highbridge and Concourse residents are smokers, which is higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp In Highbridge and Concourse, 34% of residents are obese, 17% are diabetic, and 42% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp In addition, 23% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
Eighty-three percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 72% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp For every supermarket in Highbridge and Concourse, there are 18 bodegas.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
The nearest hospital is Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in Claremont.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Post office and ZIP Code
Highbridge is covered by ZIP Code 10452.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Education
Highbridge and Concourse generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city Template:As of. While 36% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 43% have less than a high school education and 21% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 26% of Bronx residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp The percentage of Highbridge and Concourse students excelling in math rose from 17% in 2000 to 40% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 21% to 25% during the same time period.<ref name=":17">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Highbridge and Concourse's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City. In Highbridge and Concourse, 28% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, higher than the citywide average of 20%.<ref name=":21" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp Additionally, 67% of high school students in Highbridge and Concourse graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp
The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates two branches near Highbridge. The Grand Concourse branch is located at 155 East 173rd Street. The branch is a two-story structure that opened in 1959.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Tracy Morgan (born 1968), actor and comedian<ref>Itzkoff, Dave. "For Tracy Morgan, Every Day Is a Show", The New York Times, October 28, 2008. Accessed June 12, 2017. "He was the second of five children, raised in housing projects in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and the High Bridge section of the Bronx."</ref>
William B. Ogden (1805–1877), railroad magnate and first mayor of Chicago<ref>"William B. Ogden.", Illinois During the Gilded Age. Accessed June 12, 2017. "His business causing him, of late years, to spend much of his time in New York, he purchased a handsome villa, in the spring of 1866, in Westchester County, at Fordham Heights, adjoining the High Bridge."</ref>
