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Riverdale, Bronx

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Riverdale (population approximately 45,000, according to the 2000 U.S. Census) is a middle- and upper-class residential neighborhood in the northwest Bronx, New York City.

Riverdale's zip codes are 10463 and 10471. While 10471 is entirely in Riverdale, 10463 also covers the adjacent neighborhoods of Kingsbridge and Marble Hill.

Geography

Riverdale is about three square miles in area. It is bordered on the north by the city of Yonkers, Westchester County, New York; to the east by Van Cortlandt Park and the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx; to the west by the Hudson River; and to the south by the Harlem River.

The subsections of Riverdale are:

  • Spuyten Duyvil / South Riverdale (Riverdale below West 232nd Street)
  • Central Riverdale (The "downtown" of Riverdale - from Manhattan College Parkway to West 232nd Street and from the Henry Hudson Parkway to Riverdale Avenue and Waldo Avenue)
  • Fieldston (Riverdale south and east of the Henry Hudson Parkway, north of Manhattan College Parkway and west of Tibbett Avenue)
  • North Riverdale (Riverdale above West 242nd Street)

The leafy, scenic enclave of Fieldston, a private community, was designated as an historic district by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2006.

Cityscape

Housing in Riverdale ranges from multi-story apartment buildings dating from the 1950s and 60s to large, architecturally distinguished houses built in the early 20th century, mostly in Georgian- and Tudor-revival styles, some designed by well-known architects. It is also home to the modernist landmark Saul Victor house, designed by Ferdinand Gottlieb in 1967. Since 2005, Central Riverdale has experienced a building boom with the addition of many mid- and high-rise condominium buildings.

Riverdale is in a sense the closest northern suburb of New York City although it is not its own municipality. Administratively, Riverdale is part of Bronx Community District 8.

Wave Hill, a combination botanical garden and outdoor art gallery, is located in the so-called Estate Area overlooking the Hudson River. Two weekly newspapers, the Riverdale Pressand the Riverdale Review, focus on news of interest to residents of the neighborhood.

The exteriors of many of Riverdale's mansions have been used in movies; most notably, the "Corleone House" located on Independence Avenue (across from Wave Hill) was used for the exterior shots in the film The Godfather. Dorney and Malone's Tavern on Broadway was also filmed in the 2007 romantic comedy The Accidental Husband, starring Uma Thurman.

Education

Riverdale is home to three prominent private schools (Horace Mann, Riverdale Country, and Fieldston), and two Roman Catholic colleges, (Manhattan College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent).

The public elementary schools are the Spuyten Duyvil School (P.S. 24) and the Robert J. Christen School (P.S. 81). The public middle school and high school is M.S./H.S 141, The Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy. Nearby high schools that also serve the community include the Bronx High School of Science and John F. Kennedy High School.

Riverdale is also home to SAR Academy, a private Jewish day school near the Riverdale train station, and SAR High School as well as the Yeshiva of Telshe Alumni and Yeshiva Ohavei Torah of Riverdale. Kinneret Day School, is a private Jewish day school in Spuyten Duyvil, serving grades K through 8 in addition to pre-school. Catholic elementary schools in the area are St. Gabriel's School and St. Margaret of Cortona School.

Also in the area are several pre-schools including the Riverdale Temple Nursery School, Spuyten Duyvil Preschool,, Kinneret Day School,, Riverdale Nursery School and Family Center, and the Riverdale Presbyterian Church Nursery School.

Transportation

The northern terminal station of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway is located at the intersection of 242nd Street and Broadway. The tracks and stations are elevated along Broadway throughout the Riverdale area. Metro-North commuter railroad service is available at the Spuyten Duyvil station, located underneath the Henry Hudson Parkway and alongside the shore of the Harlem River at Edsall Avenue. Metro-North service is also available at the Riverdale station, located between West 254th Street and West 255th Street. The 242nd Street elevated subway station is served by the , while the Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale railroad stations are served by the Hudson Line. Metro-North commuting time from the Spuyten Duyvil station to Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan is around 22 minutes.

Manhattan can also be reached by MTA Bus Company's (formerly Liberty Lines) express routes. By car, Riverdale is commonly reached by the Henry Hudson Parkway (Route 9A), which bisects much of the neighborhood. This major thoroughfare connects it to Manhattan over the Henry Hudson Bridge to the south.'''

Demographics

Riverdale is home to large Jewish and Irish American communities. The growing segment of Orthodox Jews has led to an increase in the number of restaurants and food stores that are strictly kosher. Many other ethnic groups, including Germans, Greeks, and Koreans are also a presence. In 1974, a large residential compound was established in North Riverdale by the Permanent Mission of the USSR to the United Nations (now the Russian Mission to the UN) to house diplomats and their families.

Notable residents

References

External links



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Last updated on Sunday March 09, 2008 at 19:47:23 PDT (GMT -0700)
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