Riverdale, Bronx

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Riverdale (population approximately 46,000, according to the 2000 Census) is a middle, upper-middle and upper class residential neighborhood in the northwest Bronx in New York City. It is bordered on the north by Yonkers, New York (also the New York city limits), to the east by Van Cortlandt Park above West 242nd Street then Manhattan College Parkway to Waldo Avenue out to Riverdale Avenue Then up the Johnson Avenue Hill into the Spuyten Duyvil section, on the south by the Spuyten Duyvil Canal, to the west by the Hudson River, and to the south by the Harlem River. Between Waldo Avenue and Irwin Avenue is a large hill separating Riverdale from the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx. Geographically it is the second highest neighborhood in New York City (after Washington Heights). Riverdale includes the sub-sections of Fieldston and Spuyten Duyvil. Housing in Riverdale ranges from multi-story middle class apartment buildings dating from the 1950's and 60's to colossal, architecturally distinguished houses built in the first few decades of the 20th Century, mostly in a variety of Georgian and Tudor revival styles. Riverdale is in a sense the closest northern suburb of New York City although it is not its own municipality. The area has the reputation of being heavily Democratic.

Wave Hill, a combination garden and outdoor art gallery, is in Riverdale. Two weekly newspapers, the [Riverdale Press] and the Riverdale Review, focus on news of interest to residents of the neighborhood. Fieldston, an even more upscale neighborhood, lies entirely within Riverdale's borders. Riverdale borders the neighborhood of Spuyten Duyvil to the south. Van Cortlandt Park touches the neigborhood.

Riverdale contains three private schools (Horace Mann, Riverdale Country, and Fieldston), the public John F. Kennedy High School in nearby Marble Hill, and two private Catholic colleges (Manhattan College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent). The public elementary schools are P.S. 24 and P.S. 81. The public junior high school is M.S. 141/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy. Many Riverdale residents also attend Bronx Science and the High School for Environmental Studies. Riverdale is also home to [SAR Academy], a private Jewish day school near the Riverdale train station, and SAR High School. Catholic elementary schools in the area are St. Gabriel's School and St. Margaret of Cortona School.

The Riverdale train station on the Metro North line

The New York City Subway 1 line serves the area just beyond its eastern border while the Hudson line of the Metro-North commuter railroad runs along its western edge, the Hudson River. Commuting time from the Spuyten Duyvil station to Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan is around 25 minutes. Manhattan can also be easily reached by MTA Bus Company's (Formerly Liberty Lines)  express routes. By car, Riverdale is commonly reached via the Henry Hudson Parkway which bisects much of the neighborhood. This major thoroughfare connects it to Manhattan over the Henry Hudson Bridge to the south.

Riverdale is home to large Irish American and Jewish communities. Koreans are also a presence. President John F. Kennedy lived in Riverdale in a home at 5040 Independence Avenue from September 1927 to 1929. He attended the Riverdale Country School, and the family were communicants at the Church of St. Margaret of Cortona, located on Riverdale Avenue and 260th Street. It was at St. Margaret's Church that the future president received his First Holy Communion.

The exteriors of many of Riverdale's mansions have been used in movies, most notably the "Corleone House" located on Palisade Avenue (across from Wave Hill) was used for the exterior shots in the film, The Godfather.

Celebrities who have lived in Riverdale

• John F. Kennedy, U.S. President, lived at 5040 Independence Avenue, across the street from Wave Hill
• Eliot Spitzer, New York State Attorney General and candidate for governor, was born in Riverdale
• Lou Gehrig, Yankee baseball star, lived at 5204 Delafield Avenue
• Chris Chambliss, former Yankee First Basemen
• Willie Mays, baseball star, lived at The Whitehall, 3333 Henry Hudson Parkway
• Carly Simon, singer songwriter. She is a Riverdale native.
• Ed Sullivan, television personality, lived at the Whitehall
• Greta Garbo, actress, lived at 2475 Palisade Avenue
• Many members of the Ghermezian family, developers of the Mall of America, currently live at The Whitehall
• U Thant, U.N. Secretary General
• Arturo Toscanini, Conductor, lived at Wave Hill
• Bernard Kerik, former New York City Police Commissioner
• Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer. lived at the Riverdale Children's Association
• Herman Badillo, politician, lived on 259th Street
• Mike Quill, one of the founders of the Transport Workers Union
• Ron Bloomberg, played baseball for the Yankees
• Nat Holman, professional basketball player and longtime coach of CCNY basketball team. In his later years, he lived at the Hebrew Home For The Aged on Palisade Avenue
• Fernando Ferrer, Bronx Borough President and Mayoral candidate
• Tracy Morgan, starred on Saturday Night Live
• DJ DAT, hip hop producer and DJ
• Mark Twain, Author, lived at Wave Hill

External links

• [The district's venerable (75 years old) preschool]

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