and the winner is.....

......the drawbridges on the Hutchinson River and Pelham Parkway’s which cross the Hutchinson River ("Eastchester Bay") in the Bronx.  

To begin, the bridges are widely hated by commuters who drive these roads. Most of the results of my Internet research resulted in foursquare posts and flicker pictures regarding being stuck in traffic because "the f@*#! bridge is up!” The bridges appear to go up as needed, on no particular schedule; for example: during prime rush hour traffic on Monday mornings.  

While I cannot find much or any information about the types of marine traffic that these drawbridges accommodate, I was able to locate the history of the bridges themselves.  Let's just assume that barges of garbage from Co-Op City and boats going to and from City Island are passing through.  There are still operational port businesses running along the banks of the Hutchinson River. These appear to be fuel corporations and asphalt plants. 

The Hutchinson River Parkway construction began in 1924. At the time the Parkway was only in Westchester (Pelham Area). Construction of the roads extended to White Plains by 1928.  In 1937, the roads were being extended into the Bronx south, ending in 1941 by the Whitestone Bridge.   It was at this time; in 1941, The Hutchinson River Parkway Bridge (HRPB) was opened to traffic.   

The bridge is a double leaf bascule type bridge, which means it opens upwards on both sides to allow boats and barges to pass below.  It is 670 feet long and 160 feet wide.  There is one walkway on the North Bound side.  

Much like the HRPW, the Pelham Bay Bridge (which runs off of Pelham Parkway passing Pelham Bay Park towards Shore Road and the roundabout for City Island, Orchard Beach, etc.) is the same style of bridge. It too has only one pedestrian walkway, but is slightly longer at 891 feet long. However, this bridge was already up and running in 1908, 33 years prior to the HRPB. This bridge is actually not the first, or second, or even third bridge to stand at this location.  The first was destroyed by a storm on April 12th, 1816.  A new bridge was not on site until 18 years later.  An iron bridge was erected in 1871 and the bridge presently there was opened October 15th, 1908.  

Lastly, There is also a bascule drawbridge for the Amtrak train line in the same area, for passenger trains to and from from Penn Station. 

"Completed in 1907, Pelham Bay Bridge has reached the end of its useful life and requires extensive ongoing maintenance. Its obsolete and aging components have forced Amtrak to restrict speeds to just 45 mph. The bridge has a lift span that is manned by a bridge operator. It opens several times per day for commercial boats and occasionally faces minor problems closing properly." ( http://www.nec-commission.com ).

If you thought this was boring, some fun filled facts....

-The River (and Parkway) is named for Anne Hutchinson, the religious revolutionist,  who came from Rhode Island in 1642 and settled on Pelham-Neck to the east of the river, across from where Co-Op City is now. She was murdered by a group of Indians the following year.  The Bronx don't play.  

-Once upon a time there was a  .25 cent toll located between exists 7 & 8 of the Hutch (Pelham), which were removed in 1994 - conveniently when I was at the peak of spending most of my nights in Westchester County.   Before the tolls were removed, we frequently took the Bronx River to and from Westchester. 

-It has been cited that Robert Moses deliberately made the bridges low on the Hutch and other parkways to stop buses carrying lower classes of people outside of New York City.  This is probably true, because my research has indicated Moses was a genius and an asset, he sure loved destroying lower income neighborhoods to build the much needed highways.   

Additional Interesting Reading on the Area and Topic:

http://historicpelham.blogspot.com/2005/06/hotel-and-bar-room-at-pelham-bridge.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_Rock_(Bronx,_New_York)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/nyregion/16bridges.html

http://www.bridgesnyc.com/category/bridge-type/bascule/

all along the clock tower

Lofts in the South Bronx. Above the former Estey Piano Company. The South Bronx is now being dubbed SoBro - this is sort of old news.

From Wikipedia:

"The "South Bronx" is not a completely neutral term, as it is one commonly associated with urban decay of the 1970s. The terms "Downtown Bronx" and "SoBro" have recently been coined in hopes of replacing this somewhat outdated term for the region, with the latter term "SoBro" meant to conjure Manhattan's more affluent SoHo neighborhood. It is popular for being the birth place of hip hop music and culture."

We drove through the area last night and I saw several cafes and bars along the way which totally freaked me out. "In November 1999, Scientific American noted: "The Mott Haven section of New York City's South Bronx has long been one of the poorest neighborhoods in the nation. The median household income of its residents, most of whom are African-American or Hispanic, is less than one third of the U.S. median."(Wikipedia). Less then 10 years later and it is turning around. I was left for dead in this area on morning in about 1999/2000 when monsoon rainstorms stopped all train service, and let me tell you, it was no treat. I was quite terrified.

I said to my friend "this area isn't worth what they want for it" and he said "people are preparing for the future". He was 100% correct. Lord only knows what another 8-10 years may bring. For more info on Mott Haven I point you to Forgotten NY.


My favorite building of Mott Haven was the Farberware Factory (Images) which closed down in the 90's. It was simply massive. It was razed four years ago (my old company supplied the tools, I knew then I was in a job that I hated) and is now the site, I believe, of a Con Ed plant. They also removed a smoke stack (cut it down actually) that was associated with I believe a Milk or Bread plant.

I have pots and pans from the 1950's the are stamped BRONX, NY on the bottom. Buy me all the pots and pans in the world, and I refuse to part with these. They were handed down from my Grandmother, to my mother, and then to me. Why? My father wanted "Tools of the Trade" pots and pans. The bottoms all burned. They have already gone through the set. My p's and p's are like new. Not one has even stained nor burned. I appreciate the past more than my Father, which i find very ironic.

There is not a wikipedia entry for "NoBro" which is where I live because there is no need to change any negative connotation just yet. Seems eventually we will have our own urban decay and they will have to come up with a nasty nickname for it first in order for it to rebirth and become someplace trendy and cool. As of now, Robyn and I are the hipster community of Morris Park. We bought our Old Navy Hoodies in anticipation as we wait for the storm.