Spotlight: MOTT HAVEN

Photo Credit: Robert Benimoff

By Samuel Brooks

A mural depicting the arrival of Jonas Bronck in 1639 painted by American artist James Monroe Hewlett (1868 - 1941). This image is one of four illustrating the history of The Bronx and can be seen in Veteran’s Memorial Hall at The Bronx County Courthouse located at 851 Grand Concourse.

n 1639 Jonas Bronck, a Nordic European settler, along with his Dutch wife, Teuntje Joriaens, and indentured servants were the first European settlers to establish their farmstead at the confluence of the Harlem River and Bronx Kill overlooking Randall’s Island, the area that is now referred to as Mott Haven. The Bronx is named after Jonas Bronck. In 1670 the Morris family, originally from Great Britain, but arriving here from the West Indian island of Barbados, acquired much of the area and established a large manor called Morissania. In 1841 and 1848, Jordan L. Mott, the neighborhood’s namesake, purchased sizable tracts of land from the Morris family and established the J.L. Mott Iron Works in Mott Haven. During that period, Mott Haven was a heavily Irish neighborhood. German immigrants also began to arrive in the middle of the nineteenth century. By the 1890s, Jewish from Eastern Europe also began to arrive in Mott Haven. In the early 1940s, Blacks and Puerto Ricans from Harlem and East Harlem started to flock to Mott Haven. By the early 1950s, much of the Irish, German and Jewish began to leave Designated on April 5, 1994, the Mott Haven East Historic District consists of row houses, a church and tenements on East 139 th

and 140 th

Streets, between Willis and Brook Avenues. 427 East 140 th

Street was the residence of builder William O’Gorman who developed much of the area in this historic district. I Photo Credit: The Bronxer

Photo Credit: The Bronxer

416 East 136 th

Street is one of the 31 residential buildings comprising this

historic district which was designated on April 5, 1994, which was developed between 1877 and 1899 by Bronx builder Edward Bertine.

Mott Haven to the suburbs. Today, Mott Haven is a diverse community with a large number of Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans and other ethnicities. By the 1970s, the South Bronx became a symbol of urban decay and disinvestment. It also remained a vibrant immigrant neighborhood. In the past few years, The Bronx as a whole and especially Mott Haven has been seeing an amazing revival. This renewed interest in Mott Haven has given rise to converted lofts, new affordable and market rate apartments; restaurants; and the only independent book store in The Bronx called The Lit Bar. Mott Haven's rich history and architectural distinction has been recognized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission with the Mott Haven Historic District designated as a historic district in 1969. July 29, 2019 marked the 50 th anniversary of the first historic district in The Bronx designated by New York City. In 1994, Mott Haven East Historic District and the Bertine Block Historic District, also in the neighborhood, were also designated as historic districts.

The Mott Haven Historic Districts Association in partnership with the Historic Districts Council, The Bronx Historical Tours, The Bronx Tourism Council, Landmarks Preservation Commission along with the Mott Haven community residents are working together to bring this historic neighborhood (who was a 2017 "Six to Celebrate" recipient) to the same level of local and national prominence as its Manhattan sibling, while continuing to preserve not just our architectural gems, but also our history, culture, music, community and people.

Samuel Brooks is President of the Mott Haven Historic Districts Association and a resident of Mott Haven since 1975 and has been active in the community for several decades. He is also the Co-founder of El Fogon Center for the Arts, an alternative art space open to The Bronx community to help nurture up-and-coming artist of all mediums. For more information visit www.mhhda.org

Photo Credit: The Bronxer

The Mott Haven library was built in 1905 as one of 67 branches

founded by Andrew Carnegie’s gift of $5.2 million to New York City in 1901. This was the first Carnegie library to open in The Bronx, which

received nine in total. Of these, eight are still standing. Babb, Cook