Marble Hill -- Bronx or Manhattan?

There’s a pride in being a part of the Bronx, no matter what the New York State Legislature said in 1984.”

Steven Payne, Director of the Bronx County Historical Society

Named for the rock formation it sits on, Marble Hill, the isolated neighborhood residing within the boundaries of the Bronx borough, has long been claimed by the borough of Manhattan. 

The debate of whether Marble Hill belongs to the Bronx or Manhattan dates to colonial times when the island of Manhattan included the neighborhood of Marble Hill, separated by the Spuyten Duyvil Creek.

The creek was modified in 1876 when the state began construction of the Harlem River Shipping Canal, which was created to shorten the route from the Hudson River to the Long Island Sound by nearly 14 miles, according to New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. 

This resulted in Marble Hill being cut off from Manhattan as the waterway was formed around Marble Hill to cut through the land. However, this left Marble Hill as an island of its own, with Spuyten Duyvil Creek still flowing between the land and Kingsbridge. 

Dr. Steven Payne, director of the Bronx County Historical Society said, legally the neighborhood of Marble Hill belongs to Manhattan, but the history of the community is nuanced. 

“It was physically connected to Manhattan much longer than it has been connected to the Bronx. When European settlers arrived, it was connected to Manhattan, with indigenous settlement in the area it was part of Manhattan,” Payne said. 

After Marble Hill became an island, cut off from all surrounding land, it remained as such for nearly 100 years before the creek was filled in 1913 and the community then became connected to the Bronx. This change prompted questions regarding who the piece of land belonged to. 

“In 1914 when Bronx County was created by the New York State Legislature, Marble Hill wasn’t specifically included in it,” Payne said. 

Later in 1938, the map of Manhattan was drawn up and included the neighborhood of Marble Hill. This redrawing resulted in the then-Bronx borough president James Lyons to claim the land in the name of the  Bronx in 1939. 

“He did this whole stupid stunt where he planted a Bronx county flag in Marble Hill,” Payne said. 

During his stunt, Lyon’s compared his own actions of claiming Marle Hill in the name of the Bronx to the Nazis and their forceful annexation of Czechoslovakia, which occurred a year prior, according to Payne. 

“It remained kind of like a gray area, at least legally speaking, until 1984, and that’s when there was an act by the New York State Legislature,” Payne said.

The Greater New York Charter of 1897 declared Marble Hill as part of the borough of Manhattan and part of New York County.

“It’s really not that clear,” Payne said, “It might be clear legally, according to the New York State Legislature.”

Payne refers to Bronx Community Board 8’s oversight of the neighborhood as a “wrench in things, politically” because if the neighborhood does belong to Manhattan it should be overseen by a Manhattan Community Board.  

Payne said he lived in Marble Hill for five years and in his discussions with most other Marble Hill residents, they consider themselves to be Bronxites. 

For those living in New York City Housing Authority Marble Hill houses at 5220 Broadway, the argument is not as simple. 

The 11 buildings that make up the housing development are split. Seven of the buildings belong to the borough of Manhattan while the remaining four are considered part of the Bronx, according to Tony Edwards, the President of the Marble Hill Resident Council. 

“Under NYCHA, Marble Hill is considered a Bronx development,” Edwards said. 

The New York State Unified Court System told The Press that judicially, the court system claims the neighborhood as the 1st Judicial District, reporting to the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre St. 

Avi Rothfield, a resident of the 10463 zip code was summoned to jury duty in Manhattan and was surprised to learn the Marble Hill neighborhood belonged to the Manhattan court system. 

“I was informed that 10463 could be considered part of New York County for the purpose of jury duty,” Rothfield said. 

On Facebook, Marble Hill residents are divided, some claiming they have been sent to the Bronx courthouses for jury duty while others say only Manhattan. 

Resident, Pat Martin wrote, he’s lived in Marble Hill since the 1980s and has continuously reported to the Bronx courthouses while his parents before him were told to report to Manhattan.

“There’s a pride in being a part of the Bronx, no matter what the New York State Legislature said in 1984, Payne said.