South Bronx, such as Tremont. In Robert Caro's The Power Broker, the author argues that Moses intentionally directed the expressway through this neighborhood, even though there was a more viable option only one block south. The expressway's construction displaced many residents, who generally were not relocated to adequate housing. The New York Times reported in 2022 that the areas near the Cross Bronx Expressway were among New York City's poorest neighborhoods; these areas contained 220,000 residents, most of which were ethnic minorities. Many of the neighborhoods it runs through have been continually poor since its construction, partly due to the lowered property value caused by the expressway. This is partially responsible for the public opposition to many other planned expressways in New York City that were later cancelled – in particular, the Lower Manhattan Expressway, and may have provided impetus to Jane Jacobs, an American expatriate, in her opposition to the Scarborough Expressway in Toronto. Architect Ronald Shiffman argues that the Cross Bronx Expressway "ripped through the heart of the Bronx, creating what was a wall between what eventually was known as the Northern and Southern part of the Bronx." Health issues The Cross Bronx Expressway accounts for a large proportion of the Bronx's roadway pollution. Bronx residents are more likely to have asthma than residents of other boroughs, and a large portion of those are children. Because things like dust, pollution, and other allergens serve as factors for developing asthma, children of color living in low-income areas in the Bronx are at risk of suffering from asthma exacerbation. Asthma rates in the Bronx are three times higher than the national average. In the Morris Heights neighborhood of the West Bronx, where the Cross Bronx and Major Deegan Expressways intersect, air-pollution rates are also generally higher than in the rest of the borough. To decrease emissions from the Cross Bronx Expressway, community activists proposed constructing a freeway lid in the early 2020s. Congestion The expressway is one of the main routes for shipping and transportation through New York City due to its connections with New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge, Long Island via the Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridges, Upstate New York via I-87 northbound and the Bronx River Parkway, Manhattan via I-87 southbound to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge or the Trans-Manhattan Expressway (extension of the Cross Bronx Expressway westward) and the Henry Hudson Parkway, and New England