История и названия района Норвуд/Бейнбридж в Бронксе.

Due to its use in city publications, subway maps, and local media, "Norwood" is the neighborhood's more common name, but the area is also known as "Bainbridge", most consistently within the neighborhood's formerly Irish American community that is centered on the commercial zone of Bainbridge Avenue and East 204th Street. The name "Norwood" itself does not carry a great deal of currency as do nearby neighborhoods such as Riverdale and Woodlawn.

At the time of the Civil War, the area was Westchester County farmland on the border of West Farms and Yonkers. Chief property owners included the Valentine, Varian, and Bussing families. Woodlawn Cemetery was founded in 1863 to the north. Annexed to New York City in 1873 along with the rest of the West Bronx, the area's character shifted from rural to suburban by the turn of the 20th century. The neighborhood's streets in their present form were laid out in 1889 by Josiah Briggs between Middlebrook Parkway (renamed Mosholu Parkway) and Woodlawn Cemetery. Contemporary maps show that it was then considered part of Williamsbridge, with which it continues to share a post office. Williamsbridge Reservoir was opened in 1890, transforming the natural lake into an artery that served the New York City water supply system until no longer needed in 1934. A tract of land, known as "Columbia Oval" was owned by Columbia University at Gun Hill Road and Bainbridge Avenue. Columbia Oval was used for sporting events including the first United States marathon (40 km), from Stamford, Connecticut in 1896. (The winner of that marathon was John McDermott, who later won the first Boston marathon.) Columbia Oval became the site of Columbia University's War Hospital, which was taken over by the United States Army as "U. S. Army General Hospital No. 1" during the World War I. The area went through a series of names around the turn of the 20th century, including North Bedford Park, after the neighborhood to the south, and Brendan Hill, after St. Brendan the Navigator and the parish church, established in 1908, that bears his name. The name Brendan Hill was made official by the Board of Aldermen in 1910. The name Norwood is first attributed in the form Norwood Heights—either in honor of Carlisle Norwood, a friend of Leonard Jerome, or simply a contraction of "North Woods", common to a number of places in the English speaking world. In the first half of the 20th century Norwood shared with the rest of the Bronx a population made up largely of European origin Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish families affluent enough to leave Manhattan. These populations were joined by Puerto Ricans during the Great Depression and post World War II eras, and, post 1965, by other Latinos (especially Dominicans), Bangladeshis, Albanians, West Indians (especially Guyanese), West Africans (especially Ghanaians), and a new group of Irish immigrants.

In the 1970s through the 1990s the neighborhood was well known for its Irish and Irish American population, having attracted a number of immigrants from Catholic areas of Northern Ireland who fled the Troubles, and others seeking work. During this time that the neighborhood became known by two more names: Bainbridge, after the Bainbridge Avenue – East 204th Street commercial strip – included Irish restaurants, groceries, and pubs, and Little Belfast, after the city from which many immigrants came. A number of factors have contributed to the decline of the Irish population in Bainbridge. The most critical was the downturn in the US economy which forced many Irish immigrants to return to Ireland or to seek work in Germany (whose reunification process coincided with the American recession). A substantial portion of the Irish population were illegally in the country, and thus subject to INS investigation and deportation. The end of the Troubles period, with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, encouraged some residents to return voluntarily to Ireland, particularly with the improvement of the northern economy. The growth of the economy of the Republic of Ireland – the so called "Celtic Tiger" – persuaded some residents to move there. Others have continued to live in New York, moving to the Bronx neighborhoods of Riverdale and Woodlawn Heights, or to nearby Yonkers. The same factors which encouraged return to Ireland have also discouraged further immigration to Bainbridge. Most of the Irish American residents moved out of the area due to over population and the area becoming an economically depressed neighborhood. Irish pubs were replaced by "99 Cent" stores. The last Irish pub, McDwyers Pub, closed down in 2011.

Norwood is located near two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations. Engine Co. 79/Ladder Co. 37/Battalion 27 is located at 2928 Briggs Avenue. Engine Co. 62/Ladder Co. 32 is located at 3431 White Plains Road.

as of 2018, preterm births are less common in Norwood and Bedford Park than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are more common. In Norwood and Bedford Park, there were 85 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 30.3 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).

Norwood is part of ZIP Code 10467. The United States Postal Service operates the Van Cott Station at 3102 Decatur Avenue.

Norwood and Bedford Park generally have a lower rate of college educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018. While 23% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 32% have less than a high school education and 45% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 26% of Bronx residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. Norwood and Bedford Park's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City. In Norwood and Bedford Park, 28% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, higher than the citywide average of 20%. and PS 56 (grades K 5). Area students attend several high schools, including Evander Childs High School and DeWitt Clinton High School. St. Brendan's School is an area Catholic K–8 school. C. J. Hughes of The New York Times stated that according to residents of the Norwood area, the high schools in the community were "hit or miss".

The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates the Mosholu branch at 285 East 205th Street. The branch opened in 1955 and contains two floors: a ground floor and a basement.

Nearby neighborhoods include Bedford Park, Williamsbridge, Olinville, Woodlawn Heights, and Allerton. Norwood is sometimes referred to as a section of Williamsbridge, but given how different Norwood's adjoining area to the east is, it is difficult to understand how this notion ever came into being. Possible sources of such a misconception could be the shared zip code between Norwood and Williamsbridge (10467) or due to the "Williamsbridge Oval" in Norwood.