in 1874 all the area west of the bronx river was annexed into the city and in 1895 all the areas east were annexed into the city then in 1898 the city decided the two areas previously annexed should become a borough. but what to call it since it never had a name before. they look at the map and right through the middle of the territory ran the bronx river so they named it the borough of the bronx and that's why it's called the bronx and not just plain bronx. >> if you have a question about the bronx chances are lloyd has the answer. born and raised here he never really left for over seven decades. >> this is a disappearing act