Parkchester, Bronx

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The towers in a park layout of Parkchester
Location of Parkchester in New York City

Parkchester is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the east Bronx, New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are East Tremont Avenue to the north, Castle Hill Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway-Westchester Avenue to the south (Westchester Avenue is the southern border east of Metropolitan Avenue), and the Bronx River Parkway to the west. White Plains Road is the primary thoroughfare through Parkchester. The local subway is the 6 line, operating along Westchester Avenue. The local ZIP code is 10462. The area is patrolled by the 43rd Precinct located at 900 Fteley Avenue in Soundview. New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) property in the area is patrolled by PSA 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in Throgs Neck.

History

The housing development has the same origins as Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, and Riverton Houses in Manhattan, all of which were originally developed and owned by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The name was later unofficially applied to the entire neighborhood surrounding the apartment complex. The name "Parkchester" itself was derived from the two neighborhoods on each side of the site of the housing development — Park Versailles[2] and Westchester Heights.[3][4]

Metropolitan Life displayed an intricate scale model of the proposed development at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The model showed all of the buildings and facilities, and was accurate down to inclusion of each of the 66,000 windows in the complex. The 51 groups of buildings were planned to house 12,000 families.[5]

The Parkchester housing development was originally designed and operated as a self-contained rental community for middle-class families new to home ownership. To that end, there is an abundance of worker- and family-oriented resources, including access to transportation, nearby schools and churches, retail shopping space, and proximity to a major medical center.

It was built from 1939 to 1942 (despite emergency building restrictions during World War II) on the farmland of the Catholic Protectory, a home for orphaned and troubled boys conducted by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, which relocated to Lincolndale (and still exists in) Westchester County. In 1974, approximately one-third of the complex was converted to condominiums, with the remaining portion, now Parkchester South Condominium converted later, in 1986. The complex is best known for its broad, tree-lined walkways between the distinctive red-brown buildings, and for its Works Progress Administration-style terracotta decorations on the buildings, that represent animal and human figures of many types. Many of these are the work of sculptor Joseph Kiselewski.

It was a welcome affordable haven for returning WWII vets and their burgeoning families in the early 1940s. While racially segregated, it peacefully housed people from all religious backgrounds.

Land use

It is widely held that Parkchester is a section of the Bronx, when actually, that is a misconception. Parkchester proper is simply the residential apartment complex located within the boundaries of East Tremont Avvenue, Castle Hill Avenue, White Plains Road and Westchester Avenue. However, many of the surrounding retail stores and residential areas purport to be "in Parkchester," when in actuality, they are not.

Parkchester is composed of 171 four-sided brick buildings, either eight or 13 stories in height and numbered M (for Main) through 7 and M through 12, respectively. The 13 story buildings have dual elevators positioned side-by-side, the eight-story buildings have but one. Some buildings even have a Terrace level - apartments that are located on the ground floor and noted by the T in front of the apartment letter, i.e., TA, TB, etc. These apartments differ from all others in the community in that they have an additional screened door in the living room section of the apartment that leads out onto a concrete patio where tenants usually put patio/lawn furniture. Many of Parkchester's buildings feature terracotta sculptures adorning the entrances and can also be seen high on the corners of the taller buildings - some of which were designed by renowned sculptor, Joseph Kiselewski.

The surrounding area, while commonly referred to as "Parkchester," is actually Parkchester-adjacent, and is dominated by multi-unit private homes, as well as rental units in buildings unrelated to Parkchester. Retail locations are interspersed throughout the neighborhood as well as along Starling Avenue, McGraw Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue, Tremont Avenue, Unionport Road, and White Plains Road; the latter four streets are considered the backbones of the area.

Demographics

As of 2007, the Parkchester apartment complex includes a very large, thriving, well-established South Asian population: Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, including Catholics, Muslims, and Hindus. There are also a number of Italian, Polish, Irish, and Albanian residents. The Asian residents include Thais, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Burmese, and Cambodians. While the population is approximately over 20% African American and Latino, the complex once had a whites-only policy. The resident population of the Parkchester apartment complex reflects a broad age distribution and the changing ethnic makeup of the Bronx over nearly 70 years of history.

The neighborhood surrounding Parkchester is majority Latino and Black. Puerto Ricans are the dominant ethnic group.

Subsections

Parkchester Apartment Complex

The Parkchester apartment complex is a subsection of Parkchester. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are East Tremont Avenue to the north, Castle Hill Avenue to the east, McGraw Avenue to the south, and White Plains Road to the west. The apartment complex has recently undergone gut renovations of many of their apartments.[6]

Stratton Park

This neighborhood is west of Parkchester. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Amtrak to the west and north, White Plains Road to the east, and the infamous Cross-Bronx Expressway to the south. Its zip code is 10460. Although it is in that zip code, its residents consider themselves as part of Parkchester.

Transportation

Points of interest

Aileen B. Ryan Oval, formerly Metropolitan Oval.[1]
  • American Theater, formerly Loews American established in 1939—and most recently operated by Bow Tie Cinemas as a seven-screen multiplex, ceased operating in 2013
  • Macy's Department Store, the first branch store since 1941
  • Zaro's Bakery, established in 1959
  • Tarallo Distributors Inc., The Kitchen Source established in 1966
  • American Beauty School (formerly Bronx Beauty School), established 1977

Schools

  • Castle Hill Middle School, a public middle school situated on East Tremont Avenue and Purdy Street, that educates students in grades 6–8—formerly known as JHS 127.
  • St. Raymond Academy for Girls, a private high school situated on Castle Hill Avenue, that educates students in grades 9–12
  • St. Raymond Elementary School, a private elementary school and middle school situated on Purdy Street; it educates students in pre-kindergarten to grade 8
  • PS 106, a public elementary school located at 2120 St. Raymond Avenue for grades 1–5.
  • St. Helena Elementary, a private elementary school that educates students from pre-k to 8th grade.
  • Bronx Charter School for Excellence, a charter school located on Benedict Avenue that educates students from kindergarten to 5th grade.

Popular culture reference

  • Parkchester was the filming location for part of the Sporty Thievz 1998 video "No Pigeons." Extras were featured circling a red car parked in front of the Loews American (later known as just the American) theater on East Avenue. [citation needed]
  • Featured in the film Doubt (2008), during the scene when Sr. Aloysius is walking with Mrs. Miller behind the building located at 2051 St. Raymond Avenue.[citation needed]

References

  1. ↑ Lent, Elizabeth (July 2006). "A Successful Experiment in Living: The Evolution of Parkchester". The Cooperator. Retrieved 25 September 2013. 
  2. ↑ Pollak, Michael. "F.Y.I.: A Key to the Past" (section: "Versailles in the Bronx"), The New York Times, January 30, 2009
  3. ↑ — Frattini, Dave. The Underground Guide to New York City Subways (Macmillan, 2000) ISBN 0-312-25384-2, ISBN 978-0-312-25384-4, p. 330
  4. ↑ The Columbia Gazetteer of North America (Columbia University Press, 2000), via Bartleby.com
  5. ↑ "MODEL OF HOUSING DISPLAYED AT FAIR; Metropolitan Life's Project in Bronx to Be Known as 'Parkchester' SITE LINKED TO HISTORY Fifty-one Groups of Apartment Buildings Will House 12,000 Families", The New York Times, May 5, 1939. p. 47
  6. ↑ SOR Search Results on 30 May 2008 7:42 am

External links

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Coordinates: 40°50′20″N 73°51′37″W / 40.8389893°N 73.8604128°W / 40.8389893; -73.8604128

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