Westbury, Houston

Westbury is a neighborhood in the Brays Oaks district of Southwest Houston, Texas, United States. It is located east of Bob White Road, north of U.S. Highway 90 Alternate (South Main Street), and west of South Post Oak Road, adjacent to the Fondren Southwest and Meyerland neighborhoods, just west of the southwest corner of the 610 Loop.

Westbury was named as the 2007 "Best Hidden Neighborhood" by the Houston Press . Westbury was also listed in the 25 Hottest Houston Neighborhoods in the June 2013 edition of Houstonia Magazine. .

History

Westbury was developed in the 1950s and 1960s by Ira Berne as part of the post–World War II migration to the suburbs.^{[citation needed]} The developer had moved from Westbury, New York, after which he named the new community.^[1]

In 1960 Berne had developed the Westbury Square shopping center.^[2]

In the 1980s the City of Houston Housing Authority proposed a 105-unit public housing project in the Westbury area. Thousands of residents entered public hearings to protest the concept, so the city did not build any public housing in the Westbury area.^[3]

Around the 1980s markets crashed and many of Westbury's businesses either closed or became abandoned. Crime increased at this time, but has decreased greatly in recent years. As real estate has become more expensive in gentrified areas such as Houston Heights and Neartown, Westbury has become an attractive place to live for some of Houston's gay and lesbian population.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011 the Brays Oaks district expanded.^[4] Westbury, which was originally not a part of the Brays Oaks district,^[5] became a part of it.^[6]

Government and infrastructure

Local government

The neighborhood is within the Houston Police Department's Southwest Patrol Division . The Westbury HPD Storefront Station is located at 5550 Gasmer.

Houston Fire Department Fire Station 48 Westbury, located in Fire District 59, serves the neighborhood.^[7] Station 48 relocated to its current location in 1961 and was last renovated during the financial year of 1998.^[8]

Westbury is now a part of Houston City Council District K, currently represented by Council Member Larry Green, while a small number of about 100 homes remain in District C, currently represented by Council Member Ellen Cohen (as of 2012).^[9] The area was previously served by Houston City Councilmember District C (Anne Clutterbuck as of 2009). It is in Harris County Commissioner Precinct 1 (El Franco Lee as of 2012) and Harris County Constable Precinct 5 (Phil Camus as of 2012).

County, federal, and state representation

The area is split between Texas's 9th congressional district (Al Green as of 2012) and Texas's 7th congressional district (John Culberson as of 2012).^[10][11] The United States Postal Service operates the Westbury Post Office at 11805 Chimney Rock Road.^[12]

Westbury has also birthed one of the best little league teams of all time. The Westbury Wasps was a travel team dynasty from 1997-2001. The team produced John "JM" Almogobar, Michael Cohodes, Alex Cohn, Jeffrey Davidoff and Eric Fonseca. Andrew Cohen was kicked off the team for complications with Coach Calhoun.

Parks and recreation

The city of Houston operates Westbury Park at 5635 Willowbend () which features the Westbury Pool (street address is 10605 Mullins), a playground, tennis courts, and a multi-sport playing field. .

In addition, the city operates the Platou Community Center located in Chimney Rock Park. Chimney Rock Park has a playground, tennis courts, and basketball courts.

Hager Park, with its covered basketball court, is located next to the Anderson Elementary School between Landsdowne Drive and McClearen Dr, and attracts many in the neighborhood for outdoor sports.() Hager Park also features a walking trail, a multi-purpose sports field, and has a shared playground with Anderson Elementary School.

Community information

The closest YMCA is the Westland YMCA Branch.

The neighborhood has a baseball little league called Westbury Little League. It won the Little League World Series in 1966.^{[citation needed]}

The closest Emergency Room and hospital is called Westbury Community Hospital located near the high school on Gasmer drive. ^[13]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The neighborhood is served by the Houston Independent School District.

The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zones for elementary school:

• Parker Elementary School^[14]
• Kolter Elementary School^[15]
• Anderson Elementary School^[16]
• Tinsley Elementary School^[17]

The neighborhood is divided between the following attendance zoned for middle school:

• Johnston Middle School^[18]
• Fondren Middle School^[19]

Anyone zoned to Johnston may apply to Pin Oak Middle School's regular program.^[20]

Westbury High School serves almost all of Westbury.^[21] A sliver of Westbury is zoned to Bellaire High School.^[22]

Medical Center Charter School, a pre-kindergarten through 5th grade school, is located in the Westbury area. Despite its name, the school is not located in the Texas Medical Center area.

History of public schools

Parker Elementary opened in 1959, and Johnston Middle School opened in its current location in 1959. Anderson and Kolter opened in 1960. Westbury High School opened in 1961. Fondren Middle opened in 1966.^[1] In the late 1990s Anderson Elementary was overcrowded due to increasing student populations in Westbury area apartment complexes. In 1998 the school had almost 1,600 students.^[23] Around that time hundreds of students who were zoned to Anderson were bussed to relief campuses.^[24] Tinsley opened in 2002, relieving Anderson and another area school.^[1] As of 2006 many middle and upper class residents of the Westbury attendance zone would not send their children to Westbury; usually they send their children to Bellaire High School, Lamar High School, or private schools.^[25][26]

Private schools

St. Thomas More School (K-8 , operated by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston), is Westbury's neighborhood Roman Catholic school.

The neighborhood has or has in close proximity several other private schools, such as Westbury Christian School (K–12) and St. Nicholas School Southwest Campus (K-8).

Trafton Academy and Miss Porter's School located in the Willowbend area also serves Westbury residents.^{[citation needed]}

Public libraries

Two Houston Public Library locations, Frank Neighborhood Library and Meyer Neighborhood Library, serve this area.

Media

The Houston Chronicle is the area regional newspaper. On Thursdays, residents receive the Bellaire/West U/River Oaks/Meyerland local section.

Notable residents

• Carol Vance (former Harris County district attorney)^[27]

References

• Fox, Stephen, et al. Houston Architectural Guide, Second Edition. Houston : American Institute of Architects, Houston Chapter ; Herring Press, 1999

External links

• Westbury Civic Club
• Westbury Square Memory Page
• Westbury Little League
• Westbury High School

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