Parkchester, Bronx
Encyclopedia
Parkchester is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the south central Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9
Bronx Community Board 9
Bronx Community Board 9 is a local government unit of the city of New York, encompassing the neighborhoods of Castle Hill, Parkchester, Soundview, Bruckner, Harding Park, Bronx River, Clason Point and Unionport...
. 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
Cross-Bronx Expressway
The Cross Bronx Expressway is a major expressway in the New York City borough of the Bronx, conceived by Robert Moses and built between 1948 and 1972. It carries traffic on Interstate 95 through the city, and serves as a portion of Interstate 295 toward Long Island; a portion is also designated U.S...
-Westchester Avenue to the south (Westchester Avenue is the southern border east of Metropolitan Avenue), and the Bronx River Parkway
Bronx River Parkway
The Bronx River Parkway is a long parkway in downstate New York. It is named for the nearby Bronx River, which it parallels. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Story Avenue near Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx neighborhood of Soundview...
to the west. White Plains Road is the primary thoroughfare through Parkchester. The local subway is the 6
6 (New York City Subway service)
The 6 Lexington Avenue and Pelham Local and Lexington Avenue Local and Pelham Express are two rapid transit services of the New York City Subway. The 6 local has a circle shape while the ' express has a diamond shape...
line, operating along Westchester Avenue. ZIP codes include 10460 and 10462. The area is patrolled by the 43rd Precinct located at 900 Fteley Avenue in Soundview
Soundview, Bronx
Soundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...
. New York City Housing Authority
New York City Housing Authority
The New York City Housing Authority provides public housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments...
(NYCHA) property in the area is patrolled by PSA 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in Throgs Neck
Throgs Neck
Throggs Neck is a narrow spit of land in the southeastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It demarcates the passage between the East River , and Long Island Sound...
.
History
The housing development has the same origins as Stuyvesant TownStuyvesant Town
Stuyvesant Town—Peter Cooper Village is a large private residential development on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, and one of the most iconic and successful post-World War II private housing communities...
, Peter Cooper Village and Riverton Houses
Riverton Houses
The Riverton Houses is a large residential development in Harlem, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The project was proposed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1944, and largely served an African American population, in contrast to Met Life's Peter Cooper Village—Stuyvesant...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, all of which were originally developed and owned by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries...
. The name was later 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 and Westchester Heights
Metropolitan Life displayed an intricate scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
of the proposed development at the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
. 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.
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 1939–42 (despite emergency building restrictions during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
) on the farmland of the Catholic Protectory
Protectory
A protectory is a Roman Catholic institution for the shelter and training of the young, designed to afford neglected or abandoned children shelter, food, raiment and the rudiments of an education in religion, morals, science and manual training or industrial pursuits.Institutions of this character...
, 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
Condo Conversion
In real estate, a condominium conversion or condo conversion is the process of entitling an income property or other lands currently held under one title to convert from sole ownership of the entire property into individually sold units as condominiums...
to condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s, 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
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
-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
Joseph Kiselewski
Joseph Kiselewski was an American sculptor.Kiselewski was born in Browerville, Minnesota, graduating from the Minneapolis School of Art. Along with many other artists of the time, Kiselewski moved to New York City where he studied at the National Academy of Design and at BAID. From 1922 to 1926...
.
It was a welcome affordable haven for returning WWII vets and their burgeoning families in the early 1940s. While racially segregated
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
, it peacefully housed people from all religious backgrounds.
Land use
Parkchester is dominated by the Parkchester apartment complex. Over one hundred, 13 and 8-story buildings. The surrounding area is dominated by multi-unit homes, both detached and semi-detached, along with tenement buildings. Retail is located along Metropolitan Avenue and Unionport Road.Demographics
As of 2007, the Parkchester apartment complex includes a very large, thriving, well-established South Asian population: PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n, including Catholics, Muslims, and Hindus. There are also a number of Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, and Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
residents. The Asian residents include Thais, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Burmese, and Cambodians. While the population is approximately over 20% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
, 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 surrounding Parkchester neighborhood is majority Hispanic and Black. Puerto Ricans are the dominant ethnic group.
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.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 ExpresswayCross-Bronx Expressway
The Cross Bronx Expressway is a major expressway in the New York City borough of the Bronx, conceived by Robert Moses and built between 1948 and 1972. It carries traffic on Interstate 95 through the city, and serves as a portion of Interstate 295 toward Long Island; a portion is also designated U.S...
to the south. Its zip code is 10460. Although it is in that zip code, its residents consider themselves as part of Parkchester.
Transportation
- Bx4: to Westchester Square station or 3rd Av-149th St stationThird Avenue-149th Street (IRT White Plains Road Line)Third Avenue – 149th Street is a station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at Third Avenue and East 149th Street in Mott Haven, Bronx and is served by the 2 and 5 trains, the latter of which does not stop here during late night hours...
(via Westchester Av) - Bx22: to Bronx High School of ScienceBronx High School of ScienceThe Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school often considered the premier science magnet school in the United States. Founded in 1938, it is now located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx...
or Castle HillCastle Hill, BronxCastle Hill is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...
(via Castle Hill Av) - Bx36: to Castle HillCastle Hill, BronxCastle Hill is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...
or George Washington Bridge Bus TerminalGeorge Washington Bridge Bus TerminalThe George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City, New York....
(via 180th St) - Bx39: to Wakefield-241st Street stationWakefield-241st Street (IRT White Plains Road Line)Wakefield – 241st Street is a terminal station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 241st Street and White Plains Road in the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 2 train at all times and the only station on the 2 that is...
or Clason's Point (via White Plains Rd) - Bx40: to SUNY Maritime College or Morris HeightsMorris Heights, BronxMorris Heights is a low income residential neighborhood located in the west Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the...
(via Tremont-Burnside Avs) - Bx42: to Throgs Neck or Morris HeightsMorris Heights, BronxMorris Heights is a low income residential neighborhood located in the west Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the...
(via Tremont-Burnside Avs) - BxM6: express to Midtown ManhattanMidtown ManhattanMidtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
(via Metropolitan Av) - Parkchester-East 177th St station (IRT 6)Parkchester (IRT Pelham Line)Parkchester is an express station on the IRT Pelham Line of the New York City Subway. It is located in the Bronx at the intersection of the Cross-Bronx Expressway service roads , Metropolitan Avenue, and Westchester Avenue, atop Hugh J. Grant Circle...
Points of interest
- American Theater, established in 1939 - now operated by Bow Tie Cinemas as a seven-screen multiplex, established in 1939
- Macy'sMacy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
Department Store, the first branch store since 1941 - Zaro's BakeryZaro's BakeryZaro's Bread Basket is a family-owned New York City metropolitan area bakery chain. It was founded in 1927 by Joseph Zarubchik, an Eastern European immigrant and is now operated by his grandsons, Stuart and Joseph. In 1977, the company opened its first of four stores in Grand Central Terminal...
, 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 SchoolCastle Hill Middle SchoolCastle Hill Middle School is a public middle school in Parkchester, Bronx, New York City, USA. It educates just under 1,500 students in grades Pre-K, Kindergarten, 6th, 7th and 8th. The majority of the students are Hispanic or Black with just 2% in the category of White non-Hispanic...
, a public middle schoolMiddle schoolMiddle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
situated on East Tremont Avenue and Purdy Street, that educates students in grades 6-8 - St. Raymond Academy for Girls, a private high schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
situated on Castle Hill Avenue, that educates students in grades 9 to 12 - St. Raymond Elementary School, a private elementary schoolElementary schoolAn elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
and middle schoolMiddle schoolMiddle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
situated on Purdy Street; it educates students in pre-kindergartenPre-KindergartenPre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...
to grade 8
Popular culture reference
- Parkchester was the filming location for part of the Sporty ThievzSporty ThievzSporty Thievz was a Yonkers, New York hip-hop group, originally a trio, composed of King Kirk , Big Dubez and Marlon Bryant Brando...
1998 video "No Pigeons". - Featured in the film Doubt (2008), during the scene when Sr. Aloysius is walking with Mrs. Miller.