Parkchester, Bronx

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Parkchester is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the east central Bronx. 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. Zip codes include 10460 and 10462. The area is patrolled by the 43rd Precinct located at 900 Fteley Avenue in Soundview. NYCHA property in the area is patrolled by PSA 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx.

History

The housing development has the same origins as Fresh Meadows in Queens, and Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village and Riverton Houses in Manhattan. All of the developments were originally developed and owned by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. 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development — Park Versailles and Westchester Heights — both of which have not been in common usage since, and have been replaced by Parkchester as a means of referring to the entire area.

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.

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) on the farmland of the Catholic Protectorate, a home for orphaned and troubled boys, which relocated to (and still exists in) upstate New York. 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 WPA-style terracotta decorations on the buildings, that represent animal and human figures of many types.

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

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 2006, the Parkchester apartment complex includes a very large, thriving, well-established [[South Asia]n] population: Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, including Catholics, Muslims, and Hindus. There are also a number of Jewish, Italian, Polish, Irish, and Albanian residents. Due to the popular Chang Li supermarket, more Asians have been living in the complex. The Asian residents include Thais, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Burmese, and Cambodians. While the population is approximately over 30% 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 surrounding Parkchester neighborhood is majority Hispanic and Black. Puerto Ricans are the dominant ethnic group. The area is low income and has a high poverty rate of over 30%.

Urban Renewal

Due to White flight some of the homes in the area have been left vacant. Many homes today are being rehabilitated and offered as rentals to the growing low income population found in the area. The Parkchester Apartment complex has also received major renovations over the past few years.

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.

Points Of Interest

• Zaro's Bakery established in 1959
• American Theater established in 1939
• Macy's Department Store — the first branch store since 1941
• American Beauty School (Formerly Bronx Beauty School)- established 1977
• Castle Hill Middle School is a public middle school situated on Purdy Street. It educates students in grades 5-8.

External links

• THE PARKCHESTER INFORMATION NETWORK
• Parkchester, The Bronx
• Parkchester South Condominium - official site of the South Condominium management company
• Parkchester Preservation Management - official site of the complex's rental company (requires Flash to navigate)
• Parkchester Apartments & Community Resources