Parkchester, Bronx

Parkchester
Neighborhood of The Bronx

The towers in a park layout of Parkchester
Parkchester

Location in New York City

Coordinates: 40°50′20″N 73°51′37″W / 40.8390°N 73.8604°W / 40.8390; -73.8604Coordinates: 40°50′20″N 73°51′37″W / 40.8390°N 73.8604°W / 40.8390; -73.8604
Country  United States
State  New York
City New York City
Borough Bronx
Area[1]
 • Total 0.96 km2 (0.370 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 26,313
 • Density 27,000/km2 (71,000/sq mi)
Economics
 • Median income $39,156
Ethnicity[2]
 • Hispanic 38.1%
 • Black 42.8%
 • White 3.7%
 • Asian 12.5%
 • Others 2.3%
ZIP codes 10462
Area code 718, 347, 646

Parkchester is a planned community originally developed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and located in the southeast 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 6 <6> trains of the New York City Subway operate along Westchester Avenue. The local ZIP code is 10462. The area is patrolled by the NYPD's 43rd Precinct[3] 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 Throggs Neck.

History

The housing development has the same origins as Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, and Riverton Houses in Manhattan, which were also originally developed and owned by MetLife. 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[4] and Westchester Heights.[5][6]

MetLife 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.[7]

The Parkchester residential 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.[8]

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.[8]

Land use

Aileen B. Ryan Oval, formerly Metropolitan Oval

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.

The surrounding area, commonly referred to as "Parkchester," 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.

Points of interest include:

There are two subsections of the neighborhood. 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.[15] Additionally, Stratton Park is on the west part of Parkchester. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Amtrak Northeast Corridor to the west and north, White Plains Road to the east, and the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the south. Its zip code is 10460, and its residents consider themselves as part of Parkchester.

At the heart of Parkchester is the 2 acres (0.81 ha) Aileen B. Ryan Oval, formerly Metropolitan Oval.[16]

Artwork

Parkchester was designed with aesthetics in mind as evidenced by intricate patterns of brickwork. The development contains 500 terra cotta statuettes and 600 plaques such as bullfighters, animal figurines, soldiers, mermaids and native American chiefs created by sculptor Joseph Kiselewski. They adorn the entrances and can also be seen high on the corners of the taller buildings.[8] In the Aileen B. Ryan Oval, a fountain, named "Fantasia," created by sculptor Raymond Granville Barger, was installed in 1941 and is often the backdrop of photographs.[17] A small collection photographs of the sculptures can be found in "Forgotten New York."[18]

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, Ethiopian 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.[19][1]

In 2015 Parkchester celebrated its 75th anniversary with a family event on the Parkchester North Ball Field.[20]

Transportation

Schools

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Parkchester neighborhood in New York". Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Center for Urban Research". Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "43 Precinct". Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Pollak, Michael. "F.Y.I.: A Key to the Past" (section: "Versailles in the Bronx"), The New York Times, January 30, 2009
  5. ↑ [http://books.google.com/books?id=XSO4GoUv9vMC&pg=PA330&lpg=PA330&dq=%22Westchester+Heights%22+bronx&source=bl&ots=Qk-j8W-rUD&sig=e2uuXZROrgLW1b9hXeqnKy-YdCg&hl=en&ei=6dYNSrLFHZ2stgeut4H9Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=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
  6. ↑ The Columbia Gazetteer of North America (Columbia University Press, 2000), via Bartleby.com
  7. ↑ "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
  8. 1 2 3 Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living in: Parkchester". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Miller, Stuart. "Options Dwindle for Bronx Residents Trying to Escape to the Movies". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Landmark Bronx Bakery Forced To Close Doors After Lease Issues". Ilana Gold CBS 2 News New York. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Beloved Bronx Bakery, Zaro's to Close After 55 Years At Same Location". Erin Clarke NY1 News. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "First Zaro’s Bakery closed Monday in Parkchester". Amber Diaz New 12 The Bronx. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bronx’s beloved Zaro’s bakery closed its doors after 56 years". Ayana Harry PIX 11 News. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  14. ↑ Ross, Keith (24 December 2015). "Zaro’s Bakery to shutter Bronx location, a fixture in the community for 56 years". New York Daily News. p. 12. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  15. ↑ SOR Search Results on 30 May 2008 7:42 am
  16. ↑ Lent, Elizabeth (July 2006). "A Successful Experiment in Living: The Evolution of Parkchester". The Cooperator. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  17. ↑ Twomey, Bill (March 18-24, 2015). "Sculptors enhanced and beautified Bronx venues". Bronx Times Report. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ↑ "Parkchester' scultpures". Forgotten New York. Greater Astoria Historical Society.
  19. ↑ "Bronx Community District 9" (PDF). Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  20. ↑ Wirsing, Robert (August 14-20, 2015), "Parkchester celebrates 75th", Bronx Times Reporter, p. 14.
  21. ↑ "Turning Around A Troubled School", Marvine Howe, New York Times, July 24, 1994
  22. ↑ "Filmed in New York: An Oscar Tour". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2015.

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