Parkchester, Bronx

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^[5] and Westchester Heights.^[6][7]

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.^[8]

The Parkchester residential development was originally designed and operated as a self-contained rental community for middle-class white families new to home ownership. MetLife chairman Frederick H. Ecker said that Black renters were excluded because "Negroes and whites don't mix."^[9]

It was built from 1939 to 1942 (despite emergency building restrictions during World War II) on the farmland of the New York Catholic Protectory, a home for orphaned and troubled boys conducted by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, which relocated to Lincolndale, Westchester County, where it still exists. Macy's opened their first branch store after their 34th Street flagship store in Parkchester in 1941.^[10]

The Fair Housing Act, enacted in April 1968, prohibited discrimination in renting, which, along with mounting pressure from the NAACP and other groups, forced a change in policy. In the face of charges by the New York City Commission on Human Rights that Metropolitan Life had been engaging in "deliberate, intentional and systematic" racial discrimination and claims that Parkchester had rented only 25 apartments to Black or Hispanic tenants in its history, Metropolitan Life agreed to open rentals without considering racial backgrounds at Parkchester and its other apartment complexes.^[11]

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.^[12]

In 2015 Parkchester celebrated its 75th anniversary with a family event on the Parkchester North Ball Field.^[13]

In August 2024, the New York City Council voted to rezone 46 city blocks in Parkchester, Van Nest, and Morris Park, around the Metro-North Railroad's Parkchester/Van Nest and Morris Park stations, as part of the Penn Station Access project. The city government also promised to spend $500 million on infrastructure upgrades around these stations. The rezoning was intended to encourage development around these stations.^[14][15] As a result, up to 7,000 housing units could be constructed in the three neighborhoods.^[16][17]

According to the 2020 United States census, the Parkchester Neighborhood Tabulation Area (NTA), designated BX0904 by the New York City Department of City Planning, had 33,602 residents.^[18] Covering approximately 210.76 acres (85.29 ha), the NTA had a population density of about 159.4 inhabitants per acre (102,000/sq mi; 39,400/km²).

New York City revised its Neighborhood Tabulation Areas following the 2020 census so that the new NTAs would nest within Community District Tabulation Areas. Because the boundaries of the 2010 and 2020 NTAs are not necessarily identical, population changes between the two sets of NTAs are not always directly comparable.^[19]

Using mutually exclusive race and Hispanic-origin categories, the 2020 population of Parkchester was 35.1% (11,788) non-Hispanic Black, 25.4% (8,550) non-Hispanic Asian, 2.7% (907) non-Hispanic White, 1.4% (479) non-Hispanic people of another race, and 2.4% (795) non-Hispanic people of two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race made up 33.0% (11,083) of the population.^[18]

Parkchester is part of Bronx Community District 9, a much larger area that also includes Bronx River, Castle Hill, Clason Point, Harding Park, Soundview, and Unionport.^[20] Statistics for the community district therefore should not be treated as statistics for Parkchester alone.

According to 2024 estimates compiled by the NYU Furman Center, the broader Parkchester–Soundview area had about 169,500 residents. About 57.0% were Hispanic, 24.6% were Black, 12.6% were Asian, and 2.9% were White.^[21] The median household income in 2024 was estimated at $43,790 in 2025 dollars, compared with $83,970 citywide, while 30.4% of residents were estimated to live below the poverty line. The unemployment rate was 7.5%.^[21]

Housing costs remain a significant issue in the broader district. In 2024, 34.4% of renter households were considered severely rent-burdened, meaning that they spent more than half of their household income on rent. The estimated rental vacancy rate was 3.5%.^[21]

Parkchester has a substantial Bangladeshi community and has become one of the centers of Bangladeshi cultural and commercial life in the Bronx. Businesses, restaurants, clothing stores, supermarkets, mosques, and other institutions serving the community are concentrated particularly around Starling Avenue and surrounding streets.^[22] In the broader Soundview–Parkchester Public Use Microdata Area, Bangladesh was the second-most common country of birth among foreign-born residents in 2024, after the Dominican Republic.^[23]

Parkchester's present racial and ethnic diversity contrasts with the housing development's early history. When the original Parkchester complex opened under the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, its rental practices excluded non-White residents. Steven Payne of the Bronx County Historical Society described the original development as having barred non-White tenants; those restrictions were later abandoned as the neighborhood's population became increasingly diverse.^[24]

The Parkchester complex 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, while the eight-story buildings only have one. Some buildings even have 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 buildings unrelated to Parkchester complex. 78.4% of housing units are renter occupied. 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:

• American Theater, formerly Loews American, established in 1939, operated by Bow Tie Cinemas as a seven-screen multiplex until it closed in 2013. Converted to a Marshall's store.^[25]
• Macy's Department Store, with 175,000 square feet (16,300 m²) of selling space, opened in October 1941 as the company's first branch store.^[10][26]
• Zaro's Bakery, established in 1959, temporarily closed in 2015, reopened in 2017 close to its original location.^{[27][28][29][30][31][32]}

A prominent feature of Parkchester is the Bangla Bazaar located throughout Olmstead Avenue, Odell Street, Purdy Street, and Castle Hill Avenue. The long stretch of blocks are occupied by businesses owned by Bangladeshis.

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 substantial renovations of many of their apartments.^[33] 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 East 177th Street (the Cross-Bronx Expressway service road) 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.^[34]

As of 2018^[update], preterm births and births to teenage mothers are more common in Parkchester and Clason Point than in other places citywide. In Parkchester and Clason Point, there were 106 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 26.4 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).^[38]: 11 Parkchester and Clason Point has a relatively average population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 16%, higher than the citywide rate of 14%.^[38]: 14

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Parkchester and Clason Point is 0.0076 milligrams per cubic metre (7.6×10⁻⁹ oz/ft³), more than the city average.^[38]: 9 Eighteen percent of Parkchester and Clason Point residents are smokers, which is higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.^[38]: 13 In Parkchester and Clason Point, 32% of residents are obese, 16% are diabetic, and 34% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.^[38]: 16 In addition, 25% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.^[38]: 12

83% of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is less than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 72% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%.^[38]: 13 For every supermarket in Parkchester and Clason Point, there are 13 bodegas.^[38]: 10

The nearest hospital campuses are Montefiore Medical Center's Westchester Square and West Farms campuses, as well as the Longwood campus of the BronxCare Hospital System.

Parkchester is located within multiple ZIP Codes. The housing development proper is part of 10462, but the areas to the immediate west are located in 10460, and the immediate east, in 10461.^[46] The United States Postal Service's Parkchester Station is located at 1449 West Avenue.^[47]

Parkchester and Clason Point generally have a similar rate of college-educated residents to the rest of the city as of 2018^[update]. While 23% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 30% have less than a high school education and 47% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 26% of Bronx residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.^[38]: 6 The percentage of Parkchester and Clason Point students excelling in math rose from 23% in 2000 to 44% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 27% to 30% during the same time period.^[48]

Parkchester and Clason Point's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is higher than the rest of New York City. In Parkchester and Clason Point, 28% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, more than the citywide average of 20%.^{[49]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [38]: 6} Additionally, 69% of high school students in Parkchester and Clason Point graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.^[38]: 6

Library

The New York Public Library (NYPL)'s Parkchester branch is located at 1985 Westchester Avenue. The branch opened in 1942 within the Parkchester development and moved to its current two-story structure in 1985.^[51]

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Parkchester:^[52]

• Bx4: to Westchester Square (6 train) or Third Avenue-149th Street (2 and ​5 trains) (via Westchester Avenue)
• Bx4A: to Westchester Square (6 train) or Simpson Street (2 and ​5 trains) (via Westchester Avenue and Metropolitan Oval)
• Bx11: to George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via 170th Street, Claremont Parkway, 174th Street)
• Bx22: to Bedford Park (Bronx High School of Science) or Castle Hill (via Castle Hill Avenue and Unionport Road)
• Bx36: to Castle Hill or George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (via Tremont Avenue and White Plains Road)
• Bx39: to Wakefield – 241st Street subway station or Clason's Point (via White Plains Road)
• Bx40: to SUNY Maritime College or Morris Heights (via 180th Street and Tremont-Burnside Avenues)
• Bx42: to Throgs Neck or Morris Heights (via 180th Street and Tremont-Burnside Avenues)
• Q44 SBS: to Jamaica or West Farms (via East 177th Street, the Cross Bronx Expressway service roads) and Main Street)
• BxM6: express to Midtown Manhattan (via Metropolitan Avenue)

The following New York City Subway station serves Parkchester:^[53]

• Parkchester (6 and <6>​ trains)
• Castle Hill Avenue (6 and <6>​ trains)

• Parkchester/Van Nest station is a planned Metro-North Railroad station on the New Haven Line, which is intended to open in late 2027 as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Penn Station Access project. Located on the border of Van Nest on Tremont Avenue and just north of Parkchester’s border on White Plains Road, the station would provide commuter rail service to New York Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and to stations in Connecticut and Westchester County. The entrance would be located on Tremont Avenue.^[54]

• Parkchester was the filming location for part of the Sporty Thievz 1999 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.
• Parkchester was 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.^[55]

• Claudette Colvin (1939–2026), civil rights icon^[56]
• Jim Larrañaga (born 1949), head coach for the Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team^[57]
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born 1989), U.S. Representative^[58][59]
• George A. Romero (1940–2017), filmmaker^[60]
• Claudia Goldin, Nobel laureate ^[61]

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• LeFrak City
• Marcus Garvey Village
• Mitchell Lama
• Parkfairfax, Virginia
• Parkmerced, San Francisco
• Park La Brea, Los Angeles
• Penn South
• Riverton Houses
• Rochdale Village, Queens
• Starrett City, Brooklyn
• Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village