Parkchester, Bronx

Before Parkchester

Before Parkchester was built, much of the site was used by the New York Catholic Protectory. The institution was created to house and educate poor, orphaned, or troubled children. It operated on the Bronx site from 1865 until 1938.

The Protectory taught children school subjects and work skills such as printing, carpentry, baking, shoemaking, farming, and sewing. According to historian Janet Butler Munch, more than 140,000 boys and girls were served by the institution during its history.

In 1938, MetLife bought the 129-acre (52 ha) property for a new middle-class apartment development.

Building the planned community

MetLife announced the project in July 1938. Architect Richmond H. Shreve, whose firm had worked on the Empire State Building, led the planning of the development.

The plan used only about 27 percent of the property for buildings. The rest was set aside for streets, lawns, playgrounds, trees, walkways, and other open spaces. The development also included stores, schools nearby, a heating plant, and parking.

MetLife displayed a detailed model of Parkchester at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The model showed the proposed buildings and even included the development's roughly 66,000 windows.

The first 500 families moved into the southern part of Parkchester in March 1940. Construction was completed in 1941, and by 1943 all 12,271 apartments were occupied.

At the time, Parkchester was one of the largest planned apartment communities in the United States. It was designed as a mostly self-contained neighborhood where residents could live near stores, recreation, and transportation.

The development's name was formed from the names of older Bronx areas near the site, Park Versailles and Westchester Heights.

Racial discrimination and integration

Although Parkchester was promoted as middle-class housing, MetLife originally refused to rent apartments to Black people and other non-White applicants.

By the 1960s, civil-rights groups and the New York City Commission on Human Rights were pressuring MetLife to end its discriminatory policies. In July 1968, after the federal Fair Housing Act became law, MetLife signed an "Open Occupancy Pledge". It agreed to consider renters without regard to race or national origin.

Parkchester later became much more racially and ethnically diverse.

Condominiums and renovation

Parkchester was originally a rental development. The northern part was converted to condominium ownership in 1972 as Parkchester North Condominium. The southern part became Parkchester South Condominium in 1986.

In 1998, the Parkchester Preservation Company took control of many of the apartments that had not been sold as condominiums. From about 2000 to 2005, the company carried out a renovation program costing about $250 million. Work included repairs to buildings, plumbing, wiring, windows, landscaping, and public areas.

Today, the complex still has both owner-occupied condominiums and rental apartments. Parkchester Preservation Management says it manages more than 6,000 rental apartments.

2024 housing discrimination settlement

In August 2024, the New York City Commission on Human Rights announced a major settlement with Parkchester Preservation Management over discrimination against people using housing vouchers.

The city said the company had used minimum-income rules and other requirements that made it very difficult for voucher holders to qualify for apartments. Under the settlement, the company agreed to pay $1 million in civil penalties and set aside 850 apartments for people with housing vouchers.

Metro-North rezoning

In August 2024, the New York City Council approved a large rezoning around planned new Metro-North stations in Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, Hunts Point, and Co-op City.

The plan allows more housing and businesses near the stations. Across the full East Bronx rezoning area, the city expects that about 7,000 homes could be built. The city also committed nearly $500 million for parks, schools, streets, sewers, and other public improvements.

The 7,000-home estimate is for the whole rezoning area, not Parkchester alone.

Artwork

One of Parkchester's best-known features is its architectural artwork.

The buildings have about 500 terra-cotta figures and around 600 decorative plaques. They show people, animals, sports, mythology, and everyday scenes. Figures include mermaids, soldiers, dancers, kangaroos, bears, birds, and many other subjects.

Nine sculptors worked on the project. They included Joseph Kiselewski, Raymond Granville Barger, Carl Schmitz, and Theodore Barbarossa.

Barger also designed the Fantasia fountain in the Oval. It was installed in 1941.

Some of the terra-cotta sculptures have been damaged or removed over time. Preservation groups have called for the remaining artwork to be protected.

Bangladeshi community

Parkchester has a large Bangladeshi American community. In 2026, Spectrum News NY1 described the area around Unionport Road and Starling Avenue as a growing Bangladeshi center that many residents call Little Bangladesh.

The area has Bangladeshi restaurants, grocery stores, clothing shops, halal businesses, mosques, and other community organizations. The community grew strongly after Bangladeshi immigration to New York increased during the 1990s.

Macy's

Macy's opened its Parkchester store in October 1941. It was the company's first branch outside its famous Herald Square store in Manhattan.

The Parkchester Macy's is still open in 2026 at 1441 Metropolitan Avenue.

Former Loew's American Theater

The American Theater opened in 1939 as the Loew's American. It later became a multiplex movie theater. The theater closed in 2013, and the space was later converted for retail use.

The building still has some of its original decorative figures.

Zaro's Bakery

Zaro's Bakery opened a Parkchester location in 1959. That original storefront closed in 2015 after 56 years, but the company later returned to Parkchester.

As of 2026, Zaro's operates at 1309 Metropolitan Avenue.

Library

The New York Public Library operates the Parkchester Library at 1985 Westchester Avenue.

The branch opened in 1942 inside the Parkchester development. It moved to its present building in June 1985.

Subway

Parkchester is served by the IRT Pelham Line of the New York City Subway.

The main station is the Parkchester station at Hugh J. Grant Circle. The Castle Hill Avenue station is also near the eastern side of the neighborhood. Both are served by the 6 train.

Buses

Bus routes serving Parkchester and nearby streets include the Bx4, Bx4A, Bx11, Bx22, Bx36, Bx39, Bx40, Bx42, Q44 Select Bus Service, and BxM6 express bus.

Planned Metro-North station

A new Parkchester/Van Nest station is under construction on Metro-North's New Haven Line, just north of Parkchester near East Tremont Avenue.

It is part of the Penn Station Access project, which will bring Metro-North trains from the New Haven Line to Penn Station using Amtrak's Hell Gate Line. Four new Bronx stations are being built: Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, and Co-op City.

The project was once expected to be fully finished in 2027. The MTA now says full completion is expected in 2030 because of delays involving access to Amtrak's railroad property.

The MTA is also trying to begin limited service earlier at three of the four new Bronx stations. A temporary plan discussed by the MTA would include Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, and Co-op City, but this depends on cooperation from Amtrak and is not guaranteed.