Westchester Square is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the eastern section of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East Tremont Avenue and Silver Street, Blondell Avenue and

Westchester Creek Westchester Creek (also known as Frenchman's Creek) is a tidal inlet of the East River located in the south eastern portion of the Bronx in New York City. It is 2.1 miles (3.39 km) in length. The creek formerly traveled further inland, to w ...

to the east, Waterbury Avenue to the south and Castle Hill Avenue to the west. The main roadways through Westchester Square are East Tremont Avenue, Westchester Avenue and Williamsbridge Road. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community District 10, and its ZIP Codes include 10461 and 10462. The area is patrolled by the 45th Precinct of the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

. __TOC__

History

The village was founded about 1654 by English settlers who left

New Haven Colony New Haven Colony was an English colony from 1638 to 1664 that included settlements on the north shore of Long Island Sound, with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The colony joined Connecticut Colony in 16 ...

for Dutch

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

, on land purchased by Thomas Pell in 1654 from the

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...

Ann-hock, alias Wampage, and other Native Americans, although his right to do so was disputed by the Dutch who also laid claim to the land. The settlers followed the

to a path behind what is now Herbert H. Lehman High School to where the Square is now. The settlement was called Oostdorp, or East Towne, and called Westchester by the English settlers. In a war in 1655 between the Dutch and Native Americans, the Dutch suspected the settlers of Oostdorp of working with the Esopus and Woppinger Indians and being instigators, so as to drive the Dutch from the area. In addition, they were in communication with the New Haven Colony, which drove

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant ( – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the Directors of New Netherland, director-general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664, when the colony was pro ...

to order their removal and the destruction of their homes in March 1656. Twenty-three men were placed on board the ship ''de Waagh'' ("the Scales") and taken to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

, where they were held prisoner on the ship ''Ballance''. According to one account, they were "fed with rotten provision, creeping with worms, whereby some of them remained diseased to this day, after which they were carried away in chaines and laid in their dungeon at Manhatoes." Shortly afterwards, the settlers agreed to submit to Dutch law and authority and were permitted to remain at Westchester. Thomas Wheeler, Thomas Newman, and John Lord were selected as the first magistrates. At that time, the town consisted of twenty-five men and ten to twelve women. The village was the town seat of the Town of Westchester (the town hall being located at ) until 1895, when that town became part of greater New York City. The Square is still laid out like a village, with the Owen Dolen Plaza, previously the village green, once again a central feature of the community. There are still many 19th-century homes throughout the neighborhood, including several old

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

mansions, as well as the Huntington Free Library and Reading Room on the west side of the square. In 1920, the

Interborough Rapid Transit Company The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT ...

's Pelham elevated line was opened with a stop at Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue. The Westchester Square BID (

business improvement district A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...

) was formally signed into law in March 2012. Led by business owner John Bonizio, the BID is funded by landlords and shopkeepers who pay a special property tax assessment to the city. It helps to patrol and promote the immediate shopping corridor.

Demographics

For census purposes, the New York City government classifies Westchester Square as part of a larger neighborhood tabulation area called Van Nest/Morris Park/Westchester Square. Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Van Nest/Morris Park/Westchester Square was 29,250, a change of 2,115 (7.2%) from the 27,135 counted in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division -

Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 27.3% (7,987)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 11.1% (3,245)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% (82) Native American, 10.6% (3,100) Asian, 0.1% (15)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1% (292) from other races, and 1.4% (410) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 48.3% (14,119) of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
Population Division -

Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.

Police and crime

Westchester Square and Co-op City are patrolled by the 45th Precinct of the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

, located at 2877 Barkley Avenue in

Throggs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek o ...

. The 45th Precinct ranked 28th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The 45th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 67% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported five murders, 13 rapes, 235 robberies, 265 felony assaults, 108 burglaries, 609 grand larcenies, and 323 grand larcenies auto in 2022.

Fire safety

Westchester Square is served by the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

(FDNY)'s Squad 61/Battalion 20, located at 1518 Williamsbridge Road.

Post office and ZIP Codes

Westchester Square is located within ZIP Code 10461 northeast of Zerega Avenue and 10462 southwest of Zerega Avenue. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Westchester Station post office at 2619 Ponton Avenue.

Arts and culture

The

Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, also referred to as BAAD!, is a New York performing and visual art workshop space and performance venue located in The Bronx. The Academy is home to the Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre and The Bronx Dance Coalition. ...

is located on the grounds of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Westchester Square. The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) Headquarters is located at 2700 East Tremont Avenue in Westchester Square. A pioneering advocate for cultural equity since 1962, BCA nurtures the development of a diverse array of artists and arts organizations and builds strong cultural connections in and beyond The Bronx. As of 2024, th
Longwood Art Gallery
is located within BCA HQ. The gallery is part of the '
Longwood Arts Project
a flagship program of BCA. Founded in 1981, it was one of the first alternative gallery spaces in The Bronx and to this day maintains its pioneering focus on artists whose traditions and cultural practices are underrepresented by mainstream venues.

Parks and recreation

* Owen Dolen Park is bordered by Westchester Avenue, Lane Avenue and Williamsbridge Road. It was recently renovated and rededicated in June 2013. The $4.72 million renovation of the park was started in September 2011. It was named after Owen Dolen a lifelong community resident and teacher, in 1926. Dolen had died of a heart attack a year earlier after giving a speech at the Square to unveil a granite memorial honoring neighborhood soldiers killed in World War I. * The name for the Pearly Gates Playground is derived from Christian tradition of the entranceway through which souls enter

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

after death. The

pearly gates ''Pearly gates'' is an informal name for the gateway to Heaven (Christianity), Heaven according to some List of Christian denominations, Christian denominations. It is inspired by the description of the New Jerusalem in : "The twelve gates were ...

are said to be guarded by

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

, one of the founders of the Christian Church. The playground is named the Pearly Gates, because of its location on St. Peter’s Avenue. The playground originally opened in 1952 under the joint operation of Parks and the Board of Education. The park was originally called the Westchester Playground until 1998, when Parks Commissioner Henry Stern renamed the site The Pearly Gates.

Libraries

The Huntington Free Library is a non-circulating, privately operated library at 9 Westchester Square. It is one of the oldest libraries in the Bronx. It remains largely unchanged from its opening in the 1890s, although it formerly contained a large Native American collection. The library includes a special collection of books and photographs on local Bronx history, as well as a collection contains current newspapers, magazines, and reference books. The

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

(NYPL)'s Westchester Square branch is a circulating branch of the NYPL located at 2521 Glebe Avenue. The branch started operating in 1937 and moved to its current two-story location in 1956. There are plans to move the Westchester Square branch to the Huntington Library annex.

Transportation

The following

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

stations serve Westchester Square: * East Tremont Avenue () * Zerega Avenue () The following

MTA Regional Bus Operations MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the Public transport bus service, bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service (bus rapid transit ...

bus routes serve Westchester Square: *: to

Westchester Square Westchester Square is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the eastern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East Tremont Avenue and Silver Street, Blo ...

() or Third Avenue–149th Street () (via Westchester Avenue) *: to

() or Simpson Street () (via Westchester Avenue and Metropolitan Oval) *: to

Williamsbridge Williamsbridge is a neighborhood geographically located in the north-central portion of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are East 222nd Street to the north, Boston Road to the east, Adee Av ...

or Locust Point (via Williamsbridge Road) *: to Third Avenue–138th Street (via Morris Park Avenue) *: to

Country Club A country club is a privately-owned Club (organization), club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Ty ...

or Hutchinson Metro Center *: to Woodlawn (via Eastchester Road) */: to

or Morris Heights (via 180th Street, Burnside Avenue, Tremont Avenue)

References

External links

East Bronx History Forum

Huntington Free Library and Reading Room
*
Westchester Square Business Improvement District

Westchester Square-Zerega Improvement Organization
{{Former towns of New York City Former towns in New York City Neighborhoods in the Bronx Squares in the Bronx