Castle Hill, Bronx


Castle Hill is a neighborhood located in the southeast section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries are: Waterbury and Westchester Avenues to the North, Westchester Creek to the east, the East River to the South, and White Plains Road to the West.
The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9. ZIP Codes include 10472, 10473, and 10462. The area is patrolled by the NYPD's 43rd Precinct. New York City Housing Authority property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 8 at 2794 Randall Avenue.

History

Most development initially concentrated near the IRT Pelham Line on Westchester Avenue and in close proximity to Castle Hill Avenue. The predominate housing was a mixture of attached and detached two-story buildings with 1 or 2 units closely set on small lots. Castle Hill became home to many European immigrants looking to leave Lower Manhattan's overpopulated immigrant communities. Prior to the late 20th century, large parcels across the neighborhood remained undeveloped. Vacant land was used to provide temporary housing, using Quonset hut structures, to returning World War II veterans. During the 1950s, the Bruckner Expressway was constructed, bisecting the area. The NYCHA built the Castle Hill Houses in 1959, adding over 2,000 housing units to the community. Later during the 1960s and 1970s, large apartment complexes were constructed in the neighborhood following the establishment of the Mitchell Lama program. In 2000, the largest remaining collection of vacant parcels was developed near Castle Hill Point with modern 2-story, 2-unit attached rowhouses.
Like neighboring Soundview, Castle Hill began to fall into rapid decay in the 1970s due to white flight, growing poverty rates, and a citywide fiscal crisis. Much of the White non-Hispanic population was replaced by poor and working class Latin Americans and African Americans. As a result, abandonment was much less extensive than in neighborhoods to the west including Morrisania. The neighborhood was gravely affected by the crack epidemic throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Improved policing methods include NYPD monitored CCTV along known high drug trafficking areas, increased foot presence, and improved statistical mapping.
In more recent years, a citywide housing crisis spurred construction of modern multi-unit row houses and apartment buildings. Many are multi zoned for retail and have mixed-income qualifications. There are also plans to develop this type of housing on vacant land within the confines of NYCHA Castle Hill Houses along with significant renovations and improvements to existing grounds and buildings. The neighborhood has become increasingly more diverse with a rise in varied Latin American and Asian immigration in recent years. Crime has also seen a significant decline as a result of a number of factors including enhanced policing techniques and changing economic demographics.

Demographics

The neighborhood predominantly consists of Latin Americans and African Americans. 73% of residential units are renter occupied. There is significant income diversity but the poverty rate is higher and median household income lower than the New York City average.
The entirety of Community District 9, which comprises Castle Hill, Clason Point, and Parkchester, had 184,105 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 79.7 years. This is about the same as the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are youth and middle-aged adults: 25% are between the ages of between 0–17, 29% between 25–44, and 24% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 10% and 12% respectively.
As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 9 was $40,005. In 2018, an estimated 26% of Castle Hill and Parkchester residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents were unemployed, compared to 13% in the Bronx and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 55% in Castle Hill and Parkchester, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Castle Hill and Parkchester are considered low-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

Land use and terrain

The land area contains a mix of uses but is primarily residential. There is a mixture of pre-war architecture, mid-century, and modern construction. Multi-unit attached and detached houses dominate much of the land area. The NYCHA Castle Hill Houses take up significant land area in the southern part of the community along with the Mitchell-Lama Jamie Towers housing complex
The neighborhood's primary commercial corridors are White Plains Road, Castle Hill Avenue, and Westchester Avenue.
The Castle Hill Avenue Business Improvement District was started with the assistance of Councilwoman Annabel Palma and James Vacca in June 2012.

The Shops at Bruckner Commons

The Shops at Bruckner Commons, which greatly expanded throughout the 1990s and mostly renovated in 2018, divides Castle Hill from neighboring Soundview and contains some national chains like Kmart, The Gap and Old Navy. Other primary thoroughfares contain amenities like supermarkets, pharmacies, barbershops, hair salons, fast food, bodegas, and cheap shops.
The eastern border of the neighborhood, adjacent to the Westchester Creek, is primarily used for storage, warehousing, and municipal uses.
The area gradually comes to peak elevation along Castle Hill Avenue.

Police and crime

Castle Hill and Parkchester are patrolled by the 43rd Precinct of the NYPD, located at 900 Fteley Avenue. The 43rd Precinct ranked 36th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. With a non-fatal assault rate of 100 per 100,000 people, Castle Hill and Parkchester's rate of violent crimes per capita is more than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 603 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole.
The 43rd Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 80.4% between 1990 and 2019. The precinct reported 5 murders, 46 rapes, 359 robberies, 559 felony assaults, 140 burglaries, 612 grand larcenies, and 143 grand larcenies auto in 2019.

Fire safety

Castle Hill contains one New York City Fire Department fire station and an EMS station:
and teenage births are more common in Castle Hill and Parkchester than in other places citywide. In Castle Hill and Parkchester, there were 106 preterm births per 1,000 live births, and 26.4 teenage births per 1,000 live births. Castle Hill and Parkchester 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%.
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Castle Hill and Parkchester is, more than the city average. Eighteen percent of Castle Hill and Parkchester residents are smokers, which is higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Castle Hill and Parkchester, 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. In addition, 25% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.
Eighty-three percent 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%. For every supermarket in Castle Hill and Parkchester, there are 13 bodegas.
The nearest hospital campuses are Montefiore Medical Center's Westchester Square and West Farms campuses, as well as Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center's Longwood campus. The nearest large hospital is NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in Morris Park.

Post office and ZIP Codes

Castle Hill is located within three ZIP Codes. The area north of Bruckner Expressway/Interstate 278 is in 10472, while the area between Bruckner Expressway and Cross Bronx Expressway/Interstate 95 is in 10473, and the area north of Cross Bronx Expressway is in 10462. The United States Postal Service operates the Castle Hill Station post office at 1163 Castle Hill Avenue.

Education

Castle Hill and Parkchester generally have a similar rate of college-educated residents to the rest of the city. 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. The percentage of Castle Hill and Parkchester 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.
Castle Hill and Parkchester's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is higher than the rest of New York City. In Castle Hill and Parkchester, 28% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, more than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 69% of high school students in Castle Hill and Parkchester graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.

Schools

Public schools
Private and parochial schools
Special education programs
The New York Public Library operates the Castle Hill branch at 947 Castle Hill Avenue. The branch opened in 1963 and moved to its current location in 1981.

Parks and recreation

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Castle Hill:
The following New York City Subway station serves Castle Hill:
The Bruckner Expressway, carrying Interstate 278, also runs through the neighborhood.

In popular culture

Scenes from the 1984 movie The Pope of Greenwich Village directed by Stuart Rosenberg were filmed under the Castle Hill stop on the #6 train and on the platform as well.

Notable people