Various factors influence a neighborhood’s ability to prosper. The state of the constantly fluctuating housing market is the main factor. Combine this with the shape of any surrounding businesses (if they are flourishing or in a state of decline) and you can almost always assume the potential of a given area. ‘Almost’ being the key word in this instance. Because, despite the positive effect the housing market has had on nearby businesses, it has had an overall adverse effect on the community of Eastchester.
I believe that the within the Eastchester section of the Bronx, the borough has been negatively effected by the development of the neighborhood’s housing market.
Hyacinth originally relocated here because of the quietness and convenience of the area. While Tiemann Avenue is an easily accessible block (near I-95), it doesn’t seem that way. “We (Hyacinth and her friend) visited the neighborhood a few times. It was a nice place.” She stated that the neighborhood was fairly quiet at the time. “I hadn’t taken the vacations into consideration. It gets a little loud during the summer.” But while the noise or rather lack thereof did play a part in her purchase, it wasn’t the main reason Mrs. Cole followed through. The home was a new-construction. “Most of the homes on this side [of the block] were new-construction. …There was something about Will Chamberlin’s aunt owning the land. When she died, they tore the house down and built two semi-attached homes and one large house in its place.” Unfortunately, the type of project that resulted in the building and purchase of Hyacinth’s house was apparently only the beginning.
Since the time she’s moved to Eastchester, Mrs. Cole has noticed that the neighborhood has continued to change. The transformation, in her opinion, has overall, negatively impacted the neighborhood; the land in our area is continuously being built up. “On one hand, the value of the homes, mines included, is increasing. The neighborhood is developing, prospering, but they are tearing down too many of the older, nicer homes to built smaller, multi-family units”. As I look around, I see that Mrs. Cole is right. The larger, architecturally superior homes are all but a memory. In their places small, over-priced new construction town house-like units stand. A plot of land which held an older, one-family house, with a sizable backyard, is now the site of three cramped two-family apartment-homes. And while the jump in the market may help some, it’s not so significant to most home owners. The costs of tearing down your house, rebuilding and then finding someone to rent each unit out to (because no one would buy the home) is unlikely to yield a hefty profit. “It’s risky.” Afterwards, when I asked Hyacinth if she would leave, she said ‘yes’. “If I could afford it, I’d moved up… to Westchester; upstate. You get more for you money there. It’s not exactly convenient [Hyacinth works in the Bronx], but I think it would be worthwhile in the long run.
