Interview Answers

A neighbor of mine, Hyacinth Cole, moved from the Castle Hill section of the Bronx to the Eastchester section of the Bronx approximately ten years ago. When I asked, Hyacinth said that the neighborhood is diverse, though a bit segregated. “There are a lot of African, Indian, Caribbean and some Hispanics, but there are very few white people. It’s when you cross over on the other side of Allerton Ave. that you see a dramatic increase of whites.” The housing (in reference to the size and spacing), however is different. “The houses are larger beyond Allerton”, Mrs. Cole said, but it’s not so abrupt. “It’s a gradual change. The houses go from small with relatively no space between them, to large with sizable backyards.” Though a reliable contributor, these details hadn’t played too large of a role in her house hunting decisions. That Hyacinth hadn’t moved here (to Eastchester) for the upgrade in space goes without saying. The deciding factor actually had more to do with accessibility and availability on the area.

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.