Pelham Gardens, Bronx

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Pelham Gardens is a working-class neighborhood geographically located in the Northeast section of Bronx, a borough of New York City in the United States. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 11. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East Gun Hill Road to the north and east, Pelham Parkway to the south, and Laconia Avenue to the west. Eastchester Road is the primary thoroughfare through Pelham Gardens. The local subway is the 5 line; operating alongside Esplanade. ZIP codes include 10469. The area is patrolled by the New York Police Department's 49th Precinct located at 2121 Eastchester Road in Morris Park.


The area was originally home to the Siwanoy, a Native American tribe affiliated with the Algonquian peoples. The name Pelham Gardens derives from Thomas Pell, who purchased the land from the Siwanoy on June 27, 1654 at Treaty Oak, located next to Shore road in what is now Pelham Bay Park. The town of Westchester was established at this time at what is now Westchester Square; the entire area was part of Westchester County, New York until the city of New York, New York purchased the land at the turn of the 20th century. The oldest house in the area is what was once a farmhouse, located at the corner of Woodhull Avenue and Fielding Street.

Land use and terrain[edit]

Pelham Gardens is dominated by 1 family homes with some small apartment buildings and 2-3 family homes. Many private homes have basement studio apartments but are classified as 1 family. The total land area is roughly two square miles. The area its largely flat but contains a significant valley between Eastchester Road and Laconia Avenue, with the most significant low point on Seymour Avenue. This dip was likely caused thousands of years ago by a glacier.


Pelham Gardens has a population under 10,000. Demographically, the neighborhood has historically been home to a large Italian-American population as well as a sizable Jewish population, which has dramatically decreased since the 1970s. Smaller numbers of Irish-Americans and German-Americans have also made this largely Catholic community home since significant development began in the 1920s, with a construction boom in the 1950s. Large numbers of Puerto Rican families have moved into the area since the 1980s, with smaller but significant numbers of Filipino-Americans, Dominican-Americans, Albanian-Americans, Korean Americans, and Vietnamese Americans. The area is socioeconomically diverse, with a considerable working class population as well as many upper middle class professionals, particularly in the eastern area of the community. The proximity to 3 major hospitals and a high concentration of private medical facilities has drawn many health care professionals into the areas, as well as police officers, lawyers, and small business owners, particularly in the fields of construction and food services.[1]



The area is represented by:


Coordinates: 40°51′40.13″N 73°50′40.89″W﻿ / ﻿40.8611472°N 73.8446917°W﻿ / 40.8611472; -73.8446917