We've Been Schooled

As you may recall, BoogieDowner recently did a post kvetching about the New York Times' new real estate search function.

Among our many complaints about the new system was the fact that they use some pretty obscure Bronx neighborhood names, some of which we've never heard of before.

For example, Versailles Park.

Thanks to an astute BoogieDowner reader, we now have our explanation for that particular neighborhood name:

"Versailles Park is the name of the neighborhood that existed before the Parkchester developments were created by Met Life and included the area heading towards West Farms (the numbered streets that give the 6 subway stop its name: Parkchester & 177th street)."

Inneresting, eh? Now we're just waiting for some explanations as to where the hell the names Woodstock, North New York, Fordham Manor, Jeromes [sic] Park , and Foxhurst come from... any more smarty-pant tipsters out there who can help us out?

~ErLu

Neighborhood, What Neighborhood?

The Bronx seems to hold the singular distinction of having very blurry lines when it comes to defining neighborhoods. Most of the time people will give you a street, rather than a neighborhood name as an answer to, "Where do you live?" You're much more likely to hear, "I live in Pelham Parkway," than I live in Williamsbridge or Allerton. A more common answer to a question of a Bronxite's neighborhood would be "On the Concourse," rather than Highbridge or Morris Heights.

This rant about indistinct neighborhoods and their boundaries was engendered by an NY Times article about the Bronx Borough historian, Lloyd Ultan, professor at Lehman College, and his search for what actually constitutes the North-Central Bronx hood of Williamsbridge. (photo courtesy of Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times)

Link to: As Maps and Memories Fade, So Do Some Bronx Boundary Lines [NY Times]

Even my own home neighborhood has ambiguous borders. I consider Bedford Park to be its own neighborhood bordered to the north by Mosholu Parkway, the west by the Grand Concourse, the south by Bedford Park Blvd., and the east by Webster Ave. I've heard people say Bedford Park runs all the way down to 196th, some even further to 192nd. Some put the western border as as far as Goulden Ave near the Reservoir. I've even heard people say that Bedford Park doesn't exist as it's own neighborhood; it is Fordham-Bedford or North Fordham - I disagree with both assertions.

So Boogiedowner asks, what neighborhood do you live in, and what are the borders? Do you agree that the Bronx neighborhood borders are blurry? Let's get this straight.

~ErLu