Parkchester revisited
through the eyes of an
early Jewish resident
BY RACHELLE ANTHONY
Parkchester opened in 1940,
around when throngs of working
class Jewish families and
other groups were immediately
drawn to the development’s
convenient location and
expansive landscaped setting.
Next year, 2020, marks
Parkchester’s historic 80th
anniversary.
It’s while waiting for the
#6 IRT on the Parkchester
train station platform that one
sees a spectacular view of the
Parkchester community and
the Cross Bronx Expressway
from the other side.
This Bronx neighborhood
is as close as you can get to a
‘city within a city,’ designed
and constructed as a balanced
community of residential
units, retail stores and eateries.
The architecture and
beauty of Parkchester is also
unique to not just the borough
but all of the city.
The center of attraction is
the Metropolitan Oval which
has an exquisitely landscaped
garden design, boasting a
beautiful array of fl owerbeds
and an awe-inspiring foun-
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O 54 CTOBER 11-17, 2019 BTR
Parkchester: A Bronx Tale of Race and Ethnicity by Jeffrey S. Gurock,
published October 2019 by NYU Press. Rachelle Anthony
tain.
Despite its appealing aesthetics,
there was a seething
undertone of racial bias.
The Parkchester community
we know today has come
a long way from when it was
‘segregated racially’ before
the 60s in the height of civil
rights activism.
Jeffrey Gurock, in his latest
captivating literary work,
‘Parkchester: A Bronx Tale of
Race and Ethnicity,’ tells the
story and history of one of the
largest housing communities
in New York City dating back
before construction began in
1939.
Gurock, a Libby M. Klaperman
professor of Jewish
History at Yeshiva University,
has written and edited 22
books that focused on semetic
history in and around the metropolitan
area for the past 43
years.
His works also include urban
history, inter-ethnic history
and what it means to be a
Jew in New York.
Gurock’s fi rst book was his
Doctoral Dissertation almost
40 years ago which delved into
the history of the Jewish community
of Harlem.
During that time, he became
interested in the relationship
between Blacks
and Jews enough so to start
studying communities where
Blacks and Jews lived near
each other.
That fi rst book, ‘When Harlem
was Jewish’ examines the
movement of the NYC Jewish
population from the lower east
side to upper east side of Manhattan.
Jewish culture has always
been the focus of his books,
however in his latest tome he
says, “The Jews in this book
are not the focus of this story,
they are part of the story,” said
Gurock.
The difference between his
latest work is that it tells the
story of a community which
was Irish, Italian and Jewish
and segregated racially until
1968.
“Today the community is
(made up of) Bangladeshis,
Malaysians, African Americans
and Latinos,” said
Gurock.
This latest introspect is
about race and ethnic life in
the Parkchester community
and about people getting along
with their ethnic neighbors.
The Bronx County Historical
Society, which Gurock considers
a gem, provided much
of the research and photos he
needed to complete his work.
Gurock now lives in Riverdale,
but he is proud to say
he lived in Parkchester for the
fi rst 25 years of his life with his
parents among the fi rst residents
to ever call Parkchester
home.
He refl ects on growing up
in Parkchester when his father
was a fi refi ghter and his
mother was a bookkeeper who
worked at the Empire State
Building while remembering
going to his orthodox synagogue
in Parkchester too.
He points out that one
of the six mosques located
around Parkchester today
was formerly Young Israel of
Parkchester, the synagogue
Gurock and his family attended.
“In the book there is some
personal stuff, but it’s all
rooted in solid scholarship.
It’s important for the book,”
Gurock said.
“Parkchester is about to
celebrate its 80th anniversary,”
said Gurock. “I thought
I would write a book to both
celebrate the community but
also to look at it critically.
It’s time for us to look at this
community very seriously.
Parkchester is a delight to all
ethnic cultures as they strive
“to get along, to live well together
as neighbors and hopefully
as friends,” said Gurock.
While researching and
writing this book, Gurock also
met some wonderful people in
Parkchester.
“Writing this book has
been a ‘labor of love,’” said
Gurock. “It’s nice to return to
where you came from,”
During a summer concert
at the Metropolitan Oval, he
gave out autographed copies of
his book, became friends with
the Bangledeshis; made a very
good friend in one of the area’s
Catholic priests, and met
a young Muslim man. “One of
the marvelous things is I’ve
now met some of the fi rst African
Americans who moved
into Parkchester and they remind
me of my parents,” said
Gurock.
Parkchester: A tale of Race
and Ethnicity is a page turner,
a history lesson, and a Bronx
tale about a community and
the various ethnic cultures
who reside there.
Gurock’s next book signing
event is on Monday, October
14 at his local synagogue, The
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale,
in the Bronx.
The book will be released
on Tuesday, October 15.
Jeffrey S. Gurock (l) and Tamzidul Islam outside the Parkchester Islamic Center, summer 2018.
Courtesy of the Yeshiva University Offi ce of Communications and Public Affairs.