Living in Parkchester: rent, commute and grades

The Bronx · Updated October 2026

A fountain with sculpted figures behind red and white flower beds, with tall brick towers beyond.
Small red cabins along a path with autumn trees and brick towers behind.
Brick residential towers rising above trees under a blue sky.
Brick buildings and a street running into the complex under a bright sky.
An aerial view of the dense brick complex among surrounding blocks.
Photo credits

Rent in Parkchester

$1,234 a month

Type of homeA room in a 2-bedroom, shared by two

Parkchester is cheaper with roommates

Find people looking in Parkchester
B-Overall

Parkchester graded

Grades compare NYC neighborhoods with each other. How the grades work.

Everyday life

  • B-Walkability

    The average home has 4.3 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 240 places to eat or shop.

    Residents: Almost everything needed is within walking distance, with the 6 train and buses for the rest. Resident, Nov 2025

  • B+Food and shopping

    Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 59 places to eat, 22 kinds of cuisine, 9.7 large grocery stores and 139 open storefronts.

    Residents: Several supermarkets are within the community. Lifelong resident, May 2025

    City data and 5 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

  • DParks and green space

    100% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 10 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 337 street trees within 300 m of the average home.

    Residents: Walking around is a pleasure, with pretty scenery such as the Oval. Grew up there, moved away in 2017, Mar 2025

    City data and 3 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

People

  • C+Community

    19% of households moved in since 2018, 4% are roommates sharing a home, 18% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 16 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

  • B-Nightlife

    About 11 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

Home and safety

  • CSafety

    6.1 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (180 in all).

    Residents: Packages are stolen all the time on the south side. Renter on the south side, Jan 2026

    City data and 7 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

  • B+Quiet

    26 noise complaints to 311 per 1,000 residents in 2025, not counting helicopter complaints, and counting each address at most 12 days a year. That measures how often people complain, not how loud it is.

    Residents: Apartments facing the inner courtyards are much quieter than those facing the streets and traffic. Resident of 1 year, Apr 2025

  • DBuilding upkeep

    28.9 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 19.6 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.

Who lives there

  • Young families

What residents say

Residents like

  • QuietApartments facing the inner courtyards are much quieter than those facing the streets and traffic. Resident of 1 year, Apr 2025
  • WalkabilityAlmost everything needed is within walking distance, with the 6 train and buses for the rest. Resident, Nov 2025
  • SafetyWalking around at any hour brings no trouble; most problems are in the surrounding blocks. Resident, Jan 2024

Residents don’t like

Show 14 moreShow less

Safety

Food and shopping

Nightlife

  • A few bars and spots can be found between Castle Hill Avenue, White Plains Road and Tremont if you explore.

    Not a resident, Nov 2025

Walkability

Quiet

Parks and green space

Getting around from Parkchester

Map of New York City neighborhoods shaded by travel time by subway or bus from Parkchester
By subway or bus, arriving by 9:00 on a weekday:Under 30 min30 to 45 min45 to 60 minOver an hourParkchester

Residents: Public transportation is easy to reach from all around the complex. Grew up there, moved away in 2017, Mar 2025

Residents: Easy to travel to and from. Grew up there, Nov 2025

What to know about Parkchester

  • Parkchester is mostly one planned community, built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and dated 1942 by the city: over 160 buildings with 12,200 apartments and more than 35,000 residents on 121 acres. Source
  • Parkchester was built to give middle-income New Yorkers good housing they could afford. It went up at the same time as Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan, on Le Corbusier's "tower in a park" model of tall buildings set in open green space. Source
  • Two through streets, Metropolitan Avenue and Unionport Road, cross the complex and are lined with shops. At the center sits Metropolitan Oval, a large fountain surrounded by landscaping. Source
  • Parkchester's apartments are condominiums: about a third of the complex converted in 1974 and the rest in 1986. The complex is run by two not-for-profit condominium corporations, Parkchester North and Parkchester South. Source
  • Parkchester is protected by its own zoning district, the Special Planned Community Preservation District: new buildings, enlargements or major landscaping changes need a City Planning Commission special permit, and buildings may not be demolished unless unsafe or under such a permit. Source
  • Parkchester's Art Deco buildings carry hundreds of terra cotta sculptures made in 1941: about 500 figures such as skiers, dancers, accordion players and firefighters, and 600 animals. Source
  • A Metro-North station is planned for Parkchester/Van Nest on East Tremont Avenue just east of Unionport Road, giving commuter rail service to Midtown Manhattan, Westchester County and southwest Connecticut. Source

More of Parkchester

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Sources

Facts about Parkchester:

Data behind the grades: