While we are not aware of any formal definitions for the neighborhood’s boundaries, and have seen several different map presentations, we regard Van Cortlandt Village as located between the Broadway and Jerome Avenue shopping districts and between Van Cortlandt Park and along the west side of the Jerome Park Reservoir approximately to where Reservoir Ave intersects Sedgwick Ave.  That’s approximately the area on the map above.

WHAT THE AREA OFFERS

There are many reasons to consider living in Van Cortlandt Village, in the northwest Bronx.

In the immediate area of the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center there is/are:

• A shopping district with a supermarket, bank, beauty salon, (non-kosher) pizza parlor / Italian restaurant, pharmacy, library, (non-kosher) Chinese take out, smoke and candy shop, and a (non-kosher) deli.
• Several doctor’s and dentist’s offices.
• The Ridgewood Savings Bank and the Van Cortlandt Cooperative Federal Credit Union.  Van Cortlandt Jewish Center members are entitled to full membership in the Credit Union.
• Attractive and affordable housing in single and two family homes, and in multi-family rentals, Mitchell-Lama cooperatives, and private co-ops at significantly lower prices than Riverdale, and much lower prices than Manhattan. Written up in 2007 in the New York Times Real Estate section.
• We have gathered information about available housing in the area.  See Moving to Van Cortlandt Village – Real Estate Info

In addition, there is Kosher shopping, dining, and fast food, including markets, take-out, butchers, delicatessens (unsupervised), bagels, pizza, Chinese/Asian Fusion, and Tex-Mex only a few minutes away by car, with delivery from many available.

There are also many other shopping resources, such as hardware stores, BJ’s, clothing stores, florists, and many others.  These resources are primarily in the Broadway and Jerome Avenue shopping districts.  See our CLASSIFIED ADS and ads in our newsletter THE CENTER LIGHT for some examples.

Here’s some more info:

• Articles that talk about how good this neighborhood is. One from the NY Times February 2014. Another one is from from the Observer. And one more from Forgotten-NY.com.
• It’s a well maintained neighborhood with tree lined streets and buildings ranging from new construction to well-established buildings over 80 years old .
• It’s one of the safest areas of the 50th precinct, which is one of the lowest crime precincts in the city.

SCHOOLS

There are many schools immediately in the area or easily accessible.  The local area schools are PS/MS 95 and the AmPark Neighborhood School (both NYC Dept. of Ed schools).  Early Learning Centers nearby include Amalgamated Nursery School and Mosholu Montefiore Early Childhood Development Center.  The Amalgamated Housing Cooperative also hosts a Playgroup (for parents/caregivers with children up to age 5). We are also near the Bronx High School of Science, DeWitt Clinton HS, the High School of American Studies at Lehman College, as well as Lehman College.

There are Yeshivas and Hebrew Day Schools, from Nursery through High School, within easy reach and which provide bus transportation for primary grades. We have compiled more information about schools in the area on our AREA SCHOOLS  page.

The Van Cortlandt Jewish Center also houses the Mosholu Montefiore Early Childhood Development Center.

TRANSPORTATION

Several New York City bus routes (#1, #2, and #10) service the area. In addition to city buses, there is express bus service (BxM3 & BxM4) to Madison Avenue and 26^th Street in Manhattan. The #1, #4 and D trains are a short walk or bus ride away.  The neighborhood is convenient to the Major Deegan Expressway (I-87), Mosholu Parkway, and the Saw Mill/Henry Hudson and Bronx River Parkways. This area is easy to get to by car or public transportation. It is an easy trip to Manhattan or anyplace in Westchester County.  Here are the BxM3 (our closest line with stops less than a half block from VCJC) and BxM4 (a nearby alternative) express bus schedules.

RECREATION

Recreational locations include:

• Van Cortlandt Park, one of the city’s gems – a very large park with multiple facilities, including a local playground, a lake, a golf course, cricket and soccer fields, a swimming pool, and much more. See Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy, NYC Parks, Wikipedia, and Friends of Van Cortlandt Park – Youth, Community & Nature in the Bronx.
• The Van Cortlandt House Museum in Van Cortlandt Park.
• Fort Independence Park (also with a local playground).
• Harris Field (Harris Park), a multiple use ball field.
• The Bronx Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo (New York Zoological Park) are a short distance away.

OTHER INFO

We have gathered information about available housing in the area.  See Moving to Van Cortlandt Village – Real Estate Info

Watch an eight-picture slide show of Van Cortlandt Village. These pictures are from the New York Times, February 2013.

To view more information about some of our neighbors, visit https://www.amalgamated-bronx.coop or http://www.parkreservoir.coop (website no longer accessible)

For information on the local credit union, Van Cortlandt Federal Cooperative Credit Union, visit www.vccfcu.com. All members of VCJC are eligible to join the credit union as full members.

VCJC Community Partners

VCJC also houses the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center’s Early Childhood Learning Center (Headstart and Universal Pre-K programs) (MMCC Child Development Center).

– And much more

Home