About Us - Castle Hill Houses

Here is a comprehensive history of the Castle Hill Houses, a NYCHA development in the Bronx, New York City:

History of Castle Hill Houses

The Neighborhood’s Origins

Castle Hill, a neighborhood in the southeast portion of the Bronx, got its name from Dutch explorer Adriaen Block who, when navigating up the coast, saw a Siwanoy Indian village located in the distance and somehow thought the cluster of buildings resembled a castle.1 The Siwanoy’s name for the settlement was Snakapins, which actually means “Land Between Two Waters.”1 Block’s map, made in 1614, was the first to use the term “New Netherland” and the first to depict Long Island and Manhattan as actual islands.1

In the centuries that followed, Castle Hill consisted primarily of rural farmland and large estates within Westchester County, including the prominent Castle Hill Estate owned by the Delafield family, which featured a castle-like mansion on the area’s hilly terrain.2 The annexation of the Bronx, including Castle Hill, into New York City in 1898 as part of the Borough of the Bronx marked the onset of urbanization.2

Early 20th Century Growth

Castle Hill became home to many European immigrants looking to leave Lower Manhattan’s overpopulated immigrant communities.3 Immigrant families—Italian, Irish, and Jewish—were among the first to settle here, establishing churches such as Our Lady of the Assumption (1928), small synagogues, and social clubs.4 By the 1930s and 1940s, Castle Hill had solidified its identity as a middle-income neighborhood with a local shopping corridor, nearby schools, and recreational access to the waterfront. Its gently rolling streets, framed by trees and bay views, earned it a reputation as one of the Bronx’s more peaceful enclaves.4

Post-WWII: The Quonset Huts

After World War II, a severe housing crisis gripped New York City. At the end of World War II, 750,000 service members returned to a city where development had been virtually nonexistent since the Great Depression. With no available housing for returning GIs, Robert Moses had the idea of purchasing surplus Quonset huts from the military to set up mini villages on parcels of unused city land.5

By the mid-20th century, large land parcels primarily south of Bruckner Boulevard remained undeveloped. Vacant land was used to provide temporary housing, using Quonset hut structures, to returning World War II veterans.3 They were used as temporary housing for returning WWII veterans, nearly 962 families.6 These huts were basic — residents recalled kerosene stoves for heat, small kitchens, and cramped shower-only bathrooms. The quonset huts proved difficult for city builders to work with. By the time the huts started to fall out of use and be taken down in the 1950s, their residents were complaining of issues, including leaks and lack of heating.7

Construction of Castle Hill Houses (1953–1959)

Castle Hill Houses is a public housing development located in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), which is the largest public housing authority in North America. Castle Hill Houses were constructed in 1953 and consist of 27 buildings that are primarily low-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings, covering an area of approximately 33 acres. The development was designed to provide affordable housing for low-income residents, and the apartments are subsidized by the government.8

By 1959, the Quonset Hut village was gone, replaced by NYCHA’s Castle Hill housing projects, providing apartments to over 5,000 people in a considerably more vertical footprint.1 The development includes a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, and four-bedroom units. Amenities within the development include community centers, playgrounds, and outdoor recreational spaces.8

The 1950s–1960s: A Thriving Community

In its early years, Castle Hill Houses was considered a desirable place to live. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson spent his early years in the Castle Hill Houses and remembered: “We lived in the Castle Hill middle-income housing project in the Bronx and it felt like a real community, with playgrounds and playing fields amidst all the buildings.”1 Tyson’s earliest memories were the East Bronx in the Castle Hill housing projects on Castle Hill Avenue. He was in kindergarten at the time, but his father’s income level went above the income level for those housing projects, and after that his family moved to Riverdale.9

The 1970s–1980s: Decline

Like neighboring Soundview, Castle Hill began to fall into rapid decay in the 1970s due to white flight, growing poverty rates, and a citywide fiscal crisis.3 After a wave of arson ravaged the community throughout the 1970s, some of the residential structures in Castle Hill were left seriously damaged or destroyed. The residents moved out and the area was left deserted for some time. Homes were left abandoned and this became an area where stripped cars left on curbs and in lots were a common sight. The area around the Castle Hill Houses was especially damaged by the worsening conditions in the projects.10 The Castle Hill area was known for its vast supply of drugs and violent crime during the crack epidemic of the early 80s. Crime and many other social issues associated with poverty continued to plague the community.10

Recovery and Redevelopment

What made Castle Hill a haven for drugs and violence in the 80s and early 90s has turned out to play in its favor when it came time to redevelop the area. Many homes have been rehabilitated and many multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings have been built on vacant lots across the neighborhood.10

Crime has also seen a significant decline versus historic highs as a result of a number of factors including enhanced policing techniques and changing economic demographics.3

The Mayor’s Action Plan (MAP) – Safety Improvements

In the mid-2010s, Castle Hill Houses was selected as one of 15 priority NYCHA developments under the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety. The installation of 749 new lighting fixtures at Castle Hill Houses was a key part of MAP, a comprehensive strategy to reduce violence and increase neighborhood safety at the 15 NYCHA development sites that accounted for 20 percent of all violent crime in public housing in 2014.11 Year to date at the time, total index crime at Butler and Castle Hill Houses was down 21 percent, with robberies down 26.47 percent, assault down 17.14 percent, burglary down 28.57 percent, and shootings down 85.71 percent.11

Recent Developments & Green Space Connections

Over the years, Castle Hill Houses have faced various challenges related to maintenance, safety, and security. In addition to serving as a home for many families, Castle Hill Houses have also played an important role in the community. The development has hosted various events and programs, including a summer youth employment program, community centers, and health clinics. NYCHA has been working with community organizations and other stakeholders to improve the quality of life for residents.8

Today, like most public housing projects, the Castle Hill Houses are woefully underfunded. The buildings recently held the dubious distinction of having the most open work orders of any of the city’s housing projects at over 11,000.1

However, new investments are being made. NYCHA celebrated the first-ever dog park on the campus of a NYCHA complex at Castle Hill Houses. Castle Hill Houses small and large dogs and their two-legged companions now have safe, enclosed spaces to run, jump, play fetch and enjoy fresh water from the new doggie fountain. The project also included an improved picnic area and 32 new stations for easy pet waste disposal. Castle Hill Houses residents pushed for the dog park and worked together with public and private partners for over a year to design and build the new amenities. Jeanette Salcedo, Castle Hill Resident Association President, spearheaded the residents’ organizing and advocacy.12

The project is part of the Public Housing Community Fund Green Space Connections program—a $3.2 million initiative funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust—to create and activate open spaces at four NYCHA developments in the Bronx and Brooklyn, benefiting approximately 14,000 residents.12

Demographics Today

The neighborhood predominantly consists of Latin Americans (a plurality having Puerto Rican and Dominican ancestry) and African Americans.3 The neighborhood has attracted diverse communities of immigrants from areas like Bangladesh and Pakistan, reflected in the vibrant eateries and houses of worship, including churches and mosques, found along Castle Hill Avenue.13

The Castle Hill Houses stand as a living testament to the evolution of public housing in New York City — from post-war Quonset huts to towering brick complexes, through decades of struggle and resilience, and into a new era of resident-led community improvement.

🏢 The History of Castle Hill Houses

📍 Location & Setting

Castle Hill Houses is a public housing development located in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.1 It is part of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), which is the largest public housing authority in North America.1 Castle Hill is a neighborhood located in the southeast section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries are Waterbury Avenue and Westchester Avenue to the north, Westchester Creek to the east, the East River to the south, and White Plains Road to the west.2

The Castle Hill Houses include 27 low and mid-rise brick buildings that are part of NYCHA, between Lacombe and Seward Avenues.3 The Castle Hill Houses take up significant land area in the southern part of the community along with the Mitchell-Lama Jamie Towers housing complex.2

🏛️ Origins of the Castle Hill Neighborhood

Castle Hill, a neighborhood in the southeast portion of the borough, got its name from Dutch explorer Adriaen Block who, when navigating up the coast, saw a Swianoy Indian village located in the distance and somehow thought the cluster of buildings resembled a castle.4 The Siwanoy’s name for the settlement was Snakapins, which, despite sounding like a delicious treat, actually means Land Between Two Waters.4 This beautiful map that Block made in 1614 was the first to use the term New Netherland and the first to depict Long Island and Manhattan as actual islands.4

After what was undoubtedly a raw deal for the Siwanoys, Castle Hill came into the possession of various Dutch and English families, including John Cromwell, cousin of Oliver “Warts and all” Cromwell, Lord Protector of England.4

🏘️ Early 20th Century Development

The early 20th century brought the transformation of Castle Hill from farmland to a structured residential district. The annexation of Westchester to New York City (1895), followed by the extension of city services—sewers, paved streets, and streetcars—opened the area to working- and middle-class development.5

By the 1920s, modest one- and two-family homes and walk-up apartments began to fill the gridded landscape between Lafayette Avenue and Pugsley Creek. The completion of the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) Pelham Line (6 train) in 1920 further catalyzed growth, giving residents rapid access to Manhattan while retaining the suburban quiet that attracted them.5

Immigrant families—Italian, Irish, and Jewish—were among the first to settle here, establishing churches such as Our Lady of the Assumption (1928), small synagogues, and social clubs.5

Castle Hill became home to many European immigrants looking to leave Lower Manhattan’s overpopulated immigrant communities.2

🪖 Post-WWII: The Quonset Hut Village (1940s–1950s)

Records indicate that there was an entire neighborhood of Quonset huts in Castle Hill, in the south Bronx, in the late 1940s and early 50s. They were used as temporary housing for returning WWII veterans, nearly 962 families.6

Technically, it’s known as a Quonset hut and could be one of many that were built in the United States during World War II. They were mostly utilized by the military for a range of things, including barracks, storage, sheds, offices, and hospitals. After that, they were converted into affordable housing for returning veterans who had started families, due to the urgent housing shortage, post-war.6

Each hut was divided for two families by a wall, but sound was able to pass through, according to Roger McCormack, director of education at the Bronx County Historical Society. He explains that although the shelters featured kerosene stoves, they were not favored by the majority. “I know there were a number of complaints that they weren’t heated very well, there were leaks.”6

🏗️ Construction of Castle Hill Houses (1950s–1960)

During the 1950s the Bruckner Expressway was constructed, bisecting the area.2

By 1959, the Quonset Hut village was gone, replaced by New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Castle Hill housing projects, providing apartments to over 5000 people in a considerably more vertical footprint.4

In 1959, the New York City Housing Authority completed the Castle Hill Houses, a 1,600-unit public housing complex occupying nearly 40 acres near Pugsley Avenue and Castle Hill Avenue. Designed in the modernist “tower-in-the-park” style, the development aimed to provide affordable, hygienic housing but also transformed the neighborhood’s social fabric.5

By the time construction on Castle Hill was completed in 1960, the reality of public housing had evolved substantially from the founders’ ideals. In fact, from the start, those ideals were only part of the story.7

Castle Hill Houses were constructed in 1953 and consist of 27 buildings that are primarily low-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings, covering an area of approximately 33 acres. The development was designed to provide affordable housing for low-income residents, and the apartments are subsidized by the government. The development includes a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, and four-bedroom units. Amenities within the development include community centers, playgrounds, and outdoor recreational spaces.1

Castle Hill Houses is the largest public housing development in the Bronx, with 2,025 apartments.8

📉 Decline: The 1970s Crisis

Like neighboring Soundview, Castle Hill began to fall into rapid decay in the 1970s due to white flight, growing poverty rates, and a citywide fiscal crisis. Much of the white non-Hispanic population was replaced by poor and working-class Latin Americans and African Americans.2

During the 1960s and 1970s, waves of Puerto Rican, African-American, and later Caribbean families arrived, while many older white residents moved to the suburbs. The city’s fiscal crisis, disinvestment, and rising unemployment challenged community stability, yet Castle Hill remained more cohesive than many nearby districts. Churches, tenant associations, and block organizations—such as the Castle Hill Community Center and the Bronx River Neighborhood Preservation Council—helped sustain public morale.5

🔄 Section 8 Conversion (2008)

In 2008, NYCHA first converted some of these buildings to Section 8 without changing the ownership or management structure. This campus was included in that conversion. This was the first time since they were built that these buildings had any federal funding.9

⚠️ Maintenance Challenges

Over the years, Castle Hill Houses have faced various challenges related to maintenance, safety, and security.1

Today, like most public housing projects, The Castle Hill Houses are woefully underfunded. The buildings recently held the dubious distinction of having the most open work orders of any of the city’s housing projects at over 11,000.4

The repair request backlog at the sprawling four-block NYCHA development has grown by more than 26 percent over the last year as NYCHA failed to keep up with deteriorating conditions.10

🌱 21st Century Revitalization & Community

In the 21st century, Castle Hill has entered a period of reinvestment and revitalization. The neighborhood’s population—now an intricate mosaic of Latino, African-American, West African, and South Asian families—reflects the Bronx’s evolving diversity. Major renovations of the Castle Hill Houses have improved living conditions, while new affordable housing developments along Zerega Avenue and Lacombe Avenue have modernized the area’s housing stock.5

In more recent years, a citywide housing crisis spurred construction of modern multi-unit row houses and apartment buildings. Many are multi zoned for retail and have mixed-income qualifications. There are also plans to develop this type of housing on vacant land within the confines of NYCHA Castle Hill Houses along with significant renovations and improvements to existing grounds and buildings.2

The New York City Housing Authority’s furriest residents ran their tails off Friday at the ribbon cutting ceremony at Castle Hill Houses celebrating the first-ever dog park on the campus of a NYCHA complex. Now, Castle Hill Houses small and large dogs and their two-legged companions have safe, enclosed spaces to run, jump, play fetch and enjoy fresh water from the new doggie fountain. The project also included an improved picnic area and 32 new stations for easy pet waste disposal all through the campus. Castle Hill Houses residents pushed for the dog park and worked together with public and private partners for over a year to design and build the new amenities. Jeanette Salcedo, Castle Hill Resident Association President, spearheaded the residents’ organizing and advocacy.11

📊 Demographics & Economic Profile

As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 9 was $40,005. In 2018, an estimated 26% of Castle Hill and Parkchester residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents (13%) were unemployed, compared to 13% in the Bronx and 9% in New York City.2

Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 55% in Castle Hill and Parkchester, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 58% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Castle Hill and Parkchester are considered low-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.2

The neighborhood predominantly consists of Latin Americans (a plurality having Puerto Rican and Dominican ancestry) and African Americans.2

🌊 Nearby Parks & Amenities

Castle Hill Point, once a neglected shoreline, was transformed into a public waterfront park featuring fishing piers, kayak launches, and panoramic views of the Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridges. Nearby, Pugsley Creek Park and the Hutchinson River Greenway have restored wetlands and created new trails, allowing residents to engage with landscapes that had been inaccessible for decades.5

⭐ Notable Memories

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who spent his early years at Castle Hill Houses, recalled: “We lived in the Castle Hill middle-income housing project in the Bronx and it felt like a real community, with playgrounds and playing fields amidst all the buildings.”4

📝 Timeline Summary

Year	Event
1614	Dutch explorer Adriaen Block names the area “Castle Hill”
1895	Westchester annexed to New York City
1920	IRT Pelham Line (6 train) completed, catalyzing growth
1920s-1940s	Italian, Irish, and Jewish immigrants settle the area
Late 1940s	Quonset huts erected for ~962 WWII veteran families
1950s	Bruckner Expressway constructed, bisecting Castle Hill
1953-1960	Castle Hill Houses constructed by NYCHA
1959	Quonset hut village replaced by Castle Hill Houses
1960s-1970s	Puerto Rican, African-American & Caribbean families arrive; white flight begins
1970s	Neighborhood declines due to fiscal crisis and disinvestment
2008	Buildings converted to Section 8 — first federal funding since construction
2012	Castle Hill Avenue Business Improvement District established
2021	Repair backlog surpasses 11,000 open work orders
2020s	Revitalization, renovations, and new community amenities (including first-ever NYCHA dog park)

The history of Castle Hill Houses mirrors the broader story of public housing in New York City — from post-war idealism and community building, through decades of disinvestment and struggle, to present-day efforts at revitalization. Despite its challenges, Castle Hill Houses remain a vibrant community that has produced some of the most notable figures in American culture, science, and entertainment. If you’d like more details on any particular era, feel free to ask!