Crestwood

Crestwood is a neighborhood in Yonkers that is holding on to the easy sense of community one associates with small towns. Many families here have lived in the area for a couple of generations; some of the families moving in now are also children who grew up here returning as adults to raise their children in this community. That speaks of a deep-rooted connection to the neighborhood and the urge to recreate their own experiences for their children.

A big part of the life in Crestwood for many of the Irish and Italian Catholic families is the Annunciation Church. Practicing Catholics speaks of this Church as the social, cultural and spiritual center of this neighborhood. The parochial school attached to the Annunciation Church is also educational center for a good part of the kids of this community. The Yonkers Public School District has a mixed reputation and so parochial and private schools are popular in Yonkers and Crestwoodians feel lucky to have this option.

When you consider that this strong family-oriented neighborhood is a mere 30 minutes from Manhattan with a Metro-North station named for it to boot, it is not difficult to understand the appeal of Crestwood. The range of architectural styles in Crestwood also appeals to those looking for houses with character. Crestwood has grown around individual constructions rather than as a development and so each hose has a unique style and this runs the gamut from Tudor through Victorian.

Crestwood has a higher than average rating among Yonkers neighborhoods because it shares the Tuckahoe zip code – 10707. This allows Crestwood to be a bridging option of sorts for those who cannot afford the prices in the nearby communities of Bronxville, Pelham or Eastchester but do not want the smear of the troubled reputation!

Crestwood, often mistaken for part of Tuckahoe, is actually a neighborhood in the city of Yonkers. It occupies a mere 415 acres, making it smaller than some of Westchester’s parks and preserves. Despite its small size, Crestwood has its own Metro-North station, and makes the trip to midtown in about a half hour. Car commuters appreciate the location of the Bronx River Parkway, which forms the eastern border of the neighborhood.

Crestwood is surrounded by Bronxville, Eastchester and Tuckahoe, which provide a variety of dining and shopping options. Yonkers itself has recently been enhanced by the addition of Ridge Hill, a large shopping, dining and residential complex located off Interstate 87. Yonkers also has a large recreation department, which includes a skating rink, rifle and pistol range, and pool. Programs, including summer camp, are organized year-round for children and adults.

The neighborhood is served by the Yonkers City School District. However, Crestwood has been a heavily Catholic for a long time, and many of the children attend the Annunciation School. Paideia School 15 is the neighborhood’s public school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It enrolls 510 students; some hail from Crestwood but a magnet program brings in students from all over Yonkers. The district has been identified by the state as a district in need of improvement for poor test results on the elementary and secondary English Language Arts assessments.

There are no co-ops or condos in Crestwood. Most of the homes are older colonials and Tudors; there has been little new construction. The Yonkers district makes the homes less expensive than they would be in other Westchester school districts, but the Crestwood zip code makes homes more expensive than they’d be in Yonkers.

Crestwood is a beautiful community in Yonkers that can make you forget that you’re even in a city. It gives you the vibe of a small country town, for all you have to do is attend the annual Veteran’s Day Parade or light the town’s Christmas tree to feel at home. (Ironically, the area used to be a farming community, and that old-time charm has managed somehow to linger.)

Walking along the tree-lined streets, you’ll see beautiful old homes in the fashion of Tudor, Colonial and Victorian style. The area even has its own train station, which can take you to downtown Manhattan in a mere thirty minutes. Prices for homes range between $275,000 for a three-bedroom and higher, as they can go up to $500,000 and beyond, but it’s a perfect place for middle-class families who like an easy commute and a secluded city life with a community-oriented feel.

Children will use the Yonkers Public Schools, and the area is famous for its Church of Anunciation and the school that is connected with it. This is a vibrant Italian, Irish and Jewish community that will help to make you feel right at home. There’s two train stations, and while one says Crestwood and the other Tucahoe, and the area uses Tucahoe’s zip code, Crestwood is a a charming little hamlet of Yonkers in its own right.

Located close to Yonkers, Crestwood is a great neighborhood that has a lot to offer. Interestingly, while most people consider Crestwood to be part of Yonkers, it's actually part of Tuckahoe (at least as far as the post office is concerned). This is actually a good thing for residents, as some parts of Yonkers don't have the best reputations. Crestwood has a very unified community with a small town vibe. The people, who are mainly Irish and Italian, are very welcoming. The town's location is also a big plus: the railroad station is within walking distance of most Crestwood homes, and the commute to midtown Manhattan takes less than half an hour. This is also a very safe community; kids play outside on the sidewalks and in the neighborhood's parks. The vast majority of the crimes that do take place here are auto thefts. There is also the great school system; most of the kids attend Catholic primary schools. While there is no commercial district within Crestwood itself, residents have very easy access to the stores in nearby towns such as Yonkers, Tuckahoe, or Bronxville. The houses are diverse and affordable; Crestwood also offers comparatively low property taxes.