Norwood News

In Bedford Park, many single-family houses are slowly falling into disrepair or being replaced by multiple-story apartment buildings.

On Perry Avenue, however, between Bedford Park Boulevard and East 201st Street, there remains a row of nine quaint, well-preserved Victorian houses and the city wants to keep it that way.

These picturesque houses attracted the notice of the LPC (Landmarks Preservation Commission), which is now proposing to turn this strip of Queen Anne-style residences into a Historic District.

According to LPC employee Lisi de Bourbon, designating Perry Avenue as a Historic District would “preserve the character of the block.” As a landmark, the houses on Perry Avenue would not only retain their aesthetic beauty, but it would also conserve the history of the neighborhood, she said.

The wood-frame houses built between 1910 and 1911 still attract an array of admirers. Defined by red and yellow brick, three-sided porches, large windows and bright flowers, these residences are homes to a diverse variety of families, according to the LPC.

Besides being visually pleasing, the houses also have significant ties to Bronx history. The LPC found that their architect, Charles S. Clark, was based in the Bronx. When Clark constructed these houses, the Bedford area was considered an upscale suburb and a railway town. the arrival of the subway system a few years later brought with it a surge of apartment structures that still dominate the landscape of Bedford Park, said Peter Derrick of the Bronx County Historical Society.

The houses on Perry Avenue are vestiges of a time when Bedford Park was populated with only 2,000 people and a vast amount of empty land bordered the Bronx, Derrick said.

Residents of Bedford Park, like Agnes Fitzpatrick, who has lived in the neighborhood for 35 years, say the houses and history of the Bronx are “not ready to fade into oblivion.”

A few months ago, the LPC held a meeting with the homeowners to address questions about the process of turning Perry Avenue into a Historic District. Present at this meeting was Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell who said he wholeheartedly supports land marking in the Bronx and believes that it will “increase [real estate] value and be good for the entire community.”

Recently, the LPC voted to approve a hearing on the subject. This hearing will take place on June 23 at the LPC office in City Center Manhattan. After the hearing, the 12 members of the LPC will vote on the proposal.

If the proposal passes in the LPC, it then needs to be approved by the City Planning Commission and City Council. If both bodies vote to pass the proposal, Perry Avenue will be designated a Historic District.

As a Historic District, all major changes to the exterior of the houses would need to be approved by the LPC. The only requirements of the current tenants would be to keep the buildings in “good repair,” said de Bourbon. 

Some residents of Perry Avenue have their doubts about calling attention to their homes.

However, most of the Bedford community is excited about the developments. Community Board 7 District Manager Fernando Tirado, who lives in the neighborhood, voiced his enthusiasm for the project.

“Landmarks are not overly present in the upper boroughs so this presents a unique opportunity to preserve unique housing,” he said.

Adam Belliu, a superintendent of a nearby apartment building, said, “We have to save this neighborhood because it’s gold.”
His friend, Sam Mahnud, another superintendent of a Bedford Park apartment complex chimed in. “There are enough commercial buildings,” he said. “We need a piece of history.”