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Millburn is a very upscale, wealthy town, virtually no apartment buildings. Just 1-2M+ houses. Bronxville has a bunch of coops and rentals. Much easier to buy/afford for regular people.
I know Bronxville and it is effectively a sundown town to this day. You will certainly be "the other" even as a socioeconomically equal minority. There are many other towns in the metro that are just as upscale and are more inclusive.
I've been living in Virginia for the last few years. The idea that any town in Westchester lacks diversity is hilarious.
I wonder how it has been possible for Bronxville to keep such restrictive zoning laws.
Even though it is a very desirable time with a great commute, just a couple of new condos have been constructed in the past few years. All are small and have 2-3 floors. Literally, a couple of high rises in New Rochelle and Yonkers can have as many people as the whole 1 sq mile Bronxville.
Why don't we see any pressure or desire on the part of developers to build at least 6-7 story condos in Bronxville?
I'm somewhat acquainted with Bronxville after spending a good amount of time there, though admittedly that was many years ago. Of all the towns in lower Westchester County, it's the one I like the best (ironically, the one I hate the most in Westchester is Mount Vernon right next door, lol.) The thing about Bronxville is its small geographic size. There are regions of municipalities nearby, not just in New York but in New Jersey and Connecticut too, where literally Bronxville is the equivalence of a very small part of the entire territory.
Take Stamford, CT as an example. It's a few minutes drive away. Bronxville would fit in the North Stamford section and most of the area remains outside of that. That entire area is completely different from the area of Stamford that dominates the image many people have of the place, the more urban (and denser) downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. You might as well be in a different town in each part due to how big is the difference. One is very city-ish with many highrises and trees are evidently less, but in North Stamford nothing is allowed higher than the trees and they dominate the scene to the point you can see the forest even in the most built up areas of North Stamford. Often the forest reaches the sides of the roads. Hardly any commercial development. For the most part homes are in sizable lots, hardly any sidewalks, etc. Even the weather can be different. It isn't uncommon for precipitation events that cover the entire municipality for snow to fall in North Stamford while in South Stamford is all rain. You will sometimes see cars arriving in downtowm from North Stamford with their roofs covered in fresh snow while none of the cars from South Stamford have any snow.
Driving through Stamford on I-95 vs on the Merritt Parkway are very different experiences not just because the Merritt is more scenic, but along I-95 it becomes obvious you are passing by an urban center while on the Merritt if it wasn't for the signs you would never know. In fact, someone not familiar with Stamford would think they are passing through an unimportant low density populated place, yet Stamford is one of CT's most populated places and ranks high in importance.
You ask how can Bronxville keep its zoning limiting development and height? Well, the same way North Stamford has maintained its character very different from South Stamford, despite it's all one city (a city in name only when it comes to North Stamford) governed from the same Government Center in the more urbanized part of the municipality. Plus, as said before, North Stamford alone is bigger than Bronxville (over 600 Bronxvilles can be placed in North Stamford and there is still land available to complete the size of that section) and, in fact, less dense than Bronxville given homes tend to sit in bigger lots and there are hardly (I want to say none, but who knows if a few are tucked in the woods not seen from the roads) any large condo developments. In that sense, Bronxville has more. In fact, North Stamford feels more rural (though covered in forests) than anywhere in Bronxville. It even has stables/a horse farm, something I think doesn't exist in Bronxville. Onother thing North Stamford differentiates from Bronxville is that while it doesn't have a large diversity in the social class, it isn't more diverse than Bronxville. While I think most people living in North Stamford are white, it's common to see a black family, a Hispanic or an Asian (either from East Asia such as Korea or from other parts of Asia such as India) living in homes here and there. All middle class and up.
I don't see it hard at all for Bronxville to be able to keep its own thing.
You have a lot of fair points and expectations. I wouldn’t want my child to be treated unfairly but any standards. I am in my 30s and went to high school in Westchester. Mostly any time someone expresses resistance towards a particular race is usually not related to their behavior at all. Meaning, if someone is in a unpleasant mood, they will use racism as an excuse to take out their negative emotion they are feeling on you. So I don’t think anyone will really go out of their way to bother you, unless you cut the line at the grocery store or take their parking spot.
You asked a really good question. You said there is a lack of diversity in Bronxville. Bronxville is an affluent town so I think what determines who lives there is people who can afford to or not. People of any race can be rich.
Your post sounds like you are saying only rich white people are racist. People from non-affluent communities could have racial ignorance too, don’t forget. What makes you think people in Scarsdale are not going to make you feel welcome or unwelcome? Any town can have ignorant people.
Bronxville and Scarsdale are great towns for schools, commute to NYC, and overall town atmosphere.
To answer your question, I would say yes it is with considering living in Bronxville. I hope your find this experience pleasant and not to take any negative opinions thrown at you personal. Unless a person really knows you as a human being, they are wrong in trying to judge you because of the way you look.
your first two paragraphs were great, layered with empathy and context. Your third post shifted to victim blaming. try walking a mile in another person's shoes mate. Scarsdale would likely be more welcoming to Asians as it has more Asians.
This entire thread is ridiculous and I don't even know where to begin on the attitudes shown here...but just sticking to objective facts -- I had lunch in Bronxville today and I saw the people walking on the street. My kids have played sports against Bronxville teams and I've met the families there. My kids have had playdates in the houses of friends from Bronxville. My kids are half-Asian themselves so I would notice if there was no else like them. Two of my non-white coworkers live in Bronxville.
And anyone who claims there's not a significant number of Asian families in Bronxville is just plain wrong.
Northern Virginia like Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, etc might be more diverse than Westchester. But next to any of the five borough it's a different story.
Never seen this comparison before, NoVa to Westchester
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
We're a family of 3 looking to move from the city to Westchester. I'm South Asian and my spouse is white. Our biggest priorities are excellent schools, walkability, and a quick commute to GCT. We are currently WFH, but my spouse's workplace in midtown east has communicated that they will require employees to go back into the office at least 3x a week later in the year. Bronxville is a beautiful town that checks all of the above boxes, but its lack of diversity and history of overt racism and exclusionary practices are well known. I grew up in a predominantly white town and never had problems making friends, and still have plenty of white friends to date, so the fact that most Bronxville residents are white doesn't bother me in and of itself. However, I had to deal with my fair share of racism and ignorance on a regular basis growing up and I don't want that for my child.
Is Bronxville's lack of diversity the result of racial/ethnic/religious minorities self-selecting to live elsewhere because they have other options like Scarsdale where they can have a greater sense of community? Or is it because the residents are actively exclusionary and unwelcoming toward people who don't come from a white Christian background? If the latter, I'm sure they're polished enough to be polite to my face, at least when sober, but I couldn't deal with people covertly excluding me or subtly treating me differently -- or worse, doing it to my child -- because we're not white.
Is it even worth considering living in Bronxville, or should we just shift our search to Scarsdale where we wouldn't have the same concerns about feeling unwelcome?
How do you define the word you used: diversity?
Also what is the history of the word “diversity”. It seems like the definition has changed over the years, and it is more like a selectively weaponized word. It seems like diversity today just means: everyone except white peoples who value their own white heritage.
I have visited numerous countries around the globe including South Asia and practically every continent. I mean if you go to China they value Chinese heritage and that is cool with you and to be perfectly honest the Chinese mostly just want a homogeneous Chinese culture. Same thing with in African countries. Same thing with Arab countries. Same thing all around this world, with the exception of places like the USA, where we are supposed to be “diverse” for everyone else.
Nothing makes me happier than “lack of diversity” the way people view that word. Forced diversity of skin melanin is garbage. And generally always fails.
Diversity of thought interests me however. Tell me why you think the complete opposite of how I think and let’s have at it. I give zero F’s about having different skin melanins around me though.
Bronxville should absolutely try and keep their little town as is. If you can afford it and present yourself well, move in. No forced diversity though.
The other day I walked through the Metropolitan Museum of Art which is a huge museum in New York. They basically honor every culture around the world, every culture goes on display.
Don’t hate me for this but, my favorite part of the Met is The American Wing. It is a comprehensive display of American design of furniture, architecture and lifestyle. This wing is absolutely superior to the rest of the museum. It shows old school historical interiors that show what life looked like for affluent families in New York and Connecticut from hundreds of years ago. It’s easily the most superb craftsmanship. It is our own culture.
Of course we get people who say “Americans have no culture” but honestly that is 100% false. We actually have the best of the best. We HAVE contributed more than the rest. And if Team Diversity don’t like it……why don’t you all leave? Seriously
This entire thread is ridiculous and I don't even know where to begin on the attitudes shown here...but just sticking to objective facts -- I had lunch in Bronxville today and I saw the people walking on the street. My kids have played sports against Bronxville teams and I've met the families there. My kids have had playdates in the houses of friends from Bronxville. My kids are half-Asian themselves so I would notice if there was no else like them. Two of my non-white coworkers live in Bronxville.
And anyone who claims there's not a significant number of Asian families in Bronxville is just plain wrong.
Why are you saying such a thing?
Bronxville was a "sundown town" until the late 60s. Even in the 70s the selling and buying of houses was done under the old "gentlemen agreement" system whereby anyone selling a house had to get signatures from a certain amount of neighbors first (I kid you not). The entire central corridor from Bronxville to Mt. Kisco was run this way.
I used to work with a Dominican man who grew up in Yonkers and he once told me that if he and his friends hung around Bronxville past a certain hour the local cops would get extremely hostile and inquisitive, even though they weren't doing anything wrong. Going as far as accompanying them to the end of town.
So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that professional well to-do people may not want to deal with any residual racist horsesh-t from anyone.
We're a family of 3 looking to move from the city to Westchester. I'm South Asian and my spouse is white. Our biggest priorities are excellent schools, walkability, and a quick commute to GCT. We are currently WFH, but my spouse's workplace in midtown east has communicated that they will require employees to go back into the office at least 3x a week later in the year. Bronxville is a beautiful town that checks all of the above boxes, but its lack of diversity and history of overt racism and exclusionary practices are well known. I grew up in a predominantly white town and never had problems making friends, and still have plenty of white friends to date, so the fact that most Bronxville residents are white doesn't bother me in and of itself. However, I had to deal with my fair share of racism and ignorance on a regular basis growing up and I don't want that for my child.
Is Bronxville's lack of diversity the result of racial/ethnic/religious minorities self-selecting to live elsewhere because they have other options like Scarsdale where they can have a greater sense of community? Or is it because the residents are actively exclusionary and unwelcoming toward people who don't come from a white Christian background? If the latter, I'm sure they're polished enough to be polite to my face, at least when sober, but I couldn't deal with people covertly excluding me or subtly treating me differently -- or worse, doing it to my child -- because we're not white.
Is it even worth considering living in Bronxville, or should we just shift our search to Scarsdale where we wouldn't have the same concerns about feeling unwelcome?
The Hommocks School District has become popular with Asians. Scarsdale is very Jewish, Bronxville is where the WASPS live and Eastchester has many Italians with some Jews and Irish tossed in. My great-great parents and their families lived in both Tuckahoe and Eastchester and that's what I know from growing up there myself. The communities may have become more diverse but that was always kind of a breakdown. It doesn't mean you can't live in any of those towns, of course.
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