Van Nest

This was a thriving Italian neighborhood sitting beside Morris Park in the Eastern part of the Bronx. Van Nest’s Italian National Parish is Saint Dominic’s church. There are one or two remaining businesses in this neighborhood but it has not been an Italian enclave in decades. The new demographic makeup is middle-eastern, Latino and African-American. Van Nest predates Morris Park by 20 years. Many people who left Van Nest settled in Morris Park as part of the Italian diaspora. These same people have also begun to leave Morris Park in search of suburban places like Long Island and Westchester.