When Wendy Yang Clark first arrived on City Island, a place she had never heard of, it was still dark in the early morning. As a costume designer, she was there to work on the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire” in this narrow, 1.5-mile stretch of the Bronx.
“Then the sun comes up,” Ms. Clark said of that life-changing moment a decade ago, “and I’m in this little magical wonderland.”
A woman came by with several children, all with beach supplies. “I asked her, ‘Is there a beach on this island?’ and she said, ‘There’s a beach on almost every block.'”
Ms. Clark, 41, who was born in Hong Kong, studied theater at New York University, graduating in 2003. After renting in several neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, she considered leaving New York, with its clutter and high prices, before she discovered City Island.
A year and a half later, she and her then-husband bought “a really fantastic” six-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath Victorian home with a “nice-sized yard” on a corner lot for $600,000. Now she can walk a minute to her local beach or walk 10 minutes across the bridge that connects City Island to the mainland and the much larger Orchard Beach, which has two playgrounds. She goes there with her second husband, Ian Clark, 50, the owner of a record store in Brooklyn, their three-year-old daughter and his six-year-old daughter.
The island attracts residents working in the arts as well as filmmakers looking for scenic New England-style settings. And it’s a very friendly place.
“I always say, ‘You’re not buying a house, you’re buying a condominium,'” said Louise Del Giudice, an agent with Century 21 Marciano. “People help each other. People care about each other. They host craft festivals. They have parades.”
Mary Colby, who has owned a studio art gallery on the island for 20 years, likened it to a small town. “I call it Mayberry,” she said, as in the fictional town in the 1960s television series “The Andy Griffith Show.”
Emily Kunkel, 37, a stage actress, knew about City Island because her godmother lived there. In 2018, she and her actor and director husband Alden Ford, 41, had their first child and had to move out of their rental apartment in Kensington, Brooklyn. Around the same time, she said, “her godmother wanted to downsize the house and told us she was putting her house on the market.”
The couple paid full price, $679,000, for the four-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1901 home with front and back decks. The couple, who now also have a three-year-old, could have bought a flat in Kensington for around the same price, Ms Kunkel said, so their choice was “a no-brainer”.
At the local restaurant, she said, “Everyone knows your name,” and the woman who works at the post office “knows my children’s names.” The same goes for the cafe, where the waiters know that her sons are not too hot Prefer temperature for hot chocolate. She once said, “Someone wrote to me saying, ‘I’m baking, need eggs,'” a modern twist on an old-fashioned request.
Ms. Kunkel and her husband often “watch the sunset from a rocking bench on the porch,” she said. “We look at each other and say, ‘Can you believe this?'”
What you will find
The 253-acre island is located at the western end of Long Island Sound, east of Eastchester Bay and south of Pelham Bay Park. A three-lane bridge (with a cycle path and a pedestrian path) is the only permanent connection to the mainland. With about 4,500 residents – plus many weekend visitors, especially in the summer – it is a maritime community that today focuses more on beaches than boat building.
Because of its special district designation, City Island “looks completely different than the rest of the Bronx,” said Lauren Nye, a sixth-generation City Islander and volunteer secretary of the City Island Nautical Museum. (She’s also the director of operations for a nonprofit in the Wall Street area, where she commutes two or three days a week.) “You can’t build higher than five stories.”
Most buildings along City Island Avenue – the main shopping street that runs the length of the island – are three stories tall. Most homes are small and located on east-west streets, while larger homes tend to be located near the water. A few condo complexes have been built and another on Marine Street is in the planning stages.
Three large yacht clubs line the shore on the bay side. There are also smaller yacht clubs and a kayak club. Neighborhood beach clubs at the end of almost every street effectively prevent day-trippers from using any of the beaches.
What you will pay
There were 14 homes for sale in early October, ranging in price from $299,000 for a one-bedroom apartment with a fireplace in a complex with a pool to $1.875 million for a five-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath waterfront home.
The average sales price of a single-family home has risen from $430,000 to $583,000 over the past decade, said Anthony Marciano, the real estate agent who owns Century 21 Marciano. Multifamily homes (of which there are fewer) rose from $585,000 to a median price of $775,000, while condos rose from $370,000 to $515,000.
Larger waterfront properties are often traded privately between families who have lived on the island for generations, said Jane H. Carmody, a broker with Houlihan Lawrence, Inc.
Of the seven homes listed for rent on Trulia as of Oct. 20, a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment was the cheapest for $1,600 per month; The most expensive was a three-bedroom, one-bathroom single-family home for $4,000.
The atmosphere
There are dozens of restaurants on City Island, including some large ones that serve lobster indoors and outdoors. The residents don’t eat much there unless they have visitors. Local haunts include Lickety Split Ice Cream, City Island Pizza Company, Clipper Coffee, City Island Diner and The Snug, an Irish pub.
Among the many art spaces is the City Island Gallery, where curator David Ellis offers a creative art program on Sunday afternoons. There are theater groups and a small cinema called Cinema on the Sound. The Kaleidoscope Gallery, an art and jewelry store, is owned by Paul Klein, president of the City Island Chamber of Commerce. Ron Terner’s Focal Point Gallery features an eye-catching showcase and eclectic collections. The City Island branch of the New York Public Library offers many programs and has a 1,000-volume collection of nautical books on topics such as boat building, pirates, and the America’s Cup.
The Nautical Museum — open on weekends or by appointment May through October in a former elementary school on the National Register of Historic Places — is filled with historical artifacts and exhibits that tell the story of the island’s shipping and shipbuilding past.
The schools
PS 175 City Island has about 240 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. In the most recent student achievement assessments for the 2018-19 school year, 37 percent of students met state standards in English, compared to the same percentage citywide; 35 percent met state standards in math, compared to 46 percent citywide. Some children attend private or religious schools in other parts of New York City or in New Rochelle.
Nearby public high schools include Harry S. Truman High School in the Co-op City section of the Bronx, approximately three miles away. Many students attend private high schools in Westchester or the Bronx.
The commute
The drive from City Island to Midtown Manhattan can take 45 minutes or much longer. The BxM8, a limited service express bus, is expected to make the trip in approximately one hour and 15 minutes.
The Bx29 bus has recently started running 24 hours a day to Pelham Bay Park subway station. From there, passengers can take the 6 train, which takes about 45 minutes to get to Grand Central Terminal.
Other options include traveling to the Pelham or New Rochelle Metro-North stations, which will take you to Grand Central Terminal in 35 to 45 minutes. The Soundview Ferry ride from Ferry Point Park near the Whitestone Bridge to Wall Street takes about an hour.
The history
According to the City Island Nautical Museum website, City Island was an important center for wooden boat building at the turn of the 20th century. Motor yachts and sailing yachts were manufactured on the island, and during the war years also military ships and 12-meter sloops that successfully defended the America’s Cup.
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