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West Farms offers affordable housing near the Bronx Zoo and Botanical Garden. The 2/5 trains and Bronx River Parkway provide transit options.
West Farms offers affordable housing near the Bronx Zoo and Botanical Garden. The 2/5 trains and Bronx River Parkway provide transit options.
Did you know?
The Bronx Zoo, bordering West Farms, was the first zoo in America to move animals from cages to naturalistic outdoor habitats, pioneering the modern zoo concept in the 1940s.
Who’s your neighbor?
Housing cost
$404 / sq ft
Commute
Weekday mornings · leaving 7:30–9:00
- FromWest Farms
- ToNear Bryant Park
Family scores
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Trade-offs
None of its Family Fit scores ranks in the top 40% of NYC's residential neighborhoods.
To weigh
- Safety1/100
More reported crimes, traffic injuries or serious housing violations per resident
- Schools4/100
Weaker results at the public and charter schools serving it, or fewer of them
- Family-Friendly Vibe30/100
Fewer families with children than most
Each score compares it with NYC's other residential neighborhoods.
What these scores don't measure: how a block feels on foot, what's changing on it, and whether a particular school suits your child. Walk it at school drop-off time, and check the zoned school for the exact address before you sign a lease.
Your family’s read
How does West Farms fit your family?
An agentic read of this neighborhood — including safety and cost of living — tailored to your priorities, family size, budget, and commute.
Analyze for My FamilySchools & early education
Schools7 schools
West Farms has a deep bench of public schools alongside one private option — Kennedy Children's Center on East 179th Street gives families an alternative to the zoned system. P.S. 006 West Farms and P.S. 067 Mohegan School anchor the elementary options, while Emolior Academy and Wings Academy serve older students. Most here are traditional zoned public schools, so your address determines a lot, but there's genuine variety in the mix.
Browse all early-ed in this neighborhoodLiving here
Parks & Playgrounds2 places
Vidalia Park is the neighborhood's sole playground — a small but solid spot for young kids to climb and run. Beyond that, green space thins out quickly here. The Bronx River runs nearby but isn't developed as public waterfront, and larger parks like Bronx Park require a short trip east. For families, there's a real gap between what's here and what you'd find in leafier parts of the borough.
3 playgrounds within a 10-min walk
Nearest large park: Bronx Park · ~3 min walk (0.1 mi)
Transportation28 stops
The 2 and 5 trains run through West Farms with three stops — Bronx Park East, E 180 St, and West Farms Sq-E Tremont Av — giving the neighborhood a decent anchor for getting to Midtown and downtown Manhattan. The bus network fills in nicely along East Tremont Ave and Boston Rd, so you can usually catch a ride without wandering too far. It's not Manhattan, but for the Bronx this is a well-connected pocket.
Restaurants16 places
West Farms keeps it practical when it comes to eating out — think delis, pizza slices, and straightforward grab-and-go over sit-down dining. The East Tremont and East 180th strip offers a solid mix of quick bites: a handful of Latin spots including taco joints and a Cuban cafe, a couple of Chinese options, and the usual fast-food suspects. It's not a destination for foodies, but there's enough variety for a rotating weeknight dinner without leaving the block. Don't expect refined — this is honest, affordable, and filling.
Groceries4 places
West Farms offers a handful of independent supermarkets and grocers along the main commercial corridors — enough for a weekly shop if you're staying close to Morris Park Ave or Boston Rd, though you'll likely need a car or the Bx9 bus to cover much ground. The options here lean toward neighborhood-focused stores rather than the big-box runs most families are used to. There's no Trader Joe's or Key Food in the immediate stretch, so regular grocery trips often mean combining a local stop with a larger haul elsewhere.
Coffee Shops2 places
The coffee situation in West Farms is thin — you've got a Dunkin' on East Tremont for the quick grab-and-go fix, and that's about it. There aren't any third-wave cafes or laptop-friendly spots to linger in this stretch. It's more of a neighborhood where you're picking up your morning coffee alongside other errands rather than settling in for a long sit. What exists serves the basics well enough.
Things to Do4 places
West Farms offers a modest but varied lineup for families looking to get kids moving — a basketball court, an MMA gym, enrichment programs, and a children's school are in the mix. The spread covers athletics, martial arts, and learning, though with only a handful of options, you're not going to find a huge playground of choices. It's the kind of area where what exists works, but families often look to neighboring blocks or the wider Bronx for more depth.
Daycare & informal care1 place
West Farms has a solid roster of Pre-K options through the public school system — seven sites scattered across the neighborhood, including runs at P.S. 006, P.S. 067 and P.S. 214. There's just one standalone daycare in the mix, so families looking for private early care have a thin bench. The good news is that universal Pre-K slots are reasonably accessible here, and the school-based sites handle morning drop-off without too much chaos. That said, if you need infant care or something outside the standard Pre-K window, you'll likely be casting a wider net.
Family Resources2 places
West Farms keeps family resources lean but functional. The West Farms Library on Honeywell Avenue is a solid anchor for storytimes and homework help, and Mohegan Triangle gives kids a place to run near the Crotona Parkway corner. It's a thin bench—you won't find a community center here—but what's there is well-used by local families.
Healthcare8 places
West Farms punches above its weight for hospitals — there's a solid six of them clustered along and near Tremont Avenue, giving families reasonable hospital access across the neighborhood. The tradeoff is thinner elsewhere: pediatric care is a single point at Doctors United, dental options are similarly sparse with just New Horizon Dental on the books, and urgent care is a genuine gap — families headed to the ER or a same-day clinic will need to venture out. For routine pediatric and dental needs, you're working with a shallow bench, so establishing care early at one of the community health centers is smart.
Compare with nearby neighborhoods
Best schools in West Farms
Schools in West Farms
7
Early education in West Farms
10
- CULTIVATING HEARTS AND MINDS PRE-K CENTER AT 1946 BOSTON ROAD
- HEAVENS TINY TOTS EAST TREMONT CHILDCARE DEVELOPMENT INC.
- P.S. 006 West Farms
- P.S. 067 Mohegan School
- P.S. 214
- Phipps Houses Lebanon West Farms
- PHIPPS NEIGHBORHOODS DALY AVENUE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTER
- Phipps Neighborhoods Daly Avenue Ecec
- PHIPPS NEIGHBORHOODS LEBANON PRE-K
- The Vida Bogart School for All Children
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is West Farms a good neighborhood for families?
- West Farms scores 27/100 for families on Motley — toward the lower end citywide. The Family Fit score blends six parts: how many families live there, schools, affordability, weekday-morning transit time to job centers, safety, and air quality and child health.
- What are the pros and cons of West Farms for families?
- None of West Farms's Family Fit scores ranks in the top 40% of NYC's residential neighborhoods. What to weigh: more reported crimes, traffic injuries or serious housing violations per resident; weaker results at the public and charter schools serving it, or fewer of them; and fewer families with children than most. Each score compares it with NYC's other residential neighborhoods. They don't measure how a block feels on foot or whether a particular school suits your child, so walk it before you decide.
- Is West Farms safe?
- West Farms scores 1/100 on safety — toward the lower end citywide. We build the score from NYPD crime complaints, pedestrian and cyclist injuries, and serious (Class C) housing violations, each counted per 1,000 residents.
- How are the schools in West Farms?
- West Farms has 7 schools mapped inside its boundary and scores 4/100 for schools — toward the lower end citywide.
- How do middle and high school admissions work from West Farms?
- Middle school: families in West Farms apply in 5th grade through the citywide middle school application. District 12's 18 middle school programs admit by method: 12 unscreened and 6 charter lottery. High school: one citywide application in 8th grade lets a family rank programs anywhere in the city, and the eight specialized high schools admit on the SHSAT alone.
- Is West Farms affordable?
- West Farms scores 47/100 for affordability on Motley — mid-range on cost for the city.
- Which borough is West Farms in?
- West Farms is a neighborhood in Bronx, New York City.
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