Homestead Heights and Bensonhurst
Year Incorporated: 1874
Ward: 18
Population: 3803[/su_box]
Hidden gem: a phrase that gets tossed around in real estate circles, and I balk at the gratuitous use. That being said, we’ve got one here. Labeled on most maps, if at all, simply as “Homestead Heights” this rectangle is at least 2 neighborhoods in one. Names like Westchester, Bayside Park, Circus Park, and Cliffmor dot the map from 80+ years ago, but now Homestead Heights and Bensonhurst are the only recognized neighborhoods. The latter is the eastern chunk of the area, and home values can be (according to Zillow) in the mid- to high-$100k range. The western end of this neighborhood sees real estate values from to $40k-80k.
The Italian immigration boom of the early 20th century brought a huge portion of that population to Homestead Heights and North Marketview. The Petrantoni family opened Savoia Pastry Shoppe in 1929 (at 442 North St) and offered traditional pastries and Italian ices. They’ve been at the Clifford Ave location since 1971, and expanded quite a bit in 2009. Whether or not it’s intentional the odor of baked goods wafts out over adjacent Martinot Ave, and I imagine the temptation I’d endure every day living in one of those houses.
The Italian Boom
Maps of this area around the turn of the century show a scattering of homes separated by huge farm tracts. As we progress into the 1910s and ’20s those farms are subdivided and homes start popping up everywhere. Evviva! The Italians are here!
Sat, Feb 26, 1938 – Page 23 · Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York) · Newspapers.com
As mentioned, the area around Bay Street was a hot spot for the community which, a century ago, made up roughly 10% of the population of Rochester. 606 Bay Street was a community center called the Valguarnera Society, named after a city in Sicily. My Italian family grew up in a house across the street from here, and had stories of walking out their front door to get to the “Italian Community Center”. They, like many families from Italy, packed as many relatives as they could fit into these homes. As of this writing I’m reading an interesting book about the The Black Hand Society of Rochester. It’s a fascinating chronology of much of the violence that plagued the Italian community here, committed by other Italians. As with any group of people that relocates to a new country, there are as many success stories as there are tales of crime and tragedy; hope for a new life contrasts with the struggle to survive by any means necessary. The Italians of Rochester were a proud community that struggled for years to earn the respect of those whose families were here for generations. When I look at other immigrant groups who are soaring in population here – Somalians, Nepalese, Laotians, and on and on – I think of how my grandparents and great-grandparents were treated here, living in the shadows of “prosperous” white Rochesterians, living in “ghettos” and regarded as criminals. I want to cheer on these new immigrants as I wish someone a century ago would’ve cheered for my family.
This being a largely residential neighborhood there are a handful of businesses and institutions within a few steps of here: Metro Liquor at Clifford and Goodman, the Playground Tavern at Webster and Bay, the Rochester Community Animal Clinic, Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church, Rite Aid and Donuts Delite are a few. (The fact that Donuts Delite and Savoia are blocks from each other would be problematic for me.). My ride was enjoyable and, though no one went out of their way to talk to me, no one was rude or tried to run me off the road which, honestly, is what I want out of a neighborhood. As noted above, I’d highly recommend this area if you’re moving to town and need an inexpensive home in a good spot near copious amounts of sugary treats. Bonus points awarded for significant cultural history and odd roundabouts.
The odd roundabout at Pershing and Rocket
you know the thing is I was born in the Goodman/Clifford neighborhood in ’59 and spent 45 years there, we never, ever referred to it as Homestead Heights or Bensonhurst…
Good observation! I think many of these names were popularized recently by neighborhood associations wanting to establish an identity and community-wide unity.
the Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church on Clifford Ave was originally St. Philip Neri Church, a fire in 1967 took the life of a priest & nun, destroyed the wood structure church and was rebuilt by the St. Philip Neri Parish & School, a very proud group.
Never heard these neighborhoods referred to as Homestead Heights or Bensonhurst. I was born in 1951 and lived on Clifford Ave. between Rustic and Arbutus Streets until I got married. My Cirulli grandparents lived on Bay Street across from the Valguanera Club. My Bellanca grands lived on Miller Street, off of Clifford Ave. We went by what parish you belonged to because it was basically one huge Italian “neighborhood”. Like Jim mentioned we were proud members of St. Philip Neri parish.
My grandparents probably lived a couple houses away from yours. They were across from the empty lot at Bay and Goodman where the school used to be.