It\u2019s one of the Big Apple\u2019s best kept secrets.<\/p>\n
A tiny neighborhood in the North Bronx offers a handful of lucky New Yorkers an upscale and tranquil suburban lifestyle \u2014 with cut-rate city property tax bills.<\/p>\n
About three dozen homes on a strip of land north of Pelham Bay Park get to send their kids to high-achieving Westchester County schools and live in suburban bliss, all while paying a fraction of the taxes their neighbors across the street pay.<\/p>\n
A secret Bronx neighborhood straddles the New York City line with Westchester County. Stephen Yang<\/p>\n
Homes on the south side of Elm Tree Lane are in the Bronx but feel like Westchester County. Stephen Yang<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an anomaly \u2014 no one is quite sure why it exists,\u201d said James Rausse, who served as planning director for the Bronx Borough president for 17 years. \u201cOne would think it\u2019s Pelham, but it\u2019s actually part of the Bronx.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew it was a weird place where all the politicians live,\u201d Rausse said. \u201cIt\u2019s the Bronx but you benefit from everything in Westchester. It\u2019s an interesting setup they have up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dynamic is so bizarre that one million-dollar home on the north side of Elm Tree Lane is in Westchester and pays nearly $28,000 in property taxes, while another million-dollar home on the south side is officially in the Bronx and pays just over $9,000, property records show.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s dead-ass quite,\u201d a retired cop who lives on the block told The Post. \u201cYou\u2019re backed up against the park, and if you stay here long enough you\u2019ll see there are deer, and you\u2019ll see turkeys.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, they walk a little different \u2019cause they\u2019re Bronx turkeys,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, a little more attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mysterious alignment dates to the 19th century, but it is unclear just why it happened. <\/p>\n
Elm Tree Lane looks like the suburbs, but one side is in the Bronx, the other in Westchester County. Aristide Economopoulos for the NY Post<\/p>\n
A home on Elm Tree Lane pays city property taxes, but neighbors across the street pay Westchester taxes. Aristide Economopoulos for the NY Post<\/p>\n