BRONX, N.Y. - A trip north on the 1 Train from South Ferry in Manhattan to the Bronx takes riders to the northwest portion of the borough. The last stop is not far from the border with Westchester.

The journey brings commuters past the 240th Street subway yard and Gaelic Park, since 1926 a home to traditional Irish sports like Gaelic football and Hurling, and later on Manhattan College athletics.

What You Need To Know

  • The 1 Train on the NYC Subway goes from South Ferry in Manhattan to 242nd Street in The Bronx neighborhood of Riverdale

  • The neighborhood features Manhattan College and the sprawling Van Cortlandt Park

  • Van Cortlandt Park is more than 1,100 acres and is the third largest NYC Park

  • The Victorian Gothic Station was built more than a century ago and designed by the original architects of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Soon riders reach the northern end of Broadway — Seventh Avenue local — arriving at a Victorian Gothic station, built more than a century ago and designed by the original architects of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and the original Astor Court Buildings of the Bronx Zoo.

Heading downstairs on Broadway and 242nd Street, one side of the street are businesses, the other is Van Cortlandt Park, a sprawling open space, which at more than 1,100 acres is New York's third largest city park. It's a key perk to living in the Riverdale neighborhood.

"This is a little secret, a little enclave, that nobody knows about,” said Riverdale resident Alba Gutierrez, who added, “it's beautiful up here, it's like living in the country."

"The Park, the pool, you know, this area is very nice.” said local Elizabeth Rodriguez.

Riverdale is also home to Manhattan College. Yes,  Manhattan College is in The Bronx.

It used to be in Manhattan and then moved north. Once you walk away from the train stop, you do feel like you can take a deep breath and be away from the hustle and bustle of places like Midtown.

"It's way more peaceful, not a little, way more peaceful,” said resident Kelvin Vargas, who also said it's a great place to raise children.

Folks here say living in such close proximity to a big park like Van Cortlandt has come in extra handy, especially during this time of coronavirus.

Riverdale is certainly not immune to the impacts of COVID-19, and we found Ian Christner stocking up a free community refrigerator to help folks out of work or who just can't make ends meet.

"Riverdale as a whole has quite a lot of different New Yorkers living there, and we want to try and offer opportunities for people to come together, break down some of these barriers and walls that we have had in place, and find ways to meet each other on a human level and make sure everybody gets fed,” said Christner.