While it doesn’t quite carry the same cache as the Waveland Ave. apartments in Chicago, Gerard Ave. and the apartments lining this Bronx street share a history with Yankee Stadium. When the apartment buildings went up in the late 1920s, the top floors had uninterrupted views into Yankee Stadium. When the team and City of New York renovated the Stadium in the 1970s, some residents suspected the Yankees of building the walls higher to block this free view. (The Yankees deny this claim.)
Nowadays, savvy fans can catch glimpses of the outfield and pitchers mound from the roof but only for a few more months. When the Cathedral closes and the new stadium opens, the Gerard Ave. lookouts will be gone forever. In The Times today, Manny Fernandez explores the Gerard Ave. quirks and those who know the Yankees as the rich baseball team in a relatively poor neighborhood.