Drive along the waterfront in Throggs Neck near Schurz Avenue and there is one house that might make you forget, at least for a moment, that you are still in New York City.
The log home belonging to lifelong Bronx resident Sal D’Errico sits along the East Bronx waterfront, bringing the look and feel of a country retreat to the neighborhood where D’Errico grew up and has remained connected throughout his life.
For D’Errico, the idea for the home goes back to his childhood. His father owned a summer home in the Catskills, where the family would escape the city and spend time together in the country. D’Errico fell in love with the comfortable and cozy feeling of those trips.
Years later, when he had the opportunity to build a home of his own, he decided to bring some of that country feeling back to the Bronx.
Around the same time, D’Errico and his brother Richie were expanding their family business from Morris Park into Westchester. The brothers found a log home builder from the Carolinas and incorporated the style into both Sal’s waterfront home and their Scarsdale store. Construction on Sal’s home began in 2000 and was completed in 2001.
Sal and Richie started their family business from a garage on the same Bronx block where they grew up before opening their longtime Williamsbridge Road location. The business later expanded into Westchester, but Sal’s connection to the Bronx never left.
“You can’t beat living here in the Bronx surrounded by your friends and family,” D’Errico said.
Having lived in Throggs Neck for more than 50 years, D’Errico has also watched the neighborhood change and develop around him. Today, he is supporting a proposal by the Bronx Land Trust to create public waterfront green space on nearby Schurz Avenue.
“So much development, I feel a garden would be something wonderful for the neighborhood to have, to use, relax and enjoy,” D’Errico said.
D’Errico said he looks forward to having an open space near his home and believes it could be especially meaningful for Bronx residents who do not have backyards or waterfront views of their own. He is willing to donate his time and attention to the project, its development and its longevity.
For D’Errico, the proposal is another way to remain invested in the neighborhood where he grew up, built his home and continues to live surrounded by family and longtime friends.
More than two decades after building his waterfront log home, D’Errico has found a way to keep a little bit of the country right here in the Bronx.
