Queensbridge is the largest public housing development in North America. Owned by the New York City Housing Authority, the 3,142 unit complex is located on Community Board 1 and houses about 6,907 people in two separate complexes (North and South Homes), each accommodating approximately 3,450 residents. Located on Long Island City in Queens and opened in 1939.
Video Queensbridge Houses
Structure
Queensbridge, the largest of the 26 Queens buildings, is located between Vernon Boulevard, which runs along the East River, and 21st Street. Just south of the Ravenswood power station, and just north of the Queensboro Bridge, the latter is called the complex. This complex is the largest housing project in North America. The building is separated into two complexes, the North House on 40th Avenue and the South Houses on 41st Avenue. Station names from IND 63rd Street Line at New York City Subway (train F ) are on the east side of the complex on 21st Street.
Building
96-unit typical six-storey building due to their form of two Y connecting at the base. This form is used as an architect hoping it will give citizens more access to sunlight than traditional cross shapes. The designs are said to be cost-effective, and they reduce costs further by using elevators that only stop on the 1st, 3rd and 5th floors. Political pressure to keep costs down is the main reason for using cheap designs. W.F.R. Ballard, Henry S. Churchill, Frederick G. Frost, and Burnett Turner designed Queensbridge.
In many ways, the Queensbridge building is very similar to most government-built housing projects of the era. They are an old, grayish brown that is now suffering from real damage and weathering. Each building is painted red to about four feet from the ground, giving a unified feel to the entire complex because the red "lining" of the uniform is always close, throughout the complex. In every corner of Queensbridge, the New York City Housing Authority has posted signs indicating the name and project management: "Queensbridge North (or South) NYCHA." These signs come in several varieties depending on their age. The oldest signs, erected in the early nineties, are just orange and blue, with new signs displaying images, like many other projects.
Access to buildings in complexes is by lock or through a new intercom system. The Queensbridge building hall is comparable to most of the city's buildings, and is dilapidated and lined with shabby blue tiles. The apartment is painted white and quite small, even by New York City standards. In recent years, the elevators have been rebuilt and now stop on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th floors and the kitchen has been completely renovated and now has a freezer ice freezer. Three thousand bathrooms were renovated with new bathtubs, toilets, dressers, floors and lamps in 2000. This was followed by a renovation in 1986 when 1000 bathrooms were renovated by Arc Plumbing.
Facilities
As a result of the Wagner Housing Act of 1937, Congress will only approve funding for public housing if housing does not appeal to middle-class families who will buy or lease homes in the private housing market. The original plan remains including some basic facilities, such as a central shopping center, a children's room and six inner courts to play. In the 1950s, there were also three playrooms, a library, a community center with a performance auditorium, a gym with wooden floors duplicated as a wooden skating rink, an activity room downstairs, and an upstairs cafeteria where children played at school their lunch. Some of the activities downstairs include dancing tap, ballet, art, playing recorder and singing, swimming pool, hockey and table tennis, as well as Scout and Scout meetings. The residents enjoy the concerts during the summer months in the central square shopping area, and the Fresh Air Fund sends poor children to the Peekskill mountains to free them from crime and disturbed streets.
The building in the complex is divided by a series of paths and small grass. Also within the complex are several basketball courts and play areas filled with benches. Across from Vernon Boulevard is Queensbridge Park, which has a fully flared baseball diamond, running track, lawn and picnic area. The park, home to the Queensbridge Little League, is a major recreation area for project tenants. Queensbridge Park is home to numerous summer live concerts, with music ranging from R & amp; B to Latin. During the 1950s and up to the 1970s, Queensbridge Park was called "River Park," after the Eastern River that flowed next to it. There is also a small park placed just below the Queensboro Bridge called "Baby Park". The Baby Park was closed due to debris falling from the bridge during maintenance work in the late 2000s. Baby Park was replaced by a new playground for the same age range, between 40th-41st Avenues, inside Queensbridge Park itself.
Maps Queensbridge Houses
History
Queensbridge opened in 1939. During the 1950s, management changed Queensbridge's racial balance by moving all families earning over $ 3,000/year, the majority white, for middle-income housing projects, and replacing most of these tenants. with African American and Latin American families. In addition to providing safe and healthy housing for many low-income African and American families, it also announces racial segregation in public housing.
Queensbridge is renowned for its contribution to hip hop and rap music, and has been home to some of the most influential musicians in the genre. Marley Marl Williams was the first in a long succession of famous artists from "The Bridge", which became one of the most famous hip hop neighborhoods in the country. Rapper and his producer helped put it on the map. The collective Juice Crew, very influential in the 1980s, was featured among its members Queensbridge rapper MC Shan, Roxanne ShantÃÆ'à ©, and Craig G.
One of Queensbridge's most famous rapper is Nas.
While the Boogie Down Productions-MC Shan dispute has put "The Bridge" on the rap charts of the 1980s, the new Queensper rapper plants like Nas and Mobb Deep often make references to Queensbridge House that solidifies its reputation as a dystopian vision. poverty, drugs, and violence just like the New York City problem with crack cocaine and the unprecedented killing brought to places like Queensbridge reach its peak. Other notable artists related to the Queensbridge hip hop scene include Blaq Poet, Mobb Deep, Cormega, Gaddafi Tragedy, Nature, Screwball, Capone, and Big Noyd.
Regarding the Queensbridge music scene, XXL columnist Brendan Frederick writes:
In the 1970s, Queensbridge experienced an increase in crime with other parts of the city. However, by the year 2000, crime declined.
For years Queensbridge had problems with drug dealers and drug users. An 11-month police investigation led to the arrest of 37 people during the destruction of drugs in February 2005. Another attack in February 2009, after a seven-month investigation, resulted in 59 arrests.
Population
In 2013, Queensbridge has a total population of 6,105. The racial details are 61.4% black, 2.3% white, 1.9% Asian, 1.0% American Indian and 2.4% multiracial. Hispanic and Latin from any race is 30.1%.
Famous people
See also
- New York City Housing Authority
- List of New York City Housing Authority properties
References
Note
Source
- "Queensbridge, New York, N.Y.," Architectural Forum 72 (Jan. 1940), pp.Ã, 13-15.
- Samantha Henry, "The Good Rap: The Queensbridge House Residents Make Their Claims Be Famous," Newsday , August 5, 2001.
- New York City Housing Authority, "Factsheet", April 19, 2004. [1]
- Gail Radford, "Federal Government and Housing During the Great Depression" in John F. Bauman, ed., From Tenement to Taylor Homes: Seeking Urban Housing Policy at Twentieth Century America (University Park, Pennsylvania): Pennsylvania State University Press , 2000), p. 102-120.
- Henry S. Churchill. The City is the People. New York. Norton. 1945
- http://www.city-data.com/
External links
- Queensbridge Houses Website
- NYCHA map Queensbridge North
- NYCHA Queensbridge South Map
Source of the article : Wikipedia