Patterson Houses

The Lester Patterson Houses or Patterson Houses is a public housing development in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. It is one of the largest New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) complexes in the city with fifteen buildings 6 and 13-stories tall and 1,790 apartments. It spans an area of 17.18 acres (6.95 ha), which is located between East 138th and 145th Street and covers two main avenues, Third Avenue and Morris Avenue.[1]

Judge Lester Patterson Houses
Patterson Houses in 2007
General information
Architectural styleModern
Location2625 3rd Avenue
Bronx, NY 10451
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40.8139896°N 73.9234703°W / 40.8139896; -73.9234703
Opened1950
OwnerNew York City Housing Authority
Design and construction
ArchitectRobert Moses

Development

Construction on the Patterson Houses began in 1948 and were a part of a large push to build public housing developments in the five boroughs.[2] It was the first low rent development completed in the Bronx since World War II and the first families moved into the development in March 1950 with priority for veterans.[3] It was completed on December 31, 1950[1] and named after judge Lester Patterson (1893–1947).[4] The development's playground was later completed in 1953, and was used by the adjacent school P.S. 13 during school hours.[5][6]

Tenants of the development in the 1950s were a diverse mix of people from the South, Caribbean, and Puerto Rico. They introduced each other to their cultures including food and music. Many inter-ethnic marriages resulted from the fusion of cultures.[7]

By the early 1960s, crime in NYCHA developments had risen and the agency added extra detectives to help control crime at 28 developments including Patterson.[8] By the late 1960s, tenants felt that policing was inadequate in the development and an increase in muggings and burglaries due to drugs being found on the site and went on strike by withholding rent from the agency. NYCHA took the tenants to court and the judge sided with the agency citing state law that lack of police presence wasn't a violation that tenants could withhold rent for. This resulted in tenants paying $25,000 in back rent.[9][10]

Notable residents

See also

References
  1. "MyNYCHA Developments Portal". my.nycha.info. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  2. "CRISIS IN HOUSING SEEN EASING SOON; Greatest Sustained Building in City History Is at Hand, Farrell Says". NY Times. August 1, 1948. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  3. "30 FAMILIES MOVE INTO NEW HOUSING; IN THE SHADOW OF THE OLD AND THE NEW". NY Times. March 8, 1950. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  4. "What's in a Name - New York City Housing Authority". Archived from the original on 2011-05-20.
  5. "TWO PLAYGROUNDS OPEN; Tracts of Park Department Are in Brooklyn and Bronx". NY Times. November 3, 1953. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  6. "BRONX PLAYGROUND OPENS; School and Parks Department to Share Recreation Area". NY Times. October 31, 1953. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  7. Opie, Frederick Douglass (2008). "Eating, Dancing, and Courting in New York Black and Latino Relations, 1930-1970". Journal of Social History. 42 (1): 79–109. doi:10.1353/jsh.0.0044. ISSN 0022-4529. JSTOR 25096599.
  8. "200 GUARDS HIRED FOR CITY HOUSING; 100 Private Detectives Will Join Regular Forces at 28 Projects Tonight OTHERS ARE DUE LATER Authority Hopes to Replace New Men in Eight Weeks With Regular Recruits Assigned to Bad Areas Duty at Manhattanville 200 GUARDS HIRED FOR CITY HOUSING". NY Times. September 15, 1962. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  9. "RENT STRIKE ENDED BY PROJECT TENANTS". NY Times. January 9, 1969. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  10. "CITY IS EVICTING RENT PROTESTERS; Notifies 53 Bronx Tenants Who Withheld Payments". NY Times. January 7, 1969. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  11. "unkut.com – A Tribute To Ignorance (Remix)". Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  12. Rimer, Sara (2006-07-30). "Painting a Portrait of Black Experience in the Bronx". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  13. Mallozzi, Vincent M. (2007-03-25). "Barkley, Once a Boxing King, Now Has a One-Bedroom Kingdom". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  14. "Original Old School: Missing The Point". SLAM. 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  15. Jones, Allen; Naison, Mark (2009). The Rat that Got Away: A Bronx Memoir. Fordham Univ Press. ISBN 9780823231027.
  16. Beekman, Daniel. "Hundreds of screaming fans welcome singer Prince Royce back to Bronx as he releases second album". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2019-10-15.

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