The Amsterdam Houses is a
housing project
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authorities, government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the d ...
in New York City that was established in the borough of Manhattan in 1948. The project consists of 13 buildings with over 1,000 apartment units. It covers a 9-acre expanse of the
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
, and is bordered by West 61st and West 64th Streets, from Amsterdam Avenue to West End Avenue, with a 175-apartment addition that was completed in 1974 on West 65th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and West End Avenue. It is owned and managed by
New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
History
The Amsterdam Houses were created on land that was once tenement buildings and were created for residents to have a higher standard of living. Three playgrounds were built for children of various ages and the development housed a nursery, gymnasium, clinic and a community center. With the opening of
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
in the 1960s, the neighborhood began to gentrify and saw many older residents retaining their apartments with 70% of heads of households over the age of 62. The demographics living in this development were initially mixed, as it served to house post-war families in affordable housing. Today, mostly black families occupy the Amsterdam Houses.
Notable people
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Erik Estrada (born 1949), actor known for his role on ''
CHiPs''
*
Daphne Maxwell Reid
Daphne Etta Maxwell Reid (née Maxwell; July 13, 1948) is an American actress, comedian, designer and former model. She is best known for her role as the second Vivian Banks on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' from 1993 to 1996.
...
(born 1948), actress known for her role on ''
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...
''
See also
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New York City Housing Authority
*
List of New York City Housing Authority properties
Buildings
Manhattan
Bronx
Brooklyn
Vanderveer Estates Apartments nka Flatbush Gardens, Tiffany Towers nka Tivoli Towers, Ebbets Field Apartments and Towers of Bay Ridge and Rutland Rd Houses in Brooklyn, all five includes rent, gas ...
References
{{reflist
Public housing in Manhattan