The Frederick Douglass Houses are a

public housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

located in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, in the

Manhattan Valley Manhattan Valley (also known as Bloomingdale ) is a neighborhood in the northern part of Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded by West 110th Street to the north, Central Park West to the east, West 96th Street to the south, ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

, named for civil rights pioneer

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

. The actual buildings are located between 100th Street and 104th Street, to the east of Amsterdam Avenue and the west of Manhattan Avenue. The complex is owned and operated by the

New York City Housing Authority The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the U ...

.Douglass Houses
,

. Accessed January 29, 2008.

Development

The development was approved by the

New York City Planning Commission The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...

on February 7, 1952, as a low-rent housing project to be erected on a site, a "superblock" bounded by Manhattan Avenue, Amsterdam Avenue and West 100th and 104th Streets. The original portion of the complex consists of 17 buildings – 5, 9, 12, 17, 18, and 20 stories tall – completed on May 31, 1958 on a site. The development includes 2,056 apartments housing some 4,588 residents. The Frederick Douglass Addition, completed on June 30, 1965, is a 16-story building with 306 residents on on Amsterdam Avenue between West 102nd and West 103rd Streets. The Frederick Douglass Playground covers , on Amsterdam Avenue between 100th and 102nd Streets. Land for the playground was acquired by the city in 1954, and the playground was opened on September 10, 1958. The

New York City Board of Estimate The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments effec ...

transferred the property from the New York City Housing Authority to the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

in August 1962, which still is responsible for management of the park. In 2012, the Frederick Douglass Houses farm was launched through a partnership between NYCHA and Project EATS on the former site of the tennis courts. The flagship of

Hostelling International USA Hostelling International USA (HI USA), also known as American Youth Hostels, Inc. (AYH), is a nonprofit organization that operates youth hostels and runs programs around those hostels. It is the official United States affiliate of Hostelling Int ...

in the United States is on the Frederick Douglass Houses superblock, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Richard Morris Hunt in the 19th Century. This popular hostel occupies the entire east blockfront of Amsterdam Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets.

Notable residents

* Reggie Carter (1957– 1999), NBA Player, New York Knicks * Stephan Dweck (Born 1960), humorist and entertainment attorney *

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (born September 4, 1953) is an American actor and singer. Best known for playing Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington in ''Welcome Back Kotter'' (1975–79), he has also appeared in a number of films and television shows, in ...

(born 1953), actor * Monteria Ivey (1960–2001), host of

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

game show '' Think Twice''Martin, Douglas
"Monteria Ivey, 41, Humorist, Author and Radio Personality"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', December 26, 2001. Accessed January 29, 2008. "Monteria Henry Ivey was born in Manhattan on May 6, 1960, and spent his early years in Suffolk, Va., with his grandmother.... He and Mr. Dweck lived at the Frederick Douglass Houses, a city housing project on West 102nd Street in Manhattan." *

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

(born 1979), soul singer *

Mekhi Phifer Mekhi Phifer (; born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama '' ER'' until 2008 and had a co-starring role opposite actor/rapper Eminem in the 2002 feature film '' 8 Mile''. He was ...

(born 1974), actor

References

{{Upper West Side 1958 establishments in New York City Residential buildings in Manhattan Public housing in Manhattan Residential buildings completed in 1958 Upper West Side

Development

Notable residents

See also

References