Queensbridge Houses, also known simply as Queensbridge, is a
public housing
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 ...
development in the
Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to th ...
neighborhood of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
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 U ...
. Owned 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 ...
, the development contains 29 buildings and 3,142 units accommodating approximately 7,000 people in two separate complexes (North and South). The complex opened in 1939 and is the largest housing project in
North America.
Queensbridge is located in
Queens Community District 1, and its ZIP Code is 11101.
Structures
Queensbridge, the largest of 26 public housing developments in Queens, is located between Vernon Boulevard, which runs along the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Que ...
, and 21st Street. It is immediately south of the
Ravenswood power plant and just north of the
Queensboro Bridge
The Queensboro Bridge, officially named the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City. Completed in 1909, it connects the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens with the Upper East ...
, after which the complex is named. The complex is the largest housing project in North America. The development is separated into two complexes, the North Houses on 40th Avenue and the South Houses on 41st Avenue. The
namesake station of the
New York City Subway's
IND 63rd Street Line () is on the eastern side of the complex on 21st Street.
Buildings

The 96-unit, six-story buildings are distinctive due to their shape of two Y's connecting at the base. This shape was used as the
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
s hoped it would give residents more access to privacy and sunlight than the traditional cross-shape. The design was said to be cost-efficient, and they reduced the cost even further by using elevators that only stopped at the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floors. Political pressure to keep costs down was a key reason for the use of cheap designs. W.F.R. Ballard, Henry S. Churchill, Frederick G. Frost, and Burnett Turner designed Queensbridge.
["Queensbridge, NYC: Inside America’s Largest Public Housing Project"]
''Untapped Cities'', July 1, 2013.
In many aspects, the buildings of Queensbridge are very similar to most government-built housing projects of the era. They are a worn grayish brown which now suffers noticeable deterioration and weathering. Each building is painted red to about four feet up from the ground, giving a united feel to the entire complex as a uniform red "layer" is always close, throughout the complex. On each of the corners in Queensbridge, the New York City Housing Authority has posted signs indicating the project's name and 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 simply orange and blue, with the newer signs featuring graphics, like those of many other projects.
[
Access to buildings in the complex is by key or via an intercom system. The halls of Queensbridge's buildings are comparable to most municipal buildings, and are dilapidated and lined with worn light blue tiles. Apartments are painted white and are fairly small, even by New York City standards. Elevators have been rebuilt and now stop at floors 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and kitchens have been completely renovated and now have frost-free refrigerators. Three thousand bathrooms were renovated with new tubs, toilets, vanities, floor tile and lighting in 2000. This followed a renovation in 1986 when 1,000 of the bathrooms were renovated by Arc Plumbing.][
]
Amenities
The original plans included some basic amenities, like a central shopping center, a nursery and six inner courtyards for play. In the 1950s, there were also three playschool rooms, a library, a community center with an auditorium where shows were put on, a gymnasium with a wooden floor that doubled as a wooden-wheels roller skating rink, activity rooms downstairs, and a cafeteria upstairs where the playschool children ate their lunches. Some of the downstairs activities included tap dancing, ballet, art, playing the recorder and singing, pool, knock hockey and table tennis, as well as Girl Scout
Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
and Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
meetings. Residents enjoyed concerts during the hot summer months in the square central shopping area, and the Fresh Air Fund sent children on trips out to the Peekskill mountains.[
The buildings in the complex are divided by a series of paths and small lawns. Also in the complex are several basketball courts and play areas lined with benches. Across Vernon Boulevard lies Queensbridge Park, the primary place of recreation for tenants of the project. There was also a smaller park placed conveniently right under the Queensboro Bridge called "Baby Park". 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, within Queensbridge Park itself.][
]
History and crime statistics
Queensbridge opened in 1939. During the 1950s, the management changed the racial balance of Queensbridge by transferring all families whose income was more than $3,000/year, a majority of whom were White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, to middle-income housing projects, and replacing most of these tenants with African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
and Latino families. This policy provided safe and sanitary housing to many low-income African-American and Latino families.
Queensbridge is well known for its contributions to hip hop and rap music, and has been home to some of the most influential musicians in the genre. Marley Marl
Marlon Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects ...
Williams was the first in a long succession of acclaimed artists from "The Bridge", which came to be one of the most famous hip hop neighborhoods in the country. Its rappers and producers helped to put it on the map. The Juice Crew
The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York-based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice C ...
collective, hugely influential in the 1980s, featured among its members Queensbridge rappers MC Shan
Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965) better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist.
He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl, and for collaborating with Snow on " Informe ...
, Roxanne Shanté
Lolita Shante Gooden (born March 8, 1970), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City, Shante first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and ...
, and Craig G
Craig Curry (born March 24, 1973),Hess, Mickey (2009) ''Hip Hop in America: a Regional Guide: Volume 1 - East Coast and West Coast'', Greenwood Publishing Group, , p. 55Bry, David (2001) "Something in the Water", ''Vibe'', March 2001, p. 80 bette ...
.
While the Boogie Down Productions-MC Shan dispute had already put "The Bridge" on the rap map in the 1980s, the new crop of Queensbridge rappers like Nas and Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, '' How to Rap: The Art & Sci ...
made frequent references to the Queensbridge Houses that cemented its reputation as a dystopian vision of poverty, drugs, and violence just as New York City's problems with crack cocaine and the unprecedented carnage it had brought to places like Queensbridge reached a peak. Nas' 1994 album ''Illmatic
''Illmatic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Stu ...
'', often regarded as the greatest hip-hop album of all time, concerns his experiences in Queensbridge. Other notable artists associated with the Queensbridge hip hop scene include Blaq Poet
Wilbur Bass (born May 31, 1969), better known as Blaq Poet, is an American rapper from Queensbridge, New York City.
Biography
Blaq Poet was first heard on the track "Beat You Down" from the Bridge Wars during 1987, a diss song towards KRS-On ...
, Cormega
Cory McKay (born December 3, 1970), better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper who attained notice when he was shouted out by Nas on his song " One Love", from the critically acclaimed 1994 album ''Illmatic''. The album was ...
, Tragedy Khadafi
Percy Lee Chapman (born August 13, 1971), known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi (formerly Intelligent Hoodlum), is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Mar ...
, Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...
, Screwball
A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...
, Capone, and Big Noyd
TaJuan Akeem Perry (born May 7, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Noyd, is an American rapper from Queensbridge, Queens, New York. He is closely affiliated with Mobb Deep and is featured on all of their albums except '' Blood Money''.
...
.
Regarding the Queensbridge music scene, ''XXL'' columnist Brendan Frederick wrote:
By the 1970s, Queensbridge experienced a rise in crime with the rest of the city. During the height of the crack epidemic
The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Ameri ...
in 1986, Queensbridge experienced more murders than any NYCHA complex in New York City. However, in the 2000s, crime went down.
For many years Queensbridge has had a problem with drug dealers and drug users. An 11-month police investigation led to the arrest of 37 people during a drug bust in February 2005. Another raid in February 2009, following a seven-month investigation, resulted in 59 arrests.
Population
As of 2013, Queensbridge had a total population of 6,105. The racial breakdown was 61.4% black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
, 2.3% white
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 1.9% Asian, 1.0% American Indian and 2.4% multiracial
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...
. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 30.1%.
In the 2020 news media reports, the Asian population in Queensbridge rose to being 11% of the development's total population and now there are increasing calls for the growing Asian residents in the development to have better local social service access that cater to their linguistic needs including available translators in their languages when contacting NYCHA
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 ...
for apartment related issues.
Notable people
* Big Noyd
TaJuan Akeem Perry (born May 7, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Noyd, is an American rapper from Queensbridge, Queens, New York. He is closely affiliated with Mobb Deep and is featured on all of their albums except '' Blood Money''.
...
(born 1975), rapper
* Blaq Poet
Wilbur Bass (born May 31, 1969), better known as Blaq Poet, is an American rapper from Queensbridge, New York City.
Biography
Blaq Poet was first heard on the track "Beat You Down" from the Bridge Wars during 1987, a diss song towards KRS-On ...
(born 1969), rapper
* Bravehearts
Bravehearts are an East Coast hip hop group from New York, New York. The group's roster originally included Jungle (born Jabari Jones, son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, and younger brother of hip hop star Nas), Wiz (born Mike Epps), and Horse (bo ...
, rap group
* Capone (born 1976), rapper, half of the hip-hop group Capone-N-Noreaga
Capone-N-Noreaga (also known as C-N-N) are an American hip hop duo formed in 1995 from Queens, New York. The duo features East Coast rappers Capone and N.O.R.E.
History
In October 1995, Capone-N-Noreaga appeared in ''The Source'' magazine's " ...
* Cormega
Cory McKay (born December 3, 1970), better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper who attained notice when he was shouted out by Nas on his song " One Love", from the critically acclaimed 1994 album ''Illmatic''. The album was ...
(born 1970), rapper
* Craig G
Craig Curry (born March 24, 1973),Hess, Mickey (2009) ''Hip Hop in America: a Regional Guide: Volume 1 - East Coast and West Coast'', Greenwood Publishing Group, , p. 55Bry, David (2001) "Something in the Water", ''Vibe'', March 2001, p. 80 bette ...
(born 1973), rapper
* Julie Dash (born 1952), filmmaker and writer.
* Lou Del Valle (born 1968), professional boxer.
* Vern Fleming
Vern Fleming (born February 2, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the NBA from 1984 until 1996. Born in New York City, Fleming grew up in the Queensbridge Housing projects in the Long Island ...
(born 1962), former NBA basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...
and New Jersey Nets
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
.[DeSimone, Bonnie]
"Rookie Puts Family, Friends 1st"
''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'', October 11, 1999. Accessed July 11, 2019. "'Everybody from Queensbridge who makes it, it's really in your blood to represent it well,' Artest said.... Queensbridge kids always have played a lot of hoops. Besides Ray Martin, former Indiana Pacer Vern Fleming grew up there, as did LIU Athletic Director Andy Walker, who played for the New Orleans (now Utah) Jazz."
* Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler (born January 2, 1960) is an American musician. He is known for a long association with The Rolling Stones, providing backing vocals since 1989 and on their studio recordings and live tours. Fowler has been a featured guest vocal ...
(born 1960), background vocalist for the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
and spoken word artist.
* Sean Green (born 1970), former NBA basketball player
* Havoc (born 1974), rapper
* Tragedy Khadafi
Percy Lee Chapman (born August 13, 1971), known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi (formerly Intelligent Hoodlum), is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Mar ...
(born 1971), rapper.
* Infamous Mobb, rap group
* Marley Marl
Marlon Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects ...
(born 1962), music producer
* MC Shan
Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965) better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist.
He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl, and for collaborating with Snow on " Informe ...
(born 1965), rapper
* Mel Johnson Jr., actor and film producer
* Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, '' How to Rap: The Art & Sci ...
, rap group
* Nas (born 1973), rapper
* Jungle
A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...
(Jabari Fret) (born 1974), rapper
* Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...
(born 1973), rapper
* Metta Sandiford-Artest (born 1979), NBA basketball player, rapper.[
* Keechant Sewell (born 1972), former Chief of Detectives for the Nassau County Police Department, and 45th ]New York City Police Commissioner
The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is respons ...
* Roxanne Shante
Lolita Shante Gooden (born March 8, 1970), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City, Shante first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and ...
(born 1969), rapper[Fretts, Bruce]
"Roxanne Finally Gets Her Revenge, 3 Decades After Her Hit Single"
''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 ...
'', March 20, 2018. Accessed April 7, 2021. "In 1984, prompted by UTFO’s "Roxanne, Roxanne," about a woman who had spurned that rap trio’s romantic entreaties, Ms. Shante, then 14 and living in the Queensbridge projects in Long Island City, changed her first name from Lolita to Roxanne and released an answer record with lyrics like 'If he worked for me, you know he would be fired' and 'He ain’t really cute, and he ain’t great/He don’t even know how to operate.'"
* Screwball
A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...
, hip-hop group
* Andy Walker (born 1955), small forward
The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...
who played in the NBA for the New Orleans Jazz New Orleans Jazz may refer to:
* Dixieland, a style of jazz music (New Orleans Jazz)
*
* New Orleans Jazz (NBA team), professional basketball team that relocated and became the Utah Jazz
*New Orleans Jazz football club
New is an adjective referri ...
.[
]
See also
* Queensbridge Park
* 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 ...
* 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
Notes
Sources
* "Queensbridge, New York, N.Y.," Architectural Forum 72 (Jan. 1940), pp. 13–15.
* Samantha Henry, "A Good Rap: Residents of the Queensbridge Houses Make Their Claim To Fame," ''Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and ...
'', August 5, 2001.
New York City Housing Authority Factsheet
April 19, 2004. 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 ...
.
* Gail Radford, "The Federal Government and Housing During the Great Depression" in John F. Bauman, ed., ''From Tenements to the *Taylor Homes: In Search of an Urban Housing Policy in Twentieth Century America'' (University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000), pp. 102–120.
* Henry S. Churchill. ''The City is the People.'' New York. Norton. 1945
External links
Voices of Queensbridge: Stories from the Nation’s Largest Public Housing Development
Queensbridge NYC Instagram
Queensbridge Houses Web site
NYCHA map of Queensbridge North
NYCHA map of Queensbridge South
{{Authority control
Neighborhoods in Queens, New York
Public housing in Queens, New York
Residential buildings in Queens, New York
Residential buildings completed in 1939
Long Island City
1939 establishments in New York City