Frederick Douglass Houses

Public housing development in Manhattan, New York

NYCHA property in New York, United States

40°47′51″N 73°57′53″W / 40.797570°N 73.964660°W / 40.797570; -73.964660CountryUnited StatesStateNew YorkCityNew York CityBoroughManhattanArea

^[2]

• Total0.019 sq mi (0.05 km²)Population

• Total2,672^[1]ZIP codes

10025

Area code(s)212, 332, 646, and 917Websitemy.nycha.info/DevPortal/

The Frederick Douglass Houses are a public housing project located in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the Manhattan Valley neighborhood of Upper West Side, named for abolitionist and civil rights pioneer Frederick Douglass. 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.^[3]

Development

The development was approved by the New York City Planning Commission on February 7, 1952, as a low-rent housing project to be erected on a 22.5-acre (91,000 m²) site, a "superblock" bounded by Manhattan Avenue, Amsterdam Avenue and West 100th and 104th Streets.^[4] 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 21.76-acre (8.81 ha) 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 .55-acre (0.22 ha) on Amsterdam Avenue between West 102nd and West 103rd Streets.^[3]

The Frederick Douglass Playground covers 1.945 acres (7,870 m²), 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 transferred the property from the New York City Housing Authority to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in August 1962, which still is responsible for management of the park.^[5]

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.^[6]

The flagship of Hostelling International USA 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

David Freeman Wooley (Born 1960), director, producer, author and entrepreneur
Reggie Carter (1957– 1999), NBA Player, New York Knicks
Stephan Dweck (Born 1960), humorist and entertainment attorney^[7]
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (born 1953), actor
Monteria Ivey (1960–2001), host of PBS game show Think Twice^[7]
Kelis (born 1979), soul singer
Mekhi Phifer (born 1974), actor

References

^ "Frederick Douglass Houses Population".^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Frederick Douglass Houses Area". Retrieved November 7, 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b Douglass Houses Archived July 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, New York City Housing Authority. Accessed January 29, 2008.
^ "PLAN BOARD BACKS DOUGLASS HOUSES; Huge Manhattantown Project Opposed by Area Residents as Too Costly for Them", The New York Times, February 7, 1952. Accessed January 29, 2008.
^ Frederick Douglass Playground, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed January 29, 2008.
^ "Project EATS Frederick Douglass Houses Farm — Project EATS". projecteats.org. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Martin, Douglas. "Monteria Ivey, 41, Humorist, Author and Radio Personality", The New York Times, 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."

[1] [2]

Upper West Side (including Lincoln Square, Manhattan Valley, Riverside South)

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

59th–72nd Sts	1 Lincoln Plaza 1 Riverside Park 5 West 63rd Street 15 Central Park West 50 West 66th Street 55 Central Park West 101 Central Park West 200 Amsterdam Bradford Hotel The Brentmore The Century Deutsche Bank Center The Dorilton Empire Hotel First Battery Armory Harperly Hall IRT Powerhouse Hotel des Artistes Lincoln Towers The Majestic Millennium Tower Park Loggia The Prasada Pythian Temple The Sofia Trump International Hotel and Tower Waterline Square
72nd–86th Sts	257 Central Park West 520 West End Avenue The Ansonia The Apthorp Apple Bank Building The Astor Hotel Beacon Hotel Belleclaire The Beresford Bretton Hall The Dakota Endicott Hotel The Greystone The Kenilworth The Langham The Level Club Olcott Hotel Public School 9 Red House Rossleigh Court The San Remo
86th–110th Sts	161 West 93rd Street 353 Central Park West 360 Central Park West 370 Riverside Drive 601 West End Avenue The Ariel Association Residence Nursing Home Astor Court Building The Belnord Claremont Riding Academy Columbus Square The Cornwall The El Dorado Frederick Douglass Houses Isaac L. Rice Mansion Master Apartments Hotel Paris New York Cancer Hospital The Normandy Pomander Walk Schinasi Mansion The Turin
Former	Apthorp Farm Astor Market Charles M. Schwab House Lincoln Arcade Somerindyck House

Culture

Shops, restaurants

Museums

Theaters/performing arts

Arclight Theatre
Beacon Theatre
Stand Up NY
Symphony Space
Triad Theatre

Lincoln Center	Alice Tully Hall David Geffen Hall David H. Koch Theater Rose Hall Metropolitan Opera House Vivian Beaumont Theater Walter Reade Theater

Former

Green spaces and recreation
Central Park Damrosch Park Riverside Park Sherman Square Septuagesimo Uno Verdi Square West Side Community Garden

Education

Primary and secondary	The Anderson School PS 334 Calhoun School Collegiate School Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School Dwight School Edward A. Reynolds West Side High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Gateway School Innovation Diploma Plus High School Manhattan Day School PS 9 Sarah Anderson School PS 166 The School at Columbia University Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan Stephen Gaynor School Studio Maestro Trinity School
Post-secondary	Bard Graduate Center Fordham University School of Law William E. Macaulay Honors College Yeshivat Hadar
Music schools	Bloomingdale School of Music Kaufman Music Center Mannes School of Music

Religion

Churches, chapels

Advent Lutheran Church
All Angels' Church
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
Broadway United Church of Christ
Christ & Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church
Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew
Church of the Ascension, Roman Catholic
Church of the Blessed Sacrament
First Baptist Church in the City of New York
First Church of Christ, Scientist
Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York
Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Riverside Memorial Chapel
Rutgers Presbyterian Church
St. Agnes Chapel
Second Church of Christ, Scientist
St. Gregory the Great Church
St. Ignatius of Antioch Church
St. Michael's Episcopal Church
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Manhattan
West End Collegiate Church
West-Park Presbyterian Church

Synagogues

Ansche Chesed
B'nai Jeshurun
Congregation Habonim
Congregation Ohab Zedek
Congregation Rodeph Sholom
Congregation Shaare Zedek
Congregation Shearith Israel
Jewish Center
Lincoln Square Synagogue
Ramath Orah
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue

Transportation

Subway stations	59th Street–Columbus Circle 66th Street–Lincoln Center 72nd Street/Central Park West 72nd Street/Broadway 79th Street 81st Street–Museum of Natural History 86th Street/Central Park West 86th Street/Broadway 96th Street/Central Park West 96th Street/Broadway 103rd Street/Central Park West 103rd Street/Broadway Cathedral Parkway–110th Street/Central Park West Cathedral Parkway–110th Street/Broadway
Streets	66th Street 72nd Street 74th Street 79th Street 85th Street 89th Street 95th Street 96th Street Amsterdam Avenue Broadway Central Park West Columbus Avenue Columbus Circle Frederick Douglass Circle Riverside Drive West End Avenue
Other	New York Central Railroad 69th Street Transfer Bridge 79th Street Boat Basin