St. Nicholas Houses

St. Nicholas Houses or "Saint Nick," is a public housing project in Central Harlem, in the borough of Manhattan, New York City and are managed by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The project is located between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, spanning a superblock from 127th Street to 131st Street. The project consists of thirteen 14-story buildings containing 1,523 apartment units.^[3]

St. Nicholas Houses
NYCHA property
Location in New York City
Coordinates: 40.810540°N 73.948110°W / 40.810540; -73.948110
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Manhattan
Area [1]
• Total	0.024 sq mi (0.06 km2)
Population
• Total	3,525[2]
Zip codes	10027
Area code(s)	212, 332, 646, and 917
Website	my.nycha.info/DevPortal/

Development

The site formerly consisted of city blocks with small attached homes in poor condition, and existing residents were removed via a slum clearance program.^[4] In 1952, the first tenants began moving in^[5] and the development was completed on September 30, 1954^[6] under the Taft-Ellender-Wagner Housing Act of 1949. When the houses initially began seeking applicants, World War II veterans received priority.^[4]

From 1947 to 1953, the playground at the St. Nicholas Houses on 128th Street and Seventh Avenue was the site of the Ruckers tournament until it was moved to a larger playground on 130th Street in 1954.^[7] While at the playground, Holcombe Rucker developed the tournament into five divisions: girls, junior high school, high school, college and pro.^[8]

By the mid-1970s, violence had risen in the development and security had decreased along with repairs.^[9]

In 2011, NYCHA approved the sale of 3.1 acres for the demolition of a playground on the site for the construction of a charter school called Promise Academy Charter School. Residents planned to sue the city and federal governments over the green space demolition, challenging that NYCHA failed to properly assess the school's impact on the development.^[10] Residents also felt that they were not informed of the plan until after the deal was completed.^[11] The school was designed by John Ciardullo Associates and completed in 2013.^[12]

In books

The St. Nicholas Houses is one of the main settings in the book The Stars Beneath Our Feet.^[13]

Notable residents

Teddy Riley (born 1967), singer, songwriter, record producer credited with the creation of the new jack swing genre

See also

• New York City Housing Authority
• List of New York City Housing Authority properties

References

1. "St. Nicholas Houses Area". Retrieved November 7, 2019.
2. "St. Nicholas Houses Population".
3. "Saint Nicholas Houses, New York City". March 18, 2007. Archived from the original on March 18, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. "CORNERSTONE LAID AT HARLEM HOUSING". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
5. "Housing Project Is Opened". The New York Times. April 3, 1952. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
6. "MyNYCHA Developments Portal". my.nycha.info. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
7. Mallozzi, Vincent M. (June 17, 2003). Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9780385506762.
8. Harvin, Al (July 4, 1971). "On a Harlem Playground: It's Basketball With Soul". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
9. "At Harlem Project, Tenants Switch Leaders in Fight Against Crime and Faulty Maintenance of Housing". The New York Times. February 22, 1977. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
10. Santos, Fernanda (July 20, 2011). "Public-Housing Tenants Sue to Block Charter School in Harlem". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
11. Zelon, Helen (May 7, 2010). "Some Harlem Residents Balk At Charter School Plan". City Limits. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
12. "Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy Charter School (Promise Academy I)". architectmagazine.com. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
13. The Stars Beneath Our Feet Summary.