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Patterson Houses
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The Lester Patterson Houses or Patterson Houses is a public housing development in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. It was named after Bronx assemblyman and judge Lester W. Patterson. It is one of the largest New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) complexes in the city with fifteen buildings 6 and 13-stories tall and 1,790 apartments. It spans an area of 17.18 acres (6.95 ha), which is located between East 138th and 145th Street and covers two main avenues, Third Avenue and Morris Avenue.[2][3]
Key Information
Development
[edit]Construction on the Patterson Houses began in 1948 and were a part of a large push to build public housing developments in the five boroughs.[4] It was the first low rent development completed in the Bronx since World War II and the first families moved into the development in March 1950 with priority for veterans.[5] It was completed on December 31, 1950[2] and named after judge Lester Patterson (1893–1947).[6] The development's playground was later completed in 1953, and was used by the adjacent school P.S. 18 during school hours.[7][8]
Tenants of the development in the 1950s were a diverse mix of people from the South, Caribbean, and Puerto Rico. They introduced each other to their cultures including food and music. Many inter-ethnic marriages resulted from the fusion of cultures.[9]
By the early 1960s, crime in NYCHA developments had risen and the agency added extra detectives to help control crime at 28 developments including Patterson.[10] By the late 1960s, tenants felt that policing was inadequate in the development and an increase in muggings and burglaries due to drugs being found on the site and went on strike by withholding rent from the agency. NYCHA took the tenants to court and the judge sided with the agency citing state law that lack of police presence wasn't a violation that tenants could withhold rent for. This resulted in tenants paying $25,000 in back rent.[11][12]
Notable residents
[edit]- Dorothy Johnson was the very first Resident to move into Patterson Projects in 1950. Allen Jones, (born 1950), author.
- A.G., rapper of Showbiz and A.G.[13]
- Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald (born 1948), former NBA player[14]
- Oxiris Barbot, Commissioner of Health of the City of New York
- Iran "The Blade" Barkley (born 1960), boxer[15]
- Angelo Cruz (born 1958), Puerto Rican professional basketball player[16]
- Guy Fisher (born 1947), convicted racketeer and owner of the Apollo Theater[17]
- Percee P (born 1969), rapper[13]
- Barry Rogers (1935–1991), salsa musician and jazz fusion trombonist[9]
- Prince Royce (born 1989), Latin musical artist[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Sculpture Can Be Made Architecturally Important!". Progressive Architecture. Vol. 33, no. 8. August 1952. p. 33. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
- ^ a b "MyNYCHA Developments Portal". my.nycha.info. Archived from the original on August 28, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "Paterson" (PDF). New York City Housing Authority. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
- ^ "CRISIS IN HOUSING SEEN EASING SOON; Greatest Sustained Building in City History Is at Hand, Farrell Says". The New York Times. August 1, 1948. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "30 FAMILIES MOVE INTO NEW HOUSING; IN THE SHADOW OF THE OLD AND THE NEW". The New York Times. March 8, 1950. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "What's in a Name". New York City Housing Authority. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011.
- ^ "TWO PLAYGROUNDS OPEN; Tracts of Park Department Are in Brooklyn and Bronx". The New York Times. November 3, 1953. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "BRONX PLAYGROUND OPENS; School and Parks Department to Share Recreation Area". The New York Times. October 31, 1953. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ a b Opie, Frederick Douglass (2008). "Eating, Dancing, and Courting in New York Black and Latino Relations, 1930-1970". Journal of Social History. 42 (1): 79–109. doi:10.1353/jsh.0.0044. ISSN 0022-4529. JSTOR 25096599. S2CID 144508015.
- ^ "200 GUARDS HIRED FOR CITY HOUSING; 100 Private Detectives Will Join Regular Forces at 28 Projects Tonight OTHERS ARE DUE LATER Authority Hopes to Replace New Men in Eight Weeks With Regular Recruits Assigned to Bad Areas Duty at Manhattanville 200 GUARDS HIRED FOR CITY HOUSING". The New York Times. September 15, 1962. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "RENT STRIKE ENDED BY PROJECT TENANTS". The New York Times. January 9, 1969. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "CITY IS EVICTING RENT PROTESTERS; Notifies 53 Bronx Tenants Who Withheld Payments". The New York Times. January 7, 1969. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ a b "unkut.com – A Tribute To Ignorance (Remix)". Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ Rimer, Sara (July 30, 2006). "Painting a Portrait of Black Experience in the Bronx". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
- ^ Mallozzi, Vincent M. (March 25, 2007). "Barkley, Once a Boxing King, Now Has a One-Bedroom Kingdom". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
- ^ Lopez, Jonathan (August 9, 2010). "Original Old School: Missing The Point". SLAM. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ Jones, Allen; Naison, Mark (2009). The Rat that Got Away: A Bronx Memoir. Fordham Univ Press. ISBN 9780823231027.
- ^ Beekman, Daniel (April 12, 2012). "Hundreds of screaming fans welcome singer Prince Royce back to Bronx as he releases second album". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 15, 2019.