Amsterdam Houses
Public housing development in Manhattan, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Amsterdam Houses is a housing project in New York City that was established in the borough of Manhattan in 1948. The project consists of 13 buildings with over 1,000 apartment units. It covers a 9-acre expanse of the Upper West Side, and is bordered by West 61st and West 64th Streets, from Amsterdam Avenue to West End Avenue, with a 175-apartment addition that was completed in 1974 on West 65th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and West End Avenue. It is owned and managed by New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).[3][4]
Amsterdam Houses | |
|---|---|
Amsterdam Houses, at southeast corner of West End Avenue and 63d Street (2008) | |
 Interactive map of Amsterdam Houses | |
| Coordinates: 40.773139°N 73.986444°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| City | New York City |
| Borough | Manhattan |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.001 sq mi (0.0026 km2) |
| Population | |
• Total | 334[2] |
| • Density | 334,000/sq mi (129,000/km2) |
| ZIP codes | 10025, 10023 |
| Area codes | 212, 332, 646, and 917 |
| Website | my |
History
The Amsterdam Houses were created on land that was once tenement buildings and were created for residents to have a higher standard of living. Three playgrounds were built for children of various ages and the development housed a nursery, gymnasium, clinic and a community center. With the opening of Lincoln Center in the 1960s, the neighborhood began to gentrify and saw many older residents retaining their apartments; by 2016, 70% of heads of households were over the age of 62.[5] The demographics living in this development were initially mixed, as it served to house post-war families in affordable housing. By no later than 2004, mostly black families occupied the Amsterdam Houses.[6]
Notable people
- barbara62, famous groundbreaking female graffiti artist[7]
- Erik Estrada (born 1949), actor known for his role on CHiPs [8]
- Daphne Maxwell Reid (born 1948), actress known for her role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air [8]