Forest Houses

Plans for the Forest Houses began in 1949 with securing funds from the federal government. NYCHA officials stated that the project was primarily a slum clearance program intended to provide better living conditions and a walkable community for the residents.^[2] During demolition of the slums, the area was likened to a "bomb blast scene" and held a defense test on the site.^[3] The development's design incorporated well-received modern features at the Carver Houses in East Harlem, including compact kitchens, electric ranges, and a refrigerator with freezer.^[4] NYCHA publicized that the tenants would be 58% Black and 42% non-Black, most of which were Puerto Rican.^[5] The Forest Houses were completed on November 12, 1956.^[1]

In 2013, Forest Houses residents worked with Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn to create the "Gramsci Monument", a space to encourage the exchange between people, ideas and communities in the form of a pavilion.^[6] Also that year, the NYCHA and Mayor Michael Bloomberg sold a portion of the development's property for the addition of a new privately owned building to offset the agency's capital needs.^[7][8] The eight-story LEED-certified building was designated for low-income households earning less than 60 percent of the area median income and cost approximately $37.7 million to build.^[8]

• Diamond D (born 1968), hip-hop producer^[9]
• Fat Joe (born 1970), rapper and actor^[9]
• Coko (born 1970), R&B singer^[9]
• Lord Finesse (born 1970), rapper and producer^[9]
• Showbiz, hip-hop producer^[9]
• Phase 2, graffiti artist^[9]

• Development Map