Manhattan Plaza
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Manhattan Plaza is a large federally subsidized residential complex of 46 floors and at 400 and 484 West 43rd Street in midtown Manhattan,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Opened in 1977, it has 1,689 units and about 3,500 tenants. 70% of the tenants are from the performing arts, 15% are neighborhood residents, and 15% are elderly. It occupies the city block bounded north by 43rd Street, east by Ninth Avenue, south by 42nd Street, and west by Tenth Avenue. Developed by HRH Construction, since January 2004 it has been owned by
The Related Companies The Related Companies, L.P. is an American real estate firm in New York City, with offices and developments in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, Abu Dhabi, London, São Paulo and Shanghai. Related has more than 3, ...
. Manhattan Plaza is the subject of a documentary titled '' Miracle on 42nd Street'', released in 2017.


History

Construction on this "superblock" development west of Manhattan's
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres. Places *Theater District, Manhattan, New York City *Boston Theater District *Buffalo Theater District *Cleveland Theater ...
was begun in 1974 by HRH Construction, a real estate construction and development firm led at the time by
Richard Ravitch Richard Ravitch (born July 7, 1933) is an American politician and businessman who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 2009 to 2010. He was appointed to the position in July 2009 by New York Governor David Paterson. A native of New Yo ...
. The project consisted of two 45-story residential towers at opposite ends of the block designed for middle- and upper-middle class rental tenants, with townhouses, shops, a health club and parking facility in the mid-block, financed with a $95 million mortgage by the City of New York under the New York State Mitchell-Lama Housing Program for middle-income housing. However, during construction, New York City went into a steep recession, and faced with mounting financial difficulties, the city was able to fund only $65 million of its commitment. The financial crisis also affected the city's housing market, and it became apparent that there would be little to no market for the apartments as originally been planned. This was in part due to the location of the development in the heart of New York's then rough-and-tumble Clinton neighborhood—historically known as "
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...
"—and the rapidly declining environment of the Times Square area, at that point the epicenter of New York's 'adult' and pornographic activities."Performers May Get W. 42nd St. Housing"
by
Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''. Biography Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...
, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', August 2, 1976. Retrieved September 29, 2016
Manhattan Plaza cleared out the adult businesses on the north side of 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues. At the same time the 42nd Street Development Corporation under the leadership of Fred Papert and with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis on its board was working on converting the adult stores on the south of 42nd Street between 9th and 10th into Off Broadway theatres now known as Theatre Row. With no other options available, New York City applied for Federal funds under the Section 8 program to re-purpose the project as deeply subsidized housing for poor and moderate-income families. Under Section 8, tenants would pay no more than 30% of their income for rent. The plan aroused widespread, intractable opposition from the surrounding working class community, concerned about a potential influx of thousands of dysfunctional, poor neighbors. At that point, an innovative solution was conceived by Daniel Rose, the real estate developer whose company had been retained to manage the project. Rose had been searching for a tenant population that would meet the income requirements for deeply subsidized public housing, assuage the community's fears about dysfunctional neighbors, and contribute to the revitalization of the Times Square neighborhood. Quoting
Mike Todd Michael Todd (born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen; June 22, 1909 – March 22, 1958) was an American theater and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of '' Around the World in 80 Days'', which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Act ...
, who once said that while growing up, his "family had been often ''broke'', but never ''poor''", Rose proposed limiting occupancy in the new project solely to residents who were, or had been, engaged in the performing arts. By seeding the 1,600 apartments with families of actors, musicians, directors, stagehands and others in the entertainment industry, the idea was to fill the project, stabilize the neighborhood, and support the regrowth of legitimate theater in Times Square. Met at first with skepticism to derision (as no other subsidized housing project had previously been limited by occupation), the idea soon garnered enthusiastic support from the performing arts unions and the City. Peter Joseph, a deputy commissioner of the NYC Housing and Development Administration, said the agency strongly supported the performing arts idea: “It takes what had been an uncomfortable situation and makes it something vibrant and exciting. We think it's innovative and frankly, we're ecstatic about it. We're committed to pulling it off.” There continued to be concern from neighborhood residents, but they were allayed to a large extent when a study was published by the Settlement Housing Fund estimating that 100,000 households in New York had members engaged in the performing arts, and about two-thirds of them would be eligible to move into the project under Federal income guidelines: Rose's plan for "Manhattan Plaza for the Performing Arts" was eventually approved with support from the City, the performing arts unions, and the surrounding community, and opened with a Mayoral ribbon-cutting in 1977. 70% of the 1,689 units were reserved for performing arts workers, 15% for elderly and handicapped residents of the surrounding neighborhood, and 15% for existing residents of the neighborhood living in substandard housing. The project quickly filled up, with the waiting list for apartments topping 3,000 names within the first year. An important factor in the early success of Manhattan Plaza was Rose's recruitment of The Rev. Rodney Kirk as the first Director of the Development."Rodney Kirk, 67, Director of Manhattan Plaza, Is Dead"
by Wolfgang Saxon, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 2001. Retrieved September 29, 2016
Kirk had been on the staff of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine until 1976, when he was given leave to help with the city's bicentennial celebrations. Tapped to supervise the opening of Manhattan Plaza, Kirk helped set the tone for the development, and organized community support that permitted hundreds of aging neighborhood residents to keep their apartments with their dignity intact. Shortly after Manhattan Plaza opened, the City was hit by the AIDS crisis, and many residents in the performing arts contracted AIDS. To respond to their needs, Kirk established social service programs with paid staff and volunteers, and the help of the
Actors' Fund The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 17,000 people directly each year. S ...
, to care for them and for non-residents. According to health officials, a greater proportion of people have died of AIDS in that apartment complex compared to any other residence building in the country. The Manhattan Plaza AIDS Project Foundation's benefit concert in May 1997 at the
Westside Theatre The Westside Theatre is an off-Broadway performance space at 407 West 43rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The building houses two auditoriums: the Upstairs Theatre, which s ...
on 43rd Street featured
Joseph Bologna Joseph Bologna (December 30, 1934 – August 13, 2017) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films ''My Favorite Year'', '' Blame It on Rio'' and '' Transylvania 6-5000''. Life and career Bol ...
and
Renée Taylor Renée Adorée Taylor (née Wexler; born March 19, 1933) is an American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director.Taylor was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for the film '' Lovers and Other Strangers' ...
, Jenny Burton, Vivian Reed; artists in other years included Jeanne MacDonald,
Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...
, and
Robert Cuccioli Robert Cuccioli (born May 3, 1958) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for originating the lead dual title roles in the musical ''Jekyll and Hyde'', for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won the Joseph Jefferson Award, th ...
. As HIV/AIDS came under control, the focus of the social services program shifted to the elderly, who are aging in place, and are sometimes unable to care for themselves. Kirk retired in 1997 and died in 2001. His work was continued by General Manager Richard Hunnings, his companion of 42 years.Manhattan Plaza Project
New York Public Library, September 12, 2012
The Rodney Kirk Theatre is now one of the theatres across 42nd Street in the
Theatre Row Building The Theatre Row Building is a complex of five Off-Broadway theatres at 410 West 42nd Street on Theatre Row in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. The building is owned by the 501(c)(3) organization non-profit Building for the Arts and is ...
.


Description

Manhattan Plaza was designed by
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
David Todd. Aside from the McGraw-Hill Building, the complex was the tallest in the
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...
area at the time it was completed, and is still highly visible from the north, south, and west sides. Between the two buildings are a multi-story garage, a fitness center (including a swimming pool), a basketball court, a playground, tennis courts, a wall-climbing center, and a number of shops (including Arnold Wilkerson's Little Pie Company), restaurants, and a bank branch. Located within the Tenth Avenue building is the 43rd St Kids Preschool, which was founded in 1981. It is a private, non-profit, parent cooperative school. More than 1,500 one-act plays including more than 40 by
Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...
have been staged at the
Laurie Beechman Theatre The Laurie Beechman Theatre (formerly the West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theater Bar) is an 80-seat dinner theater in the basement of the West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street in the Manhattan Plaza apartment complex in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, N ...
in the West Bank Cafe (where
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
was a bartender) at the base of the 9th Avenue building. In the middle of March 2009, the original playground located on the 3rd floor rooftop was taken down in order to build a new playground built by Kompan and sponsored by former football player
Tiki Barber Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber (; born April 7, 1975) is an American former football running back who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of Virginia ...
. The company was known as Tiki Recreation. It is one of three rare and unique playgrounds. It has an electronic setting and virtual interactive games programmed within the equipment. The park officially opened June 8, 2009. Manhattan Plaza had a Summer Day Camp / Youth Program every year for kids ages 7 to 13 from July to August. The camp consisted of swimming, baseball, basketball, dodgeball, tennis, wall climbing, taekwondo, cooking, and Four Square / Box Ball as well as performing arts. Campers also created a "4Square" type game called Nations. The camp had trips and sees movies once a week. The camp shut down a couple years ago.


Notable people

* Thomas Adcock *
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*
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*
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* Jim Brochu * Stan Brooks *
Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later crossed over to television. She was best known for her role as Ne ...
*
Terry Carter Terry Carter (born John Everett DeCoste; December 16, 1928) is an American actor and filmmaker, known for his roles as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on the TV series '' McCloud'' and as Colonel Tigh on the original '' Battlestar Galactica''. Early life ...
*
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* Pauline Chalamet * Chuck Cooper *
Marlon Craft Marlon Craft is an American rapper and songwriter from Manhattan, New York. He released his debut studio album, ''Funhouse Mirror'', in June 2019. He had also previously released numerous EPs and mixtapes. Early life and education Marlon Craft ...
"Marlon Craft's Halal-Cart Listening Party"
by
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, ''
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'', July 29, 2019
*
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*
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*
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*
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*
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*
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* Michael Fischetti *
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* Mike Freeman *
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"Manhattan Plaza: At Home"
by Mitchell Seidel, ''
JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growt ...
'', September 1, 2006
whose album '' Manhattan Plaza'' shows the building on its cover *
Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...
*
Gloria Grahame Gloria Grahame Hallward (November 28, 1923 – October 5, 1981) was an Academy Award-winning American actress and singer. She began her acting career in theatre, and in 1944 made her first film for MGM. Despite a featured role in ''It's a Wond ...
*
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*
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*
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*
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worked there as security guard *
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*
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*
James Kirkwood Jr. James Kirkwood Jr. (August 22, 1924 – April 21, 1989) was an American playwright, author and actor. In 1976 he received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the Broadway h ...
*
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* Chuck Liddell * Ray Mantilla *
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* Alan Menken * Charles and Sue Mingus * Al Pacino"Miracle on 42nd Street — A Plaza to Call Home"
by Ruth Walker, ''W42st'', no. 7, June 1, 2015
*
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* Ram Ramirez * Jim Rotondi *
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* Craig Russell * Steve Schalchlin *
Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...
* Mary Jo Slater and her sons Christian and Ryan"Inside Manhattan Plaza: ''Miracle on 42nd Street'' documentary rides the elevator of the Hell's Kitchen artist haven"
by Kate Feldman, '' New York Daily News'', April 3, 2020
*
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* John Spencer * Richie Vitale *
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*
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"Inside Manhattan Plaza, Where Alicia Keys Was Born and Samuel L. Jackson Worked Security"
by Chris Gardner, ''
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'', February 9, 2018
*
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References


External links

*
Manhattan Plaza Tenants Association (MPTA)

Manhattan Plaza
Low Income Housing Corporation
''Miracle on 42nd Street''
2020
New York Emmy Awards The New York Emmy Awards are a division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honoring those in television and advanced media in the tri-state New York-New Jersey-Connecticut and New York State New York, officially the St ...
winning film, debuted at DOC NYC 2018
''Meet the Former and Present Residents of Manhattan Plaza''
series, Times Square Chronicles {{Coord, 40.759299, -73.992685, display=title Residential skyscrapers in Manhattan Apartment buildings in New York City Public housing in Manhattan Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Residential buildings completed in 1977 1977 establishments in New York City