The Rutgers Houses (Henry Rutgers Houses) are a set of

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

residential high-rises built and maintained by the

New York City Housing Authority The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the ...

(NYCHA). It is located in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in the center of the Two Bridges neighborhood (west of the southwest border of the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

). The Rutgers Houses are composed of five 20-story buildings on with 721 apartments housing approximately 1,675 people. The complex is bordered by Madison Street to the north, Rutgers Street to the east, Cherry Street to the south, and Pike Street to the west.

Development

Prior to its completion in 1965, the Rutgers Houses was one of the sites of city-wide civil rights protests in 1963. Demonstrators attempted to block construction until African Americans and Latinos get more jobs in the building trades until several were taken into custody. While not in opposition to the protests, construction crews at the development site were reported to have said they were more integrated than most. Designed by Hart, Jerman & Associates, the Rutgers Houses in 1961, the development was completed March 31, 1965. Pelham Street, which ran between Pike Street and Rutgers Street, was taken off maps of the area about 1960 for the construction of the development. The development is named after

Henry Rutgers Henry Rutgers (October 7, 1745 – February 17, 1830) was a United States Revolutionary War hero and philanthropist from New York City. Rutgers University was named after him, and he donated a bond which placed the college on sound financial f ...

(1745–1830), a captain in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and a major landowner and philanthropist who was the last descendant of

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

immigrants. Henry Rutgers' farm, the "Bouwery", made up most of the Lower East Side around

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, and later gave large sections of his farm to churches and the development is on a part of the former farm site. Michael Steele is serving as the Resident Association President for Rutgers Houses and as the Treasurer of the Manhattan South District Citywide Council of Presidents. In the winter of 2007, Rutgers House V served as a "warming center", a warm place where people without heat can stay for short periods of time. In 2010, the Rutgers Houses were one of eight developments to receive a portion of $400 million in funding from the federal government to address capitol needs for repairs.

Notable residents

* Elisa Izquierdo (1989 – 1995), Elisa's death was the inspiration for Elisa's Law, a major restructuring of the New York City Child Welfare System

Nearby public residential high-rises

* LaGuardia Houses * Vladeck Houses * Alfred E. Smith Houses

References

External links

* {{Lower East Side Residential buildings completed in 1965 Lower East Side Public housing in Manhattan Residential buildings in Manhattan

Development

Notable residents

Nearby public residential high-rises

See also

References

External links