| Forest Houses | |
| Settlement Type: | NYCHA property |
| Coordinates: | 40.825°N -73.9047°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | City |
| Subdivision Type3: | Borough |
| Subdivision Name2: | New York City |
| Subdivision Name3: | Bronx |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 10456 |
| Area Code: | 718, 347, 929, and 917 |
The Forest Houses are a housing project in Morrisania, Bronx. The project consists of fifteen buildings, 9, 10 and 14-stories tall with 1,350 apartment units. It covers a 17.72-acre expanse, and is bordered by East 163rd and East 166th Streets, and Trinity and Tinton Avenues. It is owned and managed by New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).[1]
Plans for the Forest Houses began in 1949 with securing the funds from the federal government. NYCHA officials stated that the housing program is primarily a slum clearance program and they intend the finished development 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, 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.
In 2013, Forest Houses residents worked with artist Thomas Hirschhorn to a space to encourage the exchange between people, ideas and communities in the form of a pavilion.[6] Also that year, NYCHA and Mayor 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.