Morrisania Air Rights Explained

Morrisania Air Rights
Settlement Type:NYCHA property
Coordinates:40.8243°N -73.9175°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:10451
Area Code:718, 347, 929, and 917

Morrisania Air Rights is a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing project in Melrose and Morrisania, Bronx, consisting of three buildings, 19, 23, and 29 stories tall. There are 843 apartments housing some 1,952 residents.[1] It was designed by the architectural firm The Eggers Partnership also known as Eggers & Higgins.

Development

The planning for the development began in 1971, but construction did not begin until the late 1970s. By purchasing the air rights above the Metro-North Railroad tracks (then Penn Central), the new housing project could be built without tearing down any buildings or displacing any residents both of which saved on costs and may be one of the reasons why NYCHA was able to build such a large project during a period when few public housing units were built, even in New York City.[2]

The Morrisania Air Rights utilized a method of construction developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that relies on steel trusses rather than closely spaced steel columns, allowing the railroad to remain in operation during construction. Constructed well after the boom of public housing through the 1940s, 50s and 60s, NYCHA stopped naming the buildings inspirationally knowing there would be many tenant applications and the development is named after the air rights.[3] The project was completed on January 1, 1981.[4]

The housing complex has persistently suffered from a higher-than-average rate of violent crime for the area and is sometimes referred to as "Vietnam" or the "Vietnam Projects."[5]

See also

References

Development map


Notes and References

  1. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/bronxmorrisaniarights.shtml NYCHA Housing Developments, Morrisania Air Rights.
  2. Weisman, Steven R. "City Is Planning Housing Over Bronx Rail Tracks", The New York Times, May 26, 1971. Accessed January 18, 2024. "The city announced plans yesterday to build its largest public housing project in 10 years over railroad tracks in the Bronx, using a new steel construction technique devised at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The 1,034‐apartment project for low‐income families would extend for seven blocks over Park Avenue in the Morrisania section, where tracks of the Penn Central's Harlem division are sunk 20 feet below the street level."
  3. Web site: The Curious Case of a Housing Complex's Puzzling Name. Buckley. Cara. Newman. Andy. 2010-03-31. City Room. en-US. 2019-10-10.
  4. Web site: MyNYCHA Developments Portal. my.nycha.info. 2019-10-10.
  5. Web site: MORRISANIA AIR RIGHTS . 2022-03-06 . NYC URBANISM . en-US.