Riis Houses

The Jacob Riis Houses are a public housing project managed by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan. The project is located between Avenue D and FDR Drive, spanning two superblocks from 6th Street to 13th Street. The project consists of thirteen buildings, between six and 14 stories each, containing 1,191 apartment units.^[3]

Jacob Riis Houses
NYCHA property
Riis Houses in 2008
Location in New York City
Coordinates: 40.723917°N 73.974659°W / 40.723917; -73.974659
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Manhattan
Area [1]
• Total	0.018 sq mi (0.047 km2)
Population
• Total	2,738[2]
• Density	152,000/sq mi (58,700/km2)
ZIP codes	10009
Area codes	212, 332, 646, and 917
Website	my.nycha.info/DevPortal/

Development

The area to become the Riis Houses was destroyed through urban renewal beginning in August 1943 but construction was delayed because of World War II.^[4][5] The Riis Houses were completed on January 17, 1949 and named for photographer Jacob Riis, who exposed the living conditions of tenement dwellers on the Lower East Side.^[3]

The playground was designed to have four "outdoor rooms" for a variety of activities and was designed by Pomerance & Breines with M. Paul Friedberg & Associates as landscape architects.^[6] It was financed through a grant from the Victor Astor Foundation and opened in 1966 with Ladybird Johnson attending its opening.^[7] Later that year, it received a First Honor Award for design excellence by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.^[6] Four new playgrounds throughout the city were modeled from it in 1967.^[8] In 2018, its playground was inspected by NYCHA and found to be hazardous.^[9]

During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the development was hit by a storm surge that left it without electricity and other services.^[10][11] In 2018, NYCHA received a grant for $71 million to fund necessary infrastructure repairs from Sandy anticipated to begin in 2022. Upgrades include: emergency generators, electrical distribution equipment, waterproofing of structures and finishes, upgrades to sewer/storm management systems, new roadways, pedestrian lighting, rehabilitation of building entrances and lobbies.^[12]

Riis Houses (2020)

Notable residents

• Frank Morales (1949–), priest and activist
• Sabu (1983–), computer hacktivist^[13]

See also

• List of New York City Housing Authority properties