Lillian Wald Houses

This article is about the public housing development. For the building known as the Lillian Wald House, see Henry Street Settlement.

Lillian Wald Houses
NYCHA property
Wald Houses in 2019 on Avenue D
Location in New York City
Coordinates: 40°43′16″N73°58′35″W / 40.721°N 73.9763°W / 40.721; -73.9763
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Manhattan
Area [1]
• Total	0.026 sq mi (0.067 km2)
Population
• Total	3,757 [1]
• Density	145,000/sq mi (55,800/km2)
Zip codes	10002, 10009
Area codes	212, 332, 646, and 917

The Lillian Wald Houses are a NYCHA housing project in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan with 16 buildings that honors the housing advocate of the same name. ^{[2] [3]} The housing complex is bordered on the north by East Sixth Street, on the south by East Houston Street, on the east by the FDR Drive, and on the west by Avenue D. ^[4]

Frederick L. Ackerman and Lafayette A. Goldstone were appointed as the architects of the project. ^[5] The cornerstone was laid on East Sixth Street and Avenue D in 1947 following a change in state financing laws for which Lillian Wald campaigned. ^[6] The first tenants began moving into the complex in April 1949 and the housing project was completed in October 1949. ^{[1] [7]}

Public School 188 viewed from East Houston Street in 2022

Construction of the Houses led to the end of Manhattan Street, a one-block-long street that previously served as a shortcut between East Third and East Houston Streets and ran along the west side of Public School 188. ^{[8] [9] [10]} Manhattan Street, along with the segments of other streets that previously ran through the site, were eliminated from the city map in 1944. ^[11] Public School 188 was excluded from the site of the housing complex. ^{[4] [11]}

Notable residents

• Diana Ayala, politician ^[12]
• Antonio 'Chico' Garcia, artist ^[12]

References

1. "NYCHA Development Data Book 2023" (PDF). NYCHA. p. 55. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
2. Biles, Roger (2002). The Human Tradition in Urban America. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 117. ISBN   978-0-8420-2993-3 . Retrieved March 8, 2022– via Google Books.
3. Rogow, Sally (1966). Lillian Wald: The Nurse in Blue. Jewish Publication Society of America. p. 133.
4. "Wald" (PDF). New York City Housing Authority. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
5. Stern, Robert A. M.; Mellins, Thomas; Fishman, David (1995). New York 1960: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial . New York: Monacelli Press. p. 136. ISBN   1-885254-02-4. OCLC   32159240. OL   1130718M.
6. Feld, Marjorie N. (2008). Lillian Wald: A Biography. UNC Press Books. p. 188. ISBN   978-0-8078-3236-3 . Retrieved March 8, 2022– via Google Books.
7. "Housing Project Gets 1st Tenants; 20 Families Move Into Lillian Wald Houses as Initial Building is Completed". The New York Times. April 19, 1949. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
8. "The remains of two streets no longer on the map". Ephemeral New York. October 6, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
9. Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(cartographic) Plate 26, Part of Section 2: [Bounded by Columbia Street, Avenue D, E. 8th Street, (East River Piers) Lewis Street, E. 4th Street, Tompkins Street and Stanton Street] (1930)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
10. Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(cartographic) Plate 26, Part of Section 2: [Bounded by Columbia Street, Avenue D, (Jacob Riis Houses) E. 6th Street, (East River Park, East River) Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and (Baruch Houses) E. Houston Street.] (1955)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
11. "Plans Are Filed for Wald Housing". The New York Times. November 14, 1944. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
12. "Celebrating Hispanic Heritage". The NYCHA Journal. New York City Housing Authority. September 15, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2025.