South Jamaica Houses

Last updated
South Jamaica Houses
NYCHA property
South Jamaica houses. LOC gsc.5a27717.jpg
South Jamaica Houses in 1961
South Jamaica Houses
Location within New York City
Coordinates: 40°41′52″N73°47′46″W / 40.6977°N 73.7960°W / 40.6977; -73.7960 Coordinates: 40°41′52″N73°47′46″W / 40.6977°N 73.7960°W / 40.6977; -73.7960
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of New York.svg  New York
City New York City
Borough Queens
ZIP codes
11433
Area code(s) 718, 347, 929, and 917

South Jamaica Houses is a housing project in South Jamaica, Queens, New York. It is nicknamed "40 Projects." [1] [2] [3] The original complex, South Jamaica I Houses opened in 1940, [4] [5] while the second complex, South Jamaica II Houses, opened in 1954. [4] The entire complex is bounded by South Road to the north, 160th Street to the east, Brinkerhoff Avenue to the south, and 158th Street to the west. [4] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Contents

Nicknames

The South Jamaica Houses are commonly referred to as the 40 Projects, and occasionally as "the 40s" or the "40s Houses". [2] [3] [10] The nicknames are said to be derived from the complex's opening in the year 1940, [11] or the nearby P.S. 40 and J.H.S. 40 public schools. [1] [12]

Location

South Jamaica I is the original section of the complex opened in 1940. Measuring 9.02 acres (3.65 ha), it lies between South Road and 109th Avenue. It consists of 11 three-to-four story buildings with 440 units (originally 448). [4] [6] [7] [13] [14] South Jamaica II lies between 109th Avenue and Brinkerhoff Avenue, occupying 13.3 acres (5.4 ha). It consists of 16 buildings three-to-seven stories high. [4] [6] [8] [13] [15] The buildings in both sections have brick exteriors. [10] [16] A small parking lot is located at the northwest end of the complex. [17]

Located at 159th Street and 108th Avenue on the east side of the development is the Jamaica Day Nursery. The nursery, which predates the projects, was moved into the complex in 1940. [9] [13] [18] One block south is the South Jamaica Community Center, also known as the Samuel Huntington Community Center. [9] [13] The complex also includes several playgrounds and gardens. [15] [16] [19]

Adjacent to the west of complex lies the Atlantic Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, which does not stop in this area. To the north across from South Road is the campus of York College. [9] [15]

History

Prior to the construction of the project, South Jamaica was considered a slum and severely overcrowded. The site of the South Jamaica Houses was occupied by 150 wood-frame houses. [20] [21] It was estimated that 3,000 families in the neighborhood needed improved housing conditions. [19] [22] On August 16, 1939, New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia announced plans to allocate $20 million towards five planned public housing projects, including the South Jamaica Houses, and the two-part Vladeck Houses in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. [23] The South Jamaica development itself would cost $2.5 million. [24] These were some of the first housing developments to be built and operated by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). [20] [25] The land was acquired at low cost, and the development was designed to feature low-rise buildings. [24] [26] Though located in a predominantly African American neighborhood, the houses were the first NYCHA facility to be racially integrated with both White and Black families. [20] [24] [27]

Construction began on September 28, 1939. The complex was dedicated by Mayor LaGuardia on April 15, 1940. [19] [28] [29] [30] [31] The development opened on July 2, 1940, accepting 351 families. An additional 96 families moved in on August 5. [18] [28] [29] [32] [33] The Jamaica Day Nursery, formerly located on 107th Avenue and 159th Street, was moved into a new headquarters within the complex on September 9. [18] [34] The complex generated controversy over the alleged selection of tenants by race, and because many applicants from Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx were selected over local South Jamaica residents. [20] [14] [35] [36] [37]

Plans to extend the complex emerged in the mid-to-late 1940s. [38] [39] [40] On January 6, 1951, the Housing Authority announced plans to condemn additional slum land to build South Jamaica II Houses, extending the complex south to Brinkerhoff Avenue. Plans for the project were filed on August 23, 1951, estimated to cost $7.5 million. [15] [41] [42] [43] Residential occupation began in May 1954, and the development was completed by October of that year. [4] [6] [13]

In the 1980s and 1990s, during the national crack cocaine epidemic, the South Jamaica Houses were considered a hotbed for drug-related activity and violence. This included the operations of the Corley gang and the Supreme Team. [2] [10] [11] [44] [45] [46] This has continued into the 21st century, in spite of major drug raids by the New York City Police Department in 1999 and 2012. [11] [45] [47]

Schools

Three elementary schools are located near the complex:

The nearest middle and junior high schools are:

The closest high school to the South Jamaica Houses is the Queens High School for the Sciences, a specialized high school, located on the York College campus. Eagle Academy for Young Men III and the High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety are located south of Linden Boulevard. The closest zoned high school is Hillcrest High School just north of Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, while the closest educational campus is the Jamaica Campus (formerly Jamaica High School) near the Grand Central Parkway. [9] [48] The Young Women's Leadership School of Queens was formerly located in the P.S. 40 facility, but is now located across from Hillcrest High School. [9] [48]

Notable residents

See also

Related Research Articles

South Jamaica, Queens Neighborhood of Queens in New York City

South Jamaica is a residential neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, located south of downtown Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been established, the neighborhood is a subsection of greater Jamaica bounded by the Long Island Rail Road Main Line tracks, Jamaica Avenue, or Liberty Avenue to the north; the Van Wyck Expressway on the west; Rockaway Boulevard on the south; and Merrick Boulevard on the east, adjoining the neighboring community of St. Albans. Other primary thoroughfares of South Jamaica include Baisley, Foch, Linden, Guy R. Brewer, and Sutphin Boulevards. The 180th Street Business Improvement District is responsible for the development of the area.

Jamaica High School Public school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States

Jamaica High School was a four-year public high school in Jamaica, Queens, New York. It was operated by the New York City Department of Education.

Jamaica–179th Street station New York City Subway station in Queens

Jamaica–179th Street is an express terminal station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located under Hillside Avenue at 179th Street in Jamaica, Queens, it is served by the F train at all times, the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction, and a few rush-hour E trains. The station has 15 entrances, including two at Midland Parkway in Jamaica Estates.

Q4 (New York City bus) Bus route in Queens, New York

The Q4 bus route constitutes a public transit corridor running along Merrick Boulevard and the easternmost portion of Linden Boulevard in southeastern Queens, New York City. The route runs from the Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station to Cambria Heights near the Queens–Nassau County border. The Q4 also provides limited-stop service along the corridor during peak weekday hours. The route is now operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit brand.

Q17 (New York City bus) Bus route in Queens, New York

The Q17 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Queens, New York City, running primarily along Kissena Boulevard, the Long Island Expressway service road and 188th Street between two major bus-subway hubs in the neighborhoods of Jamaica and Flushing. It is one of the busiest local bus routes in Queens. Operated by the North Shore Bus Company until 1947, the route is now operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit brand.

The Q74 bus route constituted a public transit line in Queens, New York City. It ran primarily along Main Street, Vleigh Place, and Union Turnpike between Queens College and the Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike subway station. Operated by the North Shore Bus Company from the 1930s to March 1947, the route was later city operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit brand until June 27, 2010, when it was discontinued under system-wide service cuts.

The North Shore Bus Company operated public buses in Queens, New York City. It was established in 1920 as the successor to the New York and North Shore Traction Company trolley system, and operated until 1947 when it went bankrupt, and its operations were taken over by the New York City Board of Transportation.

Spring Creek, Brooklyn Neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City

Spring Creek, previously called Spring Creek Basin, is a neighborhood within the East New York section of Brooklyn in New York City. It roughly comprises the southern portions of East New York between Flatlands Avenue to the north, and Jamaica Bay and the Gateway National Recreation Area to the south, with the Brooklyn neighborhood of Canarsie to the west and the Queens neighborhood of Howard Beach to the east. It is named after Spring Creek, one of several creeks that formerly ran through the area and drained into Jamaica Bay.

Richmond Hill station (LIRR) Closed Long Island Rail Road station in Queens, New York

Richmond Hill is a closed station on the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The station is located at Myrtle Avenue and cuts diagonally from the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard through to Hillside Avenue. The station has two tracks and an island platform. Richmond Hill was the only station on the Lower Montauk Branch that was elevated with a high-level platform for passengers to wait for trains; the others were at ground level, with low-level platforms.

Conduit Avenue Avenue in Brooklyn and Queens, New York

Conduit Avenue is an arterial road in New York City, the vast majority of which is in Queens. The divided highway runs from Atlantic Avenue in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn to Hook Creek Boulevard in Rosedale, Queens at the Nassau County border. The thoroughfare is named after an aqueduct in its right-of-way.

165th Street Bus Terminal Bus terminal in Queens, New York

The 165th Street Bus Terminal, also known as Jamaica Bus Terminal, the Long Island Bus Terminal, Jamaica−165th Street Terminal, or simply 165th Street Terminal, is a major bus terminal in Jamaica, Queens. Owned by MTA Regional Bus Operations, the terminal serves both NYCT and MTA Bus lines as well as NICE Bus lines to Nassau County, and was a hub to Green Bus Lines prior to MTA takeover. It is located at 89th Avenue and Merrick Boulevard, near the Queens Library. Most buses that pass through Jamaica serve either this terminal, the Jamaica Center subway station at Parsons Boulevard, or the LIRR station at Sutphin Boulevard.

Queens Hospital Center Hospital in New York, United States

Queens Hospital Center (QHC), also known as NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens and originally called Queens General Hospital, is a large public hospital campus in the Jamaica Hills and Hillcrest neighborhoods of Queens in New York City. It is operated by NYC Health + Hospitals, a public benefit corporation of the city.

Kissena Creek Buried stream in Queens, New York

Kissena Creek is a buried stream located in the neighborhoods of Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, and Kew Gardens Hills in the New York City borough of Queens. Kissena Creek originates in a now-filled swamp within Kew Gardens Hills and Pomonok in central Queens, flowing east to Hillcrest. The creek then travels mostly north and west, largely flowing beneath Kissena Park Golf Course, Kissena Park, Kissena Corridor Park, and Queens Botanical Garden, before merging with the Flushing River in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.

Q20 and Q44 buses Bus routes in Queens and the Bronx, New York

The Q20A and Q20B and Q44 bus routes constitute the Main Street Line, a public transit line in Queens, New York City, running primarily along Main Street between two major bus-subway hubs in the neighborhoods of Jamaica and Flushing. The Q20A/B terminates in College Point at the north end of Queens. The Q44 continues north into the borough of the Bronx, terminating in the West Farms neighborhood near the Bronx Zoo. The Q44 is one of two Queens bus routes to operate between the two boroughs.

Merrick Boulevard buses Bus routes in Queens, New York

The Q5 and Q85 bus routes constitute a public transit corridor running along Merrick Boulevard in southeastern Queens, New York City. The routes run from the Jamaica Center transit hub and business district to Rosedale, with continued service to Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, Nassau County. The Q4 and Q84 buses also serve the northern portion of the corridor, before diverging east along Linden Boulevard and 120th Avenue respectively. The Q4, Q5, and Q85 also provide limited-stop service along the corridor. The routes on the corridor mainly serve as feeder routes to New York City Subway services at Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer station.

Triboro Hospital for Tuberculosis Hospital in New York, United States

Triboro Hospital for Tuberculosis or Triboro Tuberculosis Hospital, later simply Triboro Hospital and now known as "Building T" or the "T Building", is a former municipal tuberculosis sanatorium and later a general hospital located on the campus of Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. Completed in 1941, it was merged with the adjacent Queens General Hospital to form Queens Hospital Center in the 1950s, and converted into a general hospital by the 1970s. Now primarily used for administrative purposes, several plans have been proposed to reuse the site, or to preserve the building as a historic landmark. On January 31, 2019 the hospital was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Spring Creek Park Public park in New York City

Spring Creek Park is a public park along the Jamaica Bay shoreline between the neighborhoods of Howard Beach, Queens, and Spring Creek, Brooklyn, in New York City. Created on landfilled former marshland, the park is mostly an undeveloped nature preserve, with only small portions accessible to the public for recreation.

Edgemere Landfill Former landfill in Queens, New York

Edgemere Landfill is a former municipal landfill located in Edgemere on the Rockaway peninsula in Queens, New York City. It is located on a man-made peninsula on the Jamaica Bay shoreline, at the eastern end of the Rockaway peninsula. A portion of the site is currently open to the public as Rockaway Community Park. The entire site is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Hillside Avenue buses Bus routes in Queens, New York

The Q1, Q36, and Q43 bus routes constitute a public transit line in Queens, New York City. The routes run primarily along Hillside Avenue from the Jamaica, Queens commercial and transportation hub towards several eastern Queens neighborhoods on the city border with Nassau County. Originally operated by the North Shore Bus Company until 1947, all three routes are now operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit brand.

References

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  23. ↑ "$20,000,000 HOUSING TO PROCEED HERE; Mayor Announces Action on 5 Projects as Result of Pact Ending Building Stoppages UNION PLAN IS PRAISED Coyne Says That Jurisdictional Disputes No Longer Will Result in Tie-Ups" (PDF). The New York Times . August 17, 1939. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
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  27. ↑ "HOUSING PROJECTS EASE RESTRICTIONS; Thousands Now Ineligible as Tenants Will Be Able to Get Apartments INCOME LIMIT IS RAISED Both Negro and White Families Will Be Accepted in City's Jamaica Buildings" (PDF). The New York Times . April 12, 1940. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  28. 1 2 "HOUSING PROJECT FILLED: Last 96 Families Move Goods Into South Jamaica Houses" (PDF). The New York Times . August 6, 1940. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Last Families Moving Into South Jamaica: 96 New Tenants Arrive Tomorrow, Filling Low-Rent Project". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. August 5, 1940. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  30. ↑ Jeffrey A. Kroessler (August 1, 2002). New York Year by Year: A Chronology of the Great Metropolis . New York University Press. p.  239. ISBN   978-0-8147-4750-6 . Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Mayor Denounces Pari-Mutel Betting As He Dedicates South Jamaica Houses". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. April 16, 1940. p. 1. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Get Low-Rent Suites: First Families to Move Into South Jamaica Houses Tomorrow" (PDF). The New York Times . July 1, 1940. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  33. ↑ "MOVED TO HOUSING UNIT: Goods of 70 Families Arrive at South Jamaica Houses" (PDF). The New York Times . July 3, 1940. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Day Nursery 'Comes Home' On July 30: Newly-Equipped Quarters to Be Opened in South Jamaica Houses". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. July 12, 1940. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  35. ↑ "South Jamaica Houses: For Whom Were They Built?". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. June 1, 1940. p. 4. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
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  40. ↑ "TEN HOUSING UNITS TO COST $95,000,000; U.S. and State to Supply the Funds—Mayor Will Stump for Rent Subsidy Referendum". The New York Times . May 28, 1945. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  41. ↑ "159 Slum Acres To Be Condemned: Action on 7 of 9 City Housing Projects in 4 Boroughs Is Set for Thursday" (PDF). The New York Times . January 7, 1951. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Jamaica Housing to Cost $7,500,000: City Project Will Have Many Community Facilities-Other Work Speeded" (PDF). The New York Times . August 24, 1951. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  43. ↑ "For 600 Families: South Jamaica Houses Extension Approved". Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. August 24, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
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