Queensbridge Houses

Queensbridge Houses is the largest public housing development in North America. Owned by the New York City Housing Authority, the 3,142-unit complex is located in Community Board 1 and accommodates approximately 6,907 people within two separate complexes (North and South Houses), each accommodating about 3,450 residents. It is located in Long Island City in Queens and opened in 1939.StructuresThe Queensbridge Housing Projects, the largest of Queens's twenty-six developments, is located between Vernon Boulevard, which runs along the East River, and 21st Street. It is immediately south of the Ravenswood power plant, and just north of the Queensboro Bridge, the latter of which the complex is named after. The complex is the largest housing project in North America. The development is separated into two complexes, the North Houses on 40th Avenue and the South Houses on 41st Avenue. The namesake station of the New York City Subway's IND 63rd Street Line is on the eastern side of the complex on 21st Street.BuildingsThe 96-unit six-story buildings are distinctive due to their shape of two Y's connecting at the base. This shape was used as the architects hoped it would give residents more access to sunlight than the traditional cross-shape. The design was said to be cost-efficient, and they reduced the cost even further by using elevators that only stopped at the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floors. Political pressure to keep costs down was a key reason for the use of cheap designs. W.F.R. Ballard, Henry S. Churchill, Frederick G. Frost, and Burnett Turner designed Queensbridge Houses.