When the 35-tower Fort Greene Houses project opened to much fanfare in 1942, it replaced a blighted area near the Brooklyn Navy Yard that was awash in prostitution and crime.
At the time, the vision for the project, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, was as an “austere array of high-rise towers set amidst a field of landscaped lawns.” Its intent was to provide low-rent housing and a strong community for more than 13,000 people.
Success was virtually assured. The project’s architects had designed Rockefeller Center. Its staff included “trained housing assistants” to solve tenant issues. The well-read Brooklyn Eagle newspaper called it “comfortable housing for workmen … streamlined for happy homemaking.”
Read Full Article »