Fulton Houses Explained

The Robert Fulton Houses is a housing project located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, owned and operated by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The 6.27acres site is located between West 16th and 19th Streets and bounded by Ninth and Tenth Avenues. The project consists of 945 apartments in eleven buildings; three of the developments are 25 stories, while the others are 6 stories high.

History

The Robert Fulton Houses were designed by architects Brown & Guenther and were developed as a "vest pocket" site that retains the street grid.^[3] The groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 15, 1962 and the buildings were completed on March 31, 1965. Its confines are within the 10th Police Precinct.^{[4] [5]}

The housing project is named after engineer and inventor Robert Fulton (1765-1815).

Due to financial needs of the NYCHA, the de Blasio administration began putting plans together to begin working with private developers in 2019. Fulton Houses is located in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood where median asking rent is $3,462. The plan proposed by the city includes demolishing and rebuilding two buildings and a parking garage in the housing project and replacing them with three larger buildings that 70 percent would be market-rate, and 30 percent would be “affordable enough” for current residents; and to turn over management to a private developer.^{[6] [7] [8] [9]} Residents of the project do not have any input in land-use decisions, and residents are organizing in opposition noting that previous conversions of public housing came with a 57 percent rent increase.^[10] Average monthly rent for residents is $660.

Development firms Related Companies and Essence Development proposed rebuilding the Fulton Houses and the nearby Chelsea-Elliott Houses in early 2023.^[11] In a survey in June 2023, residents of the Chelsea-Elliott Houses and Fulton Houses voted in favor of demolishing the existing towers and constructing a 3,500-unit apartment complex on the same site. At the time, NYCHA officials estimated that the complexes needed about $1 billion in repairs and that it would cost about as much to build new complexes on the site.^{[12] [13]} PAU, COOKFOX Architects, and ILA were hired in early 2024 to design the Fulton Elliott-Chelsea Plan, which would involve converting 2,056 NYCHA apartments into mixed-income units.^[14] Under the plan, six new towers would be built on the two sites before the existing buildings were demolished.^[15] NYCHA's board approved the redevelopment of the Fulton Houses and Elliot-Chelsea Houses in November 2024.^{[16] [17]}

Notable people

• Shawn Wayans (born 1971), actor
• Marlon Wayans (born 1972), actor and comedian
• Keenan Ivory Wayans
• Damon Wayans
• Kim Wayans

See also

• New York City Housing Authority
• List of New York City Housing Authority properties

Notes and References

1. Web site: Fulton Houses Area . November 7, 2019 .
2. Web site: Gompers Houses Population.
3. Book: Bloom, Nicholas Dagen. Affordable Housing in New York: The People, Places, and Policies That Transformed a City. Lasner. Matthew Gordon. 2016. Princeton University Press. 9780691167817. en.
4. Web site: Fulton Houses. New York City Housing Authority. 2009-09-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20090414181557/http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/manfulton.shtml. April 14, 2009. dead.
5. News: Fulton Houses Dedicated at 9th Ave. Near 19th St. . New York Times . 1962-10-16 . 2009-09-05.
6. News: To Save Public Housing, New York Warily Considers a New Approach: Tear Some Down. Ferré-Sadurní. Luis. 2019-04-25. The New York Times. 2019-05-10. en-US. 0362-4331.
7. Web site: City considers demolishing and rebuilding 2 NYCHA sites. Goldenberg. Sally. Politico PRO. en. 2019-05-06.
8. Web site: City quietly pauses plans for private development at Brooklyn NYCHA site. Goldenberg. Sally. Politico PRO. en. 2019-05-06.
9. Web site: City may demolish and rebuild two NYCHA buildings in Chelsea: report. Ricciulli. Valeria. 2019-04-22. Curbed NY. 2019-05-10.
10. Web site: Fulton Houses fearful over RAD'ical plan. 2019-05-08. The Villager. 2019-05-10.
11. Web site: Brand . David . Once a long shot, a plan to demolish and rebuild Chelsea public housing complex sees new life . Gothamist . March 15, 2023 . June 21, 2023.
12. News: Mihir . Zaveri . NYC Moves on $1.5 Billion Plan to Tear Down and Replace Public Housing . The New York Times . June 21, 2023 . June 21, 2023.
13. Web site: Brand . David . Tenants vote to demolish and rebuild Chelsea public housing complexes . Gothamist . June 21, 2023 . June 21, 2023.
14. Web site: Roche . Daniel Jonas . August 11, 2023 . NYCHA announces plans for “complete rebuilding” of Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses in Manhattan. But at what cost? . October 13, 2024 . The Architect’s Newspaper.
15. Web site: Brand . David . October 11, 2024 . NYC public housing tenants make last-ditch push to stop demolition in Chelsea . October 13, 2024 . Gothamist.
16. Web site: Turner . Tatyana . October 31, 2024 . NYCHA Board Green Lights Plan to Demolish & Rebuild Lower Manhattan Developments . November 4, 2024 . City Limits.
17. Web site: Kimmelman . Michael . Barth . Lila . October 31, 2024 . Radical Plans for Public Housing Stir Up Hope, and Doubt . November 4, 2024 . The New York Times.