The Forest Hills Co-operative Houses are located on an 8.5 acres (34,398.3 m²) site on the border of the Queens neighborhoods of Forest Hills, Queens

Forest Hills, Queens

Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.-Neighborhood:The neighborhood is home to upper-middle class residents, of whom the wealthier residents often live in the neighborhood's Forest Hills Gardens area...

 and Corona, Queens

Corona, Queens

Corona is a densely-populated neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States...

.

Early history

Unlike the rest of the surrounding neighborhood, the block on which the Houses stand was among the last to be developed because of its soil quality. Initially it was a wetland through which Horse Brook passed on its way from Elmhurst

Elmhurst, Queens

Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth...

 to Flushing Meadows

Flushing Meadows

Flushing Meadows is an American short film by Larry Jordan, with director Joseph Cornell. The film is 8 minutes long, in color, 16mm, and silent....

. Near the corner of Colonial Avenue and the future Long Island Expressway, a mill was built in 1652 damming the creek. The block was largely occupied by a reservoir. By the 1930s, surrounding development had dried up the creek and in 1938, the mill was demolished to make way for the Long Island Expressway. Nevertheless, because of the high water table, construction never took place on the block. In the postwar years, the block was used as a golf driving range.

Public Housing Controversy

In 1966, Mayor John V. Lindsay announced plans to build three 24-story low-income housing projects on the empty block as part of his scatter-site plan, where low-income projects would be spread out among largely middle-class white neighborhoods. Fearing that Forest Hills would decay into a minority ghetto, the local residents formed the Forest Hills Residents Association to protest the plans.

Compromise

As a compromise, the height of the towers was reduced to 12 floors, and 40 percent of the residents were to be elderly. Over the years, as the population within the projects aged, it became recognized as a NORC

Naturally occurring retirement community

A Naturally occurring retirement community—or a NORC —is a community that was not originally designed for seniors, but that has a large proportion of residents who are older adults...

. In addition, the income requirements were higher than for most NYCHA housing units. Residents were given "shares" of their units as owners, but they were forbidden from selling them to anyone but NYCHA. The Forest Hills Houses were the first co-operative public low-income housing in the city. On the site of the projects was also the Forest Hills Community House, which has programs for projects residents and neighbors of all ages.

Completion

Construction commenced in 1971 amid violent protests. In 1976, the buildings were completed. Until the early 1990s, the projects' population was largely white, elderly and Jewish. Following a 1992 investigation alleging discrimination, the white percentage of the residents has decreased, in favor of more minorities.