Jacob Riis Houses are a public housing

Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...

 project in the East Village

East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...

, on the Lower East Side

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

 of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The project is located between Avenue D

Avenue D (Manhattan)

Avenue D is the easternmost named avenue in the East Village neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, though several thoroughfares are closer to the East River. This area is also known as Alphabet City. Avenue D runs between East 12th Street and Houston Street, and continues south...

 and the Franklin D Roosevelt Drive

Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive

The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive is a freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...

, spanning two superblocks from 6th Street to 13th Street.

The project consists of thirteen buildings, between six and 14 stories each, containing 1,191 apartment units. The project is named for photographer Jacob Riis

Jacob Riis

Jacob August Riis was a Danish American social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social documentary photographer. He is known for using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the impoverished in New York City; those impoverished New Yorkers were the subject of most of his prolific...

, who exposed the living conditions of tenement-dwellers on the Lower East Side. Many lived in the neighborhoods which were destroyed through urban renewal

Urban renewal

Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...

 to build the Houses. The Riis Houses were completed January 17, 1949, according to plans of principal architects Walker & Gillette

Walker & Gillette

Walker & Gillette was an architectural firm based in New York City, the partnership of A. Stewart Walker and Leon N. Gillette , active from 1906 through 1945.- Biography :...

.

The buildings are managed by the New York City Housing Authority

New York City Housing Authority

The New York City Housing Authority provides public housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments...

.

Further reading

• "The Lower East Side Changes," New York Times, November 5, 1946
• "Cornerstone Laid at the Riis Houses; Renewal of Federal Aid Urged at Last Project Under Way Here With Help of FPHA," New York Times, September 4, 1947