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History of Clinton Houses (NYCHA), Manhattan

Overview

1 Governor DeWitt Clinton Houses, also known as DeWitt Clinton Houses or Clinton Houses, is a public housing development built and maintained by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) in the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. 1 Clinton Houses is composed of six buildings, resting on a non-continuous campus with an area of 5.6 acres (23,000 m²). 1 Five of those buildings (I–V) are 18 stories high, and another (VI) is nine stories high. The six buildings have a total of 749 apartments, which house 1,823 people.

Location

1 Clinton Houses occupies the two blocks bordered by East 110th Street to the north, Lexington Avenue to the east, Park Avenue to the west, and East 108th Street to the south. It also occupies the western half of the two blocks bordered by East 106th Street to the north, Lexington Avenue to the east, Park Avenue to the west, and East 104th Street to the south, with the exception of a small part along East 106th Street.

Planning & Controversy (Late 1950s)

1 The Housing Committee’s proposals for the development were held in 1959. 1 At the hearing, Jane Jacobs accused NYCHA of discriminating against the poor through displacement and embracing architecture oriented for middle-class need, advocating instead for retaining the social structure of the community by mixing low-rise buildings in with typical high-rises. 5 Community input influenced the design process, as local groups sought alternatives to more disruptive renewal models, though the project ultimately proceeded under NYCHA oversight to house approximately 749 families.

Design & Construction

1 The Clinton Houses were designed by Perkins and Will and partially funded federally. It was one of the first vest-pocket properties which retained the city’s street grid in response to Jacobs but was in the tower-in-the-park style to supply light and air. 12 DeWitt Clinton Houses, a 749-apartment, federally aided public housing development, went under construction July 23, 1962 on two separate plots in Manhattan. 1 The development was completed on October 31, 1965.

Namesake

1 The development was named after DeWitt Clinton (1769–1828), who served as Mayor of New York City and Governor of New York. As mayor, Clinton fought for free public education, to remove voting restrictions from Catholics, and public welfare. 1 As governor, he helped found the New York public school system and introduced a bill into the New York State Senate to build a canal connecting the Northeastern United States with the Great Lakes via Lake Erie.

Early Decades

5 Initial occupancy commenced shortly after construction finished on October 31, 1965, with the 749 apartments allocated to low-income families primarily displaced from substandard housing in the surrounding Spanish Harlem area. 5 Into the 1970s, initial enthusiasm waned as federal funding cuts under the Nixon administration reduced maintenance subsidies, leading to preliminary reports of deferred repairs in NYCHA properties, though Clinton Houses maintained relatively stable tenancy compared to larger developments. The project retained its role as a stable anchor, with occupancy rates hovering above 90%.

Neighborhood Context

10 A low-income housing community, more than half of the households live below the national poverty line. East Harlem overall has been historically subjected to mortgage redlining practices, which has contributed to longstanding racial segregation in the community.

Ongoing Challenges

1 In 2014, tenants of the Clinton Houses sued NYCHA for negligence resulting in disrepair and public health hazards. 5 The complex has encountered persistent infrastructure challenges, including severe flooding during storms that affects basements and ground-level units, prompting federal and local funding for stormwater mitigation and resilience upgrades as recently as 2023.

Stormwater Resilience Efforts

10 The Houses and the neighborhood are subject to persistent stormwater flooding, and both the Clinton Houses and the surrounding streets are critical shelter and transportation lifelines for the East Harlem neighborhood. 10 The proposed project is the direct result of a 2017 Pre-Disaster Mitigation Advance Assistance award and will be designed to manage up to 1.78 million gallons of rainfall runoff. The primary mitigation intervention is flood control through nature-based detention and retention basins. The project also addresses extreme heat mitigation strategies using multi-functional open spaces.

Clinton Houses remains a significant example of mid-20th century public housing in New York City — notable both for its architectural response to Jane Jacobs’ critiques of urban renewal and for the ongoing challenges of maintenance, funding, and resilience that continue to affect NYCHA developments citywide.

The Governor DeWitt Clinton Houses (commonly referred to as Clinton Houses) is a public housing development in the East Harlem (Spanish Harlem) neighborhood of Manhattan.1 Its history is defined by a clash between the “urban renewal” movement of the 1950s and the rising grassroots activism led by figures like Jane Jacobs.

1. Namesake and Purpose

The development is named after DeWitt Clinton (1769–1828), a transformative figure in New York history who served as both Mayor of New York City and Governor of New York.12 He is best known for championing the construction of the Erie Canal and fighting for free public education. NYCHA chose his name to signify the project’s intent to provide “modern, healthy, and civilizing” environments for the city’s poor.

2. The Battle of 1959: Jane Jacobs vs. NYCHA

The planning of the Clinton Houses in the late 1950s became a focal point in the history of urban design.

• The “Bulldozer” Plan: Like many projects of the era, the initial plan called for clearing multiple city blocks of their existing tenements, businesses, and social institutions.
• Jane Jacobs’ Testimony: In 1959, legendary urban activist Jane Jacobs famously testified against the development at a public hearing. She accused NYCHA of “discriminating against the poor” by destroying the existing social fabric of the neighborhood. She argued that the “tower-in-the-park” model would create a social wasteland by removing the “eyes on the street” provided by small shops and busy sidewalks.
• The “Vest-Pocket” Compromise: In a rare response to community pressure, the design was partially altered.1 Clinton Houses became one of the first NYCHA developments to adopt a “vest-pocket” style—meaning it retained some of the city’s original street grid rather than creating a single massive, isolated “superblock.”1

3. Construction and Design (1965)

The development was designed by the architectural firm Perkins and Will and was completed on October 31, 1965.123

• Structure: It consists of six buildings (five 18-story high-rises and one 9-story building).
• Capacity: It contains 749 apartments and currently houses approximately 1,600 to 1,800 residents.3
• Architecture: Despite the “vest-pocket” compromise, it still utilized the modernist “tower-in-the-park” layout, with brick high-rises surrounded by open plazas and playgrounds.

4. Historical Impact on East Harlem

The construction of Clinton Houses significantly altered the landscape of East Harlem:

• Displacement: To build the complex, thousands of storefronts, small businesses, and community institutions (including storefront churches and social clubs) were demolished.
• The “Gilded Age” of Public Housing: For the first few decades, the development was considered a major step up for residents moving out of decaying, unsafe tenements. It provided modern amenities like central heating, elevators, and indoor plumbing that were luxuries in older buildings.

5. Modern Challenges and Legal Battles

In more recent decades, Clinton Houses has faced the same systemic issues as much of NYCHA’s aging portfolio:

• 2014 Negligence Lawsuit: Tenants of the Clinton Houses made headlines in 2014 when they sued NYCHA for negligence.123 The lawsuit alleged that the authority had allowed the buildings to fall into a state of severe disrepair, citing chronic issues with mold, lead paint, broken elevators, and lack of heat.
• Resiliency and $30 Million Grant: Following the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, Clinton Houses became a priority for “resiliency” upgrades. It was recently awarded roughly $30 million in FEMA funding for stormwater protection measures, cloudburst infrastructure, and power backup systems to protect the community from future climate-related events.

6. Current Status

As of 2024–2025, Clinton Houses remains under traditional NYCHA management (Section 9), though it is frequently discussed for potential conversion to the PACT/RAD program (Permanent Affordability Commitment Together). This program would transition the property to private management to unlock federal funding for a “comprehensive modernization” of all 749 units.