Manhattan Plaza

For the building formerly known as One Chase Manhattan Plaza, see 28 Liberty Street.
Manhattan Plaza, seen from Ninth Avenue/43rd Street, 2016

Manhattan Plaza is a large federally subsidized residential complex of 46 floors and 428 feet (130 m)[1] at 400 and 484 West 43rd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 1977,[2] it has 1,689 units[3] and about 3,500 tenants. 70% of the tenants are from the performing arts, 15% are neighborhood residents, and 15% are elderly. It occupies the city block bounded north by 43rd Street, east by Ninth Avenue, south by 42nd Street, and west by Tenth Avenue. Since January 2004, it is owned by The Related Companies.[4]

History

Constructed in the 1970s, the 3.68 acres (1.49 ha)[5] complex originally was intended to be luxury apartments before the developers declared bankruptcy and left the mostly completed structures vacant.[6] The all-electric heating became uneconomic after the oil crisis raised the costs of electricity, and prospective tenants found the neighborhood of the time, with its crime and sexually oriented book stores and movies, undesirable.

Shortly after Manhattan Plaza opened, the City was hit by the AIDS crisis, and many residents in the performing arts came down with AIDS. To respond to their needs, General Manager Rodney Kirk, an Episcopal minister by training, established social service programs with paid staff and volunteers, and the help of the Actors' Fund, to care for them and for non-residents.[7] According to health officials, a greater proportion of people have died of AIDS in that apartment complex compared to any other residence building in the country.[2][8] The Manhattan Plaza AIDS Project Foundation's benefit concert in May 1997 at the Westside Theatre on 43rd Street featured Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor, Jenny Burton, Vivian Reed;[9] artists in other years included Jeanne MacDonald, Audra McDonald, and Robert Cuccioli.[10]

As HIV/AIDS came under control, the focus of the social services program shifted to the elderly, who are aging in place, and are sometimes unable to care for themselves.[7] Kirk retired in 1997 and died in 2001.[7] His work was continued by General Manager Richard Hunnings, his companion of 42 years.[7][3]

Description

The complex was built with federal U.S. Housing and Urban Development Section 8 and New York State Mitchell-Lama Housing Program support. Under Section 8, low-income tenants pay no more than 30% of their income for rent, and the Section 8 program pays the rest. Under Mitchell-Lama, rents are also subsidized but income thresholds are higher.[11][12][13][14] Manhattan Plaza was designed by architect David Todd.[15]

To compensate for the fact that the block is on a slightly tilted slope, the Tenth Avenue building has 46 stories while the other has one fewer, thereby creating the illusion of equal height.

Aside from the McGraw-Hill Building, the complex was the tallest in the Hell's Kitchen area at the time it was completed, and is still highly visible from the north, south, and west sides. Between the two buildings are a multi-story garage, a fitness center (including a swimming pool), a basketball court, a playground, tennis courts, a wall-climbing center, and a number of shops (including Arnold Wilkerson's Little Pie Company), restaurants, and a bank branch.

Though the majority of occupants work in the performing arts, there are a number of long-time residents who were offered apartments because they were displaced from the old neighborhood.

Located within the Tenth Avenue building is the 43rd St Kids Preschool, which was founded in 1981. It is a private, non-profit, parent cooperative school.[16] More than 1,500 one-act plays including more than 40 by Lewis Black have been staged at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in the West Bank Cafe (where Bruce Willis was a bartender) at the base of the building.[17]

In the middle of March 2009, the original playground located on the 3rd floor rooftop was taken down in order to build a new playground built by Kompan and sponsored by former football player Tiki Barber. The company was known as Tiki Recreation. It is one of three rare and unique playgrounds. It has an electronic setting and virtual interactive games programed within the equipment. The park officially opened June 8, 2009.

Manhattan Plaza has a Summer Day Camp / Youth Program every year for kids ages 7 to 13 from July to August. The camp consists of swimming, baseball, basketball, dodgeball, tennis, wall climbing, taekwondo, cooking, and Four Square / Box Ball as well as performing arts. Campers also created a "4Square" type game called Nations. The camp has trips and sees movies once a week.

Documentary

Manhattan Plaza is the subject of an upcoming documentary titled Miracle on 42nd Street that delves into the history and impact of the apartment complex. The film features interviews with previous tenants such as Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard, Donald Faison, Larry David, Samuel L. Jackson, and many others. It is directed by Alice Elliott, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. Mary Jo Slater, the producer, and Lisa Shreve, the consulting editor, are both previous tenants of the building. The film is currently in post-production and is expected to be released in 2015.[18][19]

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Manhattan Plaza I and II, technical data, Emporis
  2. 1 2 Federici-LaFargue, Marietta (1997). "AIDS – A Community Answers the Call". In Davidson Chukwuma Umeh. Confronting the AIDS Epidemic: Cross-cultural Perspectives on HIV/AIDS Education. Africa World Press. p. 154. ISBN 9780865435261.
  3. 1 2 Manhattan Plaza Project, New York Public Library, September 12, 2012
  4. ↑ "The Related Companies Under Contract to Acquire Manhattan Plaza", press release, The Related Companies, January 20, 2004
  5. ↑ Manhattan Plaza, Related Management
  6. ↑ Fighting For Change: Fox built in the toughest of markets, by Bendix Anderson, Affordable Housing Finance, July 2008
  7. 1 2 3 4 Rodney Kirk, 67, Director Of Manhattan Plaza, Is Dead by Wolfgang Saxon, The New York Times, July 17, 2001
  8. ↑ Horwitz, Simi (1991-07-29). "The Kindness of Strangers: Helping Theater People With AIDS at the Manhattan Plaza". TheaterWeek.
  9. ↑ "Manhattan Plaza AIDS Project Benefit Earns $39G" by Harry Haun, Playbill, May 19, 1997
  10. ↑ Company by Jeanne MacDonald, CD Baby
  11. ↑ How the Rent Numbers Add Up at Manhattan Plaza, by Nahma Sandrow, The New York Times, June 9, 2002
  12. ↑ "Manhattan Plaza Near Rental Deal?" by Roger Armbrust, BackStage, July 2, 2004
  13. ↑ "Manhattan Plaza 20-Year Pact 'Helps Actors'" by Roger Armbrust, BackStage, September 24, 2004
  14. ↑ "Rent Subsidies Are Preserved for Manhattan Plaza Tenants" by David W. Chen, The New York Times, September 14, 2004
  15. ↑ Dunlap, David W (2008-04-02). "David Todd, Architect and Official, Dies at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  16. ↑ 43rd St Kids Preschool
  17. ↑ The West Bank Cafe, newyorkrestaurantinsider.com, July 2007]
  18. ↑ Official Website of Miracle on 42nd Street
  19. ↑ Miracle on 42nd Street at the Internet Movie Database
  20. ↑ "Broadway Actress Dies in Apartment Fire After Good Wife Star's Attempted Rescue" by Maane Khatchatourian, Variety, September 4, 2015
  21. ↑ "Manhattan Street Corner Renamed 'Stan Brooks Way' In Honor Of Late 1010 WINS Reporter", CBS New York, September 12, 2014
  22. ↑ "History of Manhattan Plaza", "Manhattan Plaza Building History"

External links

Coordinates: 40°45′33″N 73°59′34″W / 40.759299°N 73.992685°W / 40.759299; -73.992685

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