Boulevard Gardens Queens

The housing project consisted of ten units, each accommodating 96 families, totaling 960 families in all. These low-rent model tenements had an average rental price of $11 per room. They were constructed with a federal loan of $3,450,000 from the Public Works Administration (PWA), and construction began in 1933. Boulevard Gardens was among seven housing developments funded by the PWA through private companies, although future funding was directed solely to public housing authorities.

By September 1935, all units were leased, and a year later, there was a waiting list of 5,000 families. The Dick-Meyer Corporation built a block front of fourteen stores adjacent to the apartments, all of which were rented by October 1935. The development’s 3,000 inhabitants had access to twenty-seven retail stores, a 300-car garage, and a movie theater.

However, there were concerns about affordability. John Volpe, president of the Lower East Side Public Housing Conference, argued in a letter to The New York Times that government-assisted projects like Knickerbocker Village, Boulevard Gardens, and Hillside in Queens only partially solved the slum problem because the rents were not low enough for the low-income group. He cited an example of a New York City Housing Authority project on East 3rd Street in Manhattan, which offered more attractive dwellings at a lower cost.

In May 1936, the majority of families in the larger buildings paid between $35 and $50 per month for rent. The New York State Board of Housing urged the Boulevard Gardens Housing Corporation to reserve their accommodations for low-income families and gradually eliminate tenants with higher incomes. About 3.8% of families in the Boulevard Gardens Apartments had annual incomes of $4,000 or more, according to state board data.