[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 114 (Wednesday, September 3, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          TRIBUTE TO STUYVESANT TOWN AND PETER COOPER VILLAGE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 3, 1997

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute of the 50th 
anniversary of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, two large 
apartment complexes in the Borough of Manhattan, in the city of New 
York. On August 21, 1997, the owners, residents, and neighbors 
celebrated the 50th anniversary of the historic public-private 
partnership which created thousands of spacious apartments for 
reasonable rents.
  Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village deserve honor here today as 
an outstanding example of private housing developed in the public good. 
In 1943, Frederick Ecker, chairman of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 
worked with the city government to rebuild a run-down section of New 
York known as the Gas House District. He committed resources to build a 
large housing development, in exchange for property tax incentives. All 
3,000 families who lived in the area were first re-housed by 
Metropolitan Life in an extensive and successful relocation program. 
The first families moved into Stuyvesant Town on August 1, 1947 and by 
June 1, 1949 all apartments were rented.
  Today, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village together house 11,000 
New York families. The Stuyvesant Town apartment buildings occupy 75 
acres and comprise 89 apartment buildings, stretching from East 14th to 
East 20th Streets and from First Avenue to Avenue C in Manhattan. Peter 
Cooper Village is located between East 20th and East 23d Streets and 
also from First Avenue to Avenue C. The complexes have their own 
security force, supervised play and sports for children, a senior's 
lounge, annual flea market, holiday celebrations, among other 
amenities. A very unique quality of these complexes is their park-like 
setting--between the many buildings are trees, flowers, grass, and a 
centrally located fountain to give respite from the stresses of city 
life, just steps away outside the complex.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honor of the historic partnership 
which has housed thousands of families, generation after generation, 
for 50 highly successful years. Congratulations to the residents of 
Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village and to all at Metropolitan 
Life Insurance Co. who have contributed to the ongoing success of these 
historic apartment buildings.

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