Open House New York Spotlights NYCHA Public Art, Renovation Projects 

Vibrant public artworks, climate hazard protection, modernized building and apartment improvements, and revitalized public spaces were among the featured projects showcased during the 2025 Open House New York tours of NYCHA properties in mid-October. 

The annual Open House New York festival takes tour-goers to 300 locations across the city, including many rarely open to the public, for behind-the-scenes visits and wide-ranging activities. From new buildings, affordable housing, and infrastructure facilities to parks, art displays, and performance spaces, participants are given unique access to places, people, projects, and systems that define New York and its future.  

Several sites at NYCHA were part of the citywide festival tours over two days, including Atrium at Sumner, Kingsborough, Red Hook East, and Red Hook West Houses in Brooklyn and Harlem River Houses in Manhattan.  

On October 17, staff from NYCHA and the Public Housing Community Fund led a tour of Kingsborough Houses, spotlighting the recent restoration of Exodus and Dance, an 8-foot by 80-foot-long frieze created by Harlem Renaissance sculptor Richmond Barthé. Between December 2023 and July 2025, NYCHA and the Fund partnered with Jemco Electrical Contractors, EverGreene Architectural Arts, Ronnette Riley Architect, Jablonski Building Conservation, and Fisher Marantz Stone to carefully conserve and revive the 80-plus-year-old sculpture, which reflects the themes of resilience, spirituality, and joy.  

Along with learning about the project and Mr. Barthé’s story, tour visitors were able to explore how Works Progress Administration-era public art and New Deal-era housing intersect. The restoration effort was part of NYCHA’s Connected Communities program, which focuses on transforming and modernizing public housing open spaces through public-private partnerships and participatory planning and design with residents.  

In addition, tour participants were informed of other public art installations planned for Kingsborough, including a community narrative artwalk project and new community-inspired murals on the backside of the Exodus and Dance wall.  

Also on October 17, Open House New York spotlighted comprehensive renovations completed at Manhattan’s historic Harlem River Houses through NYCHA’s Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program. The on-site tour was led by PACT partners Settlement Housing Fund and West Harlem Group Assistance as well as Nicholas Bloom, Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College. 

The wide-ranging PACT improvements at the development include the electrification of heating and cooling services, the removal of all lead-based paint, and the renovation of all apartments with new kitchens, bathrooms, floors, lighting, and more. Participants had the opportunity to view a renovated first-floor apartment as part of the tour. Last year, the development celebrated the opening of two new playgrounds and the completion of restoration work on the central fountain thanks to PACT. 

Built between 1936 and 1937, Harlem River Houses is the first federally funded, built, and owned housing development in New York City. The development, which was created to provide quality housing for working-class African Americans, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for its significance in the areas of architecture, community planning, and social-humanitarian history.  

PACT partners and Hunter College professor Nicholas Bloom led a tour at the historic Harlem River Houses campus. (courtesy of Settlement Housing Fund)

On October 18, Open House New York participants were taken on a guided tour to view two vibrant community murals in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, while also learning how public art and infrastructure are reshaping one of the city’s most storm-impacted neighborhoods. The walk was led by the Public Housing Community Fund, NYCHA’s Senior Vice President for Capital Programs Joy Sinderbrand, and lead artist Max Frieder of Artolution. Red Hook West Resident Association President Karen Blondell joined for part of the day. The tours started at Coffey Park for viewing a striking mural spanning 2,500 square feet at Red Hook West Houses that was created by local youth and Artolution.  

Next, participants walked across the campus while NYCHA staff and the Kohn Pedersen Fox design team described the various resiliency improvements made in the community following Superstorm Sandy: elevated critical systems, flood protection, backup power, and structural reinforcement. Site restoration is well underway with upgraded playgrounds in use, most seating areas completed, and the first 100 trees replanted. 

The visit continued with a tour inside the new steam plant, guided by NYCHA Stationary Engineer Matthew Clerkin. Attendees were able to see the three boilers that will provide high-pressure steam for heating and hot water across the site. As a finale, the tour-goers stopped by Red Hook East Houses to admire Red Hook Dreams, a 925-square-foot mural co-created by residents on the façade of the new boiler plant. Like with the neighboring Red Hook West mural, the colorful artwork comes alive through an immersive augmented reality feature developed with the help of neighborhood youth. 

“What a wonderful opportunity to show the public the investment NYCHA has made to reinforce the climate resilience of the development and invest in the social resilience of residents on one of the largest sites in the portfolio,” Ms. Sinderbrand said. 

Tours in Brooklyn’s Red Hook community included stops at the Red Hook West mural and new steam plant. (courtesy of Max Frieder)

Also on October 18, project partners provided a new-construction site tour of Atrium at Sumner, an 11-story, mixed-use building in Brooklyn. Built on underutilized land at Sumner Houses, the project features 132 apartments for senior households earning 50 percent or less of the Area Median Income and 57 apartments reserved for older adults who formerly experienced homelessness.  

Atrium at Sumner was designed by the world-renowned architecture firm Studio Libeskind and encompasses a central atrium with corridors overlooking a year-round indoor garden on the second floor. The property, which was constructed by Lettire Construction Corp., was developed by Urban Builders Collaborative, LLC.; RiseBoro Community Partnership, Inc.; and Selfhelp Realty Group – The Melamid Institute for Affordable Housing. Supporting sustainability goals, the project was designed in accordance with Passive House standards – aiming for 60 to 70 percent less energy consumption than the average New York City apartment building. The building also offers onsite social services through Selfhelp’s Active Services for Aging Model and a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center on the ground floor.  

The Open House tour was led by Matthew Gross, Owner and Builder at Urban Builders Collaborative LLC, Lettire Construction Corp.

Featured photo caption: The NYCHA tours in Brooklyn featured a viewing of the Red Hook Dreams mural at Red Hook East Houses. (courtesy of Justin Dinkins)