Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village facts for kids
Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village is a very large, private neighborhood in New York City. It is located on the east side of Manhattan. This community is one of the most successful private housing projects built after World War II. People who live there often call Stuyvesant Town "Stuy Town".
The name Stuyvesant Town comes from Peter Stuyvesant. He was the last leader of the Dutch colony called New Amsterdam. His farm used to be on this very spot hundreds of years ago. Peter Cooper Village is named after Peter Cooper. He was an important person in the 1800s. He was an industrialist (someone who owns big businesses), an inventor, and a philanthropist (someone who gives money to help others). Peter Cooper also started a famous school called Cooper Union.
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How Stuyvesant Town Was Built
Plans for this large community began in 1942. The first building opened its doors in 1947. Before it was built, the area had many huge gas storage tanks. These tanks were removed to make way for the new homes.
What the Community Looks Like
The complex has many red brick apartment buildings. They are spread out from First Avenue to Avenue C. The buildings are located between 14th and 23rd Streets. The whole area covers about 80 acres (320,000 square meters) of land. Some of this land is used for playgrounds and parks.
Stuyvesant Town is the part between 14th and 20th Streets. It has 8,757 apartments in 89 buildings. Peter Cooper Village is located between 20th and 23rd Streets. In total, the entire complex has 110 buildings and 11,250 apartments. Over 25,000 people live here.
Neighboring Areas
The East River and Avenue C are to the east of the complex. To the west is the Gramercy Park neighborhood. The East Village and Alphabet City are to the south. To the north is Kips Bay. There is also a historic park nearby. Around this park, you can find Stuyvesant Square, Saint George's Church, and the Beth Israel Medical Center.
Images for kids
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East 20th Street looking east toward First Avenue in 1938. This picture shows two of the huge gas holders that gave the area the name Gas House District; the block in the foreground did not become part of the Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village complex, but the area on the east side of First Avenue, where the tanks are, did. (Photo by Berenice Abbott)
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Stuyvesant Town (bottom and left) and Peter Cooper Village (top and right) as seen from the air over the East River looking northwest (2012)
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Stuyvesant Town's central green, the Oval
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View of central Manhattan from Stuyvesant Town
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20th Street in 2010, looking east toward Peter Cooper Village. On the left is Simon Baruch Middle School (IS 104), built in 1954.
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Mount Sinai Beth Israel
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A tree-lined path through Stuyvesant Town in August 2008
See also
In Spanish: Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village para niños
