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The Farragut Houses is a large-scale New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) development located in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is famously situated in one of the city’s areas of greatest economic contrast, bordered by the tech-heavy Brooklyn Navy Yard and the ultra-wealthy district of Dumbo.1

1. Origins and Namesake

The development is named after Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801–1870), the U.S. Navy’s first admiral and a Civil War hero famous for the command: “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” The name was chosen because of the site’s immediate proximity to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where Farragut’s naval legacy was deeply rooted.

2. Construction and “Slum Clearance”

• Urban Renewal (1945–1952): Before the houses were built, the site was a densely packed industrial and residential area of 18 small blocks.23 In 1945, the city began clearing the land as part of a post-war “slum clearance” initiative.
• Displacement: The project displaced approximately 970 families and removed 144 stores.23 The demolition famously erased several historic Brooklyn streets, including Talman Street, Charles Street, and Greene Lane, while rerouting Hudson Avenue.234
• Completion: Construction was completed in 1952 (though some units were occupied as early as 1950).4 The total cost at the time was roughly $15 million.23
• Architecture: The complex consists of ten buildings (ranging from 13 to 14 stories) housing over 3,200 residents.23 The buildings feature a unique “star-shaped” footprint, a modernist design intended to provide every apartment with maximum natural light and air circulation.

3. Religious and Social Significance25

• Church of the Open Door: Farragut is historically notable for housing the first house of worship built specifically within a NYCHA development.3 Dedicated in 1954, the Church of the Open Door was a multi-denominational effort designed to provide a spiritual “anchor” for the new public housing community.
• Cultural Memory: Older residents often recount the “edible smell” of the neighborhood in the 1950s and 60s, a result of the many chocolate and candy factories (such as the nearby Rockwood Chocolate Factory) that once operated in the surrounding industrial area.15
• Educational Hub: The development is served by P.S. 307 (Daniel Hale Williams), which has been at the center of high-profile city rezoning debates aimed at integrating the children of Farragut with those from the wealthier surrounding neighborhoods of Dumbo and Vinegar Hill.3

4. Modern Challenges and Gentrification

Farragut Houses is frequently cited by urban planners as a stark symbol of New York’s wealth inequality:

• The Gentrification Gap: While the median household income in neighboring Dumbo can exceed $200,000, the median income within Farragut is approximately $21,000.
• Maintenance Advocacy: Like many NYCHA complexes, residents have faced significant infrastructure struggles.234 In 2013, the development made headlines for having over 4,000 unanswered repair requests, ranging from broken elevators to severe heating outages.24
• Recent Investments:
  • Gymnasium Renovation (2015): In a unique project, the Farragut gymnasium was refurbished using $150,000 in seized drug money from a local narcotics investigation.4
  • Security & Lighting (2023): The city recently completed a $551,000 project to install high-intensity LED lighting throughout the campus to improve nighttime safety.

Location Summary

The complex is bounded by York Street, Navy Street, Nassau Street, and Gold Street.4 It spans roughly 16 acres and remains a critical piece of affordable housing in one of Brooklyn’s most rapidly developing waterfront sectors.

🏢 Farragut Houses — NYCHA Development, Brooklyn

📍 Location & Overview

The Farragut Houses is a public housing project located in the downtown neighborhood of northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, bordering the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Farragut Houses is a property of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).1 According to NYCHA, the Farragut Houses housing project has 1,390 apartments and 3,440 residents living in ten 13- and 14-story buildings in Vinegar Hill, within Brooklyn Community Board 2.1

🏅 The Name: Who Was Farragut?

Farragut takes its name from Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801–1870), the celebrated Union naval commander of the American Civil War, whose cry “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” at the Battle of Mobile Bay became a national legend.2 The development’s name also reflects its proximity to the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard.

🏗️ The Site Before Construction

The Farragut Houses are located in what used to be a heavily industrial area, near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The site was occupied by 341 lots by 1941, of which 27 were vacant. Of the 314 lots that were extant, 198 consisted of wood structures.1 Wooden buildings were rarely built after the Great Fire of New York in 1835, and brick became the popular building material around the 1870s, indicating that these framed houses were likely over a century old and were probably built without running water or sometimes even electricity.3

Prior to demolition, there was still an active neighborhood, with 144 stores that were occupied and 30 unoccupied, as well as 677 apartments and 33 one-family dwellings. Restaurants, illegal drinking establishments, tattoo parlors, and brothels were packed with people who worked or commuted along the waterfront. Dirty and narrow streets provided a haven for derelict behavior.1

🔨 Construction & Design

The land for Farragut Houses was cleared starting in 1945.1 Planning emphasized efficient land use on approximately 10 acres bounded by York, Nassau, Navy, Bridge, and Sands Streets, with federal funding supporting site acquisition, demolition, and development to provide affordable rentals for low- and moderate-income working-class families. Groundbreaking ceremonies occurred in the late 1940s, with construction commencing around 1950 and spanning roughly two years.4

In 1951, the first residents started moving in; that year, the average rent was between $33.50–$44 a month, including utilities.3

The development comprises 10 residential buildings — nine at 14 stories and one at 13 stories — containing 1,390 apartments designed for approximately 3,000 residents. Architectural features included elevators for vertical access, on-site playgrounds, and communal open spaces to promote family-oriented living and community self-sufficiency, reflecting NYCHA’s mid-century standards for vertical public housing that prioritized density, sunlight, and basic amenities over sprawling layouts.4

The development includes a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, and four-bedroom units. Amenities within the development include community centers, playgrounds, and outdoor recreational spaces.5

🏭 Surrounding Area & Industrial Context

The Farragut Houses were built during a moment of industrial and economic growth, and the surrounding area contains infrastructure of this time of industrial development: waterfront piers, warehouses, industrial buildings, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and the confluence of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges in nearby Dumbo. The Brooklyn Navy Yard and other industries in Brooklyn declined after World War II and then closed in the mid-1960s, contributing to economic decline in the borough as a whole.1

Long-time residents of Farragut Houses have watched historic buildings along Brooklyn’s waterfront evolve from industrial warehouses to chic residences, accentuating class differences.6

⛪ A Notable Religious Distinction

The Church of the Open Door, which started construction in 1953, was the first house of worship to be opened within a NYCHA development.1

👥 Demographics & Socioeconomic Profile

Racial and ethnic composition is overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic, accounting for nearly 100 percent of the population as reported in 2015. This aligns closely with broader NYCHA trends from 2022, where Black residents comprise 43.6 percent and Hispanic residents 44.9 percent system-wide, though Farragut’s profile skews more heavily toward these groups.4

The median household income for residents of Farragut Houses stood at approximately $20,169 as of recent local assessments, reflecting the low-income eligibility criteria for NYCHA public housing. More than 80% of households fall below the federal poverty threshold, consistent with broader NYCHA patterns where average gross incomes hover around $22,000 annually across developments.4

The film “The Forgotten Farragut” points out the stark contrast between DUMBO, where the median household income is $204,205, and the Farragut Houses, where the median household income is $20,169.7

Over 50% of families depend on public assistance or supplemental programs like SNAP. Unemployment among Farragut Houses residents aligns with NYCHA-wide rates of about 20%, encompassing both active job seekers and those who have ceased searching, a figure that has persisted amid structural economic shifts.4

🎓 Education

PS/IS 307 Daniel Hale Williams, located in the adjacent Vinegar Hill neighborhood, serves as the primary elementary and middle school for many Farragut Houses residents, with an enrollment of approximately 213 students predominantly from low-income households. Proficiency rates at the school stand at 17% for both English language arts and mathematics, significantly below New York City averages of around 50% and state figures exceeding 40%.4

🎭 Gentrification & Community Impact

A documentary called “The Forgotten Farragut” explores the effects of gentrification in DUMBO on the nearby public housing development. A short documentary aims to make sure public housing residents in Vinegar Hill aren’t forgotten in the face of rapid development. The film was released by social services group Brooklyn Community Services (BCS), which operates a community resource center at the Farragut Houses.7

The complex, which opened in 1952, houses more than 3,400 residents — 60 percent of whom live in poverty and 12 percent of which are unemployed.7

🔒 Crime & Safety

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the crack cocaine epidemic profoundly disrupted social structures in New York City public housing, including Farragut Houses, leading to widespread violence, daily shootouts, and territorial conflicts over drug sales that eroded community cohesion. This period saw a surge in criminal activity within NYCHA developments, with residents reporting heightened risks of violence on project grounds exceeding those in surrounding areas, as federal and local deindustrialization compounded unemployment and family fragmentation. At Farragut, the proximity to industrial zones like the Brooklyn Navy Yard amplified these effects, as former manufacturing jobs vanished, leaving many households reliant on informal economies tied to the drug trade.4

In 2014, as part of security measures being undertaken in NYCHA properties around the city, NYCHA installed security cameras in eleven high-crime housing projects around Brooklyn, including the Farragut Houses. NYCHA has taken precautions to protect their residents, and the New York City Police Department Housing Bureau offers many programs and initiatives, which train residents to be vigilant and actively stop criminal activity around them.1

⚖️ Legal Challenges & Corruption

Completed in 1952 and now over 70 years old, the buildings in the complex are falling apart. As of January 2024, there are over 4,000 open work orders on resident maintenance requests. They largely go unanswered.8

Sophia Rostom visited a friend in Brooklyn’s Farragut Houses in March 2023. With the front door lock broken and the building left unsecured, an intruder entered the building and brutally attacked her. She barely survived.8

While NYCHA officials repeatedly ignored the comptroller’s audit, an insidious element was also at play: bribery and corruption. On February 6, 2024, less than a year after the attack, 70 former and current NYCHA officials were charged with bribery and extortion. It was the largest amount of federal bribery charges on a single day in DOJ history.8

🌊 Water Infrastructure

Farragut Houses currently uses a more modern water pipe system. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection regulates Farragut Houses’ water system and its pipes. Each building has its own water piping system, and all buildings share three backup water storage tanks in cases of emergencies such as water outages and storms.1

💻 Modernization & Technology

NYCHA is modernizing the Farragut Houses and other NYCHA properties using a program called NextGen NYCHA. There is a MyNYCHA program called “The Digital Van,” funded by a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grant from the United States Department of Commerce; the vans, which are equipped with eight laptops and are available Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., enable residents to use the vans to access the internet. Another app, called the My NYCHA App, allows residents to receive information on service outages, report damages, and request emergency assistance.1

🏙️ Community Programs

In addition to serving as a home for many families, Farragut Houses have also played an important role in the community. The development has hosted various events and programs, including a summer youth employment program, community centers, and health clinics. NYCHA has been working with community organizations and other stakeholders to improve the quality of life for residents and ensure that the development remains a safe and vibrant place to live.5

Farragut Houses remains one of Brooklyn’s most historically significant public housing developments — a place that reflects the larger story of NYCHA and the challenges and resilience of New York City’s public housing communities.