WHITE OPPOSITION TO THE AMSTERDAM HOUSES
Although in public the prominent organization of leading citizens known as the “West of Central Park Association” opposed the Amsterdam Houses because it was, they claimed, an inefficient use of urban space, a confidential document from the NYCHA archives reveals that their real opposition was to continued African-American presence in the neighborhood.
Similarly, the NYCHA document also demonstrates that the local Catholic Church worked to oppose NYCHA’s plans for housing African-Americans simply because of their race.
