In 1955, the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program was signed into law. This program encouraged subsidized housing and many such projects sprung up throughout the city and state. With companies created to specialize is such projects, loans of around 90% to 95% of each project cost was given. In addition, state bonds with low interest rates allowed rents to be effectively be cut, while being adding modern amenities to the buildings built. This allowed the River Park Towers, two modern skyscrapers to be constructed while supporting middle-income tenants. The area purchased was industrial, with the Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line, the Major Deegan Expressway, and the Harlem River for transportation. The land is not far from other high-rises, albeit far taller in height than its companions. The towers are located in Morris Heights, a residential neighborhood in the Bronx, at 10, 20, 30, and 40 Richman Plaza. The Towers were sponsored by the New York State Urban Development Corporation, a public agency created by the act of the same name in 1968. Due to this sponsorship, work could commence here. The towers were completed in 1975.
History
1990s
During the late 1990s, an era marked with rampant arson, crime, and drug use, and with a shift of the management company, the living conditions started to deteriorate. Even recently, the quality of living is poor for its tenants, with elevator issues and unfair rents. Many of the inhabitants feel discomfort. Drug rings and gangs are also known to have done activity in the towers. As a result, Bronxites generally view the towers as unsafe and borderline impoverished.
21st century
By the year 2020, incidents of violence had decreased from its 1980s heyday, but drugs and gangs remained a problem. It was reported that residents often had to wait for up to an hour for the elevators, which broke down frequently, "with people crowding the hallways like commuters trying to push into the subway at rush hour." Monthly rent for a four-bedroom apartment in the towers reportedly cost $1,978, with 70 percent of the 5,000 tenants receiving rent subsidies.
"Death towers"
The 2020 coronavirus pandemic struck hard in working-class neighborhoods in the Bronx, and it especially affected dense low-income housing. Many River Park residents work in occupations such as home health aides, grocery clerks, delivery men, pharmacists, and first respondents, often without the protection of health insurance, paid sick time, or unions. As these occupations were often considered "essential workers," it meant many residents were exposed to COVID-19. By May 2020 it was estimated that "as many as 100 residents" of River Park Towers had contracted with the virus, earning it the nickname "death towers" in the press.
