Our History
Woodside Houses
A NYCHA community on the Woodside–Astoria border in western Queens, home to families since 1949.
At a Glance
📅 Opened
December 30, 1949
Woodside Houses opened as the 33rd public housing development in New York City.
🏢 Buildings
20 six-story buildings
1,357 apartments reached through 55 stairhalls, home to about 2,650 residents.
📍 Location
About 22 acres
Bounded by 49th Street, 51st Street, 31st Avenue and Newtown Road, with Broadway running through the middle.
🏛️ Management
NYCHA Woodside
Management Office at 50-51 Broadway, Woodside, NY 11377. Phone (718) 728-4930.
Timeline
- 1948The city announced a 20-building, 1,357-apartment project next to William Cullen Bryant High School. Local property owners protested the plan, but construction went ahead.
- 1949Woodside Houses opened on December 30, 1949. It was the first development in the city’s C-II program: city-aided public housing built without cash subsidies.
- 1968The development was transferred into NYCHA’s federally funded portfolio.
- 2021–2022Hurricane Ida flooded the main boiler in September 2021, leaving residents with repeated heat, hot water and gas outages. The Tenants Association and local elected officials rallied at Woodside Houses to demand a permanent fix.
- 2023Woodside became home to NYCHA’s first full-building heat pump retrofit, with 150 window heat pumps installed under the Clean Heat for All Challenge. That April, longtime Tenants Association President Ann Cotton-Morris passed away after decades of service.
- 2026On Earth Day, Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited Woodside Houses to announce NYCHA’s sustainability agenda, pointing to the success of Woodside’s heat pumps as a reason to expand the program citywide.
Learn More
🗺️ NYCHA
Woodside Development Map
Official map of every building, entrance address and facility.
🤝 Get Involved
Resident Association
Meet the Association president and learn how to take part.
Information last checked October 2026. See something that needs updating? Let us know.