Contact: Colleen Roche/Matthew Higgins (212) 788-2958
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today visited the Museum of the City of New York to view a photo exhibit that captures the changes brought about in many New York City neighborhoods through the work of the City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development and its many dedicated partners. The 65 remarkable photographs by Larry Racioppo, an accomplished photographer who works for HPD, focus primarily on redevelopment activities in Central and East Harlem in Manhattan, the Morrisania section of the South Bronx, and Saratoga Square in Central Brooklyn.
"Over the last several years, HPD has made great strides in revitalizing many New York City neighborhoods through its comprehensive community and housing redevelopment initiatives," Mayor Giuliani said, after touring the exhibit with HPD Commissioner Richard Roberts. "This exhibition brings HPD's work to life by vividly depicting the men and women whose hard work makes community redevelopment possible. I urge all New Yorkers to visit Landscapes of Hope and witness the transformation of New York City's neighborhoods through each captivating photograph."
The exhibit depicts several redevelopment projects throughout the City -- some of them in varying stages of pre and post construction -- along with testimonials from area residents. Among the redevelopment projects featured are West 122nd Street in Harlem, where an abandoned City-owned building was transformed into ten units of affordable rental housing, and 1501 Boston Road in the South Bronx, where four buildings have been rehabilitated to provide 82 units of affordable rental housing.
The exhibit runs from January 16 through June 27, 1999 at the Museum of the City of New York, located at 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, Manhattan.
Photographer Larry Racioppo's work has been shown in several solo exhibits, including an exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC entitled Forgotten Gateway: The Abandoned Buildings of Ellis Island (Nov. 12, 1998 - May 2, 1999). Racioppo recently completed a year-long Guggenheim Fellowship.
Since 1987, HPD has provided over $4.5 billion to support the repair, rehabilitation, and new construction of 174,000 housing units citywide. During this period, the inventory of units in City-owned residential buildings has decreased from over 86,000 to fewer than 27,000. From January 1994 to June 1998 alone, HPD has made available 8,325 new homes across the city for working families. In the next four years, HPD plans to spend close to $1.5 billion in continued support of housing preservation and community development activities in New York City.