Sumner Houses are located in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant, between Myrtle Avenue and Lewis Avenue, and Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Park Avenue. It was built in 1949 and is composed of 13 buildings and more than 2,600 residents. One of the NYCHA’s older developments, Sumner Houses were built during the post-war housing boom era as a buffer to the city’s relentless housing shortage. They were planned on the open space concept, i.e., greens and playrooms which were planned with the purpose to create a culture of coherence and good health among working-class citizens.
In decades of post-, i.e., most of the NYCHA complexes, Sumner Houses have also witnessed deteriorating infrastructure, abandonment, and increased crime within the community. But all these have failed to load the community to such an extent. The residents have also protested to show for better living and activities for youth, and several have proceeded to become successful professionals. Maybe the most well-known of the Sumner Houses alumni is comedian and actor Tracy Morgan, who has spoken about his life in the complex and how that kept toughening him up and sharpening his sense of humor publicly.
During war time, Sumner Houses’ highest power and strength. Their presence-the presence of unknown and remembered-on a daily basis still keeps a greater history about the strength of survival and brotherhood in transcending even the most besieged location. The citizens of Sumner carry not just memory but heritage of survival and pride.
