Vietnam (Morrisania Air Rights buildings)

Morrisania Air Rights is a public housing project of three buildings in Melrose and Morrisania in the Bronx. The buildings were contructed over Metro-North Railroad tracks and the project was completed in February 1980.
   
Morrisania Air Rights is frequently nicknamed “Vietnam,” and the origin of the nickname is disputed. Many Vietnam War veterans moved into the buildings, and some believe that this is the origin of the “Vietnam” nickname. However, others believe that the frequent violence in the buildings resembles a war zone.
 
   
Wikipedia: Morrisania Air Rights
Morrisania Air Rights is New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing project in Melrose and Morrisania, Bronx, consisting of three buildings, 19, 23, and 29-stories tall. There are 843 apartments housing some 1,952 residents. It was designed by the architectural firm, The Eggers Partnership also known as Eggers & Higgins.
 
The projects are so named because when they were completed in 1980, they were built over Metro-North Railroad tracks, taking advantage of the air rights above the tracks. This method of construction allowed a new housing project to be built without tearing down any buildings or displacing any residents.
 
New York City Housing Authority
MORRISANIA AIR RIGHTS
3145 Park Avenue
Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 588-6009 Fax (718) 537-3052
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SITE STATISTICS AND DESCRIPTION:
Morrisania Air Rights consists of three buildings, 19, 23, and 29-stories tall. With 843 apartments housing some 1,952 residents. Completed February 29, 1980, the 5.38-acre Bronx complex is bordered by Park Avenue, East 158th, East 161st, and East 163rd Streets.
       
City-Data Forum—New York City
what are the worst and the best nycha developments (Amsterdam: houses, neighborhood)
SuperMario
10-17-2008, 11:41 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sha83 View Post
Why is Morrisania Air Rights called Vietnam Houses??
 
Im not too sure but it had something to do with it it housing Vietnam veterans. Then they converted it to projects. Many people still call it Vietnam.
   
SkyscraperPage Forum
big box shopping comes to the bronx
mrnyc
Posted Jun 6, 2010, 4:34 PM
The fifth-to-last pic is the Morrisania Air Rights Houses, built in the early 70’s on a platform over the Metro North tracks.
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alo, i read that these pj buildings were originally called “the vietnam houses” because vietnam veterns were the original tenants.
 
Twitter
Stephen Sherman
‏@stephenesherman
Photo: Metro North tracks, Melrose station. looking under Morrisania Air Rights Housing, aka Vietnam http://tmblr.co/ZIakJy1B2Wnls
8:30 AM - 24 Mar 2014
   
New York (NY) Post
2 men shot dead in housing project nicknamed ‘Vietnam’
By Larry Celona, Kevin Sheehan and Matt McNulty
November 10, 2014 | 1:24pm
Two men were chased down and executed Monday in the elevator of a crime-plagued Bronx housing project in retaliation for sitting on the killer’s car, police sources said.
 
Darryl Page, 26, and Tykquan Fennell, 23, were hanging out with a group of friends outside the Morrisania Air Rights houses on Park Avenue in Melrose — known to locals as “Vietnam” due to the horrible violence there — when the gunman spotted the duo sitting on his parked Toyota just before 11 a.m. and told them to beat it, sources said.
   
Gothamist   
Men Found Fatally Shot In Elevator Possibly Killed For Sitting On Car
BY JEN CHUNG IN NEWS ON NOV 11, 2014 8:56 AM
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Apparently the Morrisania Air Rights housing is nicknamed the “Vietnam Projects” or “Vietnam Houses,” because there’s so much violence. Fennell lived in the building, and yesterday was his mother’s birthday. A neighbor told the Times, “Over a car, over sitting on a car? The mother lost her son on her birthday. This is no way to live.”
 
Facebook
The South Bronx Network I think they call that building Morrisania Air Rights on Park Ave AKA Vietnam….although I have no idea why they called it Vietnam. Does anyone know?
March 11 (2015—ed.) at 12:02am
 
Darrin Martin They called it Vietnam because people used to throw stuff out the windows at you sooooo it was similar to a war zone lol no matter how cool or tough you were you got hit with something!!
March 19 at 9:04am
 
Instagram
August 6, 2015
luckycesar#tbt #1980s #1990s #Bx This building was nicknamed Vietnam. It’s on Park Ave but not the Park Ave you usually hear about. I lived here with my god sister back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. We lived on the 23rd floor and had a great view of the entire city. We could see straight down 5th Avenue, as far as Shea Stadium and the entire south Bronx. Last time I visited and all the time when we lived there, reflex made you look up. One never knew when someone would throw an egg, a rock, a frozen water-filled 2 liter soda bottle or just about anything else out of their window. The elevators smelled like piss. At times they wouldn’t work so we would have to walk up 23 flights of stairs. To add insult to injury, the lights in the staircase were out so we did so in the dark. All in all I have great memories. The Bronx….what didn’t kill us made us stronger! #luckyme #luckycesar http://www.juliojordan.com #bronxwarstories