The Largest Cooperative in Queens Rochdale Village

The Largest Cooperative in Queens

In 1939, when the WPA Guide to New York Citywas first published, South Queens, and particularly the area around what would become Rochdale Village, had little to recommend the visitor.

"Springfield, Laurelton and Rosedale, at the southeastern extremity of the borough, are undistinguished products of the Queens building boom of the 1920s," the WPA Guide reads, without elaboration.

The neighborhood's lone tourist attraction was the now-defunct Jamaica Race Track, which opened in 1903. The 1959 renovation of the Aqueduct Racetrack in nearby South Ozone Park obsolesced the former, which was demolished to make way for a new housing cooperative—what would be the world's largest until the completion of Co-op City in 1971.

Rochdale Village was, from the get-go, a vision of utopia. Developed under the auspices of the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program, the cooperative was built to provide affordable housing for low- and middle-income families. The name—pronounced ROTCH-dale—derives from the eponymous English town whose guild of weavers drew up what became known as the Rochdale principles: open membership, democratic control, political and religious neutrality, and so forth.

The brainchild of—who else—Robert Moses, the complex, designed by cooperative housing pioneer Herman Jessor, drew its inspiration from the Le Corbusier "city-within-a-city" paradigm. Although antithetical to the urban planning models proposed by Jane Jacobs, who apotheosized sidewalks, stoops, and streets, Jessor's design is impressive in size and scope. Five circles of four buildings—20 total—rise majestically from an outlying neighborhood of row houses, earning the development the sobriquet "The Jewel of Jamaica." In addition to the 5,860 residential units, Rochdale Village's 120 acres boast two public schools, a police station, a library, two malls and its own power plant. Transportation is also convenient: JFK Airport is a short cab ride away, and the Locust Manor station on the Long Island Railroad is within walking distance.

Rough Start

However romantically conceived, Rochdale Village fell from idealistic grace before ground was even broken. Blacks were barred outright from working on its construction. What had been a sleepy Queens outpost became a battleground for the nascent civil rights movement. William Booth, who would head Mayor John V. Lindsay's Human Rights Commission later in the decade, was among 23 protestors arrested for blocking truck access to the construction site in 1961.

Blacks were allowed to live in some of the units, however. When Rochdale Village opened in 1963, African-Americans occupied about ten percent of the apartments in what was originally a Jewish enclave. As racial tensions seethed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, attended by an uptick in violent crime, many of the occupants moved to the suburbs—the so-called "White Flight." (This was the dark period of New York history when subways were coated in perpetual graffiti, the city hovered on the brink of bankruptcy, and the Daily Newsran the famous headline FORD TO NYC: DROP DEAD). Some of the apartments were scooped up by blacks and other people of color, but many were simply abandoned. With the vacant units came a loss of revenue, which led to a decline of services, which led to even more crime.

Rochdale Village was not Urban Utopia but Failed Housing Project.

Rebounded Community

But the community rebounded. Crime rates dropped, maintenance improved, turnover stabilized. The foundation of the rebirth was one of the ownership requirements: Rochdale Village is 100 percent owner-occupied, which serves to make the population less transient.

In a 1997 piece in the New York Times, Charlie LeDuff wrote, "Under new management, Rochdale has become a preferred residence for middle-class black people. There are only nine vacancies. The grounds are well kept; there is a community garden."

But even this rare mention in the paper of record was tinged with Manhattan-centric snobbery. The article concerned a massive "assault" on rats in Southeastern Queens. Even though every person associated with Rochdale Village—the property manager, the director of maintenance, the chairman of the board—vehemently denied the presence of any rats, let alone enough to warrant such an offensive, Leduff could not resist noting that the cooperative was nicknamed (by who, he does not say) "The Vermin Capital of Queens" and punning on the unfortunate homonym of "Roch" and the colloquialism for a certain insect endemic to New York.

Today, Rochdale Village is still called the Jewel of Jamaica, and it lives up to the designation—although not in the way you might think.

"It's a desirable place to live in Jamaica," says Mamie Freeman, the newly-minted general manager of Rochdale Village. "With almost 6,000 families on only 120 acres, it brings in a lot of money, it brings in a lot of jobs. I think that's why they call it the Jewel."

The demographics have also changed a bit.

"It's a diversified community," Freeman says. "There's a large senior population, a large youth population. There's a little bit of everything."

This is no artist colony, or redoubt for singles on the make. One of the few places in the city where a three-bedroom apartment is affordable, Rochdale Village is a haven for families. As such, there is quite a bit going on. There are any number of churches, youth groups, childcare and toddler programs, and other programs and organizations geared towards family living. Queens Community Board 12, which includes Rochdale Village, is particularly active. City Councilman Thomas White, Jr., a Rochdale Village resident, spons ors an annual Banner Day picnic and parade at nearby Baisley Park that is well-attended.

The Future

Generally, the residents' collective mood mirrors that of the original developers: optimistic.

"It's getting better," says Freeman, when asked where she thinks Rochdale Village is headed. "It's an integral part of the revitalization of the community. And it's a good, sound financial investment."

In the coming months and beyond, Rochdale Village will have two challenges to overcome. One is a matter of age, the other a matter of money, but both threaten to disrupt what is a delicate balance in South Queens.

Although exact numbers are not available, the population of Rochdale Village—over 25,000, according to the official website—skews older. As the years go by, and the older residents go, the complexion of the community will inevitably change. In all likelihood, the young population of the Village will replace them, but the future is uncertain.

More exigent, and still very much an ongoing story, is the effect of the subprime lending crisis on Rochdale Village. Kel Sawyer, a local resident whose blog, The Progressive Southside, focuses on community issues in the "South of South Jamaica" area, frequently sounds the alarm on the problem.

"To say modestly," he says, "dozens of Southeast Queens homeowners will lose their home this year because they won't be able to pay their mortgage."

According to an August 2007 report by state Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester), an analysis of foreclosures from July 2006 through July 2007 by zip code, Jamaica-Rochdale Village's 11434 postal area reported 450 filings—the most in the Borough of Queens. Granted, the territory comprising the 11434 zip code is vast, and mostly outside the confines of the Jewel of Jamaica. And while Rochdale Village is unlikely to experience a nadir like the early 1970s when so many units were vacant, it is not difficult to imagine the subprime lending crisis adversely impacting the community.

"I see a large population of middle-class families fighting hard to stay here," says Freeman.

Help could be on the way. In August 2007, Senator John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) introduced a bill to establish an urban homeowners' assistance program, designed to staunch the proverbial bleeding. Middle-income and minority families—which would potentially include Rochdale households in dire straits—stand to benefit if the bill passes.

No matter what happens with the subprime mortgage crisis, or how the senior population is replaced when the time comes, Rochdale Village residents are right to be optimistic. The cooperative has survived crises that destroyed similar neighborhoods, and is in the midst of a kind of renaissance. How could such a place suffer slings and arrows and rebound? By being what Robert Moses conceived it to be back in 1959—an idealistic community.

Greg Olear is a freelance writer, editor, web designer, astrologer and stay-at-home dad living in Highland, New York.

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20 Comments

  • I grew up in Rochdale. My family moved there in 1963 and we moved back to Brooklyn in 1973. I will always remember Rochdale. I went to P.S. 30 and I.S. 72. I went to Rochdale Day camps during the summer and had many many friends. My mom also worked in the pharmacy in the "Big Mall" for a number of years. Rochdale will always be "my home".
  • what are the requirements to move into Rochdale co-ops
  • I also grew up in Rochdale Village, one of the original 6,000 families that were the "pioneers" of the development. It was a wonderful place to grow up in the 1960s, but the assassination of Martin Luther King--paired with a horrible teachers strike--set the tone for the rest of my family's time there. I went to P.S. 30 and I.S. 72, and have many memories--both good and bad--about the development. I will always remember my years there.
  • PHYLLIS SIEGEL HERMAN on Sunday, March 13, 2011 6:36 AM
    I moved in, in 1963 with my parents.When I married in 1968 my husband-Larry- and I got our own apartment. In 1972 I gave birth to my first child. My fondest memories were of being a part of The Rochdale Players. The greatest people and actors around.I often wonder if any still live in the NY/LI area.
  • Interested in becoming a resident. What are the requirements?
  • Cynthia Bennett-Walker on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 6:41 AM
    I grew up in a neighborhood across from Rochdale; never knew they were for low income people. I went to school with kids that lived there. I do have a lot of great memories from back then. I have been searching for people that I went to PS 30 with. I moved out of state in 1973.
  • Goldy Safirstein on Monday, May 27, 2013 2:46 PM
    I also grew up in Rochdale Village, where lived across the hall from my grandparents. I have fond memories of PS 30, and going to the library and the co-op supermarket with my mom. We, like so many others, moved in in 1963 and out in the early 70s. The apartments are great. We had a two bedroom, my grandparents had a one bedroom with a balcony and my best friend lived downstairs in a big four bedroom. What a place! I'm glad to hear it has made a rebound. It also saddened me to hear it had deteriorated.
  • I am a retired senior citizen with reduced income from $50thousand to $20 thousand a year and now face monthly carry charges of $894.00 monthly after about 12 years living in Rochdale village. What are some supplementary program available for help in my situation to prevent me from homelessness. I really enjoy and feel safe here therefore with crime on the rise what help is there for tax paying seniors citizen like me.
  • I've lived in Rochdale for over 40 years I attended I.S. 72 and my siblings attended P.S. 30. It saddens me to see how the people have changed. I am of African American descent. I am ashamed of the crime and the way some not all but some of the occupants still urinate in the elevators and stair cases. Even though management works so hard to keep things clean. It is not the majestic place I remember as a child. I grew up with our Assemblyman Edward Abrahmson in my building. It was clean and we had a security guard assigned to... each building. Those days have long since gone. As I too will be very soon.
  • miriam cohen-kurland on Sunday, December 29, 2013 3:58 PM
    Rochdale was a special place to grow up. Wonderful people, special relationships, progressive mindsets and beautiful apartments!!! Crime was a problem, along with violence in the schools, leading people to move away once they could save up and afford a mortgage for a house in more middle class and less crime ridden neighborhoods.
  • Does anyone remember the Valencia theater on Jamaica Avenue in Queens? I am looking for a security guard who used to work there . His name is Michael Kennedy they called him Norman. He was a stout african american man. He is approximately in his 50's or 60's. Thank you please contact me at hbrownjr2001@yahoo.com. He has family searching for him. God bless
  • I'm interested in applying for an apartment Where do I go
  • crime is every where.we can't run from it or lock our selves in from it.i raised my two sons in rochdale.we had a beautiful life there,many friends,many good memories of rochdale.we retired and moved only to be near the grands,,rochdale is just as safe or safer than any neighborhood .
  • I am interested in applying for an apartment, where do I go
  • I'm interested in getting a 2 bedroom apartment could I applied on line or I have to come to get a form and where should I go?
  • I grew up in Rochdale and although my parents retired and we moved to the south in 1997 Rochdale was the place to be! Great school ps 80. Great neighborhood. In 2010 i moved back to NY right into Rochdale in my same old building. Things had changed but still would be my 1st option. Its affordable which is #1. Many of the people i grew up with were still there so that helped me transition back. Living In Rochdale was also good to me! Although i am back south Rochdale would always be my go back to spot!
  • I found this article by accident - linked to Wikipedia - and surprised to see comments as recently as this year (2017) so I would like to add to the comment line. I lived in Rochdale Village - building 15 - from (Friday) November 13, 1964 (when I was 4), till I moved out on my own in May 1983 (and can not recall the exact date) - Mom and Dad remained till their deaths (2002 and 2012) - my brother lived there on and off till moving out West in 2002. I went to PS 80 and IS 72, plus SGHS - and also have great memories growing up there - especially the summers - when those ice cream trucks would frequently stop by - and I remember the Cub Scouts - and meeting in the community center - my brother was a Boy Scout - and although no longer living there - I visit often as my primary care physician is still there - and sometimes people still remember me from years back.
  • Wanda Stockton Sapp on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 6:02 PM
    Interested in obtaining an apartment
  • I live in this coop in 1978 , then move but was very happy, and will be happy if I do move back , will still like this place of home
  • Also moved in (building 2) with my parents when I was 3 in 1963, went to PS 30 and IS 72 before moving to suburbs. But continued to visit my grandparents all of whom also lived there (building 1 and 7) until they died in the 1990s. They were all seeking mixed race, multicultural, safe community, which was certainly a struggle in the late 60s during the dark years. I visited Rochdale's power plant in 1985 and took inspiration for the creation of Citizens to Replace LILCO which led to the Long Island Power Authority Act, which created LIPA as a ratepayer owned utility somewhat like Rochdale's. Recently I was in a hospital waiting room and sat next to a distraught Black teenager waiting for her mother to come out of surgery. Trying to make conversation to distract her from her fears, she revealed that she lived in Rochdale. She was shocked to learn that I had grown up there, in part b/c I'm white. Also recently I was on a bus in Charlotte, NC chatting with the driver, who also turned out to have grown up at Rochdale. Maybe we should start an "alumni" community. Might be helpful to the current residents. It was a wonderfully utopian idea which really struggled against the difficult economic and racist currents in our society. But it does really seem to be back on an upswing. I have lots of positive hopes for Rochdale.