Open House New York Features Revitalized Open Spaces at NYCHA 

Comprehensively transformed outdoor spaces, innovative artist-in-residence projects, and vibrant public artworks were spotlighted as featured projects during the 2026 Open House New York tours at NYCHA properties in mid-October.   

The annual Open House New York festival takes tour-goers to over 300 locations, many rarely open to the public, for an in-depth exploration of the city’s infrastructure and systems, both natural and constructed. Participants are given unique access to places, people, projects, and systems that define New York and its future.   

Several sites at NYCHA were showcased among the citywide festival tours over three days, including Brooklyn’s Kingsborough Houses, Harborview Terrace and Harlem River Houses in Manhattan, Astoria Houses in Queens, and Bronx River Houses.   

On October 16, a group of NYCHA staff and project partners led a tour at Kingsborough Houses, spotlighting the restoration of Exodus and Dance, an 8-foot by 80-foot-long frieze created by Harlem Renaissance sculptor Richmond Barthé. Visitors were able to view the historic sculpture fully illuminated, learn more about the artist’s story, and explore how Works Progress Administration-era public art and New Deal-era housing intersect.  

The tour also highlighted a new permanent public art installation and heritage walk, “Migration,” which traverses the development’s 16-acre campus and features 35 illuminated steel artworks. The installation draws inspiration from Egyptian and African diasporic motifs, the Exodus and Dance frieze, as well as the experiences of Kingsborough residents themselves, transforming daily pathways into places of reflection.  

On October 17, representatives from NYCHA, the Public Housing Community Fund (PHCF), and Grain Collective led a tour at Harborview Terrace, where visitors explored newly transformed outdoor spaces featuring an intergenerational plaza, fitness and recreation areas, and vibrant murals — developed through a resident-led design process. The visit focused on the recently completed second phase of improvements on the campus, including a new 14,000-square-foot intergenerational plaza with water play equipment, a large pyramid-shaped climbing structure, landscaping, and seating. Other upgrades include a renovated outdoor fitness area, improvements to an existing community plaza and garden, and a revitalized recreation space serving older adults.  

As part of the tour, visitors learned about the participatory design process in which residents helped identify priorities for how their shared outdoor spaces could better serve the community. Harborview Terrace previously welcomed other project improvements in 2023, including a sports zone with basketball and pickleball courts, murals, seating, planting, lighting, and accessibility upgrades. 

“People were drawn by the exciting tour options in public housing sites and amazed by the scale and innovative efforts that NYCHA and our partners undertake in making this work happen,” said Vaidehi Mody, Director of Planning and Partnerships in the Asset & Capital Management division.  

Also on October 17, visitors at Astoria Houses toured a project of From Roots to Arts, an artist-in-residence program. The interactive public sculpture, titled “Revolving Voices,” was created by local artist Tamra Cosby, in collaboration with The Urban Conga and Astoria Houses residents. The project’s unique design was shaped by the experiences of community members, with poetry, spoken word, and storytelling informing both the art and its meaning.  

Across the city at historic Harlem River Houses, Open House New York participants joined a group of artists for a guided walking tour of newly installed murals and sculptures that speak to the cultural legacy of the community. Through a project of the nonprofit ArtBridge, artists Paul Deo and Marthalicia Matarrita each painted two murals, while artist Kim Dacres created four sculptures. Each of the artworks was created in collaboration with Harlem River Houses residents. In addition to the walking tour, the October 17 event included a Q&A about how public art honors the development’s cultural legacy.  

Fountain Keepers photos by Max Yawney, courtesy ArtBridge and Kim Dacres.

On October 18, From Roots to Arts projects took center stage in an open house tour at Bronx River Houses. The two public artworks celebrate decades of community life and hip-hop heritage, offering insights into the lived experiences and cultural legacy of the residential community celebrating its 75th year.  

Inside the Bronx River Community Center, visitors explored a permanent photo mural which was created through an extensive community archival process. Residents collected and scanned more than 300 photographs to preserve decades of everyday life, celebrations, relationships, and memories at the development. The tour also took visitors to The Home That Inspired the World, a large-scale outdoor mural celebrating Bronx River Houses’ 75-year history and its connection to the cultural legacy of hip-hop music. Developed by artist Mark Lawrence, TATS CRU, and local residents, the mural honors the people, stories, and creative traditions that have shaped the community.