Patterson Houses Mural Honors Notable Residents
A mural honoring four of Patterson Houses most notable former residents was unveiled on August 19 as part of the development’s Old Timers’ Day celebration. The mural was one of over 100 ideas residents submitted for new open space projects in their community through the Public Housing Community Fund’s Green Space Connections program, which is being implemented in partnership with NYCHA and the Center for Justice Innovation.
The mural features former boxing world champion Iran Barkley, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player Nate “Tiny” Archibald, actor Luis Antonio Ramos, and Platinum recording artist Prince Royce.
The artwork celebrates the contributions of the former residents to the Patterson community as well as the Bronx as a whole.
“Our hero, Iran Barkley, was up here on this wall, but [the old mural] became worn out by the weather,” said Patricia Simpson, Patterson’s Resident Association President. “Not only did I want to replace it with him, but I wanted to replace it with more heroes from Patterson – because we’ve got a lot of heroes in Patterson. This is just the beginning. As you come through Patterson, you will see a lot of our heroes, and this is also to change the mindset of our children, our younger generation,” by empowering them with pride about their community and its history.
Known as “The Blade,” Iran Barkley won 43 out of his 63 professional fights and held world championship titles in three different weight classes. Mr. Barkley attended the ribbon-cutting event with his wife and other representatives from the World Boxing Council.
“This is something that I dreamed about,” said Mr. Barkley. “This is for all my people who through the hard times and bad times thought we wouldn’t get this far. But look, it’s a reality now. I’m on the wall. This is like a dream come true. I gave back to the community, I did a lot of good things, and I will continue to do it.”
Joel Bergner, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Artolution, a non-profit art organization, led the creation of the mural. He worked with other artists and about 25 residents, including children, teenagers, and seniors.
“I first met with them back in June and we talked about what the community would like to see on the wall. And the first thing they said was they wanted Iran Barkley back on the wall,” Mr. Bergner noted.
Besides leading the creation of the main mural of the four notable figures, Mr. Bergner worked with residents on adjacent murals.
“You’ll see we have a lot of different animals that are significant to people either for symbolic reasons or actual pets that have passed away,” he said. “But you also have portraits of just regular people as well. It’s not only about people who have become famous or well known, it’s also about the grandmother, the child, the teenager – people that make up the community.”
The mural also features inspirational and positive messages that residents wanted to send to their neighbors as well as “different things that people love about this area and also things that people don’t have here but they want to have – one child painted a swimming pool.”
“Envisioned through participatory design and painted by Artoloution and youth and adult volunteers from Patterson Houses, I saw firsthand how the mural became a beacon for residents to convene and recall memories of their upbringing,” said Layman Lee, Director of Neighborhood Safety Initiatives at the Center for Justice Innovation. “The ‘Patterson Universe’ mural proudly celebrates Patterson Houses’ rich history and diverse community and serves as a visual catalyst for future public space projects.”
NYCHA’s Vice President of Resident Services Leroy Williams noted that “NYCHA has always been at the forefront of working with our resident leaders and the community to make sure we have things like this to beautify and to make sure that our residents see everyday and local heroes are put on the walls. We want to make sure that our next generation understands that they can be on this wall next.”
Executive Director of the Public Housing Community Fund Alex Zablocki thanked Ms. Simpson and the partner organizations, including Green Space Connection and Center for Justice Innovation, for their support.
“If you walk around this mural, look at all the stories being told across the entire wall here in Patterson,” Mr. Zablocki said. “It’s special. It talks about love, it talks about respect for Patterson, it talks about what people are doing here at Patterson. [It’s] really a symbol of what Patterson is all about, families coming together, people that live here and people who have since moved on but always come back to give.”
The mural was funded through Green Space Connections, a three-year program led by the Public Housing Community Fund in collaboration with NYCHA’s Asset and Capital Management Division; managed by The Design Trust for Public Space; and implemented by the Center for Justice Innovation.