Q&Archives: Shaping the City with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development
An interview with Jonathan Patkowski, Digital Communications Manager at NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development
In this week’s installment of Q&Archives, we’re chatting with Jonathan Patkowski to explore the role of archives at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) — a city agency that plays a pivotal role in shaping New York’s built and social landscape. Our team here has been drawn to this partnership in particular because HPD’s collections so powerfully illuminate the importance of understanding complex histories to build a better future. Archives serve not only as documentation of past events but reminders that push us to move forward. Read on for the full take!
For those who might be unfamiliar with NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), can you give us a quick introduction to the agency?
Jonathan: Sure thing — the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s mission is to promote promotes the quality and affordability of the city’s housing and the strength and diversity of its neighborhoods. It primarily does this by preserving affordable housing, financing new affordable housing and enforcing the Housing Code.
The agency was founded in 1978, but our archive goes all the way back to 1960 and includes photos from previous agencies. So all-in-all it’s an amazing collection: you start before the advent of large-scale Urban Renewal and catch glimpses of streetscapes that no longer exist. You see a bleaker period of abandonment and decay in the 1970s and 80s when NYC was in a state of crisis. Finally, you get to the City’s rebound, as abandoned buildings were restored and empty lots filled in with new homes. Along the way, there are lots of remarkable tenant portraits, and a few totally random images mixed in, like Mayor Koch standing on a ladder painting a sculpture of a big red apple!
The photos were all out of sight for decades until the Department of Records (DORIS) digitized them a couple of years back. Since then, we’ve really enjoyed partnering with DORIS & Urban Archive to share them with the public and shed light on NYC’s housing history.
From our New Yorkers #AtHome exhibition to our first story Rebuilding the Bronx, at this point, we’ve collaborated on a handful of digital projects. Looking back, do you have any favorites?
Jonathan: Without a doubt, it’s Rebuilding The Bronx. It features abandoned buildings and empty lots of the South Bronx in the 1980s, but rather than just dwelling on the devastation, it shows how each site rebounded and has since given rise to new, high-quality affordable housing thanks to investments by HPD.
The Urban Archive “Then & Now” tool was the perfect way to visualize these transformations. I think we definitely threaded the needle to achieve a balance between exhibiting distressed urban streetscapes without wallowing in the devastation of the past, something you often see in contemporary photography of Detroit, for example. The Bronx is an amazingly dynamic place that shouldn’t be defined by its darkest hour and being able to convey that through this exhibition was really rewarding.
HPD has worked with various photographers over the years to chronicle its own history and the development of housing in NYC. Has this shaped the nature of HPD’s work and approach community outreach?
Jonathan: There’ve been many HPD staff photographers over the decades, including Larry Racioppo who is a great photographer in his own right. One interesting thing Larry recently explained to me is that HPD photographers used to be essential to the agency’s operations — they documented building and apartment conditions so their colleagues could literally perform their jobs back at the office. Of course, now in the age of smart phones, that kind of dedicated documentary photography isn’t as necessary — every Housing Inspector is their own photographer!
What about archives excites you most as the Digital Communications Manager at HPD?
Jonathan: So many things. For one, these photos were boxed up and unseen for decades, so it feels like we’re just scratching the surface of what we can do with them — there are so many stories here waiting to be told!
Also, these photos help show how buildings we might find unremarkable can have equally interesting histories as the beautiful pre-war buildings we more often celebrate. Getting folks excited about hulking 1970s Mitchell-Lama housing towers can be tough, but these photos help us to do it!
How does a platform like ours help you uncover stories in photographs to bring understanding and visibility to HPD’s work?
Jonathan: I really like the Then & Now tool — it’s such a good way to visualize how HPD has helped turn around distressed buildings and revitalize devastated neighborhoods over the past few decades.
And overall, Urban Archive is just so good at making NYC history engaging to a wide audience. It’s amazing to see folks in your Instagram comments sharing their own memories and stories about the buildings you feature. We’re always looking for ways to connect with the wide range of New Yorkers we serve, and this partnership is a great way to do that.
To explore HPD’s stories on Urban Archive, tap here. You can also catch up on previous Q&Archive conversations by clicking on a link below:
- How the Brooklyn Public Library Approaches Curating Collections and Digital Initiatives
- Capturing a Community-Based Archive with Queens Public Library
- The Future of Records at the NYC Department of Sanitation
- Strategies of Preservation with Village Preservation
- Telling Old Stories in New Ways with the Forward
- “Building Stories” with the Museum at Eldridge Street
- Mapping Archives with the Museum of the City of New York
- Activating Archives with The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Thanks again for reading and see you next time!
