Morningside Gardens

The early development of the project, led by a team of civic leaders headed by banker David Rockefeller and Columbia University president Grayson Kirk, later formed the basis of the Mitchell-Lama law, which led to many similar co-operative housing facilities, most in NYC and a small number in the local suburbs.

[3] Morningside Gardens, which replaced a slum area with a population of approximately 6,000 people, was created primarily for 972 middle-income families.

[6] When the complex opened in 1957, one-third of the first residents were employees of the prominent educational institutions in the neighborhood, and of the National Council of Churches and other religious organizations located in the nearby Interchurch Center.

[citation needed] For most of its existence, the By-Laws set a maximum resale price for those selling their apartments; this changed somewhat in 2006, when the co-op voted to allow residents to sell their units at a progressive yearly increase designed to top out at 80% of market value, or three times the previous maximum sale price per apartment.

[citation needed] In June 2013, Morningside Gardens partnered with the New York City Department of Sanitation on a pilot project to compost its food waste.