Rochdale Village, Queens

Rochdale Village (pronounced /ˈrɑːtʃ.deɪl/[1]) is a housing cooperative and neighborhood in the southeastern corner of the New York City borough of Queens.

The architect's concept of Rochdale Village was an attractive community covering 122 blocks that would provide the residents with a park-like setting and facilities of suburbia, within the limits of the Urban Jamaica Area.

When Rochdale Village opened, it was the largest private cooperative housing complex in the world until Co-op City in the Bronx was completed in 1971.

The Rochdale Village complex was supposed to be the model for mixed-race housing in the U.S., but then became symbolic of the Civil Rights Movement, which was ongoing during the complex's construction; for instance, twenty-three protesters were detained for disrupting the construction in 1961, including William Booth, the future head of mayor John V. Lindsay's Human Rights Commission.

[3][4] However, toward the end of the 20th century, Rochdale Village became 100 percent owner-occupied in order to eliminate rent-stabilized apartments.

A New York Times article in 1997 went: "Under new management, Rochdale has become a preferred residence for middle-class black people.

Rochdale Village and the surrounding neighborhoods are served by transit via the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch, which stops right by the complex at the Locust Manor station.

A New York City Subway extension to the neighborhood was considered in the 1970s and 1980s, but was cut short at Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer due to financial issues.