Having visited all these UN sites and imagined the bustling staff at each, we couldn’t help but wonder: “Where did everyone live?”
In the aftermath of the Second World War, New York City faced a serious housing shortage. Incoming UN staff from over 50 countries, many with families, needed safe, affordable homes near the temporary headquarters at Flushing Meadows and Lake Success.
To meet this urgent need, the city partnered with 20 mutual savings banks, which pooled resources to buy a 40-acre tract of vacant land in Kew Gardens, Queens.
The location was ideal. Empty land meant no residents were displaced, and it offered an easy commute to both UN sites. The local community voted on accepting the UN. Out of 280 residents who attended, 200 said yes.
Construction began in July 1946. The architectural firm Leonard Schultze and Associates, known for designing the Waldorf Astoria and contributing to Grand Central Terminal, developed a residential community of 110 colonial revival buildings.
The complex included 687 garden-style apartments with 2,921 rooms, plus a community centre and shops. The “Garden City” design featured low-rise homes, winding paths, open lawns, and no fences, creating a welcoming, village-like atmosphere.
We saw the house of Ralph Bunche, a Under-Secretary-General and future Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his mediation role in the Palestine conflict.
Jason Antos, director of the Queens Historic Society, and Judith Guttman, resident and former president of the Parkway Village Historical Society, provided briefings on the community’s history.
By 1952, more than 480 of the 685 families in Parkway Village were affiliated with the UN. A UN school and nursery within the development helped foster a sense of community.
Nearby in Forest Hills Gardens, we glimpsed Secretary-General Trygve Lie’s house: a grand colonial revival mansion built in 1927 for $250,000, with six rooms, seven baths, three playrooms for children, elegant parlors, a formal dining room, garden views, and a detached garage.
By then, we were starting to feel tired, but inspired, seeing how the city and its residents had risen to meet the needs of the UN and its international staff made the history we’d walked through feel even more real.
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Many thanks to the Department of Operational Support's Archives and Records Management Section for their support and providing information about the UN's historical sites.
