Occupation Real estate developer Role Real estate development Education Horace Mann School | Name Fred French Died August 30, 1936, Pawling | |
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Born October 14, 1883 ( 1883-10-14 ) Manhattan Known for Tudor City, Knickerbocker Village, Fred F. French Building | ||
Tudor City History - Phase one
Frederick Fillmore French (October 14, 1883 – August 30, 1936) was a real estate developer.
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Biography
He was born in Manhattan, New York City on October 14, 1883 and attended the Horace Mann School. He built Tudor City, a housing development on Manhattan's East Side, for the rising middle class in the 1920s. He also developed Knickerbocker Village, middle-class housing on the Lower East Side between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. His original intention for the project was to build housing for "junior Wall Street executives". His Fred F. French Building is a well-known skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Midtown.
French and his company served as the developer and landlord of Knickerbocker Village, important in the history of landlord–tenant law. When the tenants were to take possession of their apartments, they found conditions to be unlivable. Facilities were either unfinished or poorly equipped, including non-working elevators and inoperable laundry rooms. The tenants formed the Knickerbocker Village Tenants Association and started a strike, withholding their rent checks until their grievances were dealt with. The conflict that arose from the tenants' dissatisfaction led to New York City's rent control laws.
He died on August 30, 1936 in Pawling, New York of a heart attack.
Legacy
The life of Fred F French and his contribution to the development of New York City was covered in detail by Alexander Rayden in "The People's City, A History of the Influence and Contribution of Mass Real Estate Syndication in the Development of New York City". www.thepeoplescity.com