Wikipedia:Peer review/Williamsburg Houses/archive1

Williamsburg Houses

I've listed this article for peer review because it would like to submit for GA in the future. I would like to improve it in any way possible but am not sure how.

Thanks, Williamsburger26 (talk) 04:49, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

@Williamsburger26: I just finished writing a history of a building just across the street from the Williamsburg Houses and learned a lot about these buildings in the process. I'm happy to give you some pointers and maybe even some links on where to find more info. review for each section below:

• Lead
  • One thing to remember with leads is that this section should be a summary of everything else in the article. there should be no information found here and no where else. because of that all, the only references that should be located here are for direct quotes. The references for the location and Rosie Méndez should be in the article, not in the lead.
  • Also having said that, facts like the buildings being landmarked, the construction company, and the number of buildings are in the lead but never referenced elsewhere in the article. They should be.

• History
  • Remember ever paragraph must be cited. The second paragraph in "opening" and the entire "architects" section are uncited.
  • The crime section is empty. What are you wanting to put here? It should either be added to or the section header should be removed.
  • There are three big questions that I'm left wondering after reading this section; What was there before the Williamsburg Houses, why did they build them, and what happened after they were built.
    • Before - This is tons of amazing info in the Landmarks Commission document for the Williamsburg Houses, which you already cite, that can fill in what was there before. Just for instance with a quick glance I learned that the houses stretch over a 23.3 acre, 12 city block, site. That 568 buildings were demolished on 349 lots and approximately 5,400 people were relocated. 78% of the cleared apartments had no central heating and 67% had no private toilets. Construction took two years and, when completed, 20,000 applications were submitted for a total of 1,622 units. All of this is amazing information that should be explained out so that visitors to the page can see the extent of both what was there before and why the city thought it needed to tear all of these buildings down.
    • Why - here is a link to some info about how public housing was developed in NYC and why. Perhaps this info could help you. Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness. The Historical Perspective Excluding the Poor.[1].
    • After built - you state the buildings were originally segregated but never explain when that changed or why it changed. Who lives there now? have any other historical events of note happened there besides it being opened? Have the buildings or landscape ever been restored? The link in the "why" bullet above may help with a little of this and so may this article from Brownstoner. [2]

• Design
  • There are sentences at the end of two of your paragraphs here that are not sourced. make sure every claim you make has a source associated with it.
  • There is alot about the architecture left to be discussed, and again alot of the "why" is left out. Why are the buildings at a 15 degree angle (it was controversial)? Why did he use tan brick instead of red like all the other housing developments of the time. Why so many entrances? Why four floors tall? Alot of this info is in the Landmarks Commission document and the Brownstoner article.
  • How were the buildings received after they were built? The brownstoner article says "When the buildings opened, and in subsequent years, they were met with both praise, and less than fulsome commentary. Walter Gropius, one of the masters of the Moderne style, praised them highly for their use of space, light and materials. Talbot Hamlin wrote a lengthy review, praising the design and the concept, but he was not pleased with what he called the “shockingly low standards of construction,” or the inadequate landscaping. Architectural historians went from calling the project “brilliant” to “overrated,” depending on who you talked to, but in the past decades, the pendulum has swung to an embrace of the project, with the 2000 edition of the AIA Guide to NYC calling it the best public housing project ever built in New York City."[3] This kind of praise and criticism should be in the architecture section.
  • I think an important thing to add about the murals is that they were "“the first non-objective public murals in the United States, containing no recognizable figures, symbols, or objects.” according to the Brooklyn Museum. [4] I think it would also be great to explain more about how a mural can be rediscovered. Were the rooms they were in being used as storage instead of the original use? were more than just 3 painted over? were they hidden behind false walls? Also who rediscovered them? Was this person looking for them or did they stumble on them?

• Demographics
  • This section is empty. What are you wanting to put here? It should either be added to or the section header should be removed.

• Notable people
  • Is Rosie Mendez the only notable person to grow up in these houses? If so than this fact should be folded into the history section. if not then the Notable people section should be fleshed out. having an entire section for one person places undo weight on the person.

Hope this helps some! --Found5dollar (talk) 21:57, 13 December 2020 (UTC)

@Williamsburger26: Also, as an FYI, I just ran a copyright violation script on this article and found that large chunks of it are exactly the same as at this website [5]. it'll take a little bit of digging to find out which site is the original and which is in violation of copyright.--Found5dollar (talk) 22:07, 13 December 2020 (UTC)

• Looking at dates of the article vs. the website it seems that the website copied paragraphs from here instead of the other way around. the Roosevelt Island Historical Society should know better. you are fine from a copyvio perspective.--Found5dollar (talk) 22:17, 13 December 2020 (UTC)