The facility was one of the first owner-occupied co-ops in NYC, with the initial construction subsidized by New York City. The early development of the project, led by a team of civic leaders headed by philanthropist 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. Morningside Gardens, which replaced a slum area with a population of approximately 6,000 people, was created primarily for 972 middle-income families. Construction started in 1954. 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. One objective of Morningside Gardens was to create a racially integrated community. The population was 75% white, 20% black, 4% Asian, and 1% Puerto Rican. Today Morningside Gardens is managed by an elected eleven member board of directors. MHHC contracts with FirstService Residential to provide property management services for the complex. There is a small security force that has helped the Gardens to experience a very low crime rate. 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. In 2015 Morningside's bylaws adopted changes which eliminate entirely Maximum Resale Prices and allow sales on the Open Market. In June 2013, Morningside Gardens partnered with the New York City Department of Sanitation on a pilot project to compost its food waste. This pilot program was highlighted on NPR's The Brian Lehrer Show on March 12, 2014.
Notable residents
Fiona Apple, singer-songwriter, lived here as a child.
Robert L. Carter, lawyer and civil rights activist who presented part of the oral arguments in Brown v. Board of Education, was a resident of Morningside Gardens.
Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice, lived in Morningside Gardens. The Thurgood Marshall Room in 80 LaSalle Street is named after him.
