These buildings started out as Greycourt Farm Colony- a woman’s prison- in 1918. It covered 258 acres of farmland that were tended to by female prisoners. (If you’re wondering what a “farm colony” is, read this.) In 1934, the city turned it into Camp La Guardia, a homeless shelter for men. The shelter’s occupants continued to farm, with potatoes being the main staple, and sent food to other nearby shelters.
In the 1980s, the crack epidemic and deinstitutionalization of psychiatric hospitals led to a rise in violence and drug use at the camp, which frightened the civilians who lived nearby, prompting them to take action against the shelter. In the following decades, incidences such as the strangling of a pet rabbit and slashing of a woman’s face by two camp residents led to repeated complaints. By 2007, the camp was shut down and abandoned.
Since then, it’s been home to a few squatters and many windows have been smashed out. It doesn’t have as much graffiti as I expected, but there is some.
For more photos, go to the Flickr set
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