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Notable People

Summary

The best-documented “came from Red Hook Houses (NYCHA)” names that show up consistently across interviews, profiles, and reference sources are:

  • Carmelo Anthony (basketball)
  • James McBride (author / journalist / musician)
  • Matty Rich (film director / writer)
  • Shabazz the Disciple (rapper)

A lot of other well-known people are connected to the Red Hook neighborhood, but not clearly to the NYCHA Red Hook Houses specifically, so I’m keeping the list below to people with explicit Red Hook Houses / Red Hook housing-project ties in sources. 1

Notable people from NYCHA Red Hook Houses (with what made them famous)

Carmelo Anthony — NBA star (basketball)

  • Red Hook Houses connection: Multiple sources describe him as growing up/living in Red Hook Houses as a child, and he’s publicly returned to Red Hook Houses for community events (including opening refurbished courts there). 2
  • What made him popular: One of the defining scorers of his era: 10-time NBA All-Star, NCAA champion at Syracuse (2003), and a major figure in USA Basketball. 3
  • Major career recognition: He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (Class of 2025), with induction events in September 2025. 4

James McBride — award-winning author (and musician/journalist)

  • Red Hook Houses connection: McBride has repeatedly spoken about growing up in a housing project in Red Hook, and his bios commonly describe him as raised in the Red Hook housing projects as a child. 5
  • What made him popular: He’s widely known for memoir and fiction that blend history, race, faith, and community—especially The Color of Water—and for writing across major publications. 6
  • Big career milestone: McBride won the 2013 National Book Award (Fiction) for The Good Lord Bird. 6

Matty Rich — filmmaker (director/writer/producer)

  • Red Hook Houses connection: Profiles from major outlets describe Rich as having grown up in Brooklyn’s Red Hook housing project, and local Red Hook coverage describes him as “a kid from the Red Hook Houses.” 7
  • What made him popular: He broke out extremely young with “Straight Out of Brooklyn” (1991)—a gritty indie film set in the Red Hook housing projects—where he served as writer/director/producer (and acted as well). 8
  • Awards/recognition: Straight Out of Brooklyn is documented as winning a Special Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, and it later won Best First Feature at the 1992 Independent Spirit Awards (among other recognition). 8

Shabazz the Disciple (Scientific Shabazz) — rapper (Wu-Tang affiliate / Sunz of Man)

  • Red Hook Houses connection: Biographical descriptions commonly identify him as a rapper from the Red Hook Houses in Brooklyn. 9
  • What made him popular: He’s known in 1990s–2000s NYC hip-hop as an original member of Sunz of Man (Wu-Tang affiliate network) and for solo projects that kept a strong underground following. 9
  • Red Hook-specific visibility: He helped put the development directly into hip-hop culture with Red Hook-themed releases—most explicitly via the album/project titled “Welcome to Red Hook Houses.” 10

Helpful context (so names don’t get mixed up)

People often say “from Red Hook” when they mean the neighborhood, but “from Red Hook Houses” means the NYCHA development (Red Hook East + Red Hook West). The four people above are the ones I can most cleanly tie to the housing development / Red Hook projects in published sources. 1

Extra value-add: Red Hook Houses’ “cultural footprint” (beyond individual residents)

Even when a celebrity isn’t a confirmed former resident, Red Hook Houses shows up as a setting and symbol in NYC culture:

  • The film Straight Out of Brooklyn is explicitly framed around life in the Red Hook housing project world Rich grew up in. 7
  • Hip-hop references like “Welcome to Red Hook Houses” treat the development as a recognizable NYC place-name in rap storytelling. 11

If you want, I can also do a second pass focused on “locally notable” Red Hook Houses people (community organizers, longtime resident leaders, founders of programs, etc.)—but the list above is the core set of widely known/publicly documented figures. 12

Red Hook Houses (also known as Red Hook East and West Houses), a large NYCHA public housing development in Red Hook, Brooklyn, has produced several notable figures in sports, literature, film, comedy, and music. While not as prolific in generating mainstream hip-hop stars as nearby projects like Marcy Houses or Brownsville’s projects, it has a documented group of alumni who achieved national recognition. Here are the primary ones, based on Wikipedia and news sources:1

Carmelo Anthony (born 1984) is the highest-profile athlete associated with the development. He was born and lived in the Red Hook Houses until around age 8 before his family moved to Baltimore, where he primarily grew up and honed his basketball skills. He became a 10-time NBA All-Star, NBA scoring champion, and Olympic gold medalist, known for his scoring ability and longevity with teams like the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, and others. He has maintained ties to Red Hook, including renovating basketball courts there.2

James McBride (born 1957) is an acclaimed author, journalist, and musician. He spent part of his childhood in the Red Hook Houses (his family later moved to Queens). He is best known for his bestselling memoir The Color of Water, which recounts his experience being raised by a white Jewish mother in a Black family. His other notable works include the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, Deacon King Kong (set in a fictionalized version of the area), and the film Red Hook Summer, which depicts life in the projects. He is also a jazz saxophonist.3

Matty Rich (born 1971) is a film director, screenwriter, and actor. He grew up in the Red Hook Houses and, at age 19, wrote, directed, produced, and appeared in the semi-autobiographical indie film Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991). The movie, shot in the Houses, portrays the struggles of a young man in the projects and won a special jury prize at Sundance. He is regarded as a pioneer in independent Black filmmaking.4

Shabazz the Disciple (David Collins, born 1973) is a rapper and lyricist from the Red Hook Houses. A Wu-Tang Clan affiliate (member of Sunz of Man), he is known for his raw, spiritually conscious, Five Percenter-influenced style and gritty storytelling about street life. He has released solo albums such as The Book of Shabazz (Chapter One) and collaborated with Hell Razah (another Red Hook-associated rapper) as T.H.U.G. Angelz on the album Welcome to Red Hook Houses, which directly references their upbringing.5

Ellen Cleghorne (born 1965) is a comedian and actress. She grew up in the Red Hook housing projects and developed an interest in performing as a teenager. She is best known for her run as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1991–1995), one of the early Black women in that role, where she created memorable characters. She has also appeared in films and television shows.6

Other mentions include community activists like Karen Blondel (longtime housing and environmental advocate known locally as the “Fearless Princess of Red Hook”) and various local artists or musicians, but they have less national fame. The development has inspired art and media focused on public housing life, crime, resilience, and community.

Information comes primarily from the Red Hook Houses Wikipedia page, resident interviews, film profiles, and Brooklyn news coverage. Many searches for “famous people from Red Hook Houses” surface these same names repeatedly. Compared to other NYCHA developments, the list leans more toward filmmakers, writers, and one major athlete rather than a large hip-hop roster.1

If you’d like more details on any of these individuals, sources for further reading, or info on a different NYCHA development, just let me know!