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Notable People

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    1. The Glenwood Houses in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn, completed in 1950, has produced some notable figures, though compared to other NYCHA developments, the list of famous alumni is more limited. Here are the notable people who came from Glenwood Houses:

      Music & Entertainment

      • Neil Bogart (1943-1982): The most famous person to come from Glenwood Houses, Bogart was a legendary music executive who revolutionized the American music industry. He grew up in the Glenwood Houses, a housing project in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn.1 His achievements include:
        • He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks.1
        • He is credited with being a key player in the rise of bubblegum pop music during his time working at Cameo-Parkway and Buddah.1
        • Signed and promoted legendary acts including KISS, Donna Summer (who became the “Queen of Disco”), The Village People, and Parliament led by George Clinton
        • He was a singer in the 1960s, using the name Neil Scott, and had a hit single, “Bobby” in 1961, prior to running the Michigan offices of Cameo-Parkway Records. Bogart discovered the group ? and the Mysterians, and produced their hit “96 Tears” in 1966.1
        • Shortly before his death, Bogart founded Boardwalk Records and jumped on the new wave bandwagon, as disco was in decline. Joan Jett, Night Ranger, Phil Seymour, and Harry Chapin were among his last signings.1
        • Bogart died of lymphoma at age 39 in Los Angeles.1 His legacy includes having shaped the sound of the 1970s and early 1980s through discovering and promoting some of the biggest acts in rock, disco, and funk history

      Sports

      • Bernie Friedkin (1917-2007): Bernie Friedkin (born 1917), former prizefighter.2 Known as “Schoolboy,” he was a professional boxer in the late 1930s and early 1940s who battled many of his opponents to a draw, including three former lightweight champions. He was given the nickname “Schoolboy” because of his baby face and 5-foot-3 height, and developed into a skilled tactical fighter rather than a hard puncher in his six-year professional career.

      Quick Facts about Glenwood Houses

      • Glenwood Houses is a public housing development located in the Flatlands neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. Glenwood Houses were constructed in 1955 and consist of 34 buildings that are primarily low-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings, covering an area of approximately 30 acres.3
      • The development was designed by architect Adolph Goldberg and construction began in 1949, and opened on July 14, 1950.2

      While Glenwood Houses may have fewer famous alumni compared to developments like Queensbridge or Marcy Houses, Neil Bogart’s singular impact on the music industry—discovering and promoting some of the biggest acts in rock, disco, and funk history—makes this development historically significant in the story of American popular culture.

       

      Glenwood Houses (NYCHA) — notable people who came from there (with brief bios)

      Glenwood Houses is a NYCHA public-housing development in Brooklyn’s Flatlands area (ZIP 11236), bordered by Ralph Avenue, East 56th Street, Glenwood Road/Avenue H, and Farragut Road. It opened in 1950 and is often referred to locally/artistically as the “Glenwood Projects.” 1

      Below are the best-documented notable people I could verify as having grown up in / lived in Glenwood Houses (or being consistently described as “from the Glenwood Projects/Houses”). (For NYCHA developments, this can mean born there, raised there, or living there during formative years.) 1

      1) Neil Bogart (1943–1982) — record executive / founder of Casablanca Records

      Bogart is one of the most famous “Glenwood Houses → national impact” stories: he grew up in Glenwood Houses and later founded Casablanca Records, the label closely tied to major pop/disco/rock success in the 1970s (often discussed alongside acts like KISS and Donna Summer). 2

      Why he became popular: not as a performer, but as a powerful music-business builder—a label founder/executive whose marketing instincts and artist development helped shape mainstream music in that era. 2

      2) Dagmara Domińczyk — actress & author (TV/film; Succession)

      Actress and novelist Dagmara Domińczyk has publicly described her family moving into Glenwood Houses when she was a child and living there for about 11–12 years. 3

      Why she became popular: she’s widely known for screen acting—especially as Karolina Novotney in HBO’s Succession (2018–2023)—and she’s also recognized as an author as well. 4

      3) Marika Domińczyk — actress (TV/film; Grey’s Anatomy)

      Marika Domińczyk (Dagmara’s sister) is also tied to the same Glenwood upbringing in profiles/interviews discussing the family’s early years in New York and the sisters later moving out together once Dagmara’s career began to break through. 3

      Why she became popular: she’s best known for television work, including playing Dr. Eliza Minnick on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. 5

      4) Ill Bill (William Braunstein) — rapper / producer (Non Phixion; Uncle Howie Records)

      Ill Bill is a long-running figure in NYC underground hip-hop, frequently described in music coverage and event bios as a rapper from Brooklyn’s Glenwood Projects. 6

      Why he became popular: he gained major underground recognition through the group Non Phixion, and he’s also known as the founder/CEO of Uncle Howie Records and for a solo catalog that blends hard-edged rap with political themes. 7

      5) Necro (Ron Raphael Braunstein) — rapper / producer; founder of Psycho+Logical-Records

      Necro has directly stated that he grew up in the Glenwood Housing Projects in Brooklyn, and this background appears consistently across bios and interviews. 8

      Why he became popular: he built a cult following in underground rap for an aggressive “horror/hardcore” style he’s associated with (often labeled “death rap”) and for running his independent label Psycho+Logical-Records. 9

      6) Lord Goat / Goretex — rapper (Non Phixion affiliate; Glenwood-linked)

      Goretex (also known as Lord Goat) is strongly associated with the Glenwood circle: Wikipedia’s history of Non Phixion describes him as a childhood friend of Ill Bill from Glenwood Houses. 10

      Why he became popular: he’s best known for his role in the influential underground group Non Phixion and related projects connected to that late-1990s/early-2000s NYC hardcore rap scene. 10

      7) Bernie “Schoolboy” Friedkin (1917–2007) — professional boxer

      Bernie Friedkin, nicknamed “Schoolboy,” is documented in biographical summaries as having lived for many years in the Glenwood Houses in Brooklyn. 11

      Why he became popular: he was a notable Brooklyn pro boxer (lightweight) in the 1930s–1940s era—part of a period when neighborhood boxing gyms and local fight cards produced well-known local sports figures. 11

      8) Irvin S. Schonfeld — psychologist / professor (occupational stress, burnout & depression research)

      Professor Emeritus Irvin S. Schonfeld (CUNY) has a particularly strong, first-person documentation trail: he writes that he grew up in the Glenwood Houses, a NYCHA housing project, and he connects those experiences to his later path in psychology and education. 12

      Why he’s notable: not “celebrity famous,” but field-famous—recognized for research and writing on work stress, burnout, and depression and for a long academic career. 12

      A quick reality check (why lists like this are hard)

      NYCHA resident history isn’t always public, and some names float around online without strong sourcing. The people above are the ones I could tie to Glenwood Houses with explicit statements, reputable profiles, or consistent biographical documentation.