At a time when some believed that only the wealthy or poor could afford to live in Manhattan , affordable urban housing was viewed a solution to the problem of the middle-class flight to the suburbs. Dr. Charles V. Paterno, a real estate developer, purchased land on Pinehurst Avenue and Cabrini Boulevard, between West 182nd and 186th Streets, across the street from his estate atop a ridge above the Hudson River. His plan was to create a "garden community" of cooperative apartments to attract those who wanted the comforts of the new suburbs but wanted to reside within the confines of New York City.