The Ingersoll Houses (and the adjacent Walt Whitman Houses) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn have a rich history and have produced several world-renowned figures, particularly in acting, basketball, and hip-hop.

It is important to note that Ingersoll and Walt Whitman were originally a single complex called the “Fort Greene Houses” before being divided and renamed in 1958. Consequently, many famous residents are associated with both developments.1

1. Michael K. Williams234

• Who he was: An acclaimed actor known for his intense and charismatic performances.5
• Career & Popularity: Williams is most famous for his role as Omar Little on the HBO series The Wire, a character that remains one of the most iconic in television history.6 He also starred as Chalky White in Boardwalk Empire and received five Emmy nominations. He often credited his upbringing in the Ingersoll Houses for giving him the “lived experience” and “resilience” that he brought to his gritty, complex roles.7

2. Bernard King8

• Who he is: A retired NBA Hall of Fame small forward.
• Career & Popularity: King grew up in the Walt Whitman/Ingersoll complex and honed his skills on the Fort Greene playgrounds. He became a superstar for the New York Knicks, leading the NBA in scoring in 1985.9 Known for his explosive scoring ability, he is considered one of the greatest players in Knicks history. His younger brother, Albert King, also grew up there and played in the NBA for nine seasons.

3. Taj Gibson

• Who he is: A professional basketball player currently in the NBA.9
• Career & Popularity: A longtime fan favorite for the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks, Gibson has explicitly stated in interviews that he grew up in the Ingersoll Houses. He is known for his toughness, defensive skill, and longevity in the league. He remains active in the community, often returning to renovate the very courts where he learned to play.11

4. Dana Dane (Dana McCleese)12

• Who he is: A pioneering hip-hop artist of the 1980s.13
• Career & Popularity: Dana Dane was born and raised in the Walt Whitman housing project.13 He became a major star in the early days of hip-hop with his debut album Dana Dane with Fame, which was the first album by a Brooklyn solo artist to be certified gold.13 He is best known for the hit “Cinderfella Dana Dane” and his signature (and humorous) fake British accent.

5. Jeffrey Wright141516

• Who he is: An award-winning actor of stage and screen.18
• Career & Popularity: While often associated with Washington D.C., Wright has long been linked to the Fort Greene community and the Ingersoll Houses. He is a highly versatile actor known for roles in the James Bond franchise (as Felix Leiter), The Hunger Games, Westworld, and his Academy Award-nominated performance in American Fiction.14

6. Kelvin “50 Cent” Martin (The Original 50 Cent)

• Who he was: A legendary Brooklyn stick-up man.
• Career & Popularity: While not a celebrity in the traditional entertainment sense, Martin is a major figure in New York urban legend. He was a resident of the Ingersoll Houses and became famous as a fearless “robber of robbers” in the 1980s. His nickname and reputation were later adopted by the rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) as a tribute to Martin’s notoriety and “get rich or die tryin'” mentality.

Notable Mentions:

• Epiphanny Prince: A WNBA star and two-time All-Star who grew up in the same Fort Greene community and frequently collaborates with Taj Gibson on local youth programs.
• Mos Def (Yasiin Bey): While some community lists claim him for Ingersoll, he more accurately grew up in the Roosevelt Houses in nearby Bed-Stuy. However, he is a frequent presence in the Fort Greene area and is deeply tied to the neighborhood’s cultural history.

The Raymond V. Ingersoll Houses is a sprawling New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) development located in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn.

When discussing the notable people from Ingersoll, it is important to note a piece of history: The Ingersoll Houses and the directly adjacent Walt Whitman Houses were originally built as one single, massive 35-building complex called the “Fort Greene Houses” in 1944. In 1957, the city divided the complex into two separate developments. Because they literally sit across the street from one another and share the same community centers and parks, residents of both are deeply intertwined.

Here are the famous and notable figures who came from the Ingersoll Houses (as well as its sister project, the Walt Whitman Houses):

From the Ingersoll Houses:

1. Taj Gibson

• Brief Info: Born in 1985, Gibson was raised directly in the Ingersoll Houses.
• Career/Popularity: He is an American professional basketball player who has had a long and highly respected career in the NBA as a power forward/center, most notably spending many years with the Chicago Bulls, as well as the New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets12. Beyond basketball, Gibson is beloved in Fort Greene for his extensive philanthropy. He frequently returns to Ingersoll to host youth tournaments, refurbish the community basketball courts, and recently formed a community-driven development firm to help build affordable housing for low-income families in his old neighborhood234.

2. Kelvin “50 Cent” Martin

• Brief Info: A legendary 1980s Brooklyn street figure who grew up in the Ingersoll Projects during the 1960s and 1970s5.
• Notability: While not an entertainer or an athlete, Martin is deeply famous in pop culture history. He was an infamous and highly feared Brooklyn stick-up artist. His primary claim to fame is that the multi-platinum rapper Curtis Jackson (known globally as 50 Cent) famously adopted his stage name as a direct tribute to Martin’s street legend.

3. Epiphanny Prince

• Brief Info: Born in 1988, Prince grew up in the Fort Greene projects and honed her basketball skills playing locally at the Ingersoll Community Center1.
• Career/Popularity: She is a professional basketball player who enjoyed a highly successful WNBA career, playing for teams like the Chicago Sky and the New York Liberty. She famously made national headlines as a high schooler in 2006 when she broke a national record by scoring an incredible 113 points in a single game6.

From the adjacent Walt Whitman Houses (Sister Project):

Because the Ingersoll and Whitman houses share the exact same blocks and history, these massive stars from the Whitman side of the street are part of the exact same Fort Greene project legacy:

4. Bernard King

• Brief Info: Born in 1956, he grew up in a cramped apartment in the Walt Whitman Houses7.
• Career/Popularity: He is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and one of the greatest scorers in basketball history. Playing for the New York Knicks in the 1980s, his explosive scoring ability made him a legend. He led the NBA in scoring during the 1984–85 season and cemented himself as “The King of New York.”

5. Albert King

• Brief Info: The younger brother of Bernard King, he was also raised in the Whitman Houses.
• Career/Popularity: He was a highly touted high school basketball phenom who went on to become an All-American college player at the University of Maryland. He subsequently enjoyed a solid 9-year career in the NBA, primarily playing for the New Jersey Nets.

6. Ol’ Dirty Bastard (Russell Jones)

• Brief Info: Born in 1968, the legendary rapper spent his childhood living in the Walt Whitman Houses before moving to other parts of Brooklyn8.
• Career/Popularity: He was a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan, one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time. Known for his wildly unorthodox, half-sung/half-rapped vocal style and eccentric personality, ODB became a massive solo hip-hop icon in the 1990s with hits like “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” and “Brooklyn Zoo.”

7. Dana Dane (Dana McLeese)

• Brief Info: Born in 1965, he was raised in the Walt Whitman Houses8.
• Career/Popularity: He is a pioneering 1980s hip-hop artist. He rose to fame as part of the “Kangol Crew” alongside fellow rap legend Slick Rick. He achieved major success with his 1987 debut album Cinderfella Dana Dane, blending humorous storytelling with a unique, faux-British accent that became highly influential in early hip-hop.

(Note: You may occasionally see internet rumors claiming comedian Chris Rock or rapper Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) lived in the Ingersoll Houses. While both are Brooklyn natives, this is a common mix-up; Chris Rock was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Yasiin Bey grew up in the Roosevelt Houses in Bed-Stuy.)