Category: Harlemscape
-
Redlining and Affordable Housing
Decades of disinvestment, planned neglect, and overtly biased policies followed the devastation caused by redlining. The 1938 map below of northern Manhattan shows how our community was redlined: The on-the-ground consequence of both redlining and its aftermath is seen in short film, shot from a car in the 1980’s. It has taken decades of public…
-
A German View of Harlem
Ebay has a photo up for sale that shows a view of Harlem taken by a German photographer. The photo, from 1963, references the 1962 study of poverty in America – “The Other America” by Michael Harrington – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_America Note the sharply dressed young men and women, and the black police officer on the right:…
-
Cotton Comes to Harlem
The ground-breaking film Cotton Comes to Harlem featured a number of live action scenes that were shot here in our community. In one chase scene, after the robbery of the community’s investment money, the lead characters head away from a fundraising rally, and pass a building with a set of very distinctive windows: The relatively…
-
Esplanade Gardens: Maintenance and the Jewel of Harlem
The New Republic has a great story on how the deferral of maintenance and the failure to quickly address issues before they spiraled into more complex issues, has led to the shocking deterioration of Esplanade Gardens, “The Jewel of Harlem”. This middle-class housing project has had a number of attempted solutions to the maintenance crisis,…
-
Stormwater
With Ida in many residents’ minds, it’s useful to look at the latest maps of predicted flooding if another hurricane hits NYC. New York City is facing multiple climate hazards that will impact daily life in the City in the future. Coastal storms, heat waves, sea level rise impacts, and extreme rain will strain our…
-
Student Film Screening
The 4TH ANNUAL NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL FILM FESTIVAL featuring films by student filmmakers will be held this SATURDAY MAY 21 830PM at the 135th Street Plaza and the James Baldwin Lawn. Bring your blankets & snacks for a beautiful evening with us – the weather looks amazing. Uncovering the History of Astor Row (& Other Buildings…
-
MMPCIA Meeting Tonight
MMPCIA Meeting Tonight at 6:00 Here’s the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86847234917 Redistricting NYC’s City Council With state and congressional redistricting dominating the headlines, we want to make you are also informed about the council redistricting process, which is currently underway. You are invited (on May 17th at 7pm on Zoom) to a presentation and training on council redistricting. The…
-
Craftspeople, Doctors, and Domestic Servants in 1880
Mapping Historical New York allows you to look at the geographic distribution of trades in 1850, 1880, and 1910. Given how sparsely Harlem was settled in 1850, it’s really only the 1880 data and beyond that shows clear patterns. This first map is of Craftsmen in 1880. Note their presence in the Upper East Side…
-
Wards Island Sewage Treatment Site
Completed in 1937, the Wards Island Sewage Treatment plant was the first to use the activated sludge process to treat sewage by removing solid matter, known as sludge, to leave behind clean water that could be released back into the environment. Prior to this only a fraction of the city’s sewage received treatment. Instead, most…
-
NYC’s Landmarks Preservation Commission
The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) regulates what can and cannot be built/altered in historic districts across the city. The Historic Districts Council (HDC) reviews every public proposal to the city’s landmarks and historic districts and provides testimony on whether or not HDC believes the architectural changes should be changed or supported. An empty lot, formerly…
-
Evictions
The impact of COVID-19 will be felt for decades to come. A look at eviction filings in New York show the plummet to near 0 in the early days of the pandemic: To get a sense of how this graph of 2020 compares to filings in pre-pandemic 2019, see: Removing 2020 (a highly anomalous year)…
-
Brother Sister Sol
The Brotherhood Sister Sol is poised to open on 143rd Street after a journey to get a new building to house this youth-focused community center. Bro-Sis’s new building is shaped like a torch and its fragmented facade contrasts strongly with the surrounding buildings – intending to speak to the enlightenment of young people CBS has…
