Category: History

  • Harlem in Film

    Harlem in Film

    These were independent films that were shot almost entirely on studio stages, (virtually no on-the-streets cinematography). Still, these two films remain important documents of how Harlem and Black life in Harlem was envisioned and represented by a Black director – Oscar Micheaux. This is the double feature DVD: You can learn more about Oscar Micheaux…

  • 119th Street and 5th Avenue

    119th Street and 5th Avenue

    A great photo from 1992 of Bob’s Newsstand, taken at 5th Avenue and 119th Street. It’s a little hard to see, but Bob is standing to the left of the door. Here is that intersection, today: The black and white photo is taken by Katsu Naito and is featured in a Guardian photo essay: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/sep/04/katsu-naito-harlem-1990s-new-york-photo-essay…

  • Film Screening: Exploring the Impact of Methadone on Communities of Color

    Film Screening: Exploring the Impact of Methadone on Communities of Color

    Next week! Join “Swallow This” Directors in a fascinating conversation about how methadone has impacted communities of color like Harlem and East Harlem. The free film screening and discussion with the directors will be on Saturday, October 14th at 2:00 PM. All welcome. It was FREEDOM. Swallow THIS: A Documentary About Methadone and COVID-19 uncovers…

  • Harlem and The Bomb

    Harlem and The Bomb

    1955, Life Magazine published “The World We Live In”. The reprint (1962), is still available on Amazon. One of the last images, shows a birds-eye (or perhaps a bomber’s eye) view of New York – focused as you can imagine, on lower Manhattan. In the painting, Harlem and the Upper East Side are on fire…

  • FDR Opens The Triborough 87 Years Ago And Notes His Family’s Roots In Harlem

    FDR Opens The Triborough 87 Years Ago And Notes His Family’s Roots In Harlem

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke 87 years ago at the Dedication of the Triborough Bridge noting his Harlem roots: `MANY of you who are here today, old people like myself, can remember that, when we were boys and girls, the greater part of what is now the Boroughs of the Bronx and Queens was cultivated…

  • East Harlem Adds Housing While Harlem Is In A New Housing Slump

    East Harlem Adds Housing While Harlem Is In A New Housing Slump

    For the last two years, developers aren’t developing in Harlem. While East Harlem added 1,500+ units in 2022, Harlem (under city council member Jordan) managed only 113 units. Here are the Years and Unit of Housing Added for East Harlem: You can see that East Harlem has been adding significant numbers to its housing stock.…

  • Pop-Up Politics

    Pop-Up Politics

    Join New York for Biden+Harris for our next Pop-Up Politics education series which engages celebrities, elected officials, industry experts, and grassroots activists in a conversation and call to action to highlight the issues that matter most to voters. Pop-Up Politics: Firing the NRA – Tuesday, October 10th from 6pm to 7:30pm (via Zoom) Our October virtual event,Pop-Up Politics: Firing the NRA, will include a…

  • The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping

    The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping

    Nazi-sympathizing, anti-Black and antisemitic Charles Lindbergh (see photo below): Has an interesting link to Harlem, and East Harlem’s Corn Exchange building in particular. On March 1st, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., the 20-month-old son of the famous aviator and racist was kidnapped from the nursery on the second floor of the Lindbergh home near Hopewell,…

  • Black Belts and Blessings

    Black Belts and Blessings

    A classic 1994 New York Times article on nuns in East Harlem learning martial arts as they perform charity in the community: Smoke-Free Join Sinergia and Public Health Solutions on our upcoming free webinar via Zoom on 10/12 from 12 PM-1:30 p.m.  Event Name: Your Home & the Smoke-Free NYC Program Presenting Organization: Public Health…

  • 9th District Civil Court

    9th District Civil Court

    A gorgeous neo-Romanesque Courthouse in East Harlem has a brownstone scroll with embossed text (seen just above the scaffolding in this photo): The text on the scroll reads “9th District Civil Court”: Joshua Clennon’s Fundraiser – One Week From Today The candidate writes: “I’m a 4th generation Harlem resident, husband, and father, deeply committed to…

  • Beeper

    Beeper

    For those of us able to remember the ‘Beeper Era’, the ad here, up high on the side of the storefront, is a blast from the past: Although very faded, you can still make out the number to call and the number to ‘beep’ – 917-949-6247. An East Harlem bit of commercial ephemera. Preserve Harlem…

  • The 125th Street BID is 30

    Signed into law in September 1993 by Mayor David N. Dinkins, Harlem’s BID is 30 years old. East Harlem Church for Sale A church and parish house on 119th Street near Pleasant Avenue are for sale: https://www.crexi.com/properties/1181451/new-york-442-444-east-119th-street As Catholic attendance numbers shrink and costs associated with lawsuits continue to rise, the New York Diocese has…