Category: History
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Before Wards Island
Before Wards Island and the infamous M35 bus, Camp LaGuardia, north of the city near Chester, NY, was New York City’s homeless facility. Camp LaGuardia begin in 1918 as a prison for women, but in 1934 it became a work camp for homeless men. Men at the camp were trained under a scheme of “rehabilitative…
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Harlem Dream Book
During the Harlem Renaissance and beyond, dream books were sold at newspaper kiosks to help people interpret things seen in dreams, and to convert those memories into a 3 digit number that could be used to play in the numbers. Recently a 1949 “Harlem Pete” dream book came on the market. Given that they were…
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The MTA Wants To Hear From You
Dear Valued MTA NYC Transit Customer,Even in a global pandemic, we’re working hard to improve your experience with the transit system. As we plan for more customers to return, we need to hear from you, even if you haven’t used transit since before the pandemic began in March 2020. We’d like to get an idea…
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Harlem Youth Unlimited
A very rare comic is on the market for $500. This report on Youth in the Ghetto and The Blueprint for Change came out of the organization Harlem Youth Unlimited. The cover art, in particular, became an iconic image of the 1960s with fingers morphing into a loan shark, a threatening police officer, a pawnbroker,…
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409 and 555
The Maysles Cinema has a showcase of Harlem-centric films on right now, streaming for free. The film, In The Face of What We Remember: Oral Histories of 409 and 555 Edgecombe Avenue, had personal reminiscences of the activists, musicians, doctors, lawyers, and leaders who lived in the two storied buildings on Edgecombe Avenue. To watch…
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HNBA March Meeting, Tomorrow at 7 PM
Join HNBA in order to get the meeting’s Zoom link: https://hnba.nyc/join-hnba/ 7:00 – kristinforharlem@gmail.com – Join to learn how Kristin Jordan – a candidate for City Council district 9 – will address the burden that our part of the district bears with 2 sanitation garages, the M35 Bus, numerous homeless shelters, and the Lee Building’s…
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It’s 2021: Who Has the Money?
November 2021 will be a pivotal election year for the city. City Council candidates are busily fundraising to get their names out in races currently held by Bill Perkins and Diana Ayala. Diana Ayala is the only candidate in her district to get matching funds. She’s received over $82,000 of these matching funds. In Bill…
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Harlem and Civil Rights
A Virtual Tour Since tourism has been put on hold, Welcome to Harlem introduces a way to safely tour Harlem and learn of its significant contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. Welcome to Harlem proudly presents the “Harlem Civil Rights Virtual,” which is a virtual walking tour that will take place in Harlem, New York, beginning at Canaan…
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1939 Madison Ave. Used As Gambling House
100 years ago the New York Times reported breathlessly on an illegal gambling house at 1939 Madison Avenue (between 124/125). The charges leveled in court and in the newspaper allege that not only was gambling occurring, but debts were not paid, and the local police were on the take. For the full article, see: Claire…
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March 9th, HNBA Meeting
Mark your calendars. On Tuesday, March 9th we’ll have 3 amazing presentations. 7:00 PM – We will have a Q+A with Kristin R. Jordan, who is a candidate for Council District 9 – kristinforharlem@gmail.com. In addition to giving us a sense of who she is and what her key platforms are, Kristin will address the…
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Roy DeCarava – Photographer
Roy DeCarava was an African American artist who received early critical acclaim for his black and white photography. Initially engaging and imaging the lives of African Americans and jazz musicians in the communities where he lived and worked, DeCarava was a regular presence in Harlem and documented a number of local scenes and people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_DeCarava…
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Harlem’s Local Tuskegee Airmen Chapter
The Claude B. Govan Tri-State Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen has an annual scholarship. The scholarship is for graduating seniors from NY. Submissions are due by April 15. We would like as many young people as possible to apply. Sometimes we do not have many applicants! We would like to change this. In addition, The Claude B. Govan Tri-State…
