The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association

Neighbors united to improve the quality of life in northeast Harlem

Category: Local Businesses

Calabar Gallery

Posted on by Harlem Shill

One of the joys of Harlem is visiting the galleries, large and small, that display such a range of amazing art.

The Calabar Gallery, at 2504 Frederick Douglass Blvd, (646-964-5062) focuses on representing underserved artists locally and globally, with a special interest in African, African American and Caribbean artists.

The gallery is an exhibition space, community space, retail location, and well worth checking out.

Evictions

538 has a fascinating article on how the expected tsunami of evictions not only didn’t happen, but evictions are below historic norms:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-happened-to-the-eviction-tsunami/

Vigil Tomorrow

Tomorrow (Fri) at 10 am, you are invited to a vigil in memory of Mr. Yao Pan Ma. Join us to grieve with the Ma family and wish that justice will be served. We will lay down white flowers and light white candles at the location of the attack. 

Come join Harlem’s residents our officials to recommit to unity. We will call for better safety in the area where Mr. Ma was attacked and more social services for our vulnerable people, including our seniors and our homeless population. May something good come out of this tragic event.

PLEASE HELP spread the word about the event to the media and residents. Your support would be a great solace for the grieving family and to our large Asian senior population in Harlem.

You can also help repost and retweet on social media here: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

For more information, write to Upper Manhattan Asian American Alliance at [email protected] or call 415 215 2035. Anyone interested in supporting the Asian residents in Harlem can sign up to volunteer or donate on our website here.

After-School Job Training and Pay for High School Students

Posted on by Harlem Shill
  • Get paid up to $1000 for an after school training in construction management
  • Learn about how to bid for projects and manage projects using industry software

Training

6 months of classroom and field training for 2-3 hours twice a week

Internships

A 3 month paid internship with a real estate firm in NYC

  • Must be in 11th or 12th grade on Jan 2022 and have the right to work in the US
  • Must be able to travel to Manhattan for afterschool classes. Must have access to zoom
  • Preference will be given to motivated students from underserved communities
  • Proficient writing and math skills are needed to successfully complete the program
  • Apply via this link: https://youthconstruct.com/prospective-students
Youth-Construct-1-pager_20211218Download

COVID-19 Testing Sites

Be Safe This Holiday Season

Rally to Support Harlem’s Children

Posted on by Harlem Shill

And Their Right to Attend Schools Free of Drug Activity – Saturday at 11:00

Mayor De Blasio placed the nations first opioid injection site directly across from a Harlem Pre-School with no community involvement. The block where this injection site has been located is already completely oversaturatated with men and women in methadone treatment, and the drop-off point for the Wards Island shelter population – a process that leaves these vulnerable men with no support services at the corner of Lexington and 126th Street.

The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association demands that this facility be moved to a commercial or industrial zone, away from Harlem’s children. The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association believes that helping people suffering from addiction should not also endanger parents and children going to school.

If you can, please join us on Saturday at 11:00. We’ll meet at the south plaza of Park and 125th Street, across from the main Metro North entrance.

Please come out to support Harlem’s children, and to ask New York City, and New York State, to equitably distribute programs and services in all New York neighborhoods, and not simply pack the over and over again, in Harlem and East Harlem.

Harlem Night Market is Back

Guess who’s back! And bigger than ever! That’s right, the Harlem Night Market returns Guess who’s back! And bigger than ever! That’s right, the Harlem Night Market returns to the historic La Marqueta this December 17th, 18th & 19th.

Join us the last weekend before Christmas as we celebrate the best food, makers and music from across East and West Harlem. This year we’ve expanded to include family friendly activities at @urbangardencenter and more vendors than ever in the stalls at @publicmarketsnyc.
@tedsmooth & @storminnorman will be holding us down again on the 1’s & 2’s and there will be plenty of hot foods and warm sweets to keep the chill off as you shop our makers plaza for unique holiday gifts.

Be sure to bring your wallet, your appetite, and your friends, and come celebrate with us while supporting small and local businesses.

Don’t wait in long lines! Free “Priority Access” tickets are available right now on EventBrite so click on the link in our bio and get your tickets now.

The Harlem Night Market is brought to you through partnerships with @uptowngrandcentral, @tbo.harlem, @nycedc , @unionsettlement and @cmdianaayalanyc, in addition to, support from @poncebank, @urbangardencenter, @qupey, @shopharlemmade and @elmuseo

Vendors apply at link in bio!

Proof of vaccination and ID are required to enter. Face coverings must be worn at all times when not actively eating or drinking.

#Harlem#harlemworld#eastharlem#elbarrio#elbarrionyc#uptown#nyc#newyork#newyorkcity#tboharlem#igersofnyc#visitharlem#harlemnightmarket#nycnightmarket#shopsmall#shoploca

David Richard Gallery

Posted on by Harlem Shill

If you’re curious about art and interested in visiting a consistently good gallery, head over to the David Richard Gallery at 211 E 121st St, New York, NY 10035 (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues).

The gallery leans to hard-edge abstraction painting but never ceases to surprise.

https://davidrichardgallery.com/

And, while they currently occupy 2 floors, plans are afoot to open the basement as exhibition space as well. Check their hours and make sure to take in their ~6 week rotating exhibits.

Chaiwali Closing

Very sad news. The innovative Indian restaurant Chaiwali on Lenox/124 is closing.

Chef Anita Trehan writes:

I Love Chaiwali, 

And to love is to hold on.  

Truly I have done everything that I could do to keep it going but I am writing with the sad news that we are no longer able to stay open since I find that for several weeks now, we are not meeting our expenses. 

To set up this restaurant it took substantial personal investment, sweat and tears, today it is recognized as a jewel. Many of you know that I am the sole investor, owner, and Chef of Chaiwali, a hard job but one that gave me great joy, from innovating “My Indian” food and drinks, creating a beautiful setting, working to create a harmonious team and genuinely nourishing customers with loving food and caring about their health and well-being. 

This has not been enough.  

I am not sure what the reason for reduced customer traffic is; we keep hoping that every week it will be better, but it’s not. I have been told that we are still in a Covid related lag or that there are not enough businesses in the area to support my kind of cuisine, or other reasons?  

It’s hard to put these words in writing. I am hoping that Chaiwali is not gone forever and that this is a hard RESET, but in all honesty, it is too early to focus on next steps. I am grateful for your support and your love, and I hope our friendship and respect for each other will continue in a new journey. Finally, I do not have enough words for the strong foundation and rock that Natalie and my team has been for me, without her and them I would not have gotten this far. Our last day will be December 12th, and if you are in the neighborhood stop by before that and be on the lookout for a later date to be posted for our “yard sale” as we clear out our inventory closets. 

In peace and love and gratitude. 

Anita, Chef/Owner 

Chaiwali 

Harlem 

Waiting to Open

Posted on by Harlem Shill

A photograph from October 1977 recently came on Ebay. The scene is a corner of Lenox Avenue and 124th Street, where a line of men awaits entry into a liquor store.

Here is the back of the print.

The location is now the home of Harlem Shake. Note how the liquors sign on the corner of the building, remains:

Trash Talk

The City has an article about the DSNY garage at 99th Street and the stop-gap, open-air new location on East 127th Street:

https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/9/28/22695132/east-harlem-waiting-for-long-term-trash-fix-four-years-after-de-blasio-pledge

A Letter to the NYPD and the Mayor

Posted on by Harlem Shill

Barbara Askins, the indefatigable head of the 125th Street BID, has written a powerful letter to NYC Police Commissioner Shea and Mayor De Blasio regarding the increasingly intolerable quality of life issues in Harlem.

Harlem_BID-Open-Letter_november_3_NKDownload

If you would like to tweet the Mayor:

https://twitter.com/NYCMayor

If you would like to tweet the NYPD Commissioner:

Boot Scraper

A very, very rare 19th (or maybe early 20th) century boot scraper, embedded at the base of brownstone steps.

Its survival is likely because it was embedded in a granite paver that the stoop rose from. No one has replaced the granite (tough work) with a cement base over at least a century.

Foreign Born

Posted on by Harlem Shill

How Calculated: 

Estimated number of people born outside the US or its territories (which includes Puerto Rico), divided by the total population; expressed as a percent.

Source: American Community Survey

Ginjan Cafe Featured

Ginjan Cafe was featured in a story about the history of the cafe, the incredible effort by the Diallos, and their hope for the future:

Despite his reservations, Diallo is incredibly optimistic for the future of Ginjan Cafe.

“We still have a long way to go, we’re about at 60% now, which is more than where we expected to be,” said Diallo. “We rolled out a limited food menu and will have a full food menu next month, and we’re going to start doing deliveries and carryout. I’m optimistic for the future, but I think it’s going to be another 2 years before we get back to this new normal.”

Ginjan Cafe is located at 85 East 125th Street in Harlem. For more information about Ginjan Cafe and the Ginjan Brothers, visit drinkginjan.com.

To see the full article, click here.

Frederick Douglass Circle

Posted on by Harlem Shill

At the northwest corner of Central Park lies Frederick Douglass Circle, a memorial plaza featuring an eight-foot bronze sculpture of the famed abolitionist leader, women’s suffragist, editor, orator, author, and statesman. While Douglass is an integral figure in American history, it took time for the sculpture and accompanying renovation of the area to come about—a rare, but needed celebration of African-American history in New York City.

The Central Park Conservancy has an interesting article on the history of the circle, the work required to get it done, and the sources of inspiration behind the artwork.

https://www.centralparknyc.org/articles/establishing-a-gateway-to-harlem

$20/hour Full-Time Work

Uptown Grand Central is HIRING! For up to 40 new staff members to join our Positive Workforce Clean Team as part of the City Cleanup Corps.

Clean Team members keep our East 125th sidewalks clean, powerwash our public spaces, tend street trees, clean graffiti and more. And now we’re growing by 10x!

Make a difference for East Harlem while building your resume. Find the NYC Cleanup Corps application here. Text 212-457-1254 for more details and to let us know you’ve applied.

November 9th – HNBA Monthly Meeting

Posted on by Harlem Shill

Hello Harlem Neighbors, mark your calendar for 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 9th. HNBA will have Michael Lythcott attend to explain the new National Black Theater building project that will replace the former building on 5th Avenue between 125/126.

This large new cultural center and residence will be a major landmark in our community. Learn more about the project, the theater, the residences, and much, much more.

(Note that Michael had been unable to attend an earlier HNBA meeting due to a scheduling conflict but is now excited about presenting the project to us on November 9th)

In addition to the National Black Theater, we will also have representatives from the NYC Department of Health’s Rat team who will talk about how we can all best deal with the rats who’ve also been profoundly impacted by changes stemming from our behavior during COVID, as well as the recent storms/flooding.

Lastly, we’ll have representatives from  Chelton Loft, which is located on East 126th Street between Park and Lex. They serve people with mental illness and run a strong program that includes wellness classes, job placement and cooking vegetables from our farmers market.

It’s a great lineup, and we hope to see you there. If you’d like to attend, make sure to subscribe to this newsletter:

Subscribe to this Harlem newsletter!

And we’ll email you the Zoom link.

Children Tested With Elevated Lead

Posted on by Harlem Shill

How Calculated: Number of children less than 6 years old tested in a given year with blood lead levels of 15 mcg/dL or greater, divided by the number of children less than 6 years old who were tested for lead poisoning in a given year; expressed as cases per 1,000 tested. The numbers in this table include all children tested within a given calendar year, regardless of whether they were tested in previous years with the same or different blood lead levels. While children can receive more than one test during the calendar year, children are only counted once using the highest confirmed blood lead level during the calendar year. If the child does not have a confirmed test in a given year, the child’s blood lead level is based on the highest capillary or unknown test type. This measure differs from the rate of children newly identified with blood lead levels of 15 mcg/dL or greater reported by the Health Department in other publications. 

Read more about different measures used by the Health Department for surveillance of childhood lead poisoning.

Source: New York City Healthy Homes Program

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is Open

After a long pause during COVID, the National Jazz Museum is open. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Head to their website to grab a timed ticket:

Home Page

Harlem Rose Garden Concert

A People’s History of Strings

Created by Puerto Rican-American violinist and educator Skye Steele, A People’s History of Strings is an interactive musical and multi-media journey that traces the evolution of fiddles around the world. Starting from the first bowed instruments in Central Asia two thousand years ago, audiences travel through the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and back to the USA.

Woven into the narrative is Skye’s own family history of immigration, acculturation, and re-discovery, as reflected in the musical lineage of his grandfather, his mother, and himself.   

A People’s History of Strings explores relationships between cultures by exposing the connections between musical traditions that range from jazz and salsa to the classical music of Europe and the Middle East, all while offering a deeper and de-colonized understanding of an instrument we thought we knew so well.

Featuring:

Skye Steele – Narration; European, Turkish, Ghanaian, and Brazilian fiddles, vocals.

Gilbert Mansour – Middle Eastern and Latin percussion, drum set, vocals.

Mayteana Morales – Latin percussion, vocals.

Michael LaValle – Brazilian percussion, bass, cavaquinho, vocals.

Willerm Delisfort – piano, percussion

Refinancing Workshop from MMPCIA and Chase

Chase/MMPCIAMortgage Refinancing Workshop
Thursday, October 14th, 6:30 pm
an interactive workshop hosted by the Chase Community Branch Team to learn more about opportunities to refinance your home mortgage. 
In person (limited space) or via Zoom.

Registration link:

https://chase.surveymonkey.com/r/KHMBXCB