The Wells Fargo building that sits on Lenox across from Whole Foods sits, of course, on hallowed ground – the site of Lenox Lounge. The latest iteration of real estate news focused on that site involves a unique investment strategy. The building has been taken public as an entity on the stock market, and shares are available for purchase.
The retail and office site at 286 Lenox Ave. – whose three tenants include a Wells Fargo branch – quietly began trading on the over-the-counter markets last week. It’s the first time that a building in New York has been securitized and offered to all investors via the secondary market, according to Jesse Daugherty, co-founder and co-CEO at Lex Markets, which handled the offering.
The building’s stock, which trades under the ticker symbol TESLU, was recently at $250, giving the building a market capitalization of more than $11 million.
According to the company, owners of commercial real estate can use the Lex platform to raise capital by securitizing a portion of their property. This allows them to recapitalize their equity and take out cash while still receiving management fees. At the same time, members of the public can invest in single assets without being accredited investors.
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 infrastructure and put New York City’s homes and businesses at risk. As climate change continues, these impacts are predicted to worsen in the coming decades.
The Stormwater Resiliency Plan and associated rainfall maps (beta) are the first City-wide analysis of how extreme rainfall will impact New Yorkers now and into the coming decades. The Plan also establishes key goals and initiatives for the next 10 years to ensure future investments made by City agencies consider and address impacts on rain-driven flooding vulnerability. The Plan and maps will be updated at minimum every four years. Read the Stormwater Resiliency Plan here: nyc.gov/resiliency
The maps focus on rain because it is by far the most common cause of precipitation-based flooding in NYC (as compared to other forms of precipitation, such as snow or sleet). Flooding caused by rainfall is more difficult to map than flooding from coastal storms like Hurricane Sandy. Unlike coastal flooding caused by hurricanes and Nor’easters, rainfall-based flooding can be caused by isolated storms in both waterfront and inland areas. Some may remember the heavy rains that fell in July of 2019. At the peak of the storm, the City’s weather stations recorded rates of almost five inches of rain per hour in central and northern Brooklyn. This resulted in flooding deeper than one foot in several locations across the City. By the 2080s, we know that extreme rain events are predicted to become 1.5 times more likely than today, and sea level will continue to rise by as much as 6 feet. Many of our sewers end up draining at or near coastal waters. As sea level rises, our sewer system cannot drain properly. On top of these stressors, NYC is similar to other cities in the US in that it is working with a sewer network first constructed decades ago, when we did not expect this amount and intensity of rainfall. By publishing this Plan and maps, the City is working to prepare for a future where extreme storms are more common.
The first map (below) shows what a moderate rainfall’s impact is predicted to be (darker blue meaning flooding more than 1 foot in the neighborhood:
The second map (below) shows what an intense rainfall event is likely to cause.
Again, dark blue indicates you can expect 1 foot or more of water on the street, and in houses and businesses:
You can read NYC’s full report on Floodwater here:
for our Spring Cleaning event. Tasks will include spreading mulch, raking, weeding, and painting. These cleanup events are not just an opportunity to tidy up and beautify our park, it’s an opportunity to get to know your neighbors. As usual, we will provide hand, sanitizer, face masks and gloves, and there will be coffee and breakfast treats.
The dog park is maintained solely by volunteers, and is funded by charitable donations. If you are unable to participate in this event, please consider supporting our efforts by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance. When donating, please make sure to indicate that your donation is to support the Dog Park.
For more information, or to get more involved, email [email protected]
Harlemites have been at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic for two years, hard hit by the immediate health emergency and the longstanding challenges that the pandemic underscored. On our road to recovery, we must address High unemployment, rising gun violence, a houseless and affordability housing crisis, food insecurity, systemic mental health and psychiatric care failures, poor sanitation, and inadequate access to open spaces.
I am working in collaboration with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, local elected officials and community stakeholders to address the ongoing needs of our community and enhance the safety of West and East Harlem through criminal justice and health reform.
(photo: Espaillat tour with Mayor Adams, March 2022)
In coordination with key local stakeholders, the following suggestions to help address some of these issues have been put forth:
1. Amplify Neighborhood Safety Teams in West and East Harlem.
2. Reduction of Methadone Clinics and other related services in the 125th Street corridor by no less than 50%.
3. Crack down on the “Iron Pipeline” and “Ghost Guns” in the 125th Street Corridor.
4. Increase Violence Interrupters in the 125th Street Corridor – specifically in neighborhoods that currently have few or none.
5. Establish additional bus routes from Randall’s and Wards Islands.
6. Support Mental Health Assistance throughout West and East Harlem and Enhance Homeless Services.
7. The establishment of an ad-hoc committee composed of senior leadership members of the offices of the Mayor, Representative Espaillat and the Governor, key agencies including OASAS and DOHMH, MTA, DOT, NYCT, DSNY, law enforcement including the NYPD and the Manhattan DA, and lastly- elected officials and key stakeholders on 125th street.
8. Engage and Support Youth in the 125th Street Corridor.
9. Mitigate Financial Stress in the 125th Street Corridor.
10. Increase the number of Park Enforcement Patrol officers at ART Park, Dr. Ronald McNair and Marcus Garvey parks to help discourage illicit activity and encourage a safe welcoming open space environment.
Sincerely,
Adriano Espaillat Member of Congress
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Los residentes de Harlem han estado en la primera línea de la pandemia de COVID-19 durante dos años, y han sido muy afectados por la emergencia sanitaria inmediata y los desafíos de larga data que subrayó la pandemia. En nuestro camino hacia la recuperación, debemos abordar los índices alto de desempleo, el aumento de la violencia con armas de fuego, una crisis de viviendas asequibles y de personas desamparadas, la inseguridad alimentaria, las fallas sistémicas en la atención psiquiátrica y de salud mental, el saneamiento deficiente y el acceso inadecuado a espacios abiertos.
Estoy trabajando en colaboración con el alcalde de la Ciudad de Nueva York, Eric Adams, los funcionarios electos locales y las partes interesadas de la comunidad para abordar las necesidades actuales de nuestra comunidad y mejorar la seguridad en el Oeste y el Este de Harlem a través de reformas de la justicia penal y de la salud.
En coordinación con participantes locales clave, se han presentado las siguientes sugerencias para ayudar a abordar algunos de estos problemas:
1. Ampliar los Equipos de Seguridad Vecinal en el Oeste y el Este de Harlem.
2. Reducción de clínicas de metadona y otros servicios relacionados en el corredor de la calle 125.
3. Tomar medidas enérgicas contra la “Iron Pipeline” (ruta de contrabando de armas ilegales) y las “Armas indetectables” en el Corredor de la calle 125.
4. Aumentar los Interruptores de la Violencia en el corredor de la calle 125, específicamente en los vecindarios que actualmente tienen pocos o ninguno de estos servicios.
5. Establecer rutas de autobuses adicionales desde Randall’s y Wards Island
6. Apoyar la asistencia de salud mental en todo el Oeste y Este de Harlem y mejorar los servicios para personas desamparadas.
7. El establecimiento de un comité ad-hoc compuesto por interesados clave en la calle 125, miembros de las oficinas del alcalde, la gobernadora y yo, agencias clave que incluyen OASAS, DOHMH, MTA, DOT, NYCT, DSNY, agencias de aplicación de la ley, incluyendo el NYPD y el fiscal de distrito de Manhattan y, por último, los funcionarios electos locales.
8. Involucrar y apoyar a los jóvenes en el corredor de la calle 125 a través de servicios de mejora de la educación y el empleo.
9. Mitigar el estrés financiero en el corredor de la calle 125 a través de oportunidades económicas.
10. Aumentar el número de agentes de la Patrulla de Vigilancia de Parques en los parques ART, Dr. Ronald McNair y Marcus Garvey para fomentar un ambiente de espacio abierto seguro y acogedor.
Atentamente,
Adriano Espaillat Miembro del Congreso
Construction Has Topped Off
Construction on a massive new building east of the State Office Building.
With pandemic concerns abating and rules relaxing, tourism is tentatively returning. Harlem World Magazine has partnered with Stay in order to produce a curated list (mostly Booking.com listings) of places where guests can find Harlem accommodation.
The options range from $100 at the Harlem Lodge on West 119th Street:
through the very stylish Northern Lights Mansion on West 122nd Street:
Up to a more corporate spot in Aloft:
There are, of course, scores of other booking sites and likely many, many more options out there. It will be interesting to see what the summer holds for COVID, tourism, and Harlem.
Hue Arts has released a Brown Paper on the experiences and realities of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and all People of Color arts entities. The project seeks to reveal the value they bring to their communities and to the cultural ecosystem of New York City as a whole. Ensuring that arts leaders, artists, and organizations of color reap the same benefits for their work as their predominantly white counterparts is essential for racial and cultural equity and for the continued vitality of the NYC arts field.
Hue Arts is demanding that the deep systemic inequity that has spread to the art community, including institutions, funders, and policy makers, as well as the artists and communities served, be addressed by New York City, including public and private philanthropy. Until financial resources from both private and government entities are distributed more equitably, there will never be more equitable access to staffing, working conditions, professional training, or space, and there will never be a genuinely equal chance to realize artistic visions and dreams. This is far from the first time this issue has been raised—the tireless efforts of the Cultural Equity Group for over the past 15 years is one notable example. Numerous initiatives over the years have raised many of the issues captured in this report. The gulf in support between the entities studied here and predominantly white-led organizations is both immense and long-standing.
It is important to make the data, stories, and experiences in this report widely visible, but it is equally important that these data, stories, and experiences are heeded. The inequity and imbalance in the distribution of resources cannot be accepted as a given. We must take action as a collective community.
A new supermarket – Lidl – will open tomorrow at 8 AM. The first 100 customers will get gift cards ranging from $5-$100.
The German discount grocer, which spent more than $5 million renovating the old Best Market that closed in that space in early 2021, will offer private label items (many organic and gluten-free), produce, bread and pastries in its bakery, flowers and much more.
2187 Frederick Douglass Blvd and 118th St
127/Park
Harlem Bespoke has a piece on the buildings that were located at the corner of 127/Park Avenue.
The new building by Artimus will hopefully bring life back to this block which has otherwise been a parking lot for decades.
Job Opening: Licensed Clinical Social Worker
OnPoint is looking for a licensed social worker. Details below:
Born in Harlem in 1919, Roy DeCarava spent over six decades creating a rich body of work exploring the world around him – the everyday life of his beloved community in New York as well as the famous (and infamous) jazz musicians of the day.
DeCarava took pains to place Black lives in the forefront of his images. Synthesizing the immediacy and opportunism of documentary and street photography, his black-and-white silver gelatin photographs contributed profoundly to transforming the 20th century’s photographic canon.
A new exhibition at David Zwirner’s London gallery brings together a number of lesser known, selected works by the acclaimed photographer.
Upper Manhattan Asian American Alliance’s Lunar New Year Celebration
his Saturday at 2pm, Harlem is hosting its own Lunar New Year-themed block party! It will be one of a kind, featuring Harlem’s own connection to the Asian culture! A group of Harlem-based Asian seniors will perform their dance routine for us! Bring your children to come to learn about Asian culture and pick up some food and gifts. Oh and we will be giving out COVID test kits and masks. First come first served!!
Where: Saturday, 12thFeb 2022 at 2pm
When: 120th Street between Mount Morris Park and Lenox Avenue
What: We will put up some decorations and play music. Notably, a group of Harlem-based Chinese seniors will give a dance performance! We will also distribute some gifts to the attendees. Please also help spread the word! Below are social media posts and attached is the event poster:
The controversial tweet and statements by City Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan – sending condolences equally to the family of the killer of Officers Mora and Rivera, has led to increased media coverage.
The Nation interviewed KRJ – “Harlem’s new city councilwoman is finally getting media attention—and death threats—for sending condolences to the family of a man accused of murdering two cops.” – where KRJ doubles down on her tweet and stance equating all three lives and notes the less than sympathetic and outright hostile coverage she has begun to experience.
Even with my views on abolition, my grandfather was a police officer and my great aunt was a corrections officer. Beyond that suit is a human being. One of the things I believe the most in terms of having a transformative public safety system, and making police as we know them now obsolete, is that everyone is a human being and there’s one human family. I mourn the loss of literally all human life. I don’t see it as contradictory to mourn the life lost of Lashawn as well as the lives of Officer Rivera and Officer Mora.
