Sector C (Charlie) of the 25th Precinct will hold its Build the Block meeting at Ginjan Cafe tomorrow night at 7pm – September 7th – we hope you can attend to learn more about what is happening regarding public safety.
Harlem Writers Discuss Their New Work in The Harlem Rose Garden
The Harlem Rose Garden is thrilled to welcome back world-renowned writers and our dear garden members, Richard Price and Lorraine Adams for a special afternoon on Saturday, September 9th at 2PM.
They will be having a chat and sharing excerpts from their books in progress which are based in Harlem.
This event will be packed so please come early to secure a seat! Please see details (above) for full information.
National Night Out in East Harlem was a huge success. A boatload of appreciation must be directed to Kioka Jackson, PO Cosme, Community Affairs, and the whole 25th Precinct for putting this incredible community program together.
And, on the HNBA side, Hallia Baker and friends staffed the HNBA table all evening long. Thanks so much Hallia!
An amazing link-up for Tuesday’s National Night Out at the 25th Precinct. Lots for the kids, lots for everyone.
National Night Out culminates annually on the first Tuesday in August.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2023
National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.
This event is truly a community effort and it would not be a success without all the assistance, contributions and participation from our local business, CBOs, family and friends.
This year, we will be on 120th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenue in front of Bethel Gospel Assembly and Marcus Garvey Park. They will have some fun stuff for all age groups and great prizes too.
Come and join us for some good fun, food and laughter.
East River Plaza’s Rooftop Theater and Drive-In series is expanding. Visit East River Plaza every 3rd Sunday of each month through September for their Sunday Cinema!
They may be a bit delayed (thanks to the rain), but come join your neighbors this weekend for “Spider Man: Into the Spider Verse.”The fun starts at 6pm – music, popcorn, treats, and activities.
It’s all free! Space is limited, RSVP required! Scan the code below or visit ERP Sunday Cinema
The MTA announced that the M116 bus will now be free. Starting on September 24th, five local bus routes will be free as a test pilot program. The pilot will run for 6-12 months on the:
Bx18 A/B, B60, M116, Q4 and S46/96 — routes
These routes are estimated to serve close to 44,000 daily weekday riders across all five boroughs. The MTA has more than 200 local bus routes.
M116: This bus route operates daily during daytime hours between W 106 Street /Broadway and E 120 Street/Pleasant Avenue. The route primarily operates along 116 Street, Manhattan Avenue and W 106 Street and serves the Harlem, East Harlem and Morningside Heights neighborhoods. The route makes connections to the 1, 2, 3, 6, B, C trains and several bus routes. Major employers and institutions covered on the route include St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University and the East River Plaza Mall.
The MTA recently released a report that nearly 1/3 of bus riders are currently not paying their bus fares.
NYPD Commissioner Caban Visits the 25th Precinct
NYPD Commissioner Caban, the former Commanding Officer of the 25th precinct, addressed the precinct’s roll call as the Police Commissioner.
This rather dull piece of Harlem ephemera – a 5 shares worth of stock in the Harlem Stock Exchange – doesn’t on it’s surface have much going for it.
Almost the only thing of interest here is that of the $100,000 total amount of stock, a certain Julius D. Westmoreland owned 5 shares.
And this stock was certified on this day, February 1, in 1921.
What makes this dull document interesting is this stock exchange was an investment vehicle to pool Black Harlem’s assets into a Black real estate company that could transform Harlem.
The brochure (below) is from the collection of the University of Massachusetts and would have been printed to distribute and encourage investment in a large, Black firm that would be capable of financing the purchase and management of real estate throughout Harlem.
The brochure lists trustees and directors – note the inclusion of John E. Nail, of Nail and Parker real estate. John Nail got his start in the real estate business working for Philip A. Payton, Jr.’s Afro-American Realty Company, another real estate firm catering to African American customers in New York City. In 1905, he founded the Nail-Parker Company with Henry G. Parker and bought real estate in Harlem.
By 1925, Nail’s business owned around fifty apartment buildings in the Harlem area. Nail became the most important Black real estate agent in New York City, and sat on the Real Estate Board of New York and the Housing Committee of New York; in each case he was the only Black member.
In the brochure (below), the section on “The Need” notes how white capital’s racist refusal to back Black investment opportunities or Black businesses demanded a Black collective (monetary) response in order to build moneys available for the Black (business) community.
After the Great Depression struck, Nail’s business entered bankruptcy in 1933. Nail died in 1947. Harlem developed as a Black community of renters rather than owners.
A huge thank you to the 25th Precinct’s Commanding Officer Maisonet. His tenure has witnessed notable improvements and ‘good neighbor’ behavior at his precinct. Walking past the back of the precinct’s parking lot along Park Avenue shows a clean sidewalk – not the trash filled experience neighbors had witnessed for years.
The 25th Precinct has a new commanding officer, C.O. Maisonet:
On Wednesday, February 15th you have your opportunity to meet the new commander, and to get a sense of where he will be taking the precinct. This is also your opportunity to voice your thoughts on what the priorities should be.
Come to the 6 PM, Wednesday, February 15th meeting at the 25th Precinct – East 119th Street, between Lexington and Park. All are welcome.
Yesterday it was announced that the commanding officer of the 25th Precinct (northern East Harlem) is leaving:
Hello all,
It looks like the winds of change have blown through the 25 Precinct. I found out last night I will be transferred as of tomorrow. I will be moving on, and you’ll have a new commanding officer shortly. It will be physically impossible to personally thank each and every one of you. For those I have not talked with, I would just like to say thank you for your hard work, commitment, and passion in helping us serve the upper east harlem community.
In my tenure here, we certainly have had to deal with quite tumultuous times. From the protests and demonstrations, right into an unprecedented global wide epidemic that our society has never seen before that had an untold amount of stress on both our professional and personal lives. We had the first patrol related covid fatality in the passing of PO Eric Murray. Then we had to experience one of our own getting shot by a stray bullet on new year’s day of 2022. While these times certainly were not easy, through it all, with your help in bridging the gap between police and community, we have persevered.
It has been an honor and pleasure being the commanding officer of the 25 pct. What made it an honor and pleasure wasn’t the position, rank, or title. It was the privilege of working with you, and for you. There were some good times and certainly some tough times, but through it all, we prevailed. I am confident the individual stepping in my shoes will do an outstanding job and I will do everything possible to ease the transition.
Thank you for all you do for upper east harlem, and thank you for forging and strengthening our relationships.
I recently saw this quote somewhere, and it resonated with me profoundly.
“There are four things in life you can never get back…a word after it is said…trust after it is lost…time after it’s gone…and an opportunity after it’s missed”
There is nothing more valuable in life than relationships and experiences, and you have all been a fundamental part of mine for the past three years.
Thank you for everything
-Chris
Deputy Inspector Christopher Henning
Commanding Officer, 25th Precinct
120 East 119th street, NY NY 10035
(O) 212-860-6549
(M) 917-846-7194
Burglary On West 126th Street
An HNBA member sent this:
This is a video of my friend’s home being broken into today in broad daylight She lives on West 126th across the street from the women’s shelter. Please pass this info to members of our neighborhood association. Thanks and be careful!