The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association

Neighbors united to improve the quality of life in Harlem

Tag: GothamToGo

Uptowner Reports on CB11 and DSNY

Posted on by Harlem Shill

Jessica Elliott, chair of the environment, open spaces and parks committee for Community Board 11 in East Harlem, argues that the neighborhood is oversaturated with sanitation facilities. It also hosts a garage for Manhattan District 10, the Manhattan Cleaning Lot and various parking lots.

The lot on East 123rd Street is taking up land that the city promised to consider for affordable housing. The District 10 garage on East 131st Street is not fully functional, so workers park trucks beneath the nearby Metropolitan Transportation Authority tracks instead. “We have to smell that foul stuff,” said Derrick Taitt, 60, president of the non-profit Community Association of East Harlem Triangle.

In 2017, the city agreed to explore options for an enclosed, state of the art, environmentally advanced, consolidated facility to house garages for Districts 9, 10 and 11. A similar facility opened in 2015 at Spring Street for Districts 1, 2 and 5.

Five years later, the new garage will serve District 11 vehicles only, with brick walls to screen trucks from the street and sidewalks.

To read the full article, see: http://theuptowner.org/despite-local-opposition-new-sanitation-garage-about-to-open-on-east-127th/

The Holidays in Marcus Garvey Park

(a great photo from @lynn-lieberman and her wonderful blog)

Vote Today!

Posted on by Harlem Shill

Make sure to head to the polls today to vote for Governor and State Assembly (among others).

Church > Synagogue > Shake Shack

On the north-west corner of 5th and 125th Street, the lot occupied by Shake Shack and the check cashing business was, at one point the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church of Harlem.

In the photo (above – Robert Bracklow, photographer) from 1905, you can see the church building, and (further west and next door) the tall Flemish style (white) YMCA on 125th Street.

Looking carefully at the church, however, you may notice an absence. There are no crosses on the pinnacles, nor at the top of the pediment.

The reason? At this point, in 1905, the building had been purchased by one of Harem’s Jewish congregations – Temple Israel – and now was their home of worship.

Eventually this synagogue was demolished and now, Shake Shack occupies this corner of 125/5th.

GothamToGo

Gotham To Go has a great article on East Harlem’s African Burial Ground. Make sure to check it out:

Task Force Update on Historic Site of African Burial Ground in East Harlem at CB11 Meeting in May, 2022

Where Do They Live?

Posted on by Harlem Shill

The oversaturation of substance use programs in Harlem and East Harlem has been proven repeatedly. Our community hosts many more programs than are justified by our population, by our addiction rates, or even by drug-related death rates.

One question remains, where do patients who are admitted to New York City substance abuse programs come from?

Using data from a 2020 FOIL request to OASAS on admission data, I have mapped where patients who attend NYC’s substance abuse programs come from. The result is fascinatingly national. From San Diego to Maine, from Miami Beach to Anchorage Alaska, men and women are admitted to New York addiction programs.

In the maps below, the red dots indicate the homes of people who are admitted to New York City’s substance abuse programs. The larger and darker the red, the greater number of admitted patients.

The fine print:

Admissions to NYS OASAS‐certified Chemical Dependence Treatment Programs Located
in NYC by Zip Code of Residence, from March 1, 2019 through February 29, 2020
Data Source: NYS OASAS Data Warehouse, CDS extract of 8/30/2020

  1. Admissions are not counts of individual people. A person can be admitted to treatment
    more than once throughout the time period.
  2. The data included in this presentation represent only admissions of patients to the
    OASAS‐certified treatment system. It is important to keep in mind that these data do not
    include individuals who do not enter treatment, get treated by the U.S. Department of
    Veterans Affairs (VA), go outside of New York State for treatment, are admitted to
    hospitals but not to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment, get diverted to other
    systems, or receive an addictions medication from a physician outside of the OASAS
    system of care.
  3. Data includes significant others.
  4. Admissions are not limited to residents of NYC

To see the live map (you can hover over a dot to learn more):

https://fordham.carto.com/u/shill18/builder/dcea5644-f522-48dd-bba2-22078457109b/embed

Plastic Bags? Use a Tote, Instead

The delayed plastic bag ban has gone into effect, today.

Don’t forget to bring a tote with you whenever you leave the house. For an awesome option, try this stylish Harlem Tote:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/627213664/harlem-map-tote-bag

To see more great items:

https://afinelyne.pixels.com/

Volunteer Clean-Up in Marcus Garvey Park ~ August 8th

Posted on by Join HNBA

This just in from Gotham to Go:

It’s a day to clean-up, sweep-up, weed and paint! Join your friends & neighbors in a safe and socially distanced park clean-up event on Saturday, August 8th from 9:30am to 11:00am in Marcus Garvey Park. Socially distanced means limited capacity (20 spots left as of this afternoon). Reserve your spot on the Facebook Event Page. All volunteers mush sign in between 9:15 and 9:30am, meeting at the Drummers Circle (Madison Avenue side near 124). Marcus Garvey Park Alliance will provide gloves and tools. Masks are required. (Suggestion ~ bring a bottle of water). Register now and see you there!

See: https://gothamtogo.com/portfolio/volunteer-clean-up-in-marcus-garvey-park-august-8th/