The photographer Dawoud Bey was recently featured in a photo exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. One of his works on display is likely familiar to most Harlem residents:
The work is centered on a vacant lot on 125th Street and 5th Avenue (south-east corner) that has been vacant for decades now.
As you can see, below, greenery had taken over the lot (6 years after Dawoud Bey took his image), but recent work at the site suggests that someone hired a tree service to cut down most of the foliage.
Looking North On Madison Ave.
Home Sweet Home, with Marcus Garvey Park on the left.
Note the streetcars, the piles of horse manure, and the brownstones lining the east side of the park.
A month or two ago I’d mentioned that The Henry J. Carter Specialty Hospital, just east of Marcus Garvey Park (between 122nd and 121st Streets and Madison and Park Avenues) replaced a Harlem church (outlined in green below)
The fuzzy photo (below) showed the rock rubble in Marcus Garvey park before the depression era work to revitalize the park, with the church in the distance.
Zooming in, you can see the church, and the brownstones that used to line Madison Avenue.
One of the readers mentioned that this church was a Russian Orthodox church, and she was able to provide this (much, much) better photo of the church, looking northward on Madison Avenue:
Note the total lack of trees on Madison Avenue, and the brownstones lining the way north to 123rd street. It must be a warm day, as the shadow indicates its early in the morning, and the kids all seem to have shorts on.
The Henry J. Carter Specialty Hospital, just east of Marcus Garvey Park (between 122nd and 121st Streets and Madison and Park Avenues) replaced a Harlem church (outlined in green below)
The photo (below) shows the rock rubble in Marcus Garvey park before the depression era work to revitalize the park, with the church in the distance.
Zooming in, you can see the church, and the brownstones that used to line Madison Avenue.
Financial Literacy Panel
Health and Donation Event
East 115th Street and Lexington Ave, in the East Harlem Neighborhood Health Action Center.
The site of the former church at Madison/126th Street is being promoted as an investment opportunity. No word on the price.
Prime 80,000+ ZFA Multifamily Development Opportunity Vested in 421-a Corner of Madison Avenue and East 126th Street
Newmark is pleased to present the opportunity to acquire a prime development site located at 1975 Madison Avenue (“1975 Madison”, the “Site”, “Project”, or “Development”), a proposed eight-story, 93-unit luxury multi-family rental or residential condominium complex with approximately 35 underground parking spaces and approximately 3,500 square feet of premier community facility commercial space, in a rapidly improving, transit-oriented location. The Site offers potential investors a compelling opportunity to develop a boutique, luxury residential property in a prime location with high demand and the potential for significant capital appreciation.
Vested in Affordable New York / “421-a” Providing a 35-Year Property Tax Abatement•The Project satisfied all requirements for the Affordable New York / “421-a” tax abatement program in May 2022•Extensive evidence of satisfying these conditions is available•The Project is thus eligible for the program that expired in June 2022 and will enjoy a 100% property tax abatement for the first 25 years of occupancy and a partial abatement for the subsequent 10 years•As one of the city’s last projects eligible under the expired program, 1975 Madison Avenue will enjoy a significant financial advantage to long term holders of the asset•As of today, no replacement program exists replacing 421-a, further constraining the supply of multifamily housing Shovel Ready 1975 Madison is ready to commence construction with:•Approved plans•Advanced entitlements•Required access Multi-Family Development Site in Manhattan, Facing Critical Housing Shortage•Demand to live in Manhattan remains robust with rents achieving new high prices, including in Harlem•The Project provides an opportunity to access one of the world’s most desirable investment markets that faces continued housing supply constraints•The tax advantages secured by the Project offer significant financial advantages, particularly to long-term holders of the asset If you are interested in acquiring this prime development opportunity, please sign and return the attached Confidentiality Agreement and the full offering memorandum will be forwarded to you. Ronald A. Solarz Executive Managing Director O (212) 372-2306 | [email protected] M (917) 545-8862
Issa Abbassi Director O (212) 372-2221 | [email protected] M (917) 455-7373
Metropolitan Hospital and Nursing Burnout and Shortages
Our district leader William Smith also serves as the chair of the Metropolitan Hospital’s Community Advisory Board. In that capacity, William writes of the dire need for adequate compensation for Metropolitan’s hard-working nursing staff so Metropolitan can deliver world-class care.
If you’re experiencing symptoms and don’t know what you have, now you can go to any of dozens of mobile “Test to Treat” sites around NYC and get tested for covid, flu & rsv AND if you need it get an Rx for paxlovid or tamflu *on the spot*.
Tomorrow night at 7:30, all are welcome on East 126th Street to join in the holiday spirit, build community, and celebrate all that we have to be thankful for.
Tomorrow, December 16th. 7:30 PM.
57 East 126th Street.
Ummmm?
As seen on Madison Avenue. A New Jersey plate headed southbound on Madison Avenue.
125th Street BID Opposes Legal Weed Shop Across from the Apollo
The 125th Street BID is opposing opening the state’s first legal cannabis shop across from the Apollo. The BID president said she was not opposed to a cannabis store, just opposed to that prominent location when the community is working so hard to address other stressors on businesses – loitering, trash, shoplifting, mental health, open-air dealing/using, etc.
If you’d like to sign their petition opposing this location, the Change.org petition is here:
If you’ve wondered what is going to happen to the church, school, and rectory at 129/Madison, October’s Land Use meeting for CB11 revealed some of the plans:
Essentially the church and school have been leased to a charter school, and the rectory will be converted into a rental building. Capital Prep will take over the entire church complex, including the main building and also an adjoining school. Its move, coinciding with the 2022-23 school year, will allow the school to expand capacity from 500 to 700 students.
The CW series: Over the last century 4400 people who were overlooked, undervalued or otherwise marginalized vanished without a trace off the face of the planet. Now, inexplicably, they’re back, returned to Detroit having not aged a day and with no memory of what happened to them.
Dawoud Bey is one of the most innovative and influential photographers of his generation. He has spent more than four decades photographing underrepresented subjects and fostering a dialogue that addresses African American history and contemporary society and politics.
Dawoud Bey: An American Project is at the Whitney Museum of American Art until 3 October and features a number of Harlem images from the mid 70’s and beyond.
Bey’s work in the tradition of the American portrait and street photography references and builds upon the work of other Black photographic pioneers of the 20th century including James Van Der Zee and Roy DeCarava
Bey began photographing in Harlem in 1975, at the age of 22. Although he was raised in Queens, he was intimately connected to the neighborhood – his parents had met there and members of his extended family still made it their home
Bey’s work portrays Harlem and its residents as complex individuals in images free of stereotype
New Juice Bar
A new juice bar is coming to Madison Avenue, just north of 125th Street at the old location where Jahlookova used to be.
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 Baptist Church of Christ. Eighteen of the twenty stops will be covered during an eye-opening trail starting on 116th Street uptown to the 137th area. The remaining two stops are past 137th Street. This exciting event will span across approximately two hours while it outlines the pivotal role Harlem played during the Civil Rights Movement, highlighting the fundamental sites and individuals who contributed to the cause.
Although tourism is currently non-existent, Welcome to Harlem is introducing a fun way for history lovers to learn about and engage with the neighborhood’s rich past. Harlem is a proud contributor to the Civil Rights Movement, and tourists will learn about each of the critical events that took place in the area. The Harlem Civil Rights Virtual Tour will visit the original Temple No. 7 and the Blumstein Department Store. It will also illustrate Harlem’s connection to the famous March on Washington House, and visit pertinent churches, including Mother A.M.E. Zion Church and Abyssinian Baptist Church, to name a few.
In addition, the tour highlights key individuals who helped lead the movement, including Malcolm X, A. Philip Randolph, Josephine Baker, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Roy Wilkins, W.E.B. DuBois, Walter White, Wyatt Tee Walker, James Weldon Johnson, John Carlos, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Bayard Rustin, Paul Robeson, and many others.
