Curbed up all up in Harlem
Back in January we told you about a new development called Fifth on the Park. Four months later Curbed has declared it their Development Du Jour. And in an rare Harlem twofer, they also feature a development that looks a bit out of scale with the area that the Curbsters have dubbed ‘mini-Thor’, “It has a distinctive facade that is asymmetrical with a strong vertical emphasis.” Yeah, it will fit right in with the other buildings in the neighborhood. And they want to rag on the Kalahari?
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Just noticed the comment by Anonymous. Whether or not she likes the building, attacking one of the developers, who walked away from a Wall St. career and spent 20 years trying to help the less fortunate in Harlem, for failling to keep a couple of those low-income-job-creating enterprises afloat is a cheap shot. She conveniently forgets to mention that he is also the co-developer of The Lenox, which replaced one of the worst blights in Harlem and is already half-occupied.
I have never been a racist but I am definately getting there. I don’t understand why white people can’t stay above 96th street. Rent is going up and there is no way for black people who want to move to harlem to move in. I hate gentrification. White people are considered a band aid. They lower crime, they bring businesses, property values go up. So we don’t deserve better retail businesses. We don’t deserve safe neighborhoods. It’s crap. I dont think that white should invade on Spanish Harlem, Harlem, or Washington Heights. Some say they are sick of the foreigners in Midtown. So they moved uptown. So because you would prefer to be around blacks, we’re supposed to be greatful. Take your pretentiosness and head downtown and let us have something of our own for a change.
I suspect some curbed posters think they are on Amercan Idol
HA…as someone who works in infectious diseases i don’t know whether to cry or laugh hysterically concerning that post, ac.i think both.
well in talks that i’ve had with many folks throughout the community there is certainly no general sense of them being out for blood or wanting to hurt newcomers.oddly enough it’s been quite the opposite with most folks just watching from the sidelines while harlem is repopulated.white people have been visiting harlem for a long time, that’s nothing new.it’s just become front page news with all the new real estate and the proliferation of blogs,etc.
i’ve always said i’ve had mixed feelings about all the changes occuring.i would have been happier if a core group of people in harlem had jumped on top of the home owning opportunities that existed in the early 90′s.perhaps i wouldn’t have felt somewhat invaded (at first anyway).This forum has helped me work out some of my initial reservations about it all.
i’ll tell you what my greatest fear of it all is.it’s that those people who are posting nonsense on curbed end up living in my building, on my block and that i get looked upon as some unwanted baggage by the new gentrified neighborhood. i would love to be able to see everyone as just a new neighbor with whom i will create a stronger community. but it’s harder to see that when what has historically connected me to my community is the common struggle we have all shared-the idea that we have come through so much as a disadvantaged group and managed to not become another statistic.other than that i welcome all who come as long as they come with the idea that we are in this together rather than a “we vs. they” mentality.
sorry for the double post–but after i posted my last comment i went back to the curbed boards and this new gem was posted:
“Perhaps AIDS will clear out some living in rent stab apartments and enable the place to be inhabited by people with jobs.”
maybe i should just stop reading that website all togehter. ugh.
i agree with you Hugo, im sure there are people living in harlem that resent the newcomers. but what i dont really agree with is giving the impression to people that if they walk the streets of harlem they risk their lives because they are white…and that people are calling for blood on the streets. maybe that’s the kind of thing people say behind closed doors (there are lots of insane people out there) but that’s the raniting of a crazy person…not an accurate reflection of the overall sentiment. the other side never gets referenced on curbed. you never hear “im black and i own in harlem and im personally happy to see my property values going up, but i have mixed feelings” on the curbed boards. it’s always this extreem back and forth.
maybe im wrong. maybe more people than i know about feel like blood on the streets of Lenox ave is the appropriate action under the current circumstances.
i cant ever post on that website. i know once i get lured in it will just get my blood boiling.
yea, I have to admit at first it was tough to read a lot of the stuff on curbed. and not that i am dismissing any of it, but people need a forum to speak their minds without fear of reproach.we live in a world where people are censured for speaking their minds and so places like blogs where one can hide behind anonymity provides a haven for people to vent.of course there are some “soft” limits to what goes beyond free speech but that’s another debate. while a lot of it is sometimes tasteless it offers a place that closely mirrors what we speak behind closed doors. and we’re all guilty of that at different levels. call it P.C., hyprocrisy, or just closeted racism-a lot of us will say things in the confidence of our homes that we wouldn’t dare say in public.
CR-are you referring to the curbed posts? dont worry, it’s much more a reflection of the kind of people reading curbed then the people who actually live in harlem. i’d be willing to place a large wager that the most hostile of those posters are just idiots looking to stir stuff up (and dont even live in harlem, and most likely, are not even black)
Some of those posts made for real uplifting reading for any newcomer.
i dont think the sun will actually be blocked on the park, since the sun spends the majority of the day either east or west of the sky…and this building is due south…i cant think of a time of day that it would actually block it (and i live on the park)…the north side of the park gets very little direct sunlight as it is.
having said that—those of us who live here are not at all thrilled—but these developers did not need to get any approvals since they were sold all of the air rights of the entire block by the church that owns that entire block. so we never got a say.
and they’ve already started construction, i think there are 3 floors built as of friday…so while maybe holding your breath isnt a good idea…it’s happening.
Wait, there was a Ben & Jerry’s in Harlem? Did I read that right? And yeah, I was thinking the same thing concerning the light being blocked from the park. I can understand if it is the Southern end which always seems dark but hopefully it will not have the negative effect. Still, not a great idea IMO but who am I?
I wouldn’t hold my breath on the development du jour…just yet.
One of the partners in uptown partners is known for being a flake and dropping the ball on projects. He was the owner of La Famille and Ben and Jerry’s on 125th. He dropped the ball and both were lost in the long run.
Also, it seems due to the amount of expected floors, the building would destroy the eastern part of Mount Morris Park. (There would be no sunlight so the park would loose all trees and flowers, plus a bird sanctuary.) Seems strange in a time where the environment is such a concern that the Mayor and fellow NY’ers would allow a park to be killed for a building.