Historian To Protest at Mayor’s Home Over 125th Street Rezoning
Harlem historian Michael Henry Adams just sent over an advisory to let us know he’s bringing the fight over the proposed 125th Street rezoning to the mayor’s doorstep at his East 79th Street townhouse, with plans to protest the proposal at 8 tonight.
Not too far away, and also a target of the protest, Mr. Adams pointed out, is the home of the Planning Department’s director, Amanda Burden, who has spearheaded the rezoning.
Mr. Adams is strongly opposed to the plan, which he says would invite wide-scale gentrification and displacement, unnecessarily changing the neighborhood’s character.
“I think that it is deliberate, racist and elitist,” Mr. Adams said of the rezoning.
The city’s plan for 125th Street imagines remaking the thoroughfare, allowing for much denser buildings along the central Harlem street. The city wants to see it be a mixed-use regional center, though the local community board has been strongly opposed to allowing new residential development, saying commercial is preferable.
The City Planning Commission votes on the rezoning later this month, and it must be approved by the City Council in order to take effect.
So is there enough neighborhood opposition to stop it?
Mr. Adams, who said he was trying to bring attention to the issue, conceded that blocking the plan would be a difficult task, save a riot.
“Historically, one can look back at all the riots in Harlem from 1935 onward, and see that whatever destructiveness there was that accompanied those riots, there was a social benefit” that followed, he said, as the government took action.
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You know, Michael Adams gets a lot of credit - rightfully so - for his depth of knowledge about Upper Manhattan history and architecture. But this is the second time that I've heard him make reference to rioting over this issue. Though he has stopped *just* short of inciting such a riot, it is clear that he thinks this is worth rioting over - and that he thinks the ends justify the means in that regard.
For anyone - Michael Adams included - to recommend a riot in Harlem over this issue is IRRESPONSIBLE, SELFISH, and incredibly SHORT SIGHTED. As one blogger effectively pointed out the other day, 125th Street has dealt with blight for decades now - and without rezoning, it will only continue for decades more. http://thegayrecluse.com/2008/02/29/on-the-harlem-watch-why-the-city-sho...
The VAST MAJORITY of folks who live in Harlem want the neighborhood to continue on its upward trajectory. Despite those to throw up their arms and wail to the heavens about how "their" neighborhood is being overrun, most people want a safer, more vibrant, economically thriving, neighborhood. I think that without rezoning 125th Street (taking into consideration some of the concerns expressed), it dooms Harlem into a second-class status that we just don't deserve.
So shame on Michael Adams for giving safe verbal passage to those who think that a RIOT is the right answer for their fears and angst!
No one is going to riot if the rezoning passes. Instead, people will shop at the new stores and work at the new buildings. Wasn't there a Harlem boycott started in the last year? how successful was that?
Yes this is classist and racist, The black community is devastated" The plan doesn't count lower income people. Soon it will all be millionaires and theatre people. The fact that Bloomberg is a billionaire who is insensitive to poor people's suffering is never dealt with. There ARE FEW black-owned businesses, SOON THERE WILL BE NONE.
Menelik, could you explain how there will be no black-owned businesses? Any entrepreneur worth his or her salt who knows that a community is on the rise will want to compete for the new business. Why is that a black or white thing?
Would some intelligent person who sides with Mr. Adams please reconcile one fact for me? It seems as though the same crowd that is crying out for the city to create jobs and to raise the median income for Harlem, are the ones using gentrification like it is a four-letter-word. Although he's not representing Harlem, City Councilman Barron from Brooklyn talks himself into circles constantly on this issue, and frequently cites Harlem.
Instead of rioting, maybe they could explain how one blessing, urban renewal and a thriving local economy, could exist without the other, gentrification. What must really confuse them is a reality that the NY Times wrote about a couple weeks ago; high net worth blacks moving into the community with whites as part of the gentrification process.
Mr. Adams is correct, blocking the rezoning will be difficult but I am not sure hoping for a riot against jobs and a mixed race upper-middle class is realistic.
It's truly sad how short sighted some people are regarding this proposal. I wonder how many people that say we "Harlemites" should welcome luxury office buildings and skyscrapers actually live in Harlem or are they part of the "new tenants". Here because residing in Harlem is "en vogue". The community residents that you speak of like Michael Henry Adams are not against development. We are against a plan that was not created with input from the very people who will be affected by the changes and pushed out. People talk about the "jobs" that will be created. I pose a question to you, have you walked down 125th Street lately. Do you see the overwhelming number of vendors who line the streets? Where are the business opportunities and plans to include them? They are mostly Entrepreneurs seeking financial grants and loans to build their businesses. Do you question why is the Mart 125 closed. This space was designed to serve as an incubation where Entrepreneurs would be able to sell their products, while receiving skills to help them transition to become business owners. There are business owners still questioning what happened to this effort and to the money set aside to help them achieve their goals through the Empowerment Zone.
To supporters of the Plan, I ask you, why should large retail chained businesses be the sought after business entity on 125th Street? Why shouldn't a community have the right to determine what they want and seek to protect small business owners? They too employ residents from the surrounding neighborhoods, therefore contributing to the economy and the tax base. Before you pass judgements, I suggest that you look at the facts and open your eyes. Pushing out working class people in the name of profit and development is not humane nor responsible. By the way, I am from Harlem and I represent 4 generations. I made a choice to work here and send my children to the public schools and participate in social justice causes to make my community stronger. I hope you do the same.
With all due respect to a 4th generation Harlem resident, I walk 125th every day. I'm not sure how you can compare the employment impact of a Borders to a few guys hawking niche paperbacks with torn covers; presumably sans health benefits. I think this odd characterization of some "social injustice" going on is obfuscating a commonsense upgrade.
To say the community hasn't weighed in on this is also a farce. This plan has been presented for public scrutiny for no less than 4 years. Don't believe me, read for yourself: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/125th/index.shtml.
Please forgive the lack of sympathy, but as a small business owner who pulled himself up by his own bootstraps and competes in NYC everyday without handouts from tax payers, I believe I have some insight on how opportunities are created. A lot of small business in the city benifits greatly from occupying the same block as big business. Some don't, that's a free market. Overall it is impossible to argue, with facts, that success fails to breed more success.
For those activists that want to bury their heads in the sand in the name of keeping Harlem down economically go right ahead, it is your right. But at least be upfront with your struggling neighbors with what you're up to. Don't be disillusioned by believing that you are doing it for them.
Irresponsible -
To sit back and allow the profiteers (who care nothing about this historical community, and culture) bulldoze down at random important landmarks, out price current, long time residents, and do nothing about it.(FYI, there's a lot more being done to fight this invasion than throwing up our hands and wailing)
Selfish-
Thinking of your own interests and benefits, without the consideration of others. The inability to have empathy with the displaced residents, who are being out priced from their community and Mahattan, who are very hard working people.(Harlem is and always has been, a good mixture of social and economically diverse people).
Short sighted-
Not to realise that unchecked development, without any consideration of preserving structures and edifices, the presence of black people, and the special flavor of Harlem, is leading to it's total demise.
Not having the imagination to see that small businesses have value. They can prosper, serve the community and create employment, particularly if they were to receive the funds allotted for this purpose,(held,and distributed by the Empowerment Zone and our "representatives"). They would be comparatively as prosperous as these big box stores and high rolling developers, if they got the same breaks from the city as the afore mentioned.
It's sad that you can't appreciate the vibrancy that already exists here. For a community to be economically thriving doesn't mean that you have to have a Starbucks on every corner and a Borders to represent an intellectual presence.(FYI, there were several thriving bookstores here that were put out of business).
By the way, you're second class only if you think that you are, and accept it.
To WS2
If you pulled yourself up from your boot straps, then you should appreciate the entrepeneurship of the street vendors, and their initiative to create their own livelihood - even if it's in the rough, sans benefits. I detect an air of classist arrogance.
If you'd look deeper into the NYC.Gov site, you'd see that the rezoning wasn't exposed to real public scrutiny until Sept '06, less than 2yrs ago, after the ball had gathered it's momentum.
FYI, it's an oxymoron to say activists, as I am, are burying their heads in the sand. Au contraire - you have. (At least you admit that the people are struggling - and why should they?