CU Releases West Harlem Job, Housing Survey Data

The best way for most people to survey Manhattanville in West Harlem may be from atop the Riverside Drive viaduct soaring above 12th Avenue. The viaduct towers over Manhattanville, where the existing buildings average just a few stories tall.

But to figure out exactly how many jobs and residents are in those buildings, a Columbia University survey took a different tack.

The University conducted a detailed building-by-building survey in the course of its ongoing planning process for future development in parts of Manhattanville. The survey is currently in "final draft form," wrote Jeremiah Stoldt, director of special projects for Columbia, in an e-mail. Once complete, Stoldt added, the survey will be "widely distributed" to city agencies and community groups.

Administrators released preliminary results yesterday, which indicated that there are approximately 1,150 jobs and 70 legally occupied apartments in the area.

Manhattanville, which is expected to be rezoned by the city to encourage new development, is currently home to a variety of businesses, including many auto repair shops, several gas stations, two churches, a custom window manufacturer, an architect's studio, a family-owned meat wholesaler, and a locksmith, to name just a few.

Mark Burstein, Columbia's vice president for Facilities Management, said in an e-mail that the 1,150 jobs represent a 40 percent decline from a 1984 study conducted by the Harlem Urban Development Corporation, a public agency that was disbanded in 1995.

Columbia is expected to cite the decline in jobs over the past two decades as a marker of the dire need for new development--and thus zoning changes--to revitalize Manhattanville's economy. University officials have said that Columbia's development could significantly increase the number of jobs in the region.

But Columbia has not yet committed to specific job-creation figures, and many residents of the surrounding communities have said that there are important considerations in job creation aside from quantity. Carolyn Kent, a founding member of the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee, said at a recent community board meeting that the board should be "challenging Columbia not by what's there but by what could be there."

Job Breakdown

Public agencies comprise the largest job sector in Manhattanville: New York City Transit, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and the New York Police Department together account for over 300 jobs, Burstein wrote.

 City transit jobs are concentrated in two facilities. The Manhattanville Bus Depot, one of the city's 18 bus depots, occupies most of the block between West 132nd and 133rd Streets. The Building Services Division of NYC Transit's Department of Buses operates another, much smaller facility nearby.

As New York's Department of City Planning continues to develop plans to modify Manhattanville's designation as a manufacturing zone, the future of the city transit facilities remains uncertain. Asked whether the University is considering taking over one of the Metropolitan Transit Authority facilities, Stoldt noted that the Manhattanville Depot has "raised several concerns about its environmental impacts from members of the surrounding community."

"As part of the campus planning process, the University is looking for ways to mitigate these concerns on the site," Stoldt wrote.

After public sector jobs, the next largest segment of the job market is automotive services, according to Burstein. Manhattanville is dotted by small auto repair businesses, accounting for approximately 135 jobs in the area.

Other significant job sectors include wholesale and manufacturing, with about 100 jobs each.

The University also accounts for some of the current jobs in Manhattanville. A University offset printing facility, for example, is located in one of the area's larger buildings, although a dozen employees were laid off from that location during a restructuring earlier this year. The University also operates a parking garage next door--with preferred rates for Columbia affiliates.

Housing

Plywood construction fencing surrounds a four-story residential building currently undergoing a gut renovation at 132nd Street and Broadway. According to city records, the building is owned by a non-profit housing development corporation. Just across the street, at 604 W. 132nd St., is a city-owned walk-up building with a handful of Manhattanville's 70 occupied apartments.

Community residents who are concerned about the city's possible rezoning and Columbia's development plans have expressed particular concern about housing. Grassroots groups such as the Coalition to Preserve Community are concerned about the possibility of displacing Manhattanville residents such as those living at 604 W. 132nd St., as well as the need for construction of new affordable housing in the area.

The CPC and others have called for Columbia to make an inclusionary housing agreement, committing the University to earmarking a fraction of newly constructed housing for low- and middle-income housing. However, Columbia has not yet made any definite commitments, and some administrators have suggested that the University might be able to do more for the community by putting its dollars into education rather than housing.