Columbia, Harlem, and the Question of Expansion

Columbia University and Harlem have been neighbors since 1897 when Columbia moved uptown and settled in an area that would become Morningside Heights. In my first column, I discussed Morningside Heights as a kind of border area that fits between Harlem and the Upper West Side. Without the presence of Columbia, it seems entirely possible that Morningside Heights would not stand out as a separate neighborhood but rather would have been absorbed by Harlem. But because the neighborhood is an area that has risen up around the University, it acts as a kind of bridge between Harlem and the Upper West Side.

The relationship between Columbia and Harlem has always been fairly positive—many of the University staff are Harlem residents, and the school has invested a good deal of money in the community. But more recently, there has been cause for tension and controversy between residents of and business owners in Harlem and Columbia University.

I think it is important to pause here and make a distinction between Columbia University as an institution and Columbia University as a body consisting of students, faculty, and staff. When I speak of tensions between Harlem residents and the school, I am mainly pointing to the animosity that has come out of the proposed Manhattanville expansion. But this is not a small issue. The area that Columbia hopes to redevelop is currently home to 400 residents (140 residential units). However, this is not exactly a thriving section of Harlem. Most people are not against the idea of urban renewal, and I partly agree that West Harlem is very badly in need of redevelopment.

But what of the 400 people who are in danger of being evicted from their homes? The University has claimed that it will expand affordable housing in the neighborhood. However, I have not seen proof of its plans. I certainly hope they will happen.

But even if these people are relocated, what does it mean for Harlem to be gentrified or “fixed up”?

The Harlem residents that I spoke to feel they are in a vanishing community, that the buildings and people that have constituted this center of African-American culture are being gentrified to the point of nonexistence. Columbia University has a tradition of supporting the culture of Harlem and did so as early as the start of the twentieth century­—the school enrolled Harlem Renaissance figures such as Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, and Zora Neale Hurston. So, the recent hostility erupting over Columbia’s expansion is disturbing, and even though the actual construction only affects a portion of the neighborhood, it seems to be harming the entire relationship between the community and the University. After speaking to many Harlem residents, some of whom are CU staff, I came away with the impression that the general attitude is that Harlem residents are being displaced to serve an institution that is not concerned with them, that Columbia’s relationship to Harlem is no more than a master-slave situation that has persisted since Columbia’s arrival in Morningside Heights.

President Bollinger seems to believe that Columbia can “merge” with Harlem in a sensitive way that does not reinforce the notion that Columbia is set apart “up on a hill.” But if we attempt to do this by kicking 400 residents out of their homes and shutting down scores of businesses, surely the University will not be seen as a partner but rather as an occupying force and a threat. Perhaps there is no easy solution. Perhaps as the school expands, its relationship to Harlem will fracture or splinter.

I believe that President Bollinger is correct in his assertion that many people do view Columbia as set off in a kind of aristocratic isolation. I also think it is important to bear in mind that the new Manhattanville may consist of shops and restaurants that most typical Harlem residents could never afford to patronize. So in effect, the University is seeking to take land that it does not own in order to fulfill a purpose that does not necessarily benefit community residents. Columbia, set off as it is, is now going to reach into Harlem to grab more property without considering the needs of the residents. The school may indeed be revitalizing a decaying area, but President Bollinger might find himself hated for advancing this expansion.

There is also the unavoidable issue that many people I’ve spoken to in Harlem directly place blame on the students because the University equals the students in their minds. This is neither fair nor accurate, but it is something that the student body should engage and think about. The students may feel blame and face the consequences. What can be done about it? Not much because the University will continue its expansion, and Harlem residents will respond or place blame however they see fit. But we can keep this Manhattanville debate at the forefront, bearing in mind that students should have more of a voice in this process and that Columbia does in fact consist of us and exists for us.

Nicole Winter is a student in the School of General Studies majoring in creative writing. Borderlands runs alternate Tuesdays.
Opinion@columbiaspectator.com