Sale of Chunk of Harlem Land May Oust Businesses

A stretch of businesses on Frederick Douglass Boulevard are facing the possibility of being ousted following the sale of their buildings to the Sigfeld and Kimco Realty Corporation for a record $1,429 per square foot.

The record-breaking sale of the strip of Harlem property, located from 2331 to 2349 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, land was brokered by Eugene Giscombe, whose company, Giscombe Henderson, has managed the properties in question for over 20 years, since 1985. According to Giscombe, the owners recently decided to put these on the market and sell, which Giscombe and Henderson did successfully, receiving a reported total of $50 million for these properties and others on 125th Street.

“Kimco Realty Group is in charge of developing the property,” said Giscombe, regarding the current situation of the properties in question. “And it is to my understanding that they are offering incentives to help relocate the current tenants.”
Kimco Realty Group was not available to comment.

Giscombe, who also serves as the chairman of the 125th Street Business Improvement District, emphasized the organization’s “strong belief that small, local businesses should not be put at a disadvantage,” and said the sale would be beneficial to the community.

“New larger property is going to help the area—it’ll bring a more modern facility, more space and tenants than there are in the existing buildings, more goods and services, and more opportunities to benefit the community,” Giscombe said. “Change is inevitable but as long as people don’t get hurt, it will be fine.”

But others are less optimistic about the changes the strip on Frederick Douglass Boulevard will undergo. Nellie Bailey, the director of the Harlem Tenants Council, questions who will ultimately benefit from the development.

“Nobody denies we need development here,” she said. “But what we need is the development inclusive of not only the historical character of 125th street, but one that incorporates the existing businesses.”

The affected business owners on Frederick Douglass Boulevard have also expressed their concern about being displaced following the sale of the properties. According to Manna’s Soul Food and Salad Bar employee Phillip Bolgar, while some of the businesses do have a termination clause in their leases, many other businesses have simply been asked to vacate the premises by Jan. 1, 2008. Manna’s management is currently negotiating with the new owners of the property to remain at the current location at 2331 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, where the restaurant has been operating since 1991.

Many of the business owners describe their fight against displacement as an attempt to preserve not only their business locations, but also the sense of Harlem heritage in the community. Bright orange “Save Harlem” flyers are prominently displayed in Manna’s
Soul Food and other establishments along the strip. Manna’s is collecting signatures, over a thousand in the past week, on a petition against the forced removal of their business and the others in the strip. The petition endorses “efforts to stop the demolition and destruction of the property on Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 125th Street that is so firmly rooted in Harlem culture.” The petition goes on to state that “the undersigned fully support preservation of Harlem’s business community, real estate and heritage. These buildings ... house the sweat and tears from businesses that fought to make Harlem’s a community for the ages.”

“Customers are just trying to raise people’s awareness here at home,” Bolgar said.
Community activists have also responded. In August, the Harlem Tenants Council hosted a demonstration against the eviction of Bobby’s Happy House, one of the Frederick Douglass businesses, and called for an end to “the economic siege of our community” on their flyers.

“If the community doesn’t rally together to fight back as a united front, we are not going to succeed,” Bailey said.
The reporters can be reached at news@columbiaspectator.com.