Harlem Project Assists Low-Income Families

The Harlem Restoration Project’s small office may be easy to miss on one of West Harlem’s busiest streets, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, but the work that goes on inside has had a huge impact on the lives of those the organization was built to serve.

Ricky Jones, a social worker at the non-profit organization, described it as a tool that can help to rebuild residential Harlem. HRP provides affordable housing for over 200 low-income families in the four buildings it owns and manages.

HRP was founded in 1977 by former Morningside Heights assemblywoman Marie Runyon. The original vision was to create an organization in which ex-offenders could help to rebuild abandoned buildings, and eventually move in as tenants. Today, HRP also works to distribute donated clothing, furniture, and other used items to people in need.

The services HRP provides tenants range from trips to the zoo to martial arts classes for youths. Adults can enroll in computer literacy programs and receive a free computer upon graduation. By working with the Abyssinian Development Corporation, teenage tenants can also receive their GED in carpentry, receive a financial stipend, and be incorporated into the carpentry union.

“We are preparing people for the independent lifestyle,” Jones said.

Columbia students have shown particular interest in the project. Avina Gupta, a Columbia doctoral candidate and an instructor for Barnard’s FLEX physical education program, first heard about HRP in May 2007, when she found herself looking for a place to donate clothing and household items. Since then, she has spent significant amounts of time volunteering with the organization.

“HRP is important to me because I feel they have a simple model that is there to ultimately serve the members of the Harlem community,” Gupta said. “They allow me to contribute in some small way to my community as well. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to give away things knowing they will be useful to another person.”

Since last year, Columbia’s Community Impact has organized field trips for young HRP tenants. The children have enjoyed local entertainment and education at movie theaters and interactive museums.

John Gardner, CC ’08, a member of CI’s executive board, applauded the interaction between the two groups. HRP parents meet weekly with CI members, and attendance has steadily increased.

But despite this positive relationship, Jones sees Columbia’s proposed Manhattanville expansion as a cause for worry. “We are in accords with the community,” he said. “It is totally inconsiderate to invoke things like eminent domain.”

Additionally, some people are concerned that HRP buildings will be affected by future expansion. “It’s always a fear,” Jones said.

HRP was moved from its original home on 125th Street in 2005, when the city’s Economic Development Corporation accepted a land bid from Citarella, an upscale grocery store.

As relationships between Columbia and West Harlem evolve, student involvement in programs like HRP may help to break down some of the barriers.

“Linking the CU community with the Harlem Restoration Project may just be a step in the right direction, a true win-win situation,” Gupta said. “We are a community that is connected in more ways than we realize.”

The reporters of this article can be reached at news@columbiaspectator.com.