Sarah Lockwood

As plans for Columbia’s Manhattanville expansion forge ahead, some West Harlem residents have expressed concerns that the new campus will be unfriendly to it neighbors. However, the University says that it is committed maintain access to campus spaces for local residents.

Local community groups and gay rights associations have welcomed the March decision of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to adopt a policy explicitly prohibiting discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in
juvenile justice facilities across the state.

Six months ago, 15-year-old Drew said he would have described himself as an “ordinary teenager.” He now lives alone on the streets of the Upper West Side, forced to beg strangers for the few dollars he needs to buy food each day and routinely accepting money for sex.

While Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has promised to bring “thousands of local businesses into the financial mainstream,” neighborhood entrepreneurs are dubious about the impact his proposed program will really have.

A maritime evacuation plan for Manhattan announced last month, in which a fleet of small boats will be used to ferry people across the Hudson River to New Jersey in the event of a serious blackout or terrorist attack, has been dubbed a Dunkirk-esque plan by bloggers and social commentators.

After the postponement of a City Council subcommittee vote Wednesday on the proposed development of a 12-story residential building on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Harlem residents and neighborhood groups vowed to continue fighting the plan, arguing that it has no real benefits for the local community.