Harlem

Crumbling buildings, apartment mold, and overwhelming pests may be well-known city asthma triggers, but a comparatively high concentration of asthma cases in northern Manhattan has prompted Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and City Council members to zero in on a new target: negligent landlords.

Since the New York City Council Zoning and Franchises Committee voted Tuesday to approve a modified version of plans to sweepingly change 125th Street—ensuring likely passage at an upcoming full Council vote—many Harlemites fear that their beloved neighborhood will soon become unrecognizable. As in the case of any community change, longtime residents wonder how their children will be impacted.

After last February’s launch of Mapping the African American Past, a Web site created by Columbia agencies, site founders hope that their project will allow teachers, students, and parents to acquire a deeper understanding of how historical areas have influenced the history of New York.

We must celebrate Harlem's 350th birthday to honor its richly diverse cultural legacy and to spotlight the need for continuing educational and economic investment in the community.

The City Planning Commission voted to approve its plan to transform the face of 125th Street Monday, while local Harlem activists vowed to continue fighting against the city’s vision.

Bobby Womack’s 1972 hit “Across 110th Street” describes a Harlem that is both very different and strikingly similar to the one that many of us at Columbia (don’t) know. While 110th Street may no longer be the barrier it once was, substantive racial and class reconciliation and cultural exchange are going to require a lot more than moving in next door.

Black History Month has induced reflection in Harlem this year, as some worry that the neighborhood’s heritage needs not only to be celebrated, but also sustained in the face of great change.

Beyond the glass and steel illustrations of Columbia’s planned Manhattanville buildings is a tension between preserving the aesthetic aspects of the neighborhood and convincing local residents to embrace a modern look.

A new development rising into the West Harlem skyline is also raising the tempers of surrounding residents.

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.