In the face of luxury real estate development and rising rent prices, the Morningside Heights Community Coalition sent a memorandum to University President Lee Bollinger and several Columbia officials on Feb. 1, calling for the institution to preserve the rent-regulated units in its residential buildings as a source of affordable housing for the community. Local residents feel that the preservation of rent-regulated units is vital not only to provide much-needed affordable housing but also to maintain the neighborhood’s diversity and sense of community.

Once a lively hub for music and dance, the RKO Hamilton Theater, an ornately decorated building located on the corner of 146th Street and Broadway now lies vacant. Recently, local residents have begun to discuss plans to purchase and repurpose the site for the benefit of the community, with many hoping to redevelop the site into affordable housing and a community arts center. However, the theater’s historical and cultural significance has sparked debate on how to balance the need for development and preserving the site’s historic integrity.

In December, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to prioritize neighborhoods that had historically suffered from racial inequity, such as West Harlem, in the city’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. Just over one month later, with the vaccine rollout underway, residents claim that the city has not made good on that pledge, as Manhattan Community Board 9 still does not have a single vaccination site.

After Joe Biden was pronounced president-elect of the United States in November, crowds of students and community residents gathered in the streets outside Columbia’s gates to celebrate. Now, with Biden officially inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States, local residents of Morningside Heights and West Harlem say they continue to look toward the future of Biden’s presidency with optimism.

In an almost unanimous decision, Community Board 9—a local advisory board for Morningside Heights, Manhattanville, West Harlem, and surrounding communities—adopted a resolution calling upon Columbia and other institutions within the district to preserve rent-regulated units of housing in their buildings during its November general board meeting.

The upcoming June 2021 New York City Council election has candidates vying for a spot in the District 7 City Council race. However, they have already received unprecedented amounts of monetary contributions to their campaigns, with many receiving unprecedented levels of support from those in real estate.

Amid a pandemic-induced economic recession, the financial struggles of nonprofits in Morningside Heights and West Harlem have impeded their efforts to provide much-needed relief to local residents.