Heritage Markers Will Be Installed Throughout Harlem, But Community Members Fear Little Will Stop Gentrification

Upper West Side NY

28 October, 2021

1:04 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY TOMAS DIAS PIVA IMPARATO OCTOBER 26, 2021 Beginning in spring 2022, 25 signs will spring up throughout Harlem commemorating the area's historical figures, notable sites, and the indigenous communities that left lasting impacts on the neighborhood. This project, called "Signs of the Times," is led by Harlem-based preservationist organization "While We Are Still Here," with funding from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. The founder of "While We Are Still Here," Karen Taylor, credits the foundation's Director of Strategic Initiatives, Deryn Pomeroy, as a "champion" of the project. Through the initiative, Taylor hopes to promote the Harlem community's contribution to the histories of New York, the United States, and the world. "We are seeking to make Harlem's history unavoidable," Taylor said. Motivation for this project stems from frustration: Harlem's landmarks are disproportionately less protected by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission than higher-income neighborhoods in New York City. Only about 17 percent of Harlem properties are protected, compared to nearly two thirds of coverage in Greenwich Village. "That has to do with racism, and the fact that Harlem has been a Black community," Taylor said. "In terms of making sure that those … gorgeous landmarks up here are protected, it would take an enormous movement and support from all kinds of political spaces." Author and Harlem-based preservation activist Michael Henry Adams emphasizes the city's negligence of the preservation of low-income communities like Harlem, but recognizes the existence of collaborative efforts between the city and the community. "My feeling is that, thanks to the efforts of 'Save Harlem Now,' you might end up someday with a quarter of Harlem protected by landmarking and with most of the rest of it destroyed and replaced with something else," said Adams. "And sure, a quarter will be better than nothing, but it's not enough. We deserve more." Adams highlights the racial component of gentrification, which is increasingly relevant in Harlem—an area long considered the capital of Black-American culture, and a historical safe haven for racial minorities. He says that the development of new housing is often implicitly responsible for the displacement of minorities, especially when it exceeds the purchasing power of local residents. "The developers would say to you [luxury housing developments] aren't specifically marketed to white people," Adams said. "But the reality is that white people have more money. If you go to any of them you will find that most of the tenants in these new condominiums are white." New York City's census records support this claim: From 2000 to 2010 in Morningside Heights, an area whose gentrification is well-documented, the Black population fell by 16.5 percent while the white population increased by 6.7 percent. Initiatives like "Signs of the Times" represent one of the last lines of defense available to a vulnerable community: the mobilization of its members to generate loud public opposition to the continuous erosion of its history. Adams voices some fears about the ultimate nature of the project. "The thing that I worry about with Miss Taylor's efforts," said Adams, "is that … [the signs are] not plaques that describe history that occurred in buildings but they're just markers that talk about [the] history of a place that used to exist but vanished in reality." Taylor doubts that raising awareness will inhibit the process of gentrification. To her, the solution for rectifying the injustice of gentrification lies with white people's willingness to appreciate the history of Harlem as an oppositional force to white supremacy. "Of course, these things are important [celebrating heritage]," said Taylor. "But they will in no way stem the tide of gentrification, because gentrification is how capitalism manipulates white supremacist ideology. " Nevertheless, this effort is more urgent than ever. According to a project run by UC Berkeley and NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress, the areas surrounding Morningside Park are experiencing the increasing displacement of lower-income households. Between the periods of 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 2018 in West Harlem alone, per capita incomes rose by 28.4 percent while the rate of households who received income from public assistance fell by 21.8 percent. A massive influx of wealth has taken parts of the space available for lower-income communities. For Keith Taylor, president of the Dorrance Brooks Property Owners and Residents Association, generating an active interest in historical preservation is an altogether challenging task when property owners are under immense financial strain. "Sometimes they sell their house for profit," Keith Taylor said. "Sometimes, it's simply that they can't afford to live because the costs of goods and services have gone up as a result of this movement of wealthier people into a neighborhood that is less wealthy." Harlem property owners are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Without the protection of the city, few arguments will convince selling proprietors to go against their immediate interests. Keith Taylor does remain hopeful that dialogue between the community and developers can lead to a more responsible version of development. He sees building awareness as an important strategy to begin that process. "That will allow the developer to earn that profit that they want to get," Keith Taylor said, "but also allow the community to retain the same look and context that it is known for." Although not a guarantee that landmarks and cultural heritage will be preserved, awareness may be one of the only avenues available to a community not afforded the privilege of institutional protection. "It's critical. Without institutional protections, there's no real consideration for the historic and cultural value of buildings that exist," Keith Taylor said. "So developers see the buildings as land that property happens to be on top of, until that property becomes something less than a cultural or historical icon and simply something in the way to be destroyed." Harlem's history impacts the world, but this isn't reflected in the vulnerability of its landmarks in the face of institutional neglect and the overwhelming forces of gentrification. Preservation seeks to maintain and recognize the value of Harlem's cultural heritage. While promoting this may be an uphill struggle, Adams recognizes the necessity of protecting the history of Harlem as pivotal to the community. "And the tragedy is that in America, Black lives are not considered to matter," Adams said. "And neither is Black history, or the Black contribution. And that, of course, to me, is what makes fighting for these buildings so important. If your history isn't valued, if your contribution isn't valued, how do you imagine that you will be valued?" Staff Writer Tomas Imparato can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.