One45 Development Threatens to Erase Harlem’s Black Culture
Earlier this month, with the support of roughly 50 Harlem residents and change-makers, a community board voted against the “One45” construction project proposed to take over a vacant lot on 145th street and Lenox Avenue. The mixed-use development comprises a two-tower apartment building, civil rights museum and headquarters for Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, adding close to one million square feet of residential, office and retail space in West Harlem.
Developers requested the city’s approval to rezone the land for more dense construction and for special permits to disregard height and parking limits. However, they were met with concerns from community members regarding the affordability of their residential property and demanded the mandatory inclusionary housing limits be upheld.
To rent an affordable unit at One45, residents must make between 60% - 80% of the area median income despite a recent resolution requiring the development to provide units for eligible residents at no more than 60%. Regardless of opposition from the board, which focuses largely on One 45’s residential component, developer Bruce Teitelbaum dismissed calls to withdraw the proposal and plans to complete the building by 2026.
Okay, let’s unpack this: while a museum documenting Black history does speak to Harlem’s unapologetically Black nature, the construction of One45 ultimately increases the spread of gentrification and displacement of Black residents, which has been on the rise in Central Harlem for the last several decades. Newly released census data revealed that the borough gained more than 18,000 white residents since 2010, meanwhile, 10,000 Black residents were pushed out due to increased housing costs.
The Museum of Civil Rights (MCR) is an educational institution founded by Rev. Al Sharpton and Judge Jonathan Lippman. It’s meant to provide an immersive experience that both educates and connects visitors to the history of civil and political rights. It’ll also educate on ongoing movements in the current racially tense, political climate.
When we look at the cities of New York, (Bed-Stuy, South Bronx, Jamaica, Queens) and other cities across the U.S., we know that new development often replaces culture with commercialization. Skyrocketing housing costs remove natives from the properties built to improve their neighborhoods, causing an influx of wealthy people that can afford the new area median income requirements to move into these spaces. But Harlem is not for sale, not on my watch.
Involuntary displacement is problematic because rarely is there a lack of community investment to improve social, economic, and environmental conditions that businesses and residents migrate to. Instead, the money and resources that are poured into gentrification don’t trickle down to the pre-existing infrastructures such as public schools and Black businesses.
The fight to reject the One45 construction is not over yet. On May 10, the general public will be allowed to weigh in on the development proposal at a virtual scoping meeting. Harlemites must continue to rally and spread anti-gentrification awareness if there’s any chance at preserving Harlem’s iconic, vivacious culture.
