No Carve Outs in Central Harlem 130th-132nd Streets Historic District! Action Alert!

Author: Save Harlem Now!

Today, the Historic Districts Council has released the following ACTION ALERT! in support of the Central Harlem 130-132 Streets Historic District, which Save Harlem Now! has championed throughout the designation process. Please lend your support by contacting your City Councilman here.

On April 17, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing for the proposed Central Harlem West 130th-132nd Streets Historic District. The testimony at the public hearing overwhelmingly supported the designation of these special blocks in Harlem, whose aesthetic beauty is only surpassed by the significance of their cultural history. The history which happened here–from the artists of the Harlem Renaissance, to the organization of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom–transformed the world.

This small, three-block district is now in danger of being chipped away by a building owner who opposes landmarking. The threatened property is 161-165 West 132nd Street, a four-story Classical Revival garage building with an intact façade, cornice, and original windows on the second floor. Our coalition, including Save Harlem Now!, Manhattan Community Board 10, and the West 130th Street and West 132nd Street Block Associations call for your help to get this historic district designated intact. The owner has hired a well-connected lobbying firm to remove his building from the district–we need to use our voices to contact our elected officials and tell them to listen to the community: No carve outs in Harlem!

We are especially concerned that after the LPC designates this district intact, the City Council will not. There are powerful forces at work to remove this building, despite overwhelming community support and the LPC deliberately including it in the proposed district. Please send a letter to the City Council today.