Thread by @leahfrombklyn

I’m on the City Planning Commission and this land use proposal comes through: a civil rights museum in Harlem headed by none other than Rev. Al Shaprton.

The name of the proposal is One45 Museum of Civil Rights.

Yes. YES! Except…all was not as it appeared… 1/

The truth is this proposal was for a behemoth building spanning a block which included 900 housing units with less than 300 of those being at affordable rental rates.

The museum was just one small part of that building. 2/

patch.com/new-york/harle…

Harlem residents came out in full force opposing this project.

Their voices were powerful.

I want you to hear them… 3/

Here’s what Janice Tudy Jackson, who has lived in Harlem for 54 years, had to say… 4/

Joshua Clennon, lifelong Harlem resident who grew up on St. Nicholas and sits on Community Board 10…

“Our community isn’t anti-development. But we understand that any development in our community—the community benefits must significantly outweigh the negative consequences.” 5/

And Brianna McClure asks: does this community even need another museum? 6/

Like I said, their voices were powerful. I heard them loud and clear. 7/

Now…who came out in support? Well, remember when Barclays Center was proposed and there was fierce opposition to it? So …what was touted as the community benefit? Jobs. That’s often what developers promise.

And some even line up union support to testify in support 8/

And that’s great. But sometimes you can’t really guarantee jobs or housing. And sometimes jobs come at the expense of housing.

You can hear that conflict in the testimony of this three-generation Harlem resident who was in FAVOR of this project… 9/

The commission held a vote yesterday. In all, 10 commissioners voted. I voted against the project along with one other commissioner (Levin). The remaining 8 commissioners voted in favor. 10/

Now mind you, this project had long been positioned as a museum for civil rights—black culture and history—that would benefit the neighborhood. And obviously that held some sway. But… 11/

It’s a bit unclear if there will be a museum for civil rights at that site after all. At least according to some news reports. 12/

therealdeal.com/2022/03/24/civ…

13/

So what now?

The New York City Council has the final say. They have to vote on whether they approve or deny this project. It appears the Council Member for this district, Kristin Richardson Jordan, is against it.

14/

therealdeal.com/2022/02/03/a-h…

Harlem holds such a special place in my heart. From the history of Black culture, the Renaissance, the food (is Mr. Charlie’s fried chicken still there?!)

I wanted you all to know what’s going on. Developments are going up like wildfire in NYC and many say.. 15/

“So no one said anything? This just happened overnight?!”

No. People speak up. Like the Harlem residents I showed you above.

People fight back.

But sometimes not enough people know about it. So I wanted you to know. 16/