T h e e x T e r i o r o f n e i g h b o r h o o d f a v o r i T e , f l o r d i T a

a l o c a l m c d o n a l d ’ s , i n T h e c e n T e r o f a g e d a r c h i T e c T u r e

a v i e w f a c i n g n o r T h , T o w a r d s 3 3 3 3 b r o a d w a y

s T r e e T v i e w

h a r l e m h e i g h T s b i l l b o r d o n T h e w e s T s i d e h i g h w a y b r i d g e

s T o r a g e s i g n o n e m p T y w a r e h o u s e

a v i e w f a c i n g n o r T h , u n d e r w e s T s i d e h i g h w a y b r i d g e

h u d s o n r i v e r s i d e

3 3 3 3 f r o m h u d s o n r i v e r s i d e

a v i e w f a c i n g n o r T h , f r o m h u d s o n r i v e r s i d e

a v i e w f a c i n g s o u T h , f r o m h u d s o n r i v e r s i d e

a b a d o n e d s p a c e h u d s o n r i v e r s i d e

h u d s o n r i v e r s i d e

s T o p c o l u m b i a s i g n a d j a c e n T T o m o v i n g s i g n s

Manhattanville was incorporated as a neighborhood in Harlem’s western edge in

1806 as a site for commercial trade and goods manufacture.1 The onset of transportation

hubs such as the rail station, ferry terminal, and IRT subway station stimulated industrial

growth and economic productivity in the area, turning its waterfront into a thriving site

for industry and commerce.2 However, after the Great Depression of 1929, the stock

market suffocated the neighborhood’s commercial growth, resulting in the loss of

businesses, jobs, and desirability.

Today, Manhattanville is primarily a residential area, home to approximately

thirty-five thousand residents. The population is primarily Hispanic and African

American3, whose apartment rental prices range between $950-$1650, in order of studios

to two-bedroom apartments respectively.4 Village Voice author Christine Lagorio

describes the neighborhood as being stuck in “an awkward phase,” in which “people are

buying, but [the neighborhood] is still forlorn, full of dingy, poorly zoned lots and

subsidized apartment towers that (almost impossibly) keep their foothold in Manhattan.”5

Columbia University, which currently dominates sixty-five percent of West

Harlem in the Morningside Heights area,6 sees Manhattanville as their next frontier for

1 Columbia University. "Manhattanville in West Harlem." neighbors.Columbia.edu.

http://neighbors.columbia.edu/pages/manplanning/west_harlem/index.html (accessed March 1, 2009). 2 Columbia University. "Manhattanville in West Harlem." neighbors.Columbia.edu.

http://neighbors.columbia.edu/pages/manplanning/west_harlem/index.html (accessed March 1, 2009). 3 "Manhattanville neighborhood in New York, New York (NY), 10031, 10027 detailed profile." Stats about

all US cities - real estate, relocation info, house prices, home value estimator, recent sales, cost of living,

crime, race, income, photos, education, maps, weather, houses, schools, neighborhoods, and more.

www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Manhattanville-New-York-NY.html (accessed February 27, 2009). 4 Lagorio, Christine. "Close-Up on Manhattanville." The Village Voice, May 31, 2005.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-05-31/nyc-life/close-up-on-manhattanville/ (accessed March 1, 2009). 5 Lagorio, Christine. "Close-Up on Manhattanville." The Village Voice, May 31, 2005. http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-05-31/nyc-life/close-up-on-manhattanville/ (accessed March 1, 2009). 6 Williams, Timothy. "In West Harlem Land Dispute, It's Columbia vs. Residents." The New York Times,

November 29, 2006.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/20/nyregion/20columbia.html?_r=1&fta=y&pagewanted=all (accessed

February 20, 2009).

campus expansion and neighborhood renovation. In fall 2002, Columbia described their

intentions to expand as a response to their “urgent need for additional space,” as well as,

“the commitment to the communities of Upper Manhattan and [their] belief that this

effort will bring economic and other benefits to [their] neighbors.”7 The university

outlined their intentions for the space in their Columbia 197-c Plan.

Harlem residents do not object the expansion of Columbia University into their

neighborhood, but find the school’s

197-c Plan ignorant of the

community’s need for affordable

housing, job opportunities,

environmental protection, and historical

preservation.8 In response to

Columbia’s plan, the community’s Board 9 outlined a comprehensive description of their

demands in their Community 197-a Plan.9 A compromise between each plan is yet to be

reached, and in turn has provoked much controversy in the area and media.

Columbia University released in a public statement, “Columbia is focused on

meeting the unique needs of New York City and the Upper Manhattan community as it

continues to negotiate the purchase properties needed for the proposed expansion. The

7 "The Expansion Timeline: 2002 and Beyond.."

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cssn/expansion/flyers/Expansion%20Timeline.pdf.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cssn/expansion/flyers/Expansion%20Timeline.pdf (accessed February 4,

2009). 8 Schrodt, Paul. "Columbia Expansion 101: Wealthy University Devours West Harlem." the indypendent,

September 4, 2007. http://www.indypendent.org/2007/08/31/columbia-expansion-101-wealthy-university-

devours-west-harlem/ (accessed February 13, 2009). 9 "Columbia vs. the Community, and Introduction." Stop Columbia: a website of the Coalition to Preserve

Community. www.stopcolumbia.org/content/view/40/63/lang,en/ (accessed February 16, 2009).

decision to use eminent domain is the State’s and it remains a last resort.”10 The school’s

right to eminent domain threatens the neighborhood’s homes, jobs, and properties,

reaffirming the suspicion that “if Columbia succeeds, bodegas will become

bookshelves.”11

Of the many social tensions surrounding the dispute between Manhattanville’s

197-a Plan and Columbia’s 197-c Plan, residents are most infuriated by the idea that their

socio-economic status renders them powerless in the matter. At a Manhattanville public

hearing in 2005, picket signs read, “Poor People Have Rights, too!”12 as participants

fumed about the school’s history of obtaining their desires through money and status.

Residents pronounce their intolerance of eminent domain abuse, and seek their own

source of power to raise attention to the matter through public demonstration, online and

print forums, and various media platforms such as YouTube® and news stations. In

trying to understand how it could be possible to lose her home and property for students

to have more classrooms, Luisa Henriquez speaks for the Manhattanville community in

asking, “What about us?”13

Manhattanville residents are not the only ones who are frustrated by Columbia’s

anticipated plan of action. Student groups within the university, such as the Student

Coalition on Expansion and Gentrification, says, “We find it impossible to stand aside as

10 NY1 News. "West Harlem Residents Voice Opposition To Columbia Expansion Plan." NY1.

www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?SecID=1000&ArID=54997 (accessed February 23, 2009). 11 Lagorio, Christine. "Close-Up on Manhattanville." The Village Voice, May 31, 2005. http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-05-31/nyc-life/close-up-on-manhattanville/ (accessed March 1, 2009). 12 NY1 News. "West Harlem Residents Voice Opposition To Columbia Expansion Plan." NY1.

www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?SecID=1000&ArID=54997 (accessed February 23, 2009). 13 NY1 News. "West Harlem Residents Voice Opposition To Columbia Expansion Plan." NY1.

www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?SecID=1000&ArID=54997 (accessed February 23, 2009).

our university actively ignores and evades the rights of the West Harlem community.”14

Even some faculty members do not share Columbia’s enthusiasm for the 197-c Plan.

Columbia Professor Susan Fairstein says, “I think Columbia desperately needs to expand,

but I’m not necessarily for the expansion as it’s currently designed.”15

The issue of non-compromise between Columbia’s 197-c Plan and

Manhattanville’s 197-a Plan has aroused several tensions and forms of social activism.

The pivotal social tension surrounding the dilemma is that Columbia’s money, power,

and status are the driving variables threatening to push through Columbia’s plan without

acknowledging Harlem residents’ demands. Since Manhattanville’s socio-economic

condition is not as favorable as Columbia’s, the neighborhood has utilized various

platforms to direct attention and public dialogue to the matter.

Upon visiting Harlem, I arrived with a set of questions concerning how the

platforms and mediums of vocalization affected the Harlem/Columbia expansion issue in

the area. Will people be handing out flyers on the corner, or leading rallies and soapbox

protests by the gates of Columbia? How are the residents and students of Harlem utilizing

media and technology to get their point across? Have residents and students employed

advertisements to voice their cause? Will this issue even be visible once I arrive?

I began my trek from the subway exit that let me off around the entrance to

Columbia University. The subway ride was considerably longer than I expected, and led

me to think my destination would be fairly sparse of people and activity. However, after

walking up the stairs to the street level, I was surprised by how many people I saw in the

14 "Student Coalition on Expansion & Gentrification." Student Coalition on Expansion & Gentrification.

www.columbia.edu/cu/cssn/expansion/ (accessed February 1, 2009). 15 NY1 News. "West Harlem Residents Voice Opposition To Columbia Expansion Plan." NY1.

www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?SecID=1000&ArID=54997 (accessed February 23, 2009).

area. There were students congregating before class, local residents running errands and

talking on their cell phones, even small families traversing from point a to point b. The

weather was overcast and chilly, potentially reducing the amount of people who sought

outdoor activity, inferring the area is even more bustling on different occasions.

Observing the people in the area, I could cleanly divide them into three groups:

students, residents, and commuters. The students aged anywhere from eighteen to fifty-

five, and tended to congregate with other students on the lawns of the university. The

residents appeared to pay little attention to the university and students, seemingly unfazed

by the bustling area of academics as they went on with their daily errands. The

commuters flew out of the subway station with direction and determination, talking on

their cell phones and grasping their briefcases as they trajected to their anticipated Point

B.

After heading west on Broadway towards the restaurant Flordita, I noticed that the

amount of students and commuters lessened, as if crossing an imaginary border. Lawns

and public parks melted into businesses and storefronts, and bustling groups of people

dwindled into the occasional resident on their errand. In absence of public space for

residents, people tactically� sought the street as a place to congregate. There appeared to

only be a couple street hangouts, primarily outside restaurants and by the West Side

Highway, each location attracting no more than five people (primarily male).

As I passed these street hangouts, I was given looks that made me feel a bit

uncomfortable and out of place. Perhaps it was my attire or curious expression that gave

me away as an "outsider," but the groups of men I passed looked at me with a gaze of

judgment and isolation that I wasn't familiar to. It was as if I was being looked at as an

outsider, in which my purpose in the area was yet to be identified. Perhaps I was

perceived as a Columbia student whose intentions were deemed impure by the Harlem

residents. Whatever the reason, the mood of the streets had gotten cooler and a bit crueler

since the gates of Columbia, and I wondered if this was the byproduct of the 197-A/C

issues.

The ethnicities of Harlem shifted in majority as well on my trek from Columbia

into the heart of Manhattanville. When I was getting out of the subway, the people

around me were mostly Caucasian men and women students, with roughly one quarter of

other ethnicities mixed into the bunch. However, closer to 125th Street and Broadway

there were very few Caucasians I crossed paths with, and a great deal more African

American and Latin Americans.

I was most concerned with how people in Harlem were voicing their opinions on

the Harlem vs. Columbia issue. I was surprised to find no one freely speaking out about

the issue, no guerilla advertisements plastered on scaffolding, not even flyers passed out

to raise awareness on the issue. Some residents and students did not even know about the

issue. When I asked Sarah Gold, a ten-year resident of 125th Street, about her thoughts

on the issue, she replied, "I really don't know that much about the present standing of the

[Columbia versus Harlem issue]. I've done my best to follow it on the news, but there

aren't nearly enough community meetings and update systems to keep me notified."

When I looked towards advertisements, I found only one sign that was related to

the issue. It was plastered on the side of a building, adjacent to a car wash, and read,

"Dear Columbia, No Forced Displacement." The irony in the matter was that this sign

was placed next to advertisements for storage and moving signs, as if marketing to the

same crowd that risks displacement. Another sign about seven blocks away reads, "STOP

COLUMBIA! WE WON'T BE PUSHED OUT!" and again in Spanish, "PARE A

COLUMBIA! NOSOTROS NO SEREMOS EMPUJADO AFUERA!" It's stark black

and red letters on the white vinyl made the message loud and clear, but when viewed next

to the subtle and bleak surroundings of the area, appeared almost radical and violent. A

dichotomy of voice emerged: either the space of Harlem let the issue sat idle and

unnoticed, or it was loud and aggressive.

One billboard in particular really drove home the tension between the perceived

space and conceived space of Harlem. It was an advertising billboard for "Harlem

Heights," a television sitcom that follows the "working hard, playing harder" crowd of

black-tie professionals in Harlem. It portrays Harlem as an area of thriving business,

class, money and beauty, yet the billboard is placed in one of the more dismal,

unproductive areas of Harlem. Neighbored by "Do Not Enter" signs and the Cotton Club,

a club that once abided by a whites-only policy in attempts to attract a downtown crowd,

the advertisement creates a funny friction between spatial practices and representations of

space.

3333 Broadway is a building that has offered affordable housing to residents for

decades, and now risks being absorbed by the state if the expansion is carried out by

Columbia's plans. It is often cited as the prime example of how Columbia threatens to

unfairly displace residents, and then market the units for three to four times the price.

When I approached James Bosley, a seven-year resident of 3333, and asked him about

the looming threat of displacement, he answered, "It's just unfair. I cannot understand

how the government can say to someone who has been living in the same unit for over

twenty years that they no longer have a home. Elderly men and women who have been

living in this building have nowhere to go. It's just wrong."

In my map, I charted the locations I felt individuals were voicing themselves

about the expansion issue. The only visible vocalizations I crossed paths with were

billboards and flyers. Blue Flags indicate a billboard, and Green Flags indicate a flyer.

After further research, I found that Tuck-It-Away Storage, a moving and Storage

Company with various locations in Harlem funded the billboards.

After walking through the Harlem area, I noticed a few things. The first being that

considering how charged the issue is, the visibility of the issue in the area was not nearly

visible enough. Tensions were illustrated through dirty stares and sparse, aggressive

advertisements. Communication was only provoked through awkward approach and even

once achieved, the knowledge on the matter was limited. Residents of Harlem were

clearly angry with the issue at hand, but had few outlets to voice their concerns and

questions, and thus turned to muted aggression.

In lecture, we discussed how media- and digital-scapes create an opportunity for

self-empowerment among the otherwise underpowered. In the Harlem/Columbia issue, I

have seen residents utilize platforms such as YouTube® and Vimeo® to vocalize their

opinions. However, when their strides are in a constant digital, immaterial realm, then the

results are just as invisible to the eye. While the Internet and media are fantastic resources

for creating a platform for “questioning, subverting and undermining decisions made by

structures from above,” I am fascinated by how the immaterial can translate into the

material.

I propose a website for the Harlem and Columbia community that embraces

dialogue between students, residents, and commuters while encouraging a collaborative

energy among the various populations of the area. Whether individuals are for, against, or

neutral to the expansion, there should be a mediated space that offers platforms to be

active for their cause in safe, constructive ways.

The first issue the website would address is the growing divide between students,

residents and commuters. In light of the recent situation, more social tensions have arisen

between each population, stifling the opportunities for collaboration or spacial peace. On

the website, there will be a two-part solution for this issue. The first will be an interactive

map, in which individuals can click on their address for their residence, workplace, dorm,

etc. and create a brief profile. Within this profile will be information that ranges from

name, age, occupation, to "reason for moving to harlem," or "biggest hope/fear for the

area." As more people plot their coordinates, the fuller the map becomes and the more

visually aware people become of the integration and gentrification of lives in the area.

The second solution is a social network interface, whose model could be likened to

Facebook(r) or Myspace(r). An account for this social networking service would be

automatically created upon plotting their coordinates on the map, and users can fill their

profiles with their business information, personal information, and thoughts.

The second issue the website would address is the fear of residential displacement

and job loss. The natural condition of space is to change, at the hands of time, society,

business and ecology. There is a reality that many jobs and homes may be forfeited for

the benefit of expansion, and rather than stressing on how to STOP this possibility, the

website addresses how to BETTER this possibility. The website's solution for this issue is

to create an extensive, region-driven Classifieds section. Here users can post available

listings, jobs, and opportunities for people that risk displacement. Sensitive to the issue of

expansion, these opportunities will buffer the risk being "left out in the cold." These

Classifieds will also serve as an excellent opportunity for networking and building

relationships with others.

The third issue this website seeks to address is proper advertising and vocalization

of the populations' causes. After my trek around West Harlem, I counted a total of three

signs that addressed the Harlem/Columbia expansion issue. Each was styled with the

same stark palette of black, white and red, and the tone was all-in-all negative. To be

honest, the design and tonality is so poor it could transform an anti-expansionite into a

pro-expansionite. Nobody wants to be talked down to, and while the energy is there, the

advertisements do not delivery it properly.

The website seeks to address this issue by creating an interactive Voice section.

There will be two subpages for The Voice section, one for Pro-Expansion, the other for

Anti-Expansion. Within each of these subpages, each will be comprised of three parts,

The Three F's: Flyers, Facts, and Funding. The Three F's will address how to be vocal

with your cause in a constructive way, where the power of design and information is

emphasied.

The flyers section will be a utility that allows users to upload and download

designed flyers, posters, and deskjet-printer sized posters. With simple upload/download

interfaces, nearly everyone who has access to a computer and printer could benefit

voicing their concerns through this function. Upload submissions will be reviewed by the

board of the website before being posted to the website, to deflect any possibility of

hijacking this platform for a poor cause. Harlem has a rich history of artists and

creativity, so the results for posters could also be an opportunity for creative talent to be

recognized and publicized.

The Facts section would be an information section, in which users can get their

facts straight. Often times surrounding issues like this, facts get muddled and distorted,

and in turn generate miscommunications and aggression. This section gives space for the

facts to breathe, and really inform users about the condition of the present situation. This

also branches itself as an opportunity for opposing causes to inform themselves on what

the facts for the other are.

The Funding section will be a ideation/donation system, where users can

collaborate ideas and collect money for their cause. Set up as a discussion board, people

can share and nominate ideas on how to raise awareness and money for their cause.

Elected ideas will be carried out with raised money. Donations can be made through a

PayPal feature adjacent to the discussion board.

The website will at first need to be marketed to individuals in the area as an

approachable, user-friendly asset to their cause. This will be done through print

campaigns in local newspapers, magazines, and scaffolding. Flyers and promo materials

will also be generated and passed out on the streets of Harlem and the Columbia Campus.

Finally, a handful of computer stations programmed for solely surfing the website will be

stationed in popular Harlem/Columbia hangouts to stimulate usage.

Works Cited

Columbia University. "Manhattanville in West Harlem." neighbors.Columbia.edu.

http://neighbors.columbia.edu/pages/manplanning/west_harlem/index.html (accessed March 1, 2009).

"Columbia vs. the Community, and Introduction." Stop Columbia: a website of the

Coalition to Preserve Community. www.stopcolumbia.org/content/view/40/63/lang,en/ (accessed February 16, 2009).

Lagorio, Christine. "Close-Up on Manhattanville." The Village Voice, May 31, 2005.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-05-31/nyc-life/close-up-on-manhattanville/ (accessed March 1, 2009).

"Manhattanville neighborhood in New York, New York (NY), 10031, 10027 detailed

profile." Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, house prices, home value estimator, recent sales, cost of living, crime, race, income, photos, education, maps, weather, houses, schools, neighborhoods, and more.. www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Manhattanville-New-York-NY.html (accessed February 27, 2009).

NY1 News. "West Harlem Residents Voice Opposition To Columbia Expansion Plan."

NY1. www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?SecID=1000&ArID=54997 (accessed February 23, 2009).

Schrodt, Paul. "Columbia Expansion 101: Wealthy University Devours West Harlem."

the indypendent, September 4, 2007. http://www.indypendent.org/2007/08/31/columbia-expansion-101-wealthy-university-devours-west-harlem/ (accessed February 13, 2009).

"Student Coalition on Expansion & Gentrification." Student Coalition on Expansion &

Gentrification. www.columbia.edu/cu/cssn/expansion/ (accessed February 1, 2009).

"The Expansion Timeline: 2002 and Beyond.."

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cssn/expansion/flyers/Expansion%20Timeline.pdf. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cssn/expansion/flyers/Expansion%20Timeline.pdf (accessed February 4, 2009).

Williams, Timothy. "In West Harlem Land Dispute, Itâ ™s Columbia vs. Residents."

The New York Times, November 29, 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/20/nyregion/20columbia.html?_r=1&fta=y&pagewanted=all (accessed February 20, 2009).