Construction of Harlem Park, a 21-story office building, is slated to begin at the site of an empty lot at the corner of 125th St. and Park Avenue
There was much to be excited about in February 2005 when then-Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg grabbed ceremonial shovels at a groundbreaking for the new Harlem Park.
The $236 million project on 125th Street and Park Avenue promised to bring 2,500 jobs and the first new major tourist hotel to Harlem since the Hotel Theresa closed its doors in 1966.
Now 2½ years later, the lot where the hip designs of internationally known architect Enrique Norton were supposed to take root is still an empty parking lot behind the New York College of Podiatric Medicine, and some worry that the promises of new jobs will never materialize.
"We have a dynamic cultural vibrancy but we haven't seen that translate into the local economy," said Robert Rodriguez, chairman of Community Board 11. "This could be a real opportunity to improve the community and change some of the perceptions about East Harlem."
The envisioned Marriott, and the community-benefits agreement that came with it, fell through when the developer, Michael Caridi, sold his interest later in 2005 to Vornado Realty Trust, a real estate giant that controls 22 million square feet of space in Manhattan. Instead, a 21-story, 640,000 square foot office tower is planned and scheduled for completion sometime in 2009.
Neither Caridi nor Vornado would comment.
Some lawmakers, though, worry that the new development is moving forward without the kind of community oversight that the original agreement had.
"It was the old bait and switch," said state Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan), who opposed the project when he was in the City Council. "These projects have to come through us to get the authority to build a certain height. Once we give them the authority and the project doesn't go through, the owner, without doing anything, has increased the value of the property, and they can sell it without going back to the council for approval."
Since the deal for the Marriott fell though, two new luxury hotels have been slated for the Harlem market: A W hotel for 124th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, and a 19-story hotel being developed by Paul Reisman properties on Fifth Avenue and 125th Street.
"I think the Marriott project was a little ahead of its time," said Councilwoman Inez Dickens, who now holds Perkins' seat. "Harlem is different today than it was even five years ago. We are getting all the services now that the rest of New York had and Harlem was denied for so long."
The area around the planned development has been the site of much interest by the Bloomberg administration and community activists. In 2003 the Department of City Planning began looking into a River-to-River rezoning plan for 125th Street. Another proposal to develop the blocks east of Harlem Park called "Uptown New York" faltered when residents organized against it.
It was that effort that East Harlem preservationist Marina Ortiz believes made Vornado take notice. The company has made several presentations to the community board and has promised to be a good neighbor.
"You have seen in East Harlem in the past few years people are much more outspoken," Ortiz said. said. "Developers are doing their homework as to what the community prefers."
Still, many longtime residents can't help but fear the worst.
"They've been saying that white people were going to take back Harlem for 20 years," said Ernest Holmes, 60, an area resident. "I guess now they are."
AMNY.com
http://www.amny.com/news/local/am-harl0828,0,910388.story
