Presentation on Morningside Heights

Morningside Heights/Central

HarlemNicole Lennon, Kristen Markoe, Margaretta Midura,

Kristina Navrazhina, Daniel Pecoraro, Michael Sideris Scott Tierney, Sarah Vorsanger

A preview

History

Demographics

Columbia University and Eminent Domain

Morningside Park Debate Past

Morningside Park Today

Public Transport

Health Disparities

HISTORY OF MORNINGSIDE

HEIGHTSScott Tierney

HISTORY OF MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS

Morningside Heights was originally named Vandewater Heights, after the 17th Century farm of Dutch settler Harmon Vandewater. It was the site of a battle during the American Revolution: American troops encamped on Hamilton Heights to the north of Morningside lured a British unit into the valley aka W.125th Street separating them from Morningside Heights to the south. When the British poured down off Hamilton Heights to attack, the actual collision is supposed to have occurred roughly at Broadway and 119th St., which is now the north end of Barnard’s campus and near Columbia University. At the time of the Revolution, the neighborhood was made up of scattered farms. The neighborhood was called Bloomingdale after the Bloomingdale Road which eventually changed into Broadway.


Around the turn of the century, the still almost-suburban neighborhood, home to shacks and vegetable gardens, became a convenient haven for non-profit institutions fleeing the skyrocketing rents and density of Midtown Manhattan. Columbia University, which arrived in 1897, used to be located near St. Patrick's Cathedral(51st and 5th) Contrary to what one might expect, these institutions, which included Saint Luke's Hospital,etc., had little to do with one another. In fact, their poor relations with each other has been a long-standing problem in the history of the neighborhood. They competed for the same group of rich donors and did not try at all to harmonize with each other's architectural styles.

Nevertheless, the neighborhood flourished when the IRT subway opened under Broadway in 1904.

Apartment houses began being built on sites that had been entirely empty a few years before.

FUN FACTS: “The most active builders in Morningside Heights were members of the Paterno family, which had emigrated to NY from Italy. Joseph and his brothers became involved in construction because their father, John Paterno, had been a builder in Italy and eventually became a partner in the New York building firm of McIntosh & Paterno. In 1907, Charles Paterno established his own business, the Paterno Construction Company, with his brother-in-law Anthony Campagna. Working independently and in joint ventures, the members of the Paterno family built 37 apartment buildings on Morningside Heights, ranging from modest six-story structures to the impressive Luxor, Regnor, and Rexor on Broadway at 115th and 116th Streets and the Colosseum and Paterno on Riverside Drive and 116th Street. The Paternos were active on Morningside Heights during the entire span of apartment house development in the area, beginning with John Paterno's modest apartment buildings on 112th Street in 1898 and ending with Joseph Paterno's enormous 1924 building at 425 Riverside Drive. The Paternos were so proud of their buildings that the facades of some of their grandest works are emblazoned with initials referring to the family--"P" for Paterno, " JP" for Joseph Paterno, or "PB" for Paterno Brothers.”


The great building boom of the Roaring Twenties came to an end, like a lot of things in New York City, with the great stock market crash of 1929.

Late 1930’s and early 1940’s often there was the naval officer candidates drilling on the Columbia campus.

In the 1950's, Columbia University and the other institutions began to worry about the slide of its surrounding area. Although we now look back on the 1950's as part of New York's safe, cheap and prosperous golden age, at the time people were nervous that the neighborhood would “slide” and poverty and crime would be rampant.

Because of this Morningside Heights, Inc. was formed, a not-for-profit corporation chaired by David Rockefeller, whose brother Nelson was governor of the state. Its principal physical accomplishment was the construction of the middle-class Morningside Gardens apartment complex on 122nd St. between Broadway and Amsterdam.

The ethnic neighborhood it replaced, now completely erased from map and memory, was called Manhattanville, and its principal surviving relic is the Corpus Christi Catholic Church on 121st St.


In 1968, demonstrations broke out when the Columbia University made plans to build a gymnasium in Morningside Park, on the border with Harlem to the east of Morningside Heights. Half of the gym would have been open to the Harlem community, but since this would have been the lower and smaller part of the gym, in the climate of the 1960's this was perceived as racist and soon students were protesting "Gym Crow." Despite the gifts and incentives being offered to the community in exchange for its cooperation, the people would not accept a part of their public park being taken and built on by a private entity. Columbia eventually built the gym on its own campus, and it is not open for public use.


Columbia also knocked down many of the Single-Room-Occupancy hotels, Columbia knocked down both to build new buildings and to drive perceived undesirables out of the neighborhood.

Some of the vacant lots from that era have still not gone away, nor has the mistrust sown in the minds of local residents.

As the city grows and residents move in and out, neighborhood names change as well. Newcomers sometimes consider Morningside Heights as an extension of the Upper West Side, though others hold onto the old name.

In the last decade, some businesses in the area have started using the name SoHa to refer to the neighborhood.

The Changing Population

Morningside Heights-relatively stable population-since 2000, not much change in percentageof children, marital status. Lower median age-only a re-shifting of wealthiest residents-mainly Columbia faculty and staff and wealthier residents

Upper West Side-considered similar to Morningside Heights, particularly in median income-But population has not become younger

West Harlem-considered similar to east side of park in the past-population barely changed since 2000-only 3-8% increase in income and Population remained relatively older-Columbia students not moving here

TO THE EAST

Change in Median Income from 2000 to 2010

Harlem neighborhood-BIG CHANGES since 2000-median income increased 27-48%-9% more children under 12-more married individuals-median age:28 to 33. Younger than before

-New residents are younger, wealthier, married,and with children. These type of residents care More about their community-Also, Columbia students moving here

So what are the changes?

1)Creating satisfactory environment for children

-Public schools (especially on east side of park) are overcrowded and have low standardized test scores. 2010 data shows that 50% of elementary school students in this area are now in private schools

-Extracurricular activities like the Boys Choir of Harlem. Used as motivator for education and to teach positive social behaviors.

-Friends of Morningside Park now provide safe and engaging activities for children, such as the Egg Hunt and Family Day

2) Making it safer and cleaner

-As seen on walking tour, miniature garbage bins hang on walls encouraging people not to litter

-E-Cycling Event. Collected computers, printers, tv sets to recyle. One stated goal was to “create local stewardship of public green space and increase community awareness, involvement, and youth development.”

-More security cameras have been installed.Morningside Area Alliance sponsors community security patrols. Crime rates have fallen significantly!

3) Positive relations between two sides of park

Many tensions with Columbia in the past.

In2005, Harlem area set up special committee to keep positive neighbor relations. Columbia holds meetings for concerned residents. But people attending these meetings are just from the specific neighborhood!

Coalition to Preserve Community also founded in 2003. Feel it is necessary to keep Columbia in check

NOT THAT SUCCESSFUL… FOR NOW

What do people have to say?

This is a fire that happened over a month ago in a new condominium building. Even though calls to 311 and Building Dept have been made, nothing has been done.

Eminent Domain

an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent.

the taking is for “public use” and “just compensation” is paid to the owner.

abusing eminent domain by expanding the meaning of “public use”

How the political climate of the country led to the outcry against

Columbia building a gym in Morningside Park

The 1960s was a time of turmoil for the United States…

Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated

The voice of the youth was lost

The Vietnam War

18 year olds were being drafted against their will

The Civil Rights Movement

Racism was tearing the nation apart

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events…Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope…which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” - RFK

Vietnam War

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution led to President Lyndon B. Johnson sending 500,000 soldiers to Vietnam.

• Press coverage of the brutalities of the war increased.

• In response, demonstrations and marches took place across the country, especially on college campuses.

• People burnt their draft cards or fled to country in acts of protest.

Vietnam War and Protests

Civil Rights Movement• Many protests and marches took place including:

– March on Washington (combined Civil Rights and the Poor People’s Movement)

– March at the Pentagon (combined Civil Rights and the Vietnam War)

• Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.– Led to more protests on college campuses

These Events Led To… Student protests on Columbia University’s

campus regarding the gym that was planned to be built in Morningside Park in 1968

The Pros of the Park Columbia officials saw it as the perfect way to

get rid of urban decay.

The Park and the two neighborhoods were very unsafe but under Columbia’s supervision, they could be built up, cleaned up, and look more aesthetically pleasing.

The Park would now have security at night which would allow people to be safer.

The gym would have sports leagues for kids in the community.

The Cons of the park…• Officials did not consult with community leaders in

Morningside Heights or Harlem about the new Gym.• There would be two separate entrances: one for

Columbia students and one for Harlem residents. This was highly controversial– The gym was then nicknamed “Gym Crow”

• The students saw the gym as a barrier in their relationship with the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.

“Anti-establishment” Student Protesters

• Two Major Protesting Groups on Columbia’s Campus:– 1. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)– 2. Student Afro Society (SAS)

• Goal of SDS: mobilize the student population in response to Vietnam as well as the gym.

• Goal of SAS: face the racism occurring between Columbia and the surrounding communities as well as stop the construction of the gym.

Conclusion

The students presented six demands to the President of the University, Grayson Kirk and the entire administration.

One of these demands was to stop construction on the gym.

The administration listened to the students and construction for the gym ceased.

Friends of Morningside Park Under President Jacquie Connors and Vice President

Jannine Green the Friends of Morningside Park is a

volunteer coalition of residents and organizations founded

in 1981 by Columbia student Thomas Kiel.

This organization has been instrumental in guiding the

park's improvements over the past few years. The Friends group

has been working with volunteers and other

organizations to offer numerous programs and

events at the 30-acre park.

In 1981 a Columbia University undergraduate named

Tom Kiel saw the deteriorating condition of our historic

Olmsted designed park. He began organizing meetings

and park cleanups.

At the time, the Parks Department was getting ready to

implement large-scale changes to the park, which

would have obliterated much of the remaining

Olmsted design.

Along with several other Columbia students,

Tom formed the Friends of Morningside Park

to halt these changes and fight for park restoration

in keeping with Olmsted's design principles. Incorporated in

1982, the Mission of the Friends of Morningside Park has not changed to this day.

Columbia University

Columbia University is also another large contributor to the increasing beauty and prosperity in Morningside Park.

Through its Community Service Grants program, Columbia contributes funding to support various programs and events at Morningside Park, including the 2005 summer concert series in the park.

Columbia employees assist in coordinating

the park's fall festival, Common Ground.

Student groups volunteer for other park

events, including park cleanups, festivals, and

special programs.

These Columbian contributors are proud to

be one of the many programs and events

offered at Morningside Park. This is because these programs and

events help bring families and neighbors together.

OTHER orgs.Having three hundred nine members on the community board for

Morningside Park and being under the jurisdiction of Council Member Inez E. Dickens many restoration projects and helpful

organizations have taken part in building Morningside Park into a beautiful area.

These organizations include Morningside BARC, BuildON, and CityArts:

Morningside BARC (Build A Run Coalition) is a community-based organization dedicated to dogs and their owners in the Morningside Park

area of Manhattan. In serving and uniting communities in Central Harlem, Morningside Heights, and Manhattan Valley, their goal is to use their shared love of dogs to build gathering places, to plan events, and

to otherwise strengthen ties among the enormously diverse users of the park.

BuildOn is another organization that is non-profit and empowers

primarily urban United States high school students through in-class

and intensive after-school programs. In addition to

tremendous contributions of community service in their own

cities and neighborhoods, BuildOn youth builds parks to help them develop and become even more

beautiful than before

CityArts is another one of many organizations that have helped

Morningside Park grow and prosper into what it looks like

today. CityArts empowers youth around New York City by bringing them together with professional artists to create public art that

addresses civic and social issues, impacts lives, and transforms

their communities.

ACTIVITIESEvery year Morningside Friends schedules a wide variety of events which include activities such as:

- Park CleanUps / Plantings- Annual Fundraiser, - Easter Egg Hunt,

- Earth Day Celebration,- NYCKidsFest,

- Summer Concerts, - Double Dutch - Jump Rope Demonstration and Instruction- Common Ground Festival,- Halloween Festival- December Holiday Ceremony

Community members also use the vast Morningside Park at their leisure with friends and family. Morningside Park currently has:

- barbeque facilities - a recreational center- Eateries- basketball courts- baseball fields- volleyball courts- playgrounds- dog runs- handball courts- water fountains- showers- bathrooms.

WILDLIFEFive turtle species also reside in

Morningside Park including

red-eared slider

common snapper

cooter

painted turtle

mud (or musk) turtle.

• the egret• raccoons • hawks• geese • woodpecker

s • turkeys • cormorants • ducks • great blue

herons• catfish • red winged

birds • peregrine

falcons • bullfrogs • blackbirds • finches• rock doves• sparrows• carp• crawfish

If you find yourself just wanting to take a walk in the park instead of taking part in one of these many activities listed above, the wildlife in Morningside Park

is breathtaking. Morningside Park is home

to:

Throughout the landscape there are red bud trees and daffodils, as well as other trees and flowers, which add to the everlasting beauty of Morningside Park. The life in this park is vivacious,

including not only animals but Columbia students who walk through it due to class and jobs, as well as,

joggers and athletes who take part in all sorts of activities.

CHANGING REPThe current fields and paths of Morningside Park are filled with

people of all ages who mingle and have changed the perception of the park from one filled with crime to an environment that is clean kept and safe. For decades, in spite of

supporters who argued to the contrary, Morningside Park was

burdened with a dangerous reputation. The reputation included characteristics such as a sanctuary for drug addicts, a no man’s land

separating the ivy privilege of Columbia University from the valley of Harlem below. Columbia students

knew to avoid it. For many years it was not treated with the same admiration as other Olmsted parks, because of where it was.

NEGATIVE REPUTATION

NEW &IMPROVED REPURATIONToday there is evidence that decades of community activism have paid off.

– Signs of vitality include a dog run, a renovated playground and the pleasing laughs and cheers of softball games

– .Since the request of the group Friends of Morningside Park, an operation called Community Markets has run a seasonal market at 110th Street and Manhattan Avenue.

– Developers are realizing the golden opportunity of park side living due to the good and bad of the constant gentrification occurring.

– A department spokesman cites plans to improve nearby entrances, pathways and plantings, as well as to renovate a playground.

– In the fall of 2005, the stairs at 120th Street were renovated, thanks to the advocacy of dedicated community residents and the allocations of outgoing City Council Member Bill Perkins. The new stairs have already become a major thoroughfare for pedestrian traffic, bringing neighbors east and west of the park closer together.

– The sidewalk from 110th Street to 116th Street along Morningside Drive was also reconstructed a few years ago, and the park’s plans to continue the project up to 122nd Street

– . In May, Morningside Park broke ground on renovations of the two ball fields located in the Park’s southern end. The renovation project included the upgrading of ball fields, and new topsoil and clay, as well as new equipment and benches, and a handicapped accessible drinking fountain.

– The security booth at 116th and Morningside Drive, which is maintained by Columbia University and Friends of Morningside, was replaced in this spring. In addition, the surrounding community has become much more proactive in reporting vandalism, light outages, and in working with the Police and security services on issues of safety and security.

– Volunteers and Friends of Morningside are constantly offering assistance in improvements to the landscape and natural habitat, scheduling work days and cleanup and maintenance initiatives, including the recent major brush and growth removal along the Park’s upper paths. Friends of Morningside have also initiated collaboration with the Central Park Conservancy, which will add an additional work crew to the Park on an ongoing basis.

POSITIVE

REPUTATION

Modern Sentiments Towards Morningside Park: Columbia

A bit more likely to attend the park compared to the 60s-80s

Still general feeling that the park

is dangerous

Often times is it they themselves that use the park for illegal reasons

Modern Sentiments Towards Morningside Park: Harlem

Feel as though they have lost the park

Are unable to let go of the racial struggles of the late 60’s and 70’s

Now distrust Columbia and other large institutions

ACS 2005-2009 Census Tract - Median Household Income

www.socialexplorer.com

http://www.socialexplorer.com/

1980 Census Tract - Median Household Income (in 2000 dollars)



1980 Census Tract - % Public transportation



ACS 2005-2009 Census Tract - % Used Public Transportation



Health Disparities in Morningside Heights/Central

HarlemExamining the role of Social, Economic, and

Educational Inequalities in Community Health

Kristina Navrazhina

“It's important to understand that the aggregation of data from Morningside Heights and Central Harlem, two qualitatively different areas, distorts the true dynamic “ – Beverly Watkins, Professor of Public Health at Columbia University

What are we dealing with?

Approximately 56,000 contracted it in 2006 alone in the United States

HIV is a preventable disease but carries one of the highest transmission rates.

Statistics

NYC is the country’s epicenter for HIV/AIDS, carrying a 622.30 prevalence rate, the highest in the country

Nearly 2% of the total populations of the neighborhoods are HIV positive, especially high amongst African Americans, Hispanics and prisoners/recent ex-cons.

Demographics

Black (dark blue) =66.2%

Hispanic (light blue) = 26.4%

Statistically, it is expected that 1 in 16 black men and 1 in 32 black women will be diagnosed with HIV sometime in their life time.

Education Lowers Transmission Rates

The NYC Department of Education (DOE) has a mandated policy that all students in grades Kindegarden-12 receive mandatory education about HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and their preventions.

In Harlem, an average high school dropout rate is 13.67% (Daily News, 2008).

Combating the Epidemic

A number of community organizations are working closely with Morningside/Harlem to prevent, educate and contain the spread of manageable and preventable diseases, as well as working with those affected on managing their lives with said conditions

Ryan Center

Harlem Health Promotion Center

Although changes to the community as a whole have both spread the awareness of the disease and decreases the rates of transmission, the community faces one of the toughest epidemics to combat in the future.