Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced the addition of the Central Harlem North Historic District to the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places, marking it as one of 37 new historic sites recognized for their cultural and historical significance across the state of New York. This urban residential district spans approximately ten city blocks in Manhattan‘s Harlem neighborhood.
The Central Harlem North Historic District dates back to around 1893 and extends to as recently as 1952. This area is a compelling illustration of Harlem’s broader evolution, as a working-class residential neighborhood with deep ties to the real estate endeavors of Philip Payton Jr.’s Afro-American Realty Company and the evolution of New York’s transit systems.
The district is distinguished by its late nineteenth and early twentieth-century architecture, featuring tenement houses, brick and stone row houses, and apartment buildings. Notable landmarks near the district are the Mother AME Zion Church, designed by George W. Foster Jr., one of America’s first African American architects, and the West 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library, known today as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
“These nominations reflect generations of community building, planning, and activities that give us a glimpse into our collective past as New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said of all 37 nominations. “Identifying these resources and adding them to our historic registers expands our ongoing understanding of our shared history and are important reminders of the innovation, passion, and lived experiences of New Yorkers who came before us.”
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Does this mean now that nothing can be renovated or refurbished without tons of red tape, permits, and fees?
It’s already landmarked
This is a very positive development. Just north of 125th, where a new subway may open in 50+ years, the historic buildings would be subject to destruction the way the UES and Midtown before it experienced. We don’t need to tear it all down to be a thriving, dense city. Just ask Europe.
Here here, David in Bushwick!
Beautiful
You’re exaggerating David. That subway will be open in 40 years at most!
As to the questions regarding “red tape”, it has been said 1000 times on 1000 different sites, but just to set the matter straight, geez, being placed on the National Register of Historic Places does not create restrictions on the owner (local districts can and often do so). NR list does make one eligible for Federal Historic Tax Credits for Rehabilitation which do come with a set of Standards and National Register status can require anybody using federal funds (like the highway department) to produce an environmental impact statement-this is basically a protection and the Federal Government making sure their own programs do not adversely impact historic properties…that’s about it about the only thing else that can be done on a federal level to a historic building owner is if one decides to do what one wants and screw things up they can “delist” an individual listing or even a district if it becomes too compromised. then one loses the protection and the opportunity of tax credits for rehabilitation.