For MHC 150.

1. Morningside Heights/Central Harlem Nicole Lennon, Kristen Markoe, Margaretta Midura, Kristina Navrazhina, Daniel Pecoraro, Michael Sideris Scott Tierney, Sarah Vorsanger

3. Demographics

4. Columbia University and Eminent Domain

5. Morningside Park Debate Past

6. Morningside Park Today

7. Public Transport

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

11. 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.”

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

14. 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.

15. 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.

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

18. 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.

20. TO THE EAST 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 Change in Median Income from 2000 to 2010

21. So what are the changes? 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

22. 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!

23. 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

24. 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.

25. 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”

28. How the political climate of the country led to the outcry against Columbia building a gym in Morningside Park

29. 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

30. “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

32. Press coverage of the brutalities of the war increased.

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

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

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

38. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

40. 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.

42. There would be two separate entrances: one for Columbia students and one for Harlem residents. This was highly controversial

43. The gym was then nicknamed “Gym Crow”

45. 1. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

46. 2. Student Afro Society (SAS)

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

49. 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.

50. Friends of Morningside Park Under President Jacquie Connors and Vice President JannineGreen 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 andother 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.

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

52. 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: 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. 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.

54. a recreational center

55. Eateries

56. basketball courts

57. baseball fields

58. volleyball courts

59. playgrounds

60. dog runs

61. handball courts

62. water fountains

63. showers

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

67. raccoons

68. hawks

69. geese

70. woodpeckers

71. turkeys

72. cormorants

73. ducks

74. great blue herons

75. catfish

76. red winged birds

77. peregrine falcons

78. bullfrogs

79. blackbirds

80. finches

81. rock doves

82. sparrows

83. carp

84. crawfish 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.

85. CHANGING REP The 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

87. .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.

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

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

90. 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.

91. 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

92. . 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.

93. 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.

94. 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

95. 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

96. 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

104. ACS 2005-2009 Census Tract - Median Household Income www.socialexplorer.com

105. 1980 Census Tract - Median Household Income (in 2000 dollars) www.socialexplorer.com

106. 1980 Census Tract - % Public transportation www.socialexplorer.com

107. ACS 2005-2009 Census Tract - % Used Public Transportation www.socialexplorer.com

108. Health Disparities in Morningside Heights/Central HarlemExamining the role of Social, Economic, and Educational Inequalities in Community Health Kristina Navrazhina

109. “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

110. 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.

111. 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.

112. 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.

113. 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).

114. 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

116. 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.