“We’re proud of the work we are doing to create respectful monuments in our communities that seek to right a historical injustice by recognizing that this land…
… and the individuals that lie within, are an integral part of our cultural heritage, not just for the African community, but for the entire City. But this project has a vision that is much broader than just the memorial. It seeks to commemorate our past, but also responds to the present and future needs in the community. This site will include a significant amount of housing – roughly 700 units – and we need to maximize the amount of affordable housing, and make specific set-asides for those at the lowest income tiers. Further, we need to ensure that this project advances the quality of life in our community including provisions around local hiring, pedestrian safety, and streetscape improvements in an area that has extremely dangerous intersections.” – August 21 2017
When plans for the 126th Street bus depot threatened to disturb a colonial era African burial ground, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito urgently acted to safeguard this ancestral space. Together with Dr. Patricia Singletary, the pastor of the Elmendorf Reform Church who brought this issue to light, they created the Harlem African Burial Ground Task Force in 2009. Comprised of community stakeholders, city agencies, archeologists, architects and historians, the Task Force gathered neighborhood feedback and then called for the removal of the bus depot at East 126th Street.
Photo credit: Gerardo Romo
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