Going on the assumption that a public works project can never be behind schedule, especially more than a year behind schedule, we have a photo of the completed memorial to Frederick Douglas at the Northwest corner of Central Park on the left. The sign in the site office window says that completion was set for November 2005, about a year and a half ago, so we have to assume this is the finished product.

Let's marvel. Notice how the seemingly random placement of the barrels alongside mildly rusty pipes challenges the imagination and questions our conception of 'place.'

Anyway, one may think that dinged up orange and white plastic barrels and railroad ties accented with that risque orange fishnet trimming we saw elsewhere are unique materials to use in a memorial to a national historical figure, but simply go 12 blocks up Frederick Douglas and, TA-DA!, a second memorial, this time to Harriet Tubman, incorporates many of the same materials in much the same way. The photo proving it all is on the right.

Although there is no promised completion date on the sign for the Harriet Tubman memorial, of the three elected officials on the sign, one has moved on to a higher office than billed as holding, and another is no longer in office as of nearly a year and a half ago. Given these conditions, we will assume this memorial is complete as well.

Posted by Chris at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here is what is IN and what is OUT since we last checked in with the 116th Street cantilever building-in-canting.

(1) IN: Two more stories framed out

(2) IN: Risque orange fishnet trimming

(3) IN: Heavily reinforced joins on the sixth floor

(4) OUT: The sky

I don't know what it is with my Canon, but on cloudy days the sky vanishes in every shot I take. I've looked around on Flickr for other SD450 photos, and they quite often include rich blue skies, so I am guessing the problem lies with me.

Regardless of my photography skills, Graceline Court pushes onward, overward, and upward.

· Cantilever Watch 2007

· Cantilever Get Some Respect? [Includes rendering with digitally enhanced blue sky]

Posted by Chris at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the void in South Harlem pet services rapidly filling up, I feel the need to refocus Harlem Fur on something else.

But I am hit with a problem: What other measurement can be used to gauge the neighborhood's change? What else, other than pet services, can be seen as such a pure, material, teleologically oriented embodiment of our esprit de voisinage, the nabe zeitgeist, who we are as both the knowers and the subjects of knowledge?

The slow creep of produce quality at Fine Fare toward Fairway quality?

The quite appearances here and there of specialty beer in local delis?

Maltepoos?

Maybe, but these all require some real legwork. So, I offer tracking Graceline, Harlem's cantilever building, on 116th Street and Lenox Avenue, which shouldn't be that difficult to do.

Here is the first photo of Cantilever Watch 2007.

Posted by Chris at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Across 124th Street from the rumored W Hotel parking lot, around the corner from Harlem Flo and with The Dwyer viewable from the living room windows stands SoHo North, 11 two bedroom condos in a former warehouse.

Cheryl and I dropped by for a look. Photos are after the jump.

Continue reading "Sneak Peek Inside SoHo North" »

Posted by Chris at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Course Description

To the untrained ear, all neighborhood-based screaming can sound alike. This course provides in-depth analysis and discussion on all major forms of nabe screaming, including celebratory, combative, amorous, inebriated, faith-based, companion animal, and simple energy release. Drawing on years of Cheryl and Chris' participant-observation studies conducted in various Manhattan neighborhoods from Hell's Kitchen to Inwood, in addition to suburban Long Island, this course places major emphasis on training students to quickly determine what reason is behind any current screaming. This course includes a mandatory lab that meets twice weekly in the evening.

SCE 4103 fills the prerequisite for SCE 4507, Who's Discharging A Firearm For What Reason Now?

Although I am sure Cheryl and I are not the only Manhattanites who have more terms for distinguishing between nuances of screaming than Inuits have terms for distinguishing between types of snow, we feel well-versed enough in them to warrant a continuing education class for recent transplants to the city. I see our full program, which will include SCE 4507, Who's Discharging A Firearm For What Reason Now? and SCE 4557, WFT Is Going On Out There? being popular with companies relocating employees to NYC.

Some of my favorite screaming case studies are:

Q- Guests asking "Why is that man standing on the corner of 116th screaming all day with a microphone?"
A- Faith-based

Q- Neighbor directly below me in a previous Harlem apartment asking why I go "UGGGGGGH" upon climaxing
A- It's actually the boyfriend of the woman across the hall from me, as for some reason sound traveled down diagonally in that place (and really, I don't want to know the answer)

Q- My asking Cheryl why I can hear a woman in Long Island in a home a ways away scream "I can't take it any more! The crying, the wining! I want this! I want that!"
A- Children (not her cat, which I immediately thought due to our having Cimbi)

Q- Cheryl asking "What's wrong?" when I randomly emit screams of pain
A- Cimbi biting me because I am writing about her on this blog rather than playing with her

Posted by Chris at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A fairly creditable source said that the rumored development replacing the Associated supermarket and a night spot on Frederick Douglas Boulevard and 124th Street will be a W Hotel. I kid you not. (I know the hotel idea was discussed on Curbed back in January, when my job was keeping me from such reading, but I don't know if conversation ever settled on a W.)

Although I am all for a legit (versus by the hour) hotel coming to Harlem, I want to echo a Curbed commenter who laments the loss of a grocery store with potential. The area is hurting for more in the line of standard grocery stores, and the Associated had the potential for being upgraded from its less-than-stellar state. The Citarella on 125th would be cool if I was eating duck patte every night, the Fairway on the Hudson is one of my favorite places on earth- but a bit of a hike, and the Fine Fare on 116th seems determined to make sure all produce is at least slightly imperfect. I find myself doing most of my grocery shopping either at the Fairway on 74th or via Fresh Direct.

So why this photo of a vacant lot behind the Associated? It seems that this lot's air rights are part of the development, and using them will limit anything there to about two stories, ample height for the hotel's parking garage. Hmmm, if you are buying across the street at SoHo North (7 of 11 sold says a broker), you might want to start asking if monthly parking is available.

Anyway, for those seeking a boutique Harlem hotel experience in the immediate future, may we suggest 102 Brownstone or the Sugar Hill Harlem Inn? Both websites are quite nice, and the rooms in each look rather pleasing.

Just saw that this post looked like ass in IE (what does not?) and fixed it.- Chris

Posted by Chris at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

With the one year anniversary of Harlem Fur coming up at the end of the month, we are certain that many of you out there are wondering what to get the Fur. Should it be food and water dishes for Cimbi to replace the cereal bowls we currently use? A new kitty bed to replace the one we had to throw out because she peed in it? Another cat dancer of Joyce Cohen's design?

We suggest the gift that keeps on giving: ad space. Meow.

This is a great way to micro-target your advertising to awesome Harlem residents (all Harlem Fur readers are awesome, and they know it). Plus, you will receive lavish, glowing write-ups on your product loosely veiled as the objective musings of an uninvested local resident.

As an example, let's hear about Harlem Fur's web hosting parent company, Haus Interactive: Man, I can't say enough great things about this awesome team of dedicated web professionals. Haus Interactive, the major label parent company to their indie label Big Ass Hat, provides the solid level of professionalism needed to retain clients like Psychology Today and Federal Pumps, while maintaining a creative edge that makes them the obvious choice for East Village literary institution KGB Bar and side projects by Moby.

Just kidding, the rigid editorial integrity of this site loosely covering the antics of a small house cat and the neighborhood she lives in will never be compromised by paid advertisers. Unless they really pay a lot.

Ad space will be in replacement of that annoying Google Ad bar two posts down and on individual entry pages (revenue to date: $0.00) and possibly a 120px wide third column between the current two. The Fur will offer short term packages we like to call "Cat Food" and longer term packages we like to call "The Animal by Dyson" or "iRobot Roomba Sage for Pets."

Posted by Chris at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've developed a near cat-like curiosity over what could be going in behind the frosted glass storefront windows on 264 West 124th. If anyone knows what will be there, I am all ears.

I caught a construction worker from a neighboring development filling a gallon jug from the building's outside faucet and asked him if he knew what was planned for the space. He seemed a bit startled, and didn't know.

The building, which is between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevards, sits across the street from former Curbed Development Du Jour, SoHo North.

Posted by Chris at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Greek mythology has it that Aphrodite was born of the water after Cronus cut off Uranus' testicles and threw them into the sea. Ouch.

The myth of the love god's origin is unsettling, but not nearly as unsettling as the growing lore around the new uptown Aphrodite cleaners.

First, scattered accounts of less than divine experiences with the shops began arising via the comments section in previous posts. Whether it was ruining clothing and then overcharging or returning an order 17 pounds lighter, the stories were not good.

Then the oral histories began. My neighbor caught me in our lobby and explained to me how he was charged more than triple the estimate for a single item at Aphrodite. My neighbor, who was very recently a Marine sniper, effectively communicates when he is not pleased.

Now, via an email this evening, we have our first cannon work, a tale of a whole building's problems with the place:

Aphrodite Cleaners agreed to pick up and deliver our dry cleaning for our residential building. They agreed to come every week to collect and drop off our clothes. On February 8th, Aphrodite picked up our cleaning and was supposed to return them on February 15th, but we did not receive a drop off. When we did not receive a pick up or drop off on February 22nd, I called the store and asked them to drop off and pick up on the next day, which they did. When they delivered on February 23rd, they only delivered a portion of the load; they did not have any of my husband's dress shirts, which was odd, because if anything is in the load, it's my husband's dress shirts! After nearly two weeks of calling and receiving promises of calls back from the manager, Fatima, to no avail, my husband visited the store on Saturday, March 3rd. On Saturday, Fatima spoke with my husband and promised to look through their factory for his shirts and she would call us on Wednesday, March 7th. Today is Thursday, March 8th and we have not heard from Fatima. If we do not hear from them by this weekend, we will be placing a call to their corporate office and the Better Business Bureau! This is an alert to your readers...BUYERS BEWARE!

Wow.

Does anyone else have an Aphrodite story to tell?

Posted by Chris at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

It's strange how a sensible good time leaves me fumbling for a way to write about it.

Cleaning up the St. Nicholas Park dog run this past weekend was just that, good honest fun. A bunch of people from the neighborhood got together and picked up trash, built some mesas, and spread mulch so that their dogs can have a place to run around and be dogs. And to show appreciation, Mike brought coffee, Vaneik and Julia brought donuts, and Shawn brought water.

Yet since Saturday I cannot seem to write anything about the day.

I suppose this is because the normal inspiration was not there: no one was an ass or did anything ridiculous, and none of the dogs peed on each other, the attendees or the donuts.

There was one point where I could have shot a photo of four people carrying a huge log and gave it the caption "excited for a new place to sit, the guys sport some wood," but I was having too much fun carrying buckets of mulch to go for the camera.

(The photo comes courtesy of photographer Carola Polakov, who can be reached at 917-507-4278 for dog, cat and human portraits.)

Posted by Chris at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm often interested to see the search engine phrases that brought people to Harlem Fur. Aside from finding out what drew people to this site, it gives a particular insight into other people's curiosities.

Trying to find out where The Black Donnelys was filmed? Here is one location.

Is Zoma everything the reviews make it out to be? We had an enjoyable dinner.

Is there an Aphrodite Cleaners nearby? Ummm, yeah.

And then you get stuff like this: "condom digestion of dogs." I am guessing here, but did Fido find a treat he was not supposed to have?

Condoms in the photo above courtesy of Harlem State Senator Bill Perkins from his recent inauguration ceremony at Harlem Hospital.

Posted by Chris at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

First, the bad news.

UPTOWNflavor reports that the Sugar Shack closed. Boo. The Strivers Row place once "the site of impromptu gatherings, first dates, comedy shows, poetry readings and down and dirty dancing," is now home to an open lease sign. Moan.
· Closed - Sugar Shack [UPTOWNflavor]

Then, the medium news.

Jeremy from City Specific stops by the reformed women's prison cum condos and checks out one of the few Manhattan residences that opens directly onto the side walk. He ponders boob-flashing recidivism. (Photo is of an actual 10 MMP bedroom from which boobs may be flashed.) This would be a great post if it was not for this text: "I stopped by a part of Harlem I haven't visited as much in the past year, and which I probably won't be seeing much of anymore after Saturday..." What the hell, this is right near the Fur! Are you snubbing us? Come on man, we just washed the cat.
· 10 Mount Morris Park West [City Specific]

Now, on to the good news.

Today, Central Park's Bethesda Arcade is re-opened. It's not Harlem exactly, but Central Park serves as our collective backyard, so it makes a valid entry. After a $7 million renovation, the intricate, custom-made tiles are restored to their original glory. Given the weather today, the Intelligencer points out that, luckily, it is one of the few places in the Park one can enjoy in the rain.
· Central Park Restoration Delivers Ornate Detail, Potential Nookie [Daily Intelligencer]

Tomorrow, the Friends of St. Nicholas Park will be moving wood chips to prepare for the dog run's new permanent entrance, and they need your help. Stop by beginning at 11am. It's a great chance to meet your neighbors.
· Woodchip Workday at Dog Park Scheduled for March 3rd [Friends of St. Nicholas Park]

And an ongoing story we are sure to watch, Curbed highlights coverage by Dwell and Joyce Cohen on David Alan Basche and Alysia Reiner's green Harlem townhouse renovation. The acting couple's new home will have a bunch of environmentally conscious stuff and four dual flush toilets. Oh please, oh please, oh please invite us to the housewarming. Please.
· Going Green (and Going Zen) in Harlem [Curbed]

Posted by Chris at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Stopping by Minton's Playhouse on Wednesday night turned out to be one of the best random decisions Cheryl and I have made in a long time. The staff was friendly, the drinks dangerously strong and cheap ($10 for two Long Island ice teas before 8pm), and the band was good.

How good was the Sugar Hill Jazz Quartet? So good you don't deserve to know what you missed.

Here is what you should do. Right now go grab your bed pillow and start crying on it. Maybe if you sleep on your tears all week, life will forgive you and you can check out the Sugar Hill Jazz Quartet next Wednesday. First set is at 9pm.

Until then, check out a clip of the quartet on Minton's site, and photos of them playing opening weekend there on Big Apple Jazz. Plus, I learned that they were the band playing opening night not too long ago when I was a little, egh, in the bag.

· Patience Higgins and The Sugar Hill Quartet [Minton's Official Site]
· Uptown Jazz Lounge At Minton's Playhouse [Big Apple Jazz]
· Harlem Weekend Wrap-Up: Minton's Playhouse, Posh Paws, Gawker HQ [Harlem Fur]

Posted by Chris at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As of early Sunday evening, the NYPD is readying Sky Watch on the Southeast corner of Frederick Douglas Circle to, we presume, watch over Saurin Parke Cafe's allotment of H&H bagels. I mean, it had been used to protect Dunkin' Donuts.

The surveillance device, best known to Curbed readers as the "Tower of Fun," is just inside Central Park at Frederick Douglas Boulevard and 110th Street. The location provides a clear line of sight across the traffic circle to Harlem's new premium bagel vendor.

Also, I suppose, it may have a traffic calming effect around the circle. Despite the traffic circle itself supposedly being what would calm traffic on Central Park's Northwest corner, I have noticed a lot of horn blaring and brash taxi maneuvering since it went in.

· Harlem Tower of Fun Now Protecting Donuts [Curbed]
· Bagel in Harlem Leaves, H&H Bagels Appear In Harlem [Harlem Fur]

Posted by Chris at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm a huge fan of odd-ball projects like this.

Curbed today highlights Graceline Court, the development going up immediately west of of the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque No. 7 on Lenox and 116th Street.

The most obvious curiosity is that about a third of floors 6 through 16 are cantilevered over the mosque below. A second curiosity, pointed out in Curbed's comments section, is the building's ability to go beyond three dimensional physical imitations. Look closely at the rendering and you will see that Graceline's facade creates an event where it is simultaneously on the same plane as the mosque's facade, and extending far beyond it.

Look for brokers to exaggerate the square footage of the event horizon.

And look for more Graceline info from Curbed; they hinted of more to come...

· Behold the Graceline Court, Harlem's Amazing Cantilever [Curbed]
· UES Getting in on the Cantilever Fun? [Curbed]

Posted by Chris at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's one of those classic tales of missed connections in New York.

A Jewish girl from Indiana navigates the maze of New York real estate and finds herself living in Harlem, searching for a bagel. She holds steady in her quest, even after being groped. But one day she is knocked to the ground by a drunk man wielding a bag of cans. She decides it is time to let the quest go. And peeking out from her shadow as it recedes down the street are H&H bagels, now being served at Saurin Parke Cafe on 110th Street and Frederick Douglas Boulevard.

When the campaign was over this month, I was surprised to read that Bagel in Harlem had moved, despite her propensity for doing so. I was also surprised to learn that Rob Freeman had sold Saurin Parke.

While some of the changes under the new owners are welcome, such as H&H Bagels, one change seems to have had a noticeable negative impact. Although there is still free WiFi for patrons, the new management is no longer offering free electricity, and the outlets are covered up.

When I stopped by recently, expecting there to be the normal crowd of people on laptops, only three customers total were in the place.

Thankfully, unlike the search for dough with a hole in Harlem, the search for free WiFi with an outlet is much easier. A sampling of hot spots with electricity on Frederick Douglas Boulevard alone includes:

Society Coffee at FDB and 114th
· Society Coffee Celebrating Its One Year Anniversary Next Month [Harlem Fur]

Tribal Spears Gallery and Cafe at FDB and 117th
· Tribal Spears Gallery and Cafe [Official Site]

Patisserie des Ambassades at FDB and 119th
· Culinary Plenipotentiaries: Patisserie Des Ambassades [Harlem Fur]
· Patisserie des Ambassades [Official Site]

Posted by Chris at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Contributed by Neha Singh Gohil.

For the old Dwyer Warehouse, the third time is certainly the charm. After two serious accidents and decades of abandonment, this historic Harlem structure is finally on its way to becoming a vital part of the area's community and economy once again. Developer John Cross is renovating the Dwyer into a residential loft condominium complex, complete with 6,100 square feet of commercial space and a basement devoted to public theatre and cultural events, according to his broker, Denice Johns. And the best part? In a time of reportedly widespread upset about the gentrification of Harlem, Cross' development appears to have hit the mark for contextual progress in this culturally rich, historically African American neighborhood. Yasmine Cornelius, District Manager and a Harlem native, calls the building "a great fit" for the community.

Continue reading "Sunday Reading: The Dwyer" »

Posted by Chris at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Update: 7Online says that everyone is alive and only a couple of people suffered minor burns.

Three video clips of the Harlem fire: one below and two after the jump.

Continue reading "UPDATE II: 3rd Floor Fire On Lenox at 116th St" »

Posted by Chris at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

More photos of the Harlem fire after the jump.

Continue reading "UPDATE: 3rd Floor Fire On Lenox at 116th St" »

Posted by Chris at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three ladders, a bucket, and an extension are currently working to bring people out of a building on the Southeast corner of Lenox and 116th Street in Harlem. More as I get it.

Posted by Chris at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So concludes another campaign with another victory. And this being the case, this is the third instance in a year's time that I am reassuring ConEd that I will not forget to pay the bill, pleading with the credit card company not to charge a late fee, and re-introducing myself to Cheryl and the cat. ("Seriously, you know me. I live here, with you. We sleep in the same bed.")

Thankfully, my being around has absolutely nothing to do with Harlem rockin' along. Here is some of what I missed posting on:

Zoma, the Ethiopian restaurant on 8th Ave at 113th Street is now open, and Cheryl and I had a very enjoyable dinner last month. Inside, the decor has a refined simplicity, which was complemented by the noticeably attractive staff and clientele. Also, the chic minimalism sets a nice, even background for the complexity of flavor and spice found in every dish we enjoyed that night. I ordered the Tibs Wett, strips of sirloin simmered in a spiced stew with berbere, kibe, garlic, cardamon, coriander and more. Cheryl ordered the Zoma Tibs, cubed filet mignon pieces marinated in Tej, green peppers, red onions and a special sauce. Both entrees tasted pleasantly authentic, not watered down for wider appeal. But be warned, as someone who often measures what I eat in pounds, not servings (serious), even I was challenged by the rich flour-less chocolate cake.

· Zoma [Official Site]
· Zoma Review [via UPTOWNFlavor]

Harlem Vintage, whose recommendations were enjoyed by guests at both our housewarming and New Year's parties, will soon be opening a wine bar next door to their location at Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 121st Street. Following up on rumors found online and in the Harlem Fur inbox, a rep did confirm that the construction next door is their's, and the bar's projected opening is this summer.

· Harlem Vintage [Official Site]
· Harlem Vintage Grows [Curbed]

And everybody is still building stuff all the time everywhere.

· Around the Block Construction [WATPA?]

Posted by Chris at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A very sophisticated new Harlem couple clued Cheryl and I in to a local meat truck when we were talking about neighborhood finds. It sounded pretty cool.

Not only does the truck, which drives up from down South, offer Virginia ham, sausages, and vegetables straight from a farm, but the two guys running the truck at 132nd and Lenox have the kind of neighborhood gossip that makes this corner of Manhattan feel like a small town.

Being a huge fan of eating food, I sought it out.

Cheryl's enthusiasm for the truck died when seeing it. It is just a regular pickup truck; no refrigeration or similarly functioning unit on it at all. Getting her to cross the street and 'at least take a look' was a laborious affair.

Anyway, despite Cheryl's advice, I bought some ham and sausage, and despite her protests, I tried to bake the ham this evening. It didn't take long until I understood what she was concerned about.

I threw in the ham, ran across the street for BBQ sauce, came back to the apartment, and for a fraction of a second wondered when we started raising swine in our home. I was hit by a stench so undeniable and strong that it unearthed Midwestern childhood memories of animal barns I thought long gone and buried. The place literally smelled like shit.

Cheryl wept for our furniture and anything else with a porous surface that may absorb odor.

Posted by Chris at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

As an addendum to the last post, I ran the New York Road Runner's Midnight Run by myself. I didn't do that by choice.

Cheryl was not really up for it, but wished me luck. However, nearly every guy that I asked to come along had the idea shot down by his girlfriend / fiancee / wife.

I assumed that the race, whose full title is the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run, took its name from the company sponsoring the event, but it may have more to do with one needing gem-hard genitalia to get permission to go.

I would like to think that I am in that category, but in reality, it is probably the case that Cheryl is one of the most understanding girlfriends on earth.

Posted by Chris at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Many of us make New Year's resolutions as fleeting as the stroke of midnight itself, such as 'oh I'll brush the cat every other day,' 'seriously, I'll post on Harlem Fur again,' or the perennial classic 'I'll exercise more.'

Thanks to the gallant efforts of the New York Road Runners, I was able to put that last resolution into effect at 12:00am on the dot with the 4 mile Midnight Run in Central Park. Actually, due to the throngs of people also seeking the earliest fulfillment of soon-to-be-discarded New Year's resolutions, it was closer to 12:15am when I finally crossed the start line.

I'm proud to say it was only a half hour later when I crossed the finish line, which I feel is a good time when navigating scores of runners, walkers, some dude dressed as Winnie the Pooh, and everyone else who knew how to celebrate the arrival of 2007 in one of the best ways possible.

Posted by Chris at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tuesday, November 7th, at 9pm, my 15 plus hour work days, 7 days a week, will cease. Four months ago, I was apathetic about this year's campaign season, but tonight I sit here sad to see it coming to an end. The candidate is an exceptional person, and just as important, so are my team members. Few people can make me want to get up at 5am when I went to bed at midnight after a full day. I will sincerely miss working with them.

Although a volume or two's worth of things took place on this campaign, it's better to keep my professional experiences off of the web until the election closes. However, I think what happened today can slide past my self- censorship.

I went to a supporter's home this evening with no more fanfare than should I be going to the local diner. I casually called her by her first name, Monica, when asking for directions on the phone, was angry when I ended up lost nonetheless, and was hoping to get back to the office before I even arrived. The only consequence was that, her last name being Getz, I decided to play a Stan Getz CD on the drive over.

The CD choice was appropriate.

I ended up spending an evening with a small group of people in the home of the late Stan Getz with Monica, his former wife. Of course, I didn't realize this until 45 minutes into the evening. It's not like the signs weren't there; there was the jazz room, an acoustic wonder that can hold a small choir, and jazz played in the background as guests entered the home. I'm blaming my lack of sense on lack of sleep.

The home is amazing. It shames most European castles. And Monica is amazing. Warm with a glow of confidence, she made everyone feel completely at ease. She enjoyed finding out that I am from Minnesota, as she has worked to export to Sweden one of the state's best products: Hazelden's effective chemical dependency programs.

I am very much looking forward to going to her holiday party this year.

Posted by Chris at 01:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you who may need to relax a bit, Beth Tascione will be holding a free yoga class in Mt. Morris Park in about 2 hours 50 minutes 45 minutes. (I know, this is a bit late to post, but it is one of those days.) Meeting place is the corner of Madison and 124th Street, and bring a matt or blanket.

For questions, Beth can be reached at 212-712-8715.

Posted by Chris at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I don't know if this is strategically placed or not, but a four story ad for The Lenox is now up at 110th Street and Central Park West. Both Central Park West and 110th Street Cathedral Parkway are reasonable routes to take to 111 Central Park North. Getting there from the east is somewhat cumbersome.

The construction site for Frederick Douglas Circle (which is now an actual circle) can be seen in the foreground. A crane for 111 CPN is visible in the upper right background.

Posted by Chris at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The brownstone at 749 St Nicholas Avenue, where Ralph Waldo Ellison wrote Invisible Man, is for sale.

The Corcoran website says that the 5 story, 4,425 square foot brownstone is currently configured as a 9 unit walk-up with 1 storefront. The asking price is $1.275 million. The building can also be delivered vacant, but not without a strong cultural connection. Asking price vacant is $1.375 million.

Steam Boats Are Ruining Everything notes that in Lawrence Jackson's Ralph Ellison: Emergence of Genius, "Ellison moved into the ground floor apartment of 749 St. Nicholas Ave., in Harlem, in 1946, and that he and his wife kept Scotch terriers in the backyard."

And speaking of dogs, the building is just a few blocks up from Friends of St. Nicholas Park President Shawn's brownstone, where a diverse crowd of long-time and new Harlem residents got together Saturday to raise money for the St. Nicholas Park dog run.

Also, it's about one block down from John, the owner of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, and his Akita's brownstone.

Posted by Chris at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Michael Edwards of the Jamaican Observer included a Harlem Fur original photo from the opening night at Minton's Playhouse in today's paper.

Michael had a short write up on the club's reopening, but the article only made the Observer's print edition. Damn.

For those who feel left out by being on the electronic side of the the digital divide, Michael also has jazz writings on his personal blog, JazzOfOinkJamaica.

For those who wish to view Minton's opening night photos in a somewhat more clear presentation, I have them up on Flickr.

· JazzOfOinkJamaica [blog]
· Harlem Weekend Wrap-Up: Minton's Playhouse, Posh Paws, Gawker HQ [HarlemFur]
· Minton's Opening Night Photos [HarlemFur]

Posted by Chris at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a reminder that the St. Nicholas Park dog run fundraiser is tomorrow. The event is being held in Friends of St. Nicholas Park President Shawn's brownstone.

Although rumor has it checking out Shawn's brownstone alone makes the event well worth it, attendees should know that the dog run will benefit both park goers and neighborhood residents with four and two feet.

I stole some time last Saturday to help clear brush around the dog run and learned that it will be a place for dogs to run free and be dogs, and more. Obviously, when dogs have a place of their own to be off leash and romp around, concerned park goers will not have to worry about aggressive behavior from uncontrolled pets. This will help with park safety. Dexter, the dog in the photo, is certainly excited, as he was helping clear brush himself.

What I didn't realize is that just the run being cleared will help with safety in other ways. We were clearing out brush and undergrowth around the future dog run to provide a safety-enhancing line of sight for visitors. The brush we were clearing was littered with drug paraphernalia and some condom wrappers (no bodies though, and someone did recap a needle that was there). Additionally, the park lamps in the area were aggressively smashed out, and a pair of sneaks hung from a tree limb. (The Community Officer at my precinct let me know that a hanging pair of shoes signals that drugs are sold at that spot.)

The area is obviously being used for nefarious purposes. The dog run will put an end to that.

Check out the invite here.

Posted by Chris at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Harlemites have two reasons to care about today's primary:

One: we get to show some nabe pride and vote for our own State Sen. David Paterson for Lt. Governor.

You would think that would be enough, but there is more.

Two: the victory party for the soon-to-bes Lt. Governor Paterson (he's the only one on the ballot for that office) and Governor Spitzer (he is 50 points above his closest rival in the polls) is being held not at an 'ethnic' venue, not at the union-appeasing Sheraton, but at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, a Harlem honky-tonk joint!

Granted Dinosaur is in Viaduct Valley, the even-hard-to-get-to-for-Harlemites section of Harlem, but it is Harlem nonetheless.

Normally these events are held in stale locations were cell phone ring tones are more entertaining than the piped in music. Dinosaur, however, is the type of place where patrons understand that 'Walk This Way' is a classic song, be it the Aerosmith or Run DMC version, and some of the people listening to 'Street Fighting Man' are probably street fighting men.

I don't know if admission is open to the public or not, but here are a couple of velvet rope (er, chain link?) strategies: Women who have any trouble at the door can always point to some guy inside looking slightly uncomfortable in an awkward suit, bounce up and down, and scream 'Oh my god, I voted for him every time!' Guys might want to just look uncomfortable in an awkward suit.

Kinda makes you wonder what would have happened if Hogs & Heffers was in the district.

Posted by Chris at 01:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm blaming this all on the full moon.

After a week of starting work at 5am, I was pleased that my Friday staff meeting was not until 10:30. Friday morning I woke up at my leisure, lollygagged around the apartment, and took off at 9:30 knowing that I would have a seat on the train. Once on a downtown 3, I sunk into the celebrity section of amNewYork without guilt, as I had already read five papers before walking out the door.

However, between the 110th and 96th Street stops, which is a fairly long ride as those between stations go, I was pulled from my pleasure reading by what I first thought must be an electrical fire. To my shock, when I looked up I saw it was not what I suspected, but rather the woman sitting next to me smoking crack.

Okay, I don't know what crack smells like, but process of elimination said the odor was not tobacco, nor was it weed. An office mate said he learned on COPS that people put metal in crack, as I suppose it is not bad enough for one's health solo, and that can give it an electrical fire-like smell. Anyway, the woman had two tightly rolled sheets of newspaper stacked on top of one another and was lighting something held in the middle.

The other people in the car had their eyes bulging out enough to make us look like a group of kids with thyroid problems.

I didn't know what to do. I got off at 96th, took some Treo pictures of the car, and called 911.

I though, "wow, what could be worse?" Coming home I found out.

At Times Square, a woman and two men boarded an uptown 2 carrying a small karaoke machine. That alone is worse than smoking crack, but then they turned it on. The woman began to butcher Donna Summer's On The Radio. Her signing on the packed car was so loud and bad that it prompted the first time I have ever heard someone tell a subway performer to turn it down.

At 72nd, the first stop after 42nd, having not received any tips, she said "It must be the car." I expected them to leave, as subway performers do, and go to the next car to set everyone's weekend there off on a sour note. Instead, she then kicks into Madonna's Holiday. And now, with a slightly less packed car, the two guys with her begin dancing like 8th grade nerds. One guy is way too old to be behaving like this, as he has gray hairs in his beard.

Then, from 96th to 110th it was the Pointer Sister's I'm So Excited. From 110th to 116th, and beyond I presume, it was Whitney Houston's It's Not Right, But It's Okay.

Wrong Whitney; it was not wright, but nor was it okay.

Posted by Chris at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Friends of St. Nicholas Park will be having a second cleaning for the new dog run this Saturday at 11am. The location is just to the West and North of the 135th Street entrance. The last cleaning drew a fun, involved crowd.

Also with Friends of St. Nicholas Park, there will be a fundraiser on the 16th for the new dog run.

Morningside Park Dog Run's new fencing is in!!! There will be an opening ceremony for the fencing, but I don't know when. I have been checking the website, but have not seen anything yet.

St. John the Divine Feast of St. Francis on October 1st. I cannot wait. Apparently and inordinate amount of pets are brought, and the result has to be hilarious.

5th Annual My Dog Loves Central Park fair on October 14th. I don't know what this is, but it sounds good. Check out the PDF flyer on the website.

Posted by Chris at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Dwyer, set to be a doorman building with loft-like residences at 123rd St. and St. Nicholas, takes shape. As the website says, you can "live in Manhattan one stop from Columbus Circle for half the price of Midtown."

Designed to reflect the Dwyer factory that stood on the lot, the development was mentioned twice in an August Real Deal article on the Harlem real estate market. Klara Madlin, president of Klara Madlin Real Estate, said it is the most exciting new condo project she is not involved with. Bill Rohlfing, founder of Uptown Townhouse, included the area around the Dwyer when asked which part of Harlem is fairing best as the overall city market slows.

Posted by Chris at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Centerline

Harlem resident and political moderate Jonathan Funke picked up his blog, The Centerline, this month. Don't worry, it's not focused on Harlem. The Centerline will be a great medium for Jonathan's centrist take on politics.

Jonathan is an all around clean and solid writer, whose jazz reviews I enjoy reading in The New York Press. He set out to write The Centerline early last year, but became sidetracked. "Why?," he writes, "Because - like any political moderate you can point to - I had a job and a life to attend to. That's why 'irate moderates' are so rare." Thankfully, the Lamont / Lieberman Senate race in Connecticut brought him to the keyboard.

The Centerline is a welcomed addition to the Harlem blog roll; it helps illustrate the wide variety of ideas in our neighborhood.

Aphrodite Cleaners

The review is belated, but I have only good things to say about the Aphrodite Cleaners on Lenox and 119th Street.

On their second day open, I dropped off shirts, pants, suits and bedding. To a certain extent, I thought by dropping off so many things I could best judge the cleaners on a variety of items, but more so I just didn't feel like dragging another load of anything to the cleaners in TriBeCa I had been using. My thought was that even if Aphrodite was not the best, at least I didn't have to endure another two 'sweaty arm' subway rides to get a couple of things cleaned.

I did not have to worry. The woman at Aphrodite was courteous, professional, and efficient, and aside from a credit card reader malfunction that was fixed later that day, everything was great. All of the items I dropped off came back clean, smelling good, well pressed, and on time. Even the micro-fiber comforter was completely free of cat hair. (Cimbi took care of that in a matter of hours.) And best of all, they gave me a delivery bag.

I feel that a new era in my life has begun.

Remember, there is also one on 117th between Frederick Douglas Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue.

Posted by Chris at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Seems that Kathleen Grace, the co-creator, producer, AND director of the Burg, an original Internet series about Williamsburg hipsters, is way too hip for the nabe. She is now a Harlem resident.

This was inevitable.

Now, if only she would start a series about city cats visiting parks.

Props to former co-worker No Neck Noel, whose post clued me in.

UPDATE: Looks like I got a little post happy. Kathleen has lived in Harlem for almost two years now. Oops.

Posted by Chris at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In addition to bringing one's cat to the park, the other summer trend Cheryl and I are laying claim to is the surge in tandem bikes.

Like many couples, we are not exactly matched in desired bicycle riding speeds. An attempt out together on separate bikes would unfold like a low-grade math problem: Two cyclists leave the same spot simultaneously, the first exerting enough effort to sweat like a wild animal before covering the first block, the second going at a pace that best facilitates enjoying the scenery. After 2 minutes, which cyclist is mad at the other? Answer: Both.

This is unfortunate. One of the best ways to enjoy summer in the city is on a bike, especially when living close to Central Park and Manhattan's west side bike path.

In an attempt to work around our problem, we went to Central Park's bike rental to try a tandem. The bike we picked up was probably the worst machine Cheryl and I have ever pedaled, but we had a great time. Due to the bike's weight and clumsy design, the first few minutes consisted of Cheryl in back yelling at me for unnecessary swerving and attempted tourist reduction, accompanied by me feverishly trying to explain it was not my fault. Eventually we mastered riding together.

As expected, the tandem solved the problem of different riding speeds. No matter how hard one of us peddled, the other was right there. And as an added bonus, I was always in the lead. So of course we wanted our own.

Knowing that tandems can easily run $3,000, we set out to find a used one. Why drop three grand on something we may only use occasionally, when someone else probably did the same thing. Our thinking was that some couple probably bought a tandem thinking it would be neat, and then grew tired of trying to make room for it in their apartment and would be happy to get rid of it. I set up a few different RSS feeds on Craig's List, and for a month did not see anything decent come across.

So, about a month ago I was biking by myself in Central Park on a gorgeous afternoon when I decided to bite the bullet and buy one that day. Using my Treo, I plotted the west side bike shops leading uptown from 59th Street. I thought that by going uptown I would be closer to Cheryl to when I found one. I didn't find one until I was in Inwood on 200th Street. Tread Bike Shop had a 2004 tandem that the owner, Ozzie Perez, said he had only rented out a handful of times, and offered to sell it to me at a great price. Since then, Cheryl and I have been out every weekend and as many weeknights as we can work in.

Now, it seems, tandems are all the rage. About two weeks after buying the bike, we went back to the bike shop to upgrade the handlebars. Ozzie told us he had more inquires about tandem rentals in the past two weeks than he had had in the two years of owning the bike. Also, there are now multiple posts on Craig's List of people looking to buy and trade for tandems. And, whereas we used to be the only tandem on the road a month ago, last Saturday we saw four tandems on the west side bike path on one ride.

Just to get it out there, I really want a border terrier puppy. I spent this evening calling breeders in the area, and will go to meet two border parents early next month. So, when everyone gets off of the current oodle puppy craze and instead gets all nuts for border terriers, please note that I wanted one first.

Posted by Chris at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Minerva Guerreo of Alianza Dominicana has sent me 9 (now 12) unsolicited emails in the past two days about the August 11th special reception of Oscar Abreu's 'detachment of the ego' at the Alianza Art Gallery. If I get one more email about this I will be creating my own piece of "psycho-expressionism" whereby I detach Minerva's ego, and superego, and id.*

Minvera, whose address is mguerrero@alianzadom.org, emailed me yesterday the same August 7th press release to three separate email accounts. I don't know how she aquired one, let alone three, of my email addresses.

Two of the accounts I received the press release through I don't even log into anymore (they forward to another account), and none of them were the Harlem Fur account. If one of the accounts the press release was sent to was for Harlem Fur, I would have been more welcoming of the news. Customized wedding gown designer Cassandra Bromfield asked a while back if I would post about an upcoming bridal expo in Harlem, and I was more than happy to do so.

So last night I emailed Minerva from the email addresses the press release was sent to and asked to be removed from the list. I also let her know that not having an opt-out feature at the bottom is probably a violation of the Can Spam Act. I thought, 'well, that takes care of that.'

Today I received six more emails about the same event, once again to all three accounts. The first email was a general save the date email, and the second was the August 7th press release in Spanish with an August 8th date on it. Apparently it takes the Alianza Dominicana 24 hours to translate a page.

Anyway, as long as I have the event information, here it is:
detachment of the ego
Oscar Abreu
Friday, August 11, 2006,
6:30 to 9:00 in the evening
A L I A N Z A A R T G A L L E R Y
2410 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10033
RSVP: 212.740.1960 Ext 427

If you go and there is a guest registry, I suggest not providing a valid email address.

And, as long as I have the press release, there are excerpts after the jump in both English and Spanish.

*This is a joke using Oscar Abreu's self described style from the press release, which he calls "psycho-expressionism," and the name of the exhibit, "detachment of the ego." No matter now many emails I receive from Minerva, or anyone else, I would not cause, nor threaten to cause, harm to anyone.

Continue reading "Alianza Dominicana Is Spamming Me With Details Of The Oscar Abreu Reception (En Ingles Y Espanol Tambien)" »

Posted by Chris at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A summer cold kept Sen. Paterson from running the Hope and Possibility race this year (and my running skills from being shamed), but it didn't leave him idle on the sidelines. Standing still is difficult, as he is a very gregarious person holding a 99.9 percent chance of being the next Lt. Governor.

In addition to many brave veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, one of the people the Senator spent time with was Trisha Meili. Trisha is the investment banker whose story made headlines when she was brutally attacked on April 19, 1989 as she jogged in the park. I believe the title of her memoir, "I am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility," is where the name of today's run comes from.

Trisha was Sen. Paterson's guide for the first Hope and Possibility run in July of 2003. They finished in 48 minutes.

The photo on the top right is of Trisha and Sen. Paterson being interviewed by CBS's Kristen Cole. The interview will air today. Sen. Paterson was also interviewed by CNN's Lauren Rivera, and that interview will air tonight at 7pm on CNN America.

Posted by Chris at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...in Central Park, on Sunday, for 5 miles.

Harlem's State Senator and Eliot Spitzer's hand-picked candidate for Lt. Governor, David Paterson, will be running the Achilles Track Club and New York Road Runners' Hope and Possibility 5 mile run in Central Park this Sunday. I will be tagging along as his running partner.

This is no small task. Not only did Sen. Paterson, who was born legally blind, first win election at age 31, become the leader of the Democratic conference in the State Senate in 2002, and earlier this summer on one day take on every special interest in our highly-corrupt state legislature*, but he has also remained in excellent physical shape. The idea of being completely trounced by a man more than 20 years my senior has had me in the gym every day this week.

My goal is simply to keep up with him.

*I will write more about this later. In 2004, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law rated the New York State legislature the worst in the nation. You can read the report here; it's about half way down the page. Sen. David Paterson has worked extremely hard to change the way New York State's shameful state government. It's no wonder Eliot Spitzer wants him to be his Lt. Governor.

Posted by Chris at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Links now included

Melissa Dehncke-McGill has a great article in the August issue of The Real Deal on the Harlem real estate market from the perspectives of Harlem real estate professionals. Taking a variation on the theme of searching for truth by asking a person the same question multiple times to see if you get the same answer, Dehncke-McGill asks the same question to nine Harlem real estate professionals. Their answers are provided for the reader to compare.

Here are some of the themes I found:

End of the bootstrapper era
Harlem being the place for the DYI crowd is much less the case now than it used to be. The entrepreneurial market for small-scale developers from southern Manhattan managing a townhouse's gut renovation around a flexible career has has matured to one where young professional couples are looking for a finished product. Prices and inventory play a big role in this change.

Also, renters are as much of the new population as buyers. Many of the interviewees say people would like to get a feel for the nabe before they buy. Although the industry could be well trained at staying on message, I am inclined to believe this is really the case. I am also guessing that with rental vacancy at .5 percent, renting an apartment anywhere in Manhattan is fairly easy.

Price per square foot
So what can one expect to pay in Harlem? Those interviewed gave answers ranging from $550 to $800 per square foot. Units on Central Park North with park views, however, can reach above $1,000 per square foot. Location and amenities play a big role in price difference.

The place to be
Answers to where the hottest spot in Harlem is found put a smile on my face. Central Harlem, from 110th to 125th Streets west of 5th, comes up frequently. Also mentioned are Hamilton Heights and the area immediately around Jackie Robinson Park and the Langston at 145th Street.

Favorite developments listed often included The Dwyer, the Lenox, and 111 Central Park North. They are all located in or very close to the Harlem hot spot. No mention of the Kalahari.

Ay, the rub: amenities
Amenities play a commanding role in apartment prices, with Central Park being the amenity par excellence. One amenity that popped up was Tribal Spears cafe, where the brokers sometimes hang out. For the rest, Harlem Fur and UPTOWNflavor provide great resources.

Interviewees
The people interviewed for Dehncke-McGill's article are Gary Cannata, head of the Harlem office at Prudential Douglas Elliman; Klara Madlin, president of Klara Madlin Real Estate; Bill Rohlfing, founder of Uptown Townhouse; Shimon Shkury, partner at Massey Knakal; Sandy Wilson, managing director of the Harlem office at the Corcoran Group; Michael Goldenberg, executive director of sales for West Side at Halstead Property; Christopher Halliburton, executive vice president at Warburg Realty Harlem; and Joseph Holland, president of Uptown Partners.

Posted by Chris at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My neighbor Alix, in collaboration with his good friend Justin, held a party for the New York Coalition of Black Architects / National Organization of Minority Architects last weekend. The design inclined crowd was large enough to fill Alix's rather expansive terrace and still spill into his kitchen.

I took a good number of photos that night, some of which are up on Flickr. (If I finally upgraded to a Pro account, then all of the photos would be up.) I have great shots of everyone I met, and even a good shot of Alix and Justin. (Although they are a couple of good-looking gentlemen, had their wives been in the picture, it would be much better.)

What I don't have are the names of all the guests. I met and remember quite a few merrymakers at the party, but one thing I have learned is that if you publicly recognize one person, you should be prepared to publicly recognize everyone.

Posted by Chris at 01:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, this is disgusting.

I said that I was going to drop the subject of excreta and move on to less malodorous Harlem summer topics. Despite my best intentions, I'm brought back to the dirty subject by someone taking a second dump in the in the exact same place of the nook next to my front door. Number two part two came Sunday, about a week after the first poo poo platter was served.

I don't know if this is the work of a serial crapper, or simply a copycat crime. However, once again a sly crapper did this, to my knowledge, without being seen.

Posted by Chris at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

One would think that on a blog loosely about pets, any mention of poo on the streets would be centered around furry companions. Oh, how I wish that was the case. Anyway, you are now warned.

After reading my 1988 birthday wish list, my dad came to me with a look of puzzled disgust and asked me "what is a sly crapper?" I quickly pointed out that he misread my poor hand writing. I was actually requesting David Lee Roth's second, more experimental solo album, "Skyscraper." Nonetheless, his excellent question stuck in my mind. Now, the same year of David Lee Roth's short-lived radio career, my dad's question is answered.

When Cheryl and I returned from a Central Park bike ride a couple days ago, we were greeted at our building door by a non-dog-poo poo smell. This was not a light wafting that we questioned at first. With a combination of egg-baking summer heat and our post-exercise deep breathing, the unquestionable odor hit us hard enough to displace the mirth.

At our feet, between our building's entrance and that of the brownstone under gut reno next door, was human feces. The person who could do the doo there was, obviously, a sly crapper.

When facing East, one has an appreciation of how sly this crapper had to be. Although the area is semi-secluded on the West side, the opposite direction, which the imputable individual would have been facing, is open to all kinds of public scrutiny. There are three banks, one to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead, a busy grocery store, and a school. What teenager would pass up the opportunity to make fun of someone soiling the sidewalk? Also, given that we do not remember seeing the mess when we left for our evening bike ride, the culprit had to have done this in broad daylight.

The sad irony of the whole situation is that for weeks I have been watching this same area for whomever is using it as a pissoir. Camera at the ready, every day I come home I have been hoping to catch a couple of good public humiliation shots a la the Village. I even have a posting title ready: Say Cheese, Wiz. (Runners up for the title of this posting were "Who Ordered The Poo Poo Platter?" or "I Can Finally Put That 'No Dumping' Sign To Non-Ironic Use.")

I am guessing the short wall in question became this summer's orina al fresco hot spot when the ground floor bank opened. The people who hang out all day in front of an adjacent laundromat on Lenox Avenue probably don't feel comfortable urinating in the tree pits there anymore, now that people in office attire sitting behind large windows are looking right at them. The space between the two building entrances is the first semi-seculuded area around the corner.

Posted by Chris at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Jeremy, the uptown man behind City Specific, a contributing editor at Curbed, and a guest of honor at our housewarming, finds himself in a similar situation to what Cheryl and I are in after our shindig. Both of us have way too much booze left over from a home party to know what to do.

Jeremy is taking a better approach to dealing with his situation than Cheryl and I. Whereas we have all of the extraneous alcohol in a cooler near our front door, and we try to get the neighbor to drink it every time we hear him walk past, Jeremy is offering to help someone stock their party.

Although he said it would be nice to know the party host in real life, he lets it be known that that need not be the case if someone can prove they are worth knowing and sharing some drinks.

Posted by Chris at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The New York Sun has a hard, biting article today on the treatment of Morningside Park by Harlem residents over the Fourth of July. Cheryl and I were out of town over the long weekend, and I have not been to the park since we returned, so I cannot say if the article's description of the park's abuse is accurate or not.

Why does Morningside Park the morning after the Fourth of July cook-outs look like a pig sty? Why does the woman who set up a spot for her family barbecue in the middle of a recently planted garden refuse to move when repeatedly approached by a park employee? Why can people not put garbage into garbage cans? Is it a "class thing," as one park employee said? Is it a lack of education, or a lack of law enforcement? The rules and great ideas for everyone to enjoy the park are in place, why are they not being enforced properly?

It is great to see that so many local residents use the park, and that New York City allows for barbecuing in some areas. But why do children get chased away in Central Park when they play soccer outside "designated areas," but absolutely nothing is done to stop people from abusing Morning side Park? Unfinished dinners, empty beer and hard liquor bottles, and enough Styrofoam plates to serve the whole of New York are everywhere except in the provided garbage cans Nothing gives the impression that civilized people were celebrating, enjoying, and respecting the park.

The sad thing is that police officers seem afraid to act. For the past six years we talked to the 26th precinct, which is responsible for Morningside Park, and for the past six years we have gotten the same answers: "How long have you been living in Harlem?" As if to suggest that a person who lived in Harlem for just a short time has no right to certain quality of life complaints? The best excuse I ever received was from a police officer at the 26th precinct who said, "We will not write any tickets, because we are afraid of a riot."

Cheryl and I had a long Fourth of July weekend with another couple in the Finger Lakes region. We had a much-needed few days in a great cabin with all the comforts of home, sans all of the irritants. The cabin had electricity, air conditioning, running water, two bathrooms, and a two story stone fireplace, but there was no television, phone, or Internet. Luckily, none of our cell phones had reception.

Posted by Chris at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My brother, Senior Airman Eric Cullen in the Air Guard, sends everyone a big Happy Fourth of July. He is on his way to Mississippi, where he will be until late August, training at Keesler Air Force Base and helping to rebuild the coast.

Whereas most of us will be celebrating our country's independence by trying to blow up a small part of it with the biggest fireworks we can find, my brother hopes to take part in rebuilding the Gulf Coast where it was hit hard in the last hurricane season. He wants to remind everyone that in addition to New Orleans' destruction, good people all along the coast were affected.

Eric also has a lighter side. In his free time, he's a stand-up comic working to promote other comics. He is also producing a podcast that will cover, in addition to comedy, his experiences this summer in hurricane-ravaged areas. Check him out on MySpace.

Posted by Chris at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On the transportation side of things, Harlem's changes have been noted in the increased number of taxis and the mere presence of a pedicab on a street above Central Park. On Saturday, Harlem reached the next transportation benchmark in midtown's move uptown.

Having lived on 49th Street, which Central Park's horses use to return to their stables, I at first thought nothing of the horse hooves clicking on the street, until I remembered I was in Harlem. Looking out the window, like a ghost from the past, I saw an elaborate horse drawn carriage, all in white, steadily moving east along 116th Street.

Thankfully the carriage was slow going, as it took a little while for the Canon to power up. I did manage to take a shot of the end of the carriage as it passed, which is seen much better in this enlarged, but grainy, excerpt. For better viewing, the photos are on flickr.

Posted by Chris at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Billie's Black, a new gourmet soul food restaurant on 119th between Frederick Douglas Boulevard and St. Nicholas Avenue, opens today, Friday, June 23rd.

UPDATE: As per a photo taken this morning, it seems Billie's Black still has a ways to go before opening.

UPDATED UPDATE As per Harlem Fur tipster flip, Billie's Black did open on Friday, and hosted a packed house!

NEXT: On Saturday, June 24th, Tribal Spears Gallery at 2167 Frederick Douglas Boulevard, between 116th and 117th Streets, holds an opening reception in both galleries from 7:00pm to 10:00pm.

The Tribal Gallery features sculptural artists Keith Anderson (California) and Yuko Ueno (Japan). The Johnson-Byrd Fine Art Gallery features abstract artists Derrie Clemmons (Chicago), Spencer Eldridge (Harlem), and Va Ronique Paronneau (France).

Tribal Spears Cafe offers a solid selection of coffee, tea and small edibles good for both gallery goers and those looking for place to access a free Wi-Fi connection.

Posted by Chris at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

A Harlem Fur tipster let us know that Halstead Realty will be moving into storefront space in the Normandie, a Halstead listing, on Lenox Avenue at 119th Street. Halstead joins children's shoe store Purple Reign and organic dry cleaner Aphrodite in inhabiting the Normandie's ground floor.

Halstead's arrival in South Harlem will complete the real estate trivium quadrivium, with Prudential Douglas Elliman and The Corcoran Group and Warburg (thanks Tom) on Frederick Douglas Boulevard between 114th and 120th Streets.

Posted by Chris at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In response to yesterday's posting on the two Aphrodite organic dry cleaners opening in South Harlem, Scott wrote in to say that one recently opened near him on Columbus Avenue between 107th and 108th. Being that neither of the two Harlem locations are on the Aphrodite website yet, nor the Columbus and 107th location, I checked it out last evening to see if it is part of the same chain or just a cleaners with a similar name.

As determined by the logo, the Columbus Avenue location is part of the same chain.

With all of the Aphrodite cleaners opening up, I am wondering if in the near future people will be able to tell if someone is from above or below 96th Street based on a use of Starbucks vs. Aphrodite cleaners.

Person One: Hey, wanna go see The Road To Guantanamo at the Walter Reade Theater?
Person Two: Yes. Let's meet at Starbucks first so we can sit together.
Person One: Great. How about the Starbucks at 58th and 8th?
Person Two: No, let's go to the Starbucks at 60th and Broadway.

VS.

Person One: Hey, wanna go see what's playing at Imagenation's Soul Cinema theater?
Person Two: Yes. Let's meet at Aphrodite cleaners first so we can sit together.
Person One: Great. How about the Aphrodite at 117th and Frederick Douglas?
Person Two: No, let's go to the Aphrodite at 119th and Lenox.

Posted by Chris at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wireless Harlem Initiative, a community-based effort to close the digital divide in Harlem, signed on consultants to develop their Harlem-wide Wi-Fi initiative. The goal is to have inexpensive Wi-Fi access available to residents by spring of 2007.

Hiring plan writers is a big step towards getting this project off the ground. Glenn Fleishman at Wi-Fi Net News writes:

While regular readers of this site know that I am dubious about digital divide projects that focus entirely on "give them computers and the rest will come," I am entirely supportive of efforts that combine community input into what services are delivered, that include training for general users as well as specialized training in administration, and that has a comprehensive plan with measurable results for the money invested in these efforts. If the goal is a reduction in high-school dropouts, an increase in test scores, a burgeoning of eBay sellers, an improvement in basic literacy, scores of new businesses being started, or efficiencies that reduce expenses through better use of existing technology-any or all of these can be achieved with good planning and good follow-through.

But most importantly, all of Harlem will be able to read Harlem Fur.

Posted by Chris at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After a prolonged rain delay, the 2006 Harlem Motocross season has begun. Get ready for the non-stop summer action of teens on ATV's and dirts bikes, as well as one old guy on a motorcycle, once again going up and down Adam Clayton Powell and Lenox Avenues ad nauseam.

Just as in previous years, the 2006 Motocross substitutes for a fixed track a fluid central Harlem course largely determined by where police cars are not currently pursuing participants and the availability of chicks on the street to watch them ride wheelies.

In all seriousness, this totally baffles me. Where do Manhattan teenagers get an ATV, let alone store one? If Greg were to say "hey man, we really need ATVs by the end of the week; let's pick some up," I'd have no idea where to begin looking. And if I did get an ATV, where would I put it?

It's not like these kids are hiding a pack of cigarettes and some dirty magazines under the bed. These are multi-cylinder gas powered vehicles. Cheryl has a car, and I have a bike. Both are legitimate, and both are a pain in the ass to store in the city. Getting garage space for an ATV seems totally out of the question, as going through a credit check, putting down a deposit, and providing a billable address do not seem like things a fifteen year-old storing an illegal machine would want to do.

Cheryl has the best theory so far on what people do with their personal motor vehicles. She speculates that they buy them, begin ridding them, and, all lucid on Provigil, don't ever stop riding them until they are finally caught by the cops. This would explain why we hear the mosquito-like buzzing of their engines at all hours in the beginning of the summer, with their use tapering off until summer's end.

UPDATE

Thanks for the shout-outs from MX Replay, MotoNews, and of course, Curbed! Cheryl and I are now telling our friends we have the next best thing to a NASCAR condo.

Posted by Chris at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (1)

Harlem Fur tipster John let us know that Melba Wilson, of Melba's on Frederick Douglas Blvd. and 114th Street, is the person buying Native on Lenox Avenue and 119th Street. Melba tried to re-open Minton's Playhouse with Robert De Niro in 1999. Will she have better luck with Native?

Posted by Chris at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Delores Martin, a bar maid at Minton's Playhouse for 14 years before it closed in 1974, was able to take the stage and say a few words at the legendary jazz joint's re-opening on May 19th. Her son, Kevin McGill, shared some photos he took of the night with Harlem Fur.

We have to say Dolores looks great. Kevin is a graduate of New York Film Academy, with a background in television production, so he has a learned take on how to make a person look good. However, artistry aside, Harlem Fur thinks Delores has a timeless beauty. If we didn't tell you she is the woman on the left, could you guess which woman was her?

More of the photos Kevin sent are up on flickr here.

Posted by Chris at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greg, whose participation was integral to the Emperor's Roe and Society Coffee postings, picked up some spending cash when he dropped by Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The show taped last December, but due to confidentiality agreements, he couldn't talk about it until it aired, which it recently did.

Greg has a solid base of trivial knowledge and a warm sense of self-assuredness. He can tear through Times crossword puzzles with an uncanny ability. I watched him do it many times when we were Harlem roommates not too long ago. Sarah, his significant other and sometimes Emperor's Roe patron, said both his knowledge and self-assuredness came out in full force as he joked around with host Meredith Vieira. You can read all about it in his hometown newspaper.

A little extra scratch is always a good thing, but the real reason Greg was ready to meet the world head-on then was far more personal. He had decided to propose to Sarah, and he did shortly after in Puerto Rico. She gave him the final answer that he wanted, and their wedding is set for later this year. Greg and Sarah deserve a big congratulations.

Now they are planning the wedding and looking to buy a home. What is one neighborhood they are considering? Harlem, of course. There is a trend of hot dudes moving here.

Posted by Chris at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

...and the guest list was hotter than a Chevy tailpipe in summer.

The Chairman of General Motors Rick Wagoner, Mayor Bloomberg, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Charlie Rangel were all at the opening of Saturn and GM dealerships located at 2nd Avenue and 127th Street today.

For those of you who missed the broadcast, here is the 7 Online link.

I'll have some photos up later. Until then, please accept their stock chart in substitution. It goes very well with the Harlem Fur color scheme.

Posted by Chris at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Times has a good article today on opportunity and experimentation in Harlem's schools. Students in charter school programs including KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) and Village Academies are earning higher scores than traditional schools, in addition to being in a much safer environment.

At Public School 125 at the top of Morningside Park, the article points out, "only 36 percent of the third- through sixth-grade students met city and state reading standards last year." 36 percent, as any third grader can tell you, is a big fat F. In comparison, students at the KIPP Star College Prep Charter School at West 123rd "earned some of the highest scores in central Harlem on last year's citywide reading exams."

Additionally, the new schools go beyond significantly higher test scores. Harlem's new schools are providing a safe place for children to learn. The story told by a Harlem parent about the abuse her daughter suffered at the hands of other students really caught my attention. "QuYahni Lewis said that she gave up on elementary schools in Harlem when her 9-year-old daughter came home with bite marks and a pencil stab wound. "Every day there was another story about this bully or that bully. I found that there were really no good options here outside of paying for school. Where else are we going to go? What else are we going to do?""

With the success schools like KIPP are having, it's understandable that even the critics are seeking to enroll their children: "Robert A. Reed, the president of a central Harlem council of parent associations, said, "They've picked this population as a guinea pig district." But he also acknowledged that he entered his young daughter in a charter school lottery and she won a seat for next year that she may take."

Posted by Chris at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Post has an article today championing uptown as the new downtown. Leading the change are Harlem's new high-rise luxury condos. The article highlights The Dwyer at 123rd and St. Nick with it's 54 loft units, 111 Central Park North with its wraparound garden terraces, and The Lenox at West 129th and Lenox Avenue.

Says The Lenox developer Joseph Holland in the article about his building's 24-hour concierge, valet service, an on-site gym and a landscaped roof garden, "They're all the things you would expect in a luxury building downtown, but we're providing them at 129th Street and Lenox Avenue." The best part is that Joseph Holland is not jumping on a recent Harlem bandwagon. I met him several years ago when he was in the initial stages for a Harlem luxury building.

Retail gets a nod too. Post writer Hasani Gittens covers N, the new boutique at 114 W. 116th St. whose opening party Harlem Fur crashed last week. Cheryl and I stopped by recently as patrons, and the staff were excellent. As much as she helped, N doesn't need supermodel Iman to keep the party going.

Now, if only the Post had included Posh Paws...

Posted by Chris at 07:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Posted by Chris at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bonus! Womens Wear Daily, which is not something I normally read, has an article on one of N's designers, Nicole Miller.

Posted by Chris at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Harlem saw two great openings this weekend, and Harlem Fur was kinda there.

Bonus: If you read to the end, you can find out how a free bag of Innova cat food, courtesy of Posh Paws, can be yours!

Minton's Playhouse
Minton's Playhouse was a raging success on Friday. The jazz was hot, the joint was packed, and the drinks were surprisingly well priced. I know most of this because I took photos like the one below.

I will be posting more shots from Friday night at Minton's on Flickr. Take a peek by clicking on the photos in the right-hand side bar. I have a shot of Mr. Earl Spain, the jazz impresario who did what Robert DeNiro could not and re-opened the birthplace of be-bop. The first person to point out Dean, my co-op's president, wins a Posh Paws logo food lid.

Posh Paws
Cheryl and I made our first purchase at Posh Paws on Sunday. We bought Cimbi a blue Flexi-Mat pet bed for the windowsill. The attractive and durable fabric is machine washable and dryable, which makes it ideal for cleaning before our allergic friends come over.

Cheryl and I also met the owners, Doris and Helen, two warm people who are very knowledgeable about companion animal supplies.

Please don't think Cimbi will eat just any cat food, or Cheryl for that matter. Previously, we tried giving our animal Greenies, as we ended up with 20 or so sample bags from a cat show at Madison Square Garden. Neither the cat nor Cheryl showed any interest in them. Not knowing what to do with the remaining bags, we gave them out to Trick-Or-Treaters last year while keeping straight faces. (We didn't live in Harlem then.) Cheryl is sitting next to me right now saying, "don't worry, it wasn't malicious... the kids couldn't get sick... and if they read what it was before eating it, they could give it to their pets."

Now for the good part, how a bag of Innova cat food, courtesy of Posh Paws, can be yours. If you are a Harlem resident, send a photo or two of your cat with a brief bio and a memorable anecdote to editor [at] (no spam) harlem fur [dot] com. I will post your kitty on Harlem Fur and mail you the bag of food. Please specify regular or lite food.

Posted by Chris at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Cheryl and I went to the Morningside Park Farmers' Market on the plaza at 110th Street and Manhattan Avenue a few Saturdays ago and were not too impressed. The entire market consisted of one vendor with some broccoli raab, a slightly different kind of broccoli raab, and a few bunches of radishes.

The following Saturday saw two vendors and a somewhat better selection of goods. In addition to the broccoli raab and radishes, there was a decent selection of apples and flowering house plants. Also, the vendors were more engaging than the week before, when they were sitting in their truck completing the Daily News crossword puzzle.

I'm giving the market the benefit of the doubt and holding final judgement until next month. The Community Markets website claims that it opened April 8th, but the sign posted on the plaza reads that it does not officially start until June. I'm hoping that this is just the preseason and things will pick up in the coming weeks.

The market is open every Saturday from 9am to 5pm through November.

Posted by Chris at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Hard up to wet your whistle in Harlem? Well Gabriel, blow that horn. It's the rebirth of the be-bop womb. Minton's Playhouse is set to reopen for the first time since 1974, dig? And yes, the bar is stocked.

The Fur has a history of the joint shorter than an epic Ken Burns documentary:

In 1938 tenor Saxophonist Henry Minton opened Minton's Playhouse using a part of the dining area in Harlem's Cecil Hotel.

Although the club had a house band, it was the after hours sessions that earned the joint its reputation as a place of innovation. The house band would play earlier in the night. Later, jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Mile Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Thelonious Monk and other musicians of the time would experiment with their music, eventually giving birth to Be-Bop.

Minton's ran for 32 years straight before shutting down after it switched over to disco. The Cecil Hotel changed to. It became a single room occupancy hotel for men down on their luck. The neon signs for both places remain, with the Cecil Hotel's on the corner of 118th and St. Nick and Minton's on 118th between St. Nick and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. Minton's is featured in the 116th Street 2/3 subway stop's glass mosaic.

In early February of 2001 the Cecil Hotel suffered a cigarette-sparked fire that injured twelve people and resulted in the death of at least one man. Had fire inspectors not been near-by when the fire broke out, the results may have been much worse.

Since closing in 1974, Minton's has seen a number of attempts by high-profile people to reopen the venue. Robert De Niro with restaurateurs Drew Neiporent and Melba Wilson (who opened the new Melba's on Frederick Douglas Boulevard) tried in 1996. In 1999, Wall Street hot-shot Kevin Ingram sought to reopen Minton's, but getting caught trying to launder $2.2 million in a federal arms money sting gave him little time to devote to the project.

Now it seems Minton's time to return is here. Harlem jazz club impresario Earl Spain and the owner of both Minton's and the Cecil Hotel, Housing Services Inc., will be opening the venue Friday, May 19th at 3:00pm. Live music begins, again, at 9:00pm.

Let Harlem Fur take you inside for a sneak peak.

Continue reading "Be-Bop, Be-Drunk: Minton's House Set To Play Again" »

Posted by Chris at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Finally, the Time Warner complication is solved. And not a minute too soon.

There is a new posh pet store opening in South Harlem, and Harlem Fur will be attending the opening as press.

Speaking of press, Pebbles' human was spotted at the opening of Lt. Governor candidate and Harlem State Senator David Paterson's Harlem campaign office kick-off. Pebbles, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Speaking of openings, Minton's Playhouse, where Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Max Roach held late-night jam sessions, is set to reopen.

Speaking of celebrities in Harlem, my block is about to have another street shooting.

Speaking of my block, Cheryl and I were able to walk another dog, this time a Chihuahua, in our on going quest to find the right pooch for us.

Speaking of pooches, Petland is holding two more vaccination days for dogs, cats and ferrets.

I will have posts for each of these and more up soon.

Posted by Chris at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My Time Warner Cable has been down for the past couple days and I don't have time in the office to post. I will be back when the home problem is resolved.

Posted by Chris at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Without A Trace will be filming this Friday on the North end of Marcus Garvey Park.

So, with Denis Leary saving kids on 117th earlier this month, Without A Trace here at the end of the week, and Tom Cruise dropping by at the beginning of next month, we can see why there is all the fuss about whether or not Harlem is the new TriBeCa.

Posted by Chris at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An article in today's New York Times about the restaurant situation in Harlem mentioned something I had not thought about before. State law prohibits serving alcohol within 200 feet of a school or place of worship, and as the article points out, "in some sections of Harlem, there is a church on nearly every block."

I live in one of those sections.

Most of us are familiar with some version of the equation Brian Washington-Palmer, the owner of Native on 118th and Lenox, gave in the article: "food pays the rent; alcohol pays the profits." I had assumed when I moved here that when Harlem reached a critical mass, bistro style restaurants like Native and Elle & Lui would start popping up. Given the number of Harlem churches in my area (Lenox between 116th and 125th), that might be a little more complicated.

But for those who mistakenly think that Harlem is a culinary desert, I politely direct you to Uptown FLAVOR.

Posted by Chris at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hot In Harlem recently took notice of one of the more offensive things to happen to architecture in some time. The painfully nondescript box in question features poorly fit doors that open onto either the fire escape or what looks to be leftover fire escape materials.

It made me think WWRD? (Actually, it made me think of the Beastie Boys lyric "Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your hair / So I can climb up and get into your underwear", and then I thought about what Rapunzel would do.)

As the prince, I would willingly blind myself, witch or no witch at the business end of a hair ladder.

Thankfully, there are a number of other uptown projects I saw today on the way back from Central Park that would make restoring one's eyesight worthwhile.

The first was 125 Central Park North, a former hospital turn condos.

More decks and balconies worth climbing flowing locks to get to after the jump.

Continue reading "Uptown Rapunzels Take Note, Better Balconies (And Decks) Coming To Harlem" »

Posted by Chris at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you who are tempted by the idea of dumpster diving but worry about sporting a socially unacceptable funk, there is GarbageScout.com. A March New York Times article reads "garbagescout.com alerts junk fans about where treasures might be found on the street, with photos that can be displayed on a cellphone and the time that has elapsed since the item was sighted."

I've posted some Harlem finds since reading about it, beginning with a solid core door complete with all of the original hardware I spotted on 119th and Lenox Ave.

Given the nearly ubiquitous gut renovations taking place in older Harlem buildings, it is not the only architectural item I found. Of course, the one the piece I saw before knowing about Garbage Scout was a full unpainted mantel with a beveled mirror in the over mantel sitting in a rubbish container on 126th between 5th and Madison a year or so ago.

For those seeking a bargain, it's cheaper than Olde Good Things in Chelsea, plus you don't have to worry about supporting the Church of Bible Understanding, "whose ex-members, backed by psychiatric counselors and other experts, claim is really a destructive cult devoted to a man named Stewart Traill."

More stuff I found on Harlem streets after the jump.

Continue reading "Detritus Emeritus: Harlem's Renovation-Based Curbside Tossings" »

Posted by Chris at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A double rainbow I saw over Harlem Thursday evening. The top rainbow is faintly there above the utility pole.

Posted by Chris at 02:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

See the full text after the jump.

Of course, St. John's is best known on Harlem Fur for its annual Feast of St. Francis, the Blessing of the Animals. And I'm jones'n for photos. Does anyone have some? Joe?

The letter was sent with 1,300 signatures to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and, as it looks from the extensive 'CC' section, just about every elected official or government employee to have come within 300 miles of the campus.

The letter offers sharp words for both the Landmarks Commission and AvalonBay, the developer seeking to build a 20-story, 300-unit market-rate apartment building on the deficit-running Cathedral's grounds.

For a reasoned argument in support of developing the Close, try Starts and Fits. (Although, who calls Morningside Drive dreary, especially in the fall?)

St. John the Divine also has its statement here.

Continue reading "St. John the Supine?" »

Posted by Chris at 07:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I moved to Harlem in 2001 (a few blocks from where I live now), yellow cabs were slightly more rare than unicorns. I also found back then that getting cabs to come up to Harlem could pose complications.

Here is the conversation, best as I can remember it, I had late one night with a cabbie when I was overly intoxicated and just wanted to be in my bed:

Cabbie: Is this really where you want to be?
Me: Yes.
Cabbie: I cannot drop you off here. It is too dangerous.
Me: But I live here.
Cabbie: It is too dangerous. I will take you to Columbia (University) and drop you off on 118th Street there.
Me: But then I will have to walk, drunk, through Morningside Park at this hour, and three additional blocks to my apartment. I'm sure that would be more dangerous than walking from the curb to my door.
Cabbie: I cannot drop you off here.
Me: (Using quick thinking) I think I am going to get sick. Please stop the cab.

I then paid the fare.

That was about five years ago. Today, when looking out the window and deciding if I wanted to run errands in the rain, I saw a good number of cabs in just a few minutes.

The first two cabs.

A cab going crosstown.

UPDATE! I was given one of the greatest honors a New York blogger can receive, a Curbed mention complete with the famous RED ARROWS!

Posted by Chris at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

Ubiquitous photoblogger Joe Schumacher has an update on the 'Rescue Me' filming on 117th Street that took place yesterday.

A word of warning to hard core fans of the series: there is a plot-spoiling photo at the end.

Posted by Chris at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cheryl and I saw no-parking postings for 'Rescue Me' on our block tonight.

The positngs also went North up Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.

Is this the series with Denis Leary?

Posted by Chris at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cheryl and I are starting this blog basically because our parents live outside of New York and have a hard time opening attachments. We recently purchased a Co-Op in Harlem and want to keep them updated on the changes to our place, using as many photos as possible. Plus, we plan to get a pet dog for our cat and thought it would be fun to share the adventure.

However, it seems many more people than just our parents are curious about Harlem.

Continue reading "Welcome To Harlem Fur" »

Posted by Chris at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)