Myths of the Columbia Expansion Plan

Thank you for this June 19th editorial "Columbia the gem of West Harlem" (New York Daily News, June 19, 2006) which reflects so many mythical misconceptions and mis-information that are taken by many in the unkwnowing public to be facts and which I will take this opportunity to clarify and de-mythify them.

First - Columbia University has been located in West Harlem for over 100 years in our historic neighborhood called Morningside Heights. So Columbia is not coming to West Harlem, it has been here all along. West Harlem if the home of the highest concentration of quality instituions of higher learning including Columbia and sadly congruently the worst public schools in the City.

Second - Community Board 9 Manhattan is "West Harlem" which is composed of our well known historic neighborhoods of Morningside Heights, Manhattanville (a small portion of which is Columbia's expansion target area), Hamilton Heights and the newly designated Sugar Hill.

Third - The "tattered swath of West Harlem" [West Manhattanville], to which you refer, is actually the creation and fabrication of Columbia University and their properties are the most "tattered" of all. Most if not all vacant buildings in the area belong to Columbia University and the loss of businesses and local employment has been a sore point in our community for the 25 or 30 years CU has been quietly acquiring and decommissioning properties there.
West Manhattanville may not be pretty, granted, but it is a vibrant, economically viable area, that provides homes, employment and services needed not only by the residents of West Harlem by many Manhattan residents as well.

The impact on affordable housing for West Harlem residents income levels will be catastrophic and tenant displacement in Manhattanville and Hamilton Heights are already beginning to be felt not only in CB9M but also in the adjacent CB10M (Central Harlem) and CB12M (Washington Heights/Inwood) districts.

Fourth - All those "shopworn warehouses, auto repair shops and a couple of gas stations" are the mainstay tax-base and employment source of West Manhattanville as Columbia's properties are tax excempted, vacant shells belonging to a "not-for-profit" institution. Further as Columbia acquires more property the tax-base of West Manhattanville is further eroded and local jobs disappear. These industrial jobs are highly desired and within the educational attainment of our residents while the much promised Columbia's 9000 jobs, will be scientific, professional, academic, technical and very few current residents of West Harlem will qualify or even be considered to fill them, except for the janitorial, maintenance and perhaps security jobs, if at all, while the good paying industrial local jobs will have disappeared.

Fifth - That Columbia is cramped for space is regretable and no one is suggesting that they should not expand, what concerns the West Harlem community is the effects of that expansion, concerns which your editorial so esily ignores altogether. Concerns about job loss, tenant displacement, community affordable housing, hazardous research labs, unwarranted threat of eminent domain to intimidate and harass local property owners to sell to Columbia and many other issues which you do not address at all in your glorification of the Columbia's Manhattanville Plan.

The West Harlem community, over a period of many years developed our own vision for the development of West Harlem, our 197-a Plan allows Columbia's expansion as a good neighbor co-existing with the long-time industrial and residential residents and without the many noxious effects anticipated in the Columbia Manhattanville Plan.

Sixth - "Harlem leaders" have nothing to say about what will or will not transpire in West Harlem between the community and Columbia. Development in Central Harlem, Washington Heights/Inwood and East Harlem are their business and their responsibility, their development has never been discussed with West Harlem leadership; so there is no obligation, except for our mutual affection, respect and courtesy to even consider what "Harlem Leaders" have to say about developments in West Harlem however, when overlapping interests coincide, our communities have never failed to work together and will continue to do so in the future, just as we are doing in the "125th Street River to River Plan".

Seventh - The West Harlem LDC, whose creation was facilitated by CB9M, will, when fully empaneled, be reflective of the most wide representation of West Harlem local interests working together for the benefit of all the citizens of West Harlem.

CB9M will address all the land use issues when the land use review period starts and has been in conversations with Columbia's technical people throughout the last 30 months and will continue to address those isssues with Columbia the gem of West Harlem.

Sincerely,


Jordi (George) Reyes-Montblanc, Chair
Community Board 9 Manhattan