Riverton Community

Weee're Baaack

2010-07-09T19:25:00.002-04:00

Final Posting

2008-12-04T16:26:00.001-05:00

Please note that this blog will cease operation immediately. Subsequent postings will be found at :

http://HarlemCulturalArchives.ning.com

Feel free to join!

Best,

Ken

We're Fired Up!!

2008-08-24T16:18:00.008-04:00

Congressman Rangel On Riverton

2008-08-24T00:53:00.002-04:00

We Shall Not Be Moved

2008-08-22T12:53:00.000-04:00

Riverton Press Conference

2008-08-21T11:48:00.004-04:00

ELECTED OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE CALLING ON RIVERTON DEVELOPER TO PRESERVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, DESPITE WARNINGS OF LOAN DEFAULT

(NEW YORK, NEW YORK)- On Saturday, August 23, 2008, a group of concerned
elected officials and community leaders will be holding a press conference calling on the developer of the 1,230 unit Riverton Apartments to preserve affordable housing, in the wake of the disclosure that the loan used to purchase the Riverton in 2006 may be going into default. This PRESS CONFERENCE will be taking place at the corner of 135th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York City at 10:00 AM.

Invited speakers include: Congressman Charles B. Rangel, Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright, Councilwoman Inez E. Dickens as well as representatives from the Riverton Tenants Association and many members of the Riverton Community. "It is imperative that the developers who purchased this property act in a socially responsible manner and disclose how they will renegotiate their loan in a way that does not threaten the homesteads of Riverton residents. This property must not remain in flux and the owner must take steps in the future to ensure that it does not," said State Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright.

This PRESS CONFERENCE will be held on SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2008 at 10:00 AM at the corner of 135th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.

2008-08-20T10:04:00.000-04:00

clipped from www.save-ml.org

Stellar and its partner Rockpoint are on the verge of defaulting on their $225 million mortgage for Riverton Apartments in Harlem. See articles in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters,Crain's New York and WNYC.

The likely default was predicted by the Partnership to Preserve Affordable Housing in its April 28, 2008 memo (click on "read more" below to see it), written by Thomas Waters, housing analyst for the Community Service Society. When equity funds invest substantially more than the rents will supply, the investment can only be repaid by evicting the rent-regulated tenants. Failure to do that means defaults, lack of maintenance, and disaster.

2008 Bubbling Brown Sugar Highlights

2008-08-15T22:30:00.001-04:00

Swing is alive and well in the hands of Richard Bell and his touring cast of "Bubbling Brown Sugar", which is now fresh off of a recent European engagement.
Richard,a baller in his own right, is the son of the beloved "Puggy" and Mildred Bell of Riverton. A "renaissance" man himself, he also co-produced the "feel good" seventies classic "Claudine".

Conversations with Mr Dinkins

2008-08-15T21:59:00.001-04:00

Da Bigg Doggs Of Harlem

2008-05-16T19:38:00.005-04:00

Nearly 20 years ago, across from "22 west" on a"hun thirty-fifth street" Al Gee started a Hoops tournament, later to be called the BIGG DOGGS of Harlem. In the tradition of educator/ mentors like the late greats Pelham Fritz and Holcomb Rucker and the living legends Cal Ramsey and Jon Isaacs , Al has provided a summertime recreational outlet to scores of Harlem youth. He needs four more solid teams to fill out the card this year........Are there any undercover basketball coaches out there??
Anyway Als' gettin' his props lately in the form of a prominent spot on a beautiful mural on the side of the Rozier Hansborough (The Bathhouse) Center on 135th street. Check it out for yourself.

Set It Off!!

2008-04-27T20:05:00.007-04:00

Hey folks,the 2008 Riverton Park reunion plans are well underway. Glenn"Deisel"Hunter has been in negotiation with Riverton management and they have graciously consented to allow us the use of the premises on Saturday July 12th for our annual get together. Food & refreshments will be provided for all of our guests.
Because of the considerable expenses associated with the staging of such an event,(let alone the difficulties of purchasing for an unknown number of participants) it is necessary that we recieve some seed money to cover the expected outlay. Accordingly ,we need to raise $1500 as soon as possible to assure the success of the event. The cost per family is $25, and arrangements have been made to facilitate this by the use of the paypal button to the right of this blog entry. Alternatively, checks can be mailed to:
Glenn Hunter
2300 fifth ave suite 2e
New York, New York
HELP US OUT Y'ALL! WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT UPFRONT CASH COMMITMENT,WE CANNOT ASSURE THAT THE PARTY WILL BE HELD. SPREAD THE WORD!

Virtual Harlem

2008-04-15T10:11:00.009-04:00

Here's a well executed bit of "geographically stylized" eye candy, compete with scholarly insights by Central Miissouri State Professor Bryan W. Carter . Hold onto your hat!

Our Friend, Our Governor

2008-03-14T21:28:00.001-04:00

"Black Magic" A Pearl of a Picture

2008-03-11T10:27:00.006-04:00

To those of us who were in the mix during the late sixties an early seventies Earl"The Pearl"Monroe was more than the iconic athlete whose statistical accomplishments were only exceeded by the grand style with which they were executed, Earl is and was one of us. With fellow Knicks Dick "Fall back Baby' Barnett, and Cal Ramsey in residence at the time, Earl was one of a litany of legends to have graced the Riverton Playground.
His story and that of the many incredible athletes who played for historically black colleges and universities in the pre-seventies era was the subject of the film "Black Magic" The film was produced by the hall of famer himself, and screened before a wildly enthusiastic audience last month at the Apollo.It will air in two parts on ESPN this coming Sunday and Monday. What follows is a well crafted narrative about the Pearl that I found on Youtube, it will have to hold ya' till Sunday!

REUNION PLANS

2008-02-05T20:14:00.000-05:00

With all due respect to the Easter Bunny, summer's just about here. The days are getting longer and warmer and pretty soon we'll all be chillin' in our shorts again wondering why there ain't no beer and chips. ... so don't sleep this opportunity to have input into the process. Speak your piece , and reserve early ..... who knows maybe they'll even have your brand.

We are "Black History"

2008-02-03T23:55:00.001-05:00

Take pause for a minute to reflect upon the countless ways in which members of the Riverton family have made or altered history.....It takes more than a minute doesn't it!!

NOBODY KNEW WHERE THEY WAS

2008-02-02T12:02:00.000-05:00

PLEASE ATTEND THIS EXCITING PRODUCTION AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!!
Roger Parris Presents
NOBODY KNEW WHERE THEY WAS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ...........The HAD.L.E.Y. Players
(Harlem Artists Development Leaque Especially for you)
At The:
Theater at North Presbyterian Church
529 West 155th street
NYC, NY 10032
(212) 368-9314 / (212)926-0281
February 15th -March 9th 2008
WRI'ITEN BY: ROGER PARRIS
DIRECTED BY: ARTHUR FRRNCH
Gertrude Jeannette Founder/CEO
Janice Jenkins Artistic Director

"Hot Fun In The Summertime"

2008-01-25T16:28:00.000-05:00

With the winter grinding on relentlessly and spring not due for at least another six weeks, it is comforting to reflect upon the summer months and the warmth that comes both literally and figuratively with the season. So,my friends, courtesy of Dr. Keith Hunter, who had the foresight to gather these video clips, we are pleased to bring you a blast of warmth from last summer. We hope you that you enjoy it.

Long Live The "Renny"

2008-01-11T19:47:00.001-05:00

The grand opening of the of the Renaissance Theater on one hundred and thirty seventh street occurred 86 years ago this week. In a bittersweet decision, the hallowed hall was denied historic protection by the landmarks Commission last year.The Abyssinian Development Corp, with the help of some influential supporters, successfully argued against a landmark designation for a historic ballroom in central Harlem.The 6-1 vote by the Landmarks Commission clears the way for the redevelopment of the Renaissance Ballroom and Renaissance Casino on Adam Clayton Boulevard and 138th Street. Plans call for the majority of the historic structure to be razed and replaced with a 19-story condo tower as well as cultural, retail and community spaces.
The Municipal Arts Society The New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Historic Districts Council joined prominent Harlem residents including former Mayor Dinkins to oppose landmark designation, arguing that such a designation would have created insurmountable obstacles to bringing ballroom and the cultural space back to life. Abyssinian hopes the development will be completed by 2009. Still, some residents remain concerned with the loss of the historic structures and argue that a whole-scale renovation of the structure would be more beneficial to the community.
A beautifully illustrated and exhaustive history of the site along with a host of invaluable knowledge about the neighborhood in general can be found at
http://blackfivesblog.com/?p=285 thanks to the tireless efforts of BlackFives founder Claude Johnson.

"Percy Ellis Sutton Way"

2007-12-27T20:46:00.000-05:00

Warmest Greetings to all you Rivertonian's and friends. It is with great pleasure that we announce that the westerly border of Riverton, Fifth Avenue-from 110th to 142nd streets, will henceforth be known as Percy Ellis Sutton Way. Big "props" to a big man!!
Seitou Aronde -Photo
On another note, as the year ends, we'd like to invite any who might be interested, to avail yourselves of the tax benefit arising from supporting the continued production of the film "Down by The Riverside" through a tax deductible contribution to the friends of Fred Samuels foundation (via Producer Glenn Hunter at 2300 fifth avenue). Recent interviews for the film include the esteemed David Dinkins, Pulitzer Prize Winning author Leon Dash and many others. Thanks to the many folks who have contributed to the preservation of this great historical legacy. The story goes on!!

O Come All Ye Stocking Stuffers

2007-12-18T09:06:00.001-05:00

Listen up all you contemporary Gospel aficionados, our friend and colleague "Floyd K" Sandifer, the son of the late esteemed jurist Jawn (More on him at a later date) Sandifer has just "dropped" his debut CD and it is powerful. Floyd(or Kim as some of you may know him)is a talented singer and songwriter and photographer to boot.Check him out at www.FloydKphoto.com where CDs may be purchased via paypal.

2007-11-19T12:03:00.000-05:00

A Horror in Harlem

2007-10-29T11:19:00.000-04:00

At precisely 5:05 pm fifteen years ago next Tuesday, in what was undoubtedly Rivertons' darkest hour, a deafening explosion issued from the top of 45 east 135th street ripping open the uppermost floors, killing three residents and injuring at least fifteen more. The gas explosion , which was more than likely ignited when an 84 year old man tripped his light switch, rained debris and terror upon the the stunned community. The blast and the resulting conflagration forced the evacuation of more than sixty apartments, and was battled by upward of 160 firefighters, who, themselves sustained nearly twenty injuries. The Red Cross established its command post at neighboring PS 197 where evacuees were housed until long term accommodations were arranged. At your leisure, please take pause to remember those lost or injured on the horrible night that was November 2, 1992. rel="tag">Horror Harlem

Conversation With Mr. Dinkins

2007-10-26T15:48:00.000-04:00

From a lofty office high above Harlem's Morningside Park, the esteemed but ever humble former mayor David Dinkins shares his thoughts on life,love,politics,friends and the Riverton.dinkins harlem

Worthy Of Note

2007-10-11T12:08:00.000-04:00

Hats off to neighbor Patricia Neely.Not only is she the manager of New York Affairs for the prestigious Sphynx organization, a group dedicated to the furtherance of minorities in the classics....but she is also the featured artist of the month for the Myrtle Hart Society.
Patricia Ann Neely (vielle, viola da gamba, violone, and Baroque double bass) holds a BA in music from Vassar College and an MFA in early music from Sarah Lawrence College. She studied viola da gamba with Grace Feldman in New Haven, Judith Davidoff in New York, and Wieland Kuijken in Brussels and for three years was the medieval fiddle player with the acclaimed medieval ensemble, Sequentia, based in Cologne, Germany and directed by Benjamin Bagby and the late Barbara Thornton. Ms. Neely has been a core member of The Publick Musick, "Rochester's Baroque Orchestra" (Rochester, New York and the 2000 winners of the prestigious Noah Greenberg award), and NYS Baroque. She was also creator and founding member of the viola da gamba consort Parthenia.
Now just what is the viola da gamba?? The viol (often referred to by its Italian name viola da gamba) is a bowed, fretted stringed musical instrument played between the legs (da gamba) like a cello. It developed in the 15th century and was used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

http://myrtlehart.org/

Halloween, circa"56

2007-10-03T09:00:00.001-04:00

The passage of the seasons in Riverton was marked by games and pageantry on an almost epic scale. The recreation staff was headed by the inimitable Dolly King who typically held court at these affairs. But it was of Mrs Bell and Mrs Gates who kept peace and decorum and attended to the occaisional wounded child.
Halloween was a time for trick or treating throughout all of the many buildings , and amassing ridiculous amounts of candy, while keeping a watchful eye out for roving bands of halloween terrorists, bearing chalk filled socks. And of course there was the inevitable stomach ache resulting from candy abuse!!

Hendrix Plays Harlem...Grant Reid Reflects

2007-09-21T17:44:00.000-04:00

September of 1969.....Muammar al Gaddafi had seized control of Libya, the My Lai Massacre had just occurred in "Nam", the "Chicago Eight" were being brought to trial, and Jimi Hendrix was taking Harlem by storm. No stranger to soul music he had a few years earlier, recorded with both the Isley Brothers and Harlem legend Lonnie Youngblood.
"Its Friday afternoon September 5th and a community sound truck races through the streets announcing the United Block Association's Street Block Party Festival at west139th street between 5th and Lenox. It would feature radio DJ Eddie O'Jay, The 128/129th Street Block Ass'n Steel Bands,The Lovemen LTD,Funny MC Chuck-A-Luck, The Sam and Dave Band, Jimmy Brooks, J.D.Bryant, Big Maybelle, The Fabulous Miss Maxine Brown and The Great Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Jimi Hendrix y'all... Rock star wild man who had to go to England to make it! With six "million selling" albums and working on a seventh, brother Jimi is coming home,man, to be with his brothers and sisters. In search for truth and peace, he has now added justice and he's bringing a message to the ghetto, to the people.... and for free!
The sun goes down and thousands of people crowd 139th street. Rooftops,windows and fire escapes are full with community people. Not one sweet little flower child in sight.
Time passes and the other acts play and go home. Mothers close their apartment windows, and only a few hundred people stay out late on the magical night. But it is worth it.
Outside, under the Harlem sky, Jimi and a four man band play. Noises never heard by the human ear blast out of his guitar, speakin' and cryin' to the priveledged and patient.
With a playful, bashful defiance in his eyes,pop goes Jimi , and he breaks out his kaleidescopic and very plugged in version of "Fire" along with Juma Sultan, Jerry Velez, Larry Le, Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell.
Its almost 3 o'clock in the morning and Jimi, ever the showman, caps off the festival with "Voodoo Chile Babe". Its a bitchin' rendition and, the mass relates to that extra something spiritual,that extra voodoo inner drive that has kept us black people going since bondage. Hendrix fades into "Machine Gun" and you could feel the ghosts of all the black Vietnam War dead. Everyone agrees that Jimi's a "down brother".
As Jimi enter his limo, he promises to come back to Harlem, and passes three little poor black boys who should be home in bed. The kids wave goodbye as they play their invisible electric guitars.
Jimi never leaves. Jimi never left. Grant Harper Reid

Rosetta LeNoire-Champion of The Arts

2007-09-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

Not long ago, a postcard arrived advertising a musical called "Sprang Thang"at the "Amas Musical Theater" in Greenwich Village. A closer inspection revealed that the theater had been founded in 1968 by none other than Rosetta LeNoire ,the consummate actress and social activist who spent many years in the Riverton.
LeNoire, whose incredible career spanned some seventy years, devoted most of her working life to the struggle for racial equity. At times her views placed her at odds with the powers that be, as the spectre of blacklisting loomed over those in the entertainment industry who dared to speak out during the McCarthy era.
The GodChild of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, she was born in 1911 and had her acting debut as a kabuki dancer in the 1939 production of "The Hot Mikado". While time and space do not permit an exhaustive examination of her career, it should be noted that LeNoire is best known to modern audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on the series Gimme a Break, and Amen , and is most closely identified with her role as Estelle "Mother" Winslow on Family Matters
In 1968, using her own savings, Rosetta founded the AMAS Repertory Theater Company, an interracial theater dedicated to multi-ethnic productions in New York City. With this company, Rosetta created an artistic community where members' individual skills were recognized without regard to race, creed, color, religion, or national origin. She became a successful and groundbreaking Broadway producer developing, among other things,"Bubbbling Brown Sugar". The Actors Equity Association awarded her the first award for helping contribute to the diversification of theater casting; in 1988, the award was named the Rosetta LeNoire Award. Happy Fortieth Birthday to the "Amas Theater"!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_LeNoire
http://www.amasmusical.org/gallery.php?gallery=12
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502158/

The Crash Crew

2007-09-13T19:13:00.000-04:00

When asked about their favorite musicians from the community, most Rivertonians recall the names of Dr Billy Taylor, the late Eddie Haywood, and soul icon Gregory Abbott. But the course of hiphop was profoundly altered by the Crash Crew, a group of kids from Lincoln and Riverton who began "crackin the mike" at project parties in the late seventies. Guy Foster, Kenny Yoda, and the late DJ Daryll C(Calloway) together with their Lincoln contemporaries GMan, La Shubee, Barry Bistro,Ek Mike C and Reggie Reg crafted a unique style that rocked the foundations of the whole neighborhood.In 1980, they pressed up their first single-High Powered Rap and sold it out of the trunk of their car. Guy's mom, Denise, recalls the beginnings of the HipHop phenomenon.

For more info,check ou the following links:
http://odeo.com/audio/2232984/view
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgeP_RoOWak

Dudley M. Glasse-American Hero

2007-09-11T16:32:00.000-04:00

Its nearly impossible to not think of firefighters on 9-11, and it is equally difficult for me to think of firefighters and not think of Mr Glasse. A quiet and good humored man who was the backbone of Boy Scout Troop 163 , Mr. Glasse was a decorated New York city firefighter, who would ultimately rise to the rank of Bronx Borough Commander...... and remember the Bronx was burning at the time! In his leisure, when he wasn't sharing life/survival skills with the neighborhood youth, this finely tuned athlete and scholar very unassumingly ran, as well as swam the marathon.
But before all of that, he was a Tuskeegee Airman. A B-25 Pilot with the 477th, Mr. Glasse, like many of his African American contemporaries, would find the fight for equality at home to be as perilous if not more than the war raging overseas. In March 1945, along with 162 other Black Officers facing Jim Crow accomodations at Freeman Field Indiana, the young aviator openly(under possible penalty of death) defied orders not to enter its "whites only" officers club. The so-called Freeman Field Mutiny and other similar acts of defiance played a significant role in the decision made by President Truman in 1948 to issue Ex. Orders 9980 and 9981, which spelled the beginning of the end of segregation in the armed forces and government. For more info visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Field_Mutiny

Who Stole the Big Apple?

2007-09-06T20:23:00.000-04:00

Is it just me, or is anyone else disturbed at the alarming rate at which our Harlem institutions are falling by the wayside.Some like Copelands -are the victim of economics, while others others are falling prey to changing community standards (read gentrification).
I met my wife in the late Eighties in the last iteration of Small's Paradise, the speakeasy cum night club, where on any given night of the week, one just might witness something extraordinary, and entirely unique to Harlem. That venerated space has been reduced to hustling the same pancakes available in almost any city in the world. Not a hundred feet away, the Big Apple, after which our dear city is nicknamed was recently removed in favor of corporate design in keeping with Popeye's look.
Down the street, The Renny lays fallow after many decades, awaiting action by its owner. Will its development follow a course that is respectful of history and tradition or will it be yet one more proceeedure in the evisceration of Harlem.
And while we're on the subject of the evisceration of Harlem, let us not forget the silencing of the Garvey Park drummers who have earned their place in the City's cultural landscape after after decades of support by the community. Is it just me, or is there a pattern in place? What do you think?

Down By The Riverside-Clip

2007-09-02T07:55:00.001-04:00

Medley

2007-09-01T21:11:00.001-04:00

Constance Baker Motley..A Giant Among Giants

2007-08-31T16:01:00.001-04:00

Clearly one of the towering figures on the Riverton cultural landscape, Constance Baker Motley was a "lawyers lawyer". As a child in the scouts at PS 197, I remember seeing her with my counterpart Joel at our cub meetings. I knew, even then, that she was someone special, although I didn't know how or why. A dozen years earlier, as a fresh faced lawyer working as a clerk for the NAACP legal defense fund under the leadership of future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Motley crafted hundreds of documents which were to become the basis of the ground breaking "Brown v Bd. Of Education" litigation which would eventually change face of educational opportunity in this country. She would later become the first Black Female to serve as a Federal Judge, and was eventually elected to the Borough Presidency of Manhattan.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/Spring2004/motley.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4929409

Bruce M.Wright

2007-08-30T19:29:00.001-04:00

2007-08-30T13:54:00.000-04:00

When PittyPat first raised the subject of Robert C. Weaver to me, I had little idea of the extent of his legacy in the area of Housing reform. Then as now, black folk were facing a crisis of accomodation in New York. The critical nature of the conflict became most clear to New Yorkers in the Dorsey v Stuvesanttown case which reached its conclusion, after 5 years in the summer/fall of 1947. The verdict, which came down against the 3 African American plaintiffs left Stuvesanttown free to set its own discriminatory policies. This decision galvanized the forces of opposition, and that fall Weaver, the lead authority on northern housing discrimination, allied himself with Charles Abrams of the ACLU , Will Maslow and Hortense Gabel to form The New York Committee on Discrimination in Housing......they in turn lobbied successfully for the groundbreaking Brown-Isaacs bill(passed in 1951) that made it illegal to discriminate in housing developments assisted by the government. Weaver's research for "The Negro Ghetto" would provide much of the scholarly underpinning for the movement.
Years later he would become the first black nominated to a cabinet level position, during the Johnson administration when he was made head of the newly formed HUD agency.
Check out wikipedia story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_C._Weaverh

Riverton Documentary

2007-08-28T18:31:00.001-04:00

Rivertonia

2007-08-28T16:43:00.001-04:00

Snapshots of the early days

The Two Hands of Billy Taylor

2007-08-28T13:34:00.001-04:00

You Go! "Doctor"

Eddie Haywood 1981 -- Canadian Sunset

2007-08-28T11:41:00.001-04:00

AmNews Article

2007-08-28T10:18:00.000-04:00

Whats up folks! Just testing out the mechanics of the blog, at the moment there are only a few subscribers, but hopefully soon it will be available for open posting.This seems to be a very capable blog interface which will hopefully allow direct upload from youtube.Sign up and give it a try.
Hats off to Yvonne Delany for a beautifully written article in the "Amsterdam".
On a sad note, Kenny Medley is hospitalized, having suffered a stroke...keep him in your prayers.