Future of Harlem Marriott Appears To Be in the Past

On a frigid day, John Ferguson is peeping through the plywood erected on 125th Street to shield the bare parking lot adjacent to the New York College of Podiatric Medicine from public view.Despite the sign overhead proclaiming the rebirth of the Harlem Renaissance with the forthcoming construction of a new Marriott Hotel, Mr. Ferguson remains suspicious.“They’ve been talking about building this hotel for years,” said Mr. Ferguson, 62, who thought several months ago that the mammoth skyscraper would have been completed by now. “No one in the community has any idea why this hotel is not done.”When a group of developers and high profile investors – including the widow of Gene Autry, the cowboy singer – announced back in 2003 that a Marriott Hotel would be built in Harlem, almost everyone was celebrating. Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki even journeyed uptown to participate in a ceremony to break ground on the project that was dubbed “Harlem Park.”With tourism flourishing and the local economy soaring, how could anyone argue against a hotel in Harlem? With President Clinton’s presence along 125th Street, coupled with the influx of Starbucks and Old Navy and the renewed interest in the Apollo Theater, many have argued that there is enough to propel tourists to Harlem and keep them there overnight.The famous Hotel Theresa, at Seventh Avenue and 125 Street, which used to cater to black artists and entertainers denied the opportunity to stay at Midtown hotels because of racism, was affectionately called the “Waldorf of Harlem.” Even Fidel Castro lodged at the Hotel Theresa after his first visit to the United Nations, and Malcolm X frequently held forums and meetings there. It closed its doors in 1966 and was later converted into an office building.Now, with each passing day, it seems more unlikely that the Marriott Hotel will be a reality in Harlem, and no explanation is forthcoming. Community residents who once praised the project are beginning to express doubts, and the hotel’s most fierce critic, Bill Perkins, a former member of the City Council from Harlem, says that the current project is out of sync with the rest of the development currently taking place in Harlem.Mr. Perkins chastised the City Council for approving the hotel, which is planned to be far taller than the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, currently the highest building in Harlem. He also faulted the developers for boasting retail and luxury housing – a key component of the development – over affordable housing, which he says is sorely needed in Harlem.Mr. Perkins specifically faults the developer, Michael Caridi, the prime mover behind the hotel, for promoting the idea and now pulling away from the project, a practice he says has become all too typical in communities of color. Mr. Caridi, who could not be reached for comment, has announced plans to sell his interest in Harlem Park to Vornado Realty Trust, real estate developers that are planning to build a bigger development, but have not yet announced when the project would be completed.“I predicted that at the end of the day, he would not be there,” said Mr. Perkins, who is running for the state Senate seat that David Paterson is giving up to run for lieutenant governor. “The project was out of scale for what this community wants and needs.”Mr. Perkins would like a hotel built in Harlem. Fiscally, it just makes sense. Almost everyone agrees. The logic is that if tourists stay in Harlem, they will dine at the restaurants, and spend their money at the local shops, giving the few black small business owners who are left the possibility of some long-term security.At the time, Mr. Caridi argued that the Marriott Hotel would create jobs for local Harlemites and provide opportunities for minority contractors. The Empire State Development Corporation, headed by Charles Gargano, even approved $5 million in low-interest state loans for the project. But everything seems in limbo now, and remains confusing to locals like Mr. Ferguson, who had hoped for the construction of a nearby hotel where his out-of-town relatives could stay during the holidays.“My apartment is too small and the Midtown hotels are often too expensive,” Mr. Ferguson said. “Sadly, you get cynical because things just take forever,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I don’t get all worked up about development in Harlem anymore because people come through here all the time with grand ideas and promises and nothing ever happens. Nothing ever happens.”

Future of Harlem Marriott Appears To Be in the Past

Future of Harlem Marriott Appears To Be in the Past

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