Harlem and the Future: Preserving Culture and Sustaining History in a Changing Environment

On Saturday, April 29, twelve community-based organizations will host a day-long forum titled “Harlem and the Future: Preserving Culture and Sustaining History in a Changing Environment” (“Harlem and the Future”) that will discuss the changes, the best practices, and the imminent challenges that are affecting Harlem’s social fabric, built environment, and cultural heritage. This is Harlem’s first historic preservation conference that comes at a time of imminent change to the iconic neighborhood.

Harlem & the Future will be divided into four sections: welcoming remarks and keynote speaker, three panel discussions, three walking tours, and a film screening about gentrification. Opening remarks will be given by Manhattan Borough President Gale A Brewer followed by keynote speaker Chris Fair of Resonance Consultancy who will deliver his speech “The Power of Place”. Michael Henry Adams, a local author and architectural historian, will do closing remarks.

The Cultural Heritage panel will be moderated by Terrance McKnight, host on WQXR Radio. Featured panelists include:

Kenneth J. Knuckles, President & CEO, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone

Karl Franz Williams, CEO & Founder, Good Ice Marketing

Sarah Saltzberg, Co-Founder, Bohemia Realty Group

The Built Environment panel will be moderated by architect Carlton Brown. Featured panelists include:

Chris Cirillo, Lott Community Development

Daniel Marks Cohen, Housing Partnership Development Corporation

Joseph Coppola, AIA Principal, Dattner Architects

The Social Fabric panel, focusing on Churches at Risk will be moderated by John T. Reddick, Architectural & Cultural Historian. Featured panelists include:

Rev. Michael A. Walrond, Jr., Senior Pastor, First Corinthian Baptist Church

Rev. Reginald Bachus, Associate Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church

Ann-Isabel Friedman, Sacred Sites Program, NYC Landmarks Conservancy

Considering Harlem’s cultural heritage panel, experts will evaluate the cultural brand of Harlem, which has attracted global attention, and reflect on whether it represents the community as a whole. On the topic of the built environment, panelists will discuss the effectiveness of working with landmarks designation, building community activism and forging private-public partnerships while also adapting to growth and development. And lastly for the community’s social fabric, leaders from Harlem’s churches will consider how contemporary needs and uses may revitalize and breathe new life into Harlem’s historic church buildings.

What: “Harlem and the Future: Preserving Culture and Sustaining History in a Changing Environment”

When: Saturday April 29, 2017   Program begins 9am – 5pm

Where: CCNY Spitzer School of Architecture at 140 Convent Avenue at 135th Street

Cost: $10 includes lunch and a walking tour. Free for students and seniors.

Tickets can be reserved at bit.ly/HarlemTix

More information at www.westharlemcpo.org #westharlemcpo #harlemsfuture

4 AIA / NY State credits

CONFERENCE SPONSORS include West Harlem Community Preservation Organization, Historic Districts Council, City Council Member Mark Levine, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, The City College of New York, SAVE Harlem Now! The New York City Landmarks Conservancy, Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association, Landmark West!, Manhattan Community Boards 9 and 10, The Audubon Park Alliance.