Planned Harlem Museum Is History

A planned development in Harlem ran into some snags recently, and the site bordered by Madison and Park Avenues and East 111th and 112th Streets is now up for grabs. The building was to include a museum, 20 stories of luxury condos, shops and a hotel. But when the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) learned more about who was connected with the plan, they nixed it. The Puerto-Rican community arts organization [Taller Boricua], who planned the project with developers, hoped the building would provide benefit to the community, meaning more museum, less luxury. But the Housing Department failed to renew Taller Boricua’s site authorization, which expired on Aug. 1, 2006. According to Neill Coleman at HPD, the site will be re-opened for a public and competitive process to select a developer later this year. A representative from State Sen. Jose Serrano’s office heard from the community board that the real reason the plan was deep-sixed had to do with [Benito Fernandez](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/06/08/2007-06-08_inn_trouble_harlem_hotel_plan_wont_get_o-1.html), who provided the project’s financial backing. Community Board 11 was contacted but was unavailable for comment. The Daily News reported that Fernandez had criminal connections in his background, a history of violating labor laws and ran a nursing home with hundreds of violations. With Fernandez safely out of the picture, it’s anyone’s guess what will take the project’s place. Fernando Salicrup, executive director of the [Julia De Burgos Center](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_de_Burgos) (in association with Taller Boricua), has said he’ll appeal to the HPD. Should he fail, the space may be destined for yet another slick, generic condo building, and the residents of East Harlem may be out a museum.