Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Madison-Jackson, former P.S. 12 before being converted to condos, is now up for sale in its entirety, reports The Lo Down. The building was developed into apartments within the last 30 years, but sales of these apartments have been put on hold, as the current building owner has received many offers from buyers looking to purchase the entire building.

Michael Bolla, who worked with the the building owner to develop and market Madison-Jackson, attributes the high demand to pending plans to redevelop the Lower East Side area. The Madison-Jackson itself, for which sales only recently began and are now on hold, has an indoor swimming pool and apartments currently ranging from $500,000 to $1,000,000. The Lo Down reports “Prospective investors could stay the course, turn the building into a very high end development or convert the Madison-Jackson to rentals.”

Other schools around the City have “graduated” to residences in recent years as well. Former P.S. 90, now P.S. 90 Condos, in Harlem now boasts luxury condominiums, which its website says were “over 98 percent sold” as of last fall. Former P.S. 109 in East Harlem is under renovation to become a living space for artists, which should be ready to lease in 2014.

—Alissa Fleck

Last week, residents of East Harlem gathered at a memorial to honor Yolanda Sanchez, who passed away on June 11. Hundreds of people turned out to mourn the passing of a dedicated community activist who worked her entire life to promote local political involvement and activism.

 Over a 50-year career in public service, Sanchez helped found the Puerto Rican Association for Community Affairs and became its executive director. She also helped create the Taino Towers housing, the Boriken Health Center and Casabe Houses for the elderly.

Friends of Sanchez, 80, remembered her as a tireless advocate not only for the Puerto Rican and Latino communities but for all of East Harlem.        

“I met Yolanda back in 1967, when I began the Puerto Rican Association for Community Affairs. We were friends ever since,” said Arnie Segara. “She was the Rosa Parks of East Harlem. There hasn’t been an issue that has dealt with the Puerto Rican/Latino community in the last half-century that she did not have some kind of an input in.”

 Jaime Estades, who worked with Sanchez as a board member of the Latino Leadership Institute, remembers that she worked to encourage grantmaking institutions to give more grants to Latino nonprofit organizations. When she was working to open the Taino Towers, she negotiated with Republicans—including Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development at the time, and Sen. Jacob Javits—during the Nixon administration, using her voice to bring opposing sides together and eventually achieve her goals.

“She was an East Harlem community hero—and nationwide—due to her leadership,” Estades said.

 She also worked across cultural boundaries. Irish-born theater director Aedin Moloney said she struck up an immediate friendship with Sanchez when they were working on a play about the elderly. Moloney’s company, Fallen Angels, donates portions of its box office proceeds to related organizations, and she was impressed by Sanchez’s work with the elderly.

 “Not only did she run an amazing tight ship up there in East Harlem, but she encouraged all these program for the residents’older teenage grandchildren to participate with them. She had the foresight to see that and it really did work,” said Moloney.

 She said she and Sanchez were working on researching how the Irish and Puerto Rican communities were historically connected, and that they became great friends in a short time.

 “She was a terrific lady, an example not just to the Latino community, but certainly to all women, an example to all immigrants and all New Yorkers,” Moloney said. “She had a huge appetite for improving the quality of life for those that needed it.”

Local State Sen. José Serrano passed a resolution honoring Sanchez after her death.

“Yolanda was a true pioneer in the Puerto Rican community, and served as not only an example but as an inspiration to everyone with whom she came in contact,” Serrano said in a statement. “Her commitment to service is what led many of our current generation of Latino leaders to get involved in social and public service.”

All photos courtesy of Jorge Quinteros. Quinteros is an avid traveler and photographer based in Brooklyn. More of Quinteros’s 116th Festival Portraits in East Harlem can be found on his flickr.

—Alissa Fleck

The colorful interior of Coco Le Vu. Photo by Andrew Schwartz.

By Beth Mellow
The sweet melody of “Sugar, Sugar” and other candy-themed music greets customers as they enter Coco Le Vu candy shop, which recently opened at 202 110th St. in East Harlem.
Sisters Christine and Nalanie Milano, who co-own Coco Le Vu, decided to open a candy shop in honor of their father, who recently passed away. “Our father was a happy person, so we wanted to create a happy place. I mean, after all, who doesn’t love candy?” Christine Milano asked.
Coco Le Vu stocks all kinds of sweets, from novelty candy, such as popcorn-flavored gummies, to old favorites like Now & Later and Bazooka gum. Visitors will also find Hello Kitty-branded candy and other whimsical confections. The store features gourmet chocolates that are handmade by the owners’ sister, Francine, a trained dessert chef, and offers gift baskets, products at wholesale rates and candy stations for special events.
While both sisters are passionate about their business, neither had prior experience owning a store. Nalanie works in finance and balances her full-time job with work at Coco Le Vu on weekends. Christine, who has over a decade of experience as an events planner, focuses solely on the shop. They are training staff and, Nalanie admits, “We’re learning along with them.”
The sisters went to the National Candy Expo in 2011, met with potential vendors and visited candy shops across New York City in preparation for their opening. They also gave special consideration to the location of the store.
“We originally considered Park Slope since it’s such a family-oriented neighborhood, but ultimately we decided to open in East Harlem because this is where we grew up and we still have a lot of support here,” Christine said.
While the women no longer live in the neighborhood—Nalanie lives in Midtown and Christine lives in White Plains—they still have lots of friends, former neighbors and relatives who stop in at Coco Le Vu on a regular basis. In fact, they have collaborated with other women they grew up with in East Harlem; the sisters are childhood friends with the founders of Amanesca, a catering and cooking education business, and have worked with them to host dessert-making classes for adults at the shop.
Besides drawing on support from the community, the goal of opening Coco Le Vu in East Harlem is to give back to the neighborhood, specifically the children raised there. “We want to be associated with education; we are currently working with local PTAs and some of the teachers who taught us when we were young,” said Christine.
The sisters are developing a rewards program for local students launching at their alma mater, P.S. 206. Kids who earn good grades are taken on field trips to the candy shop and are awarded the opportunity to choose from a bevy of tasty treats available there.
In addition to celebrating the academic accomplishments of local children, Coco Le Vu also serves as a venue for other types of celebration. There is a party room in the back of the store where parents can host birthday parties, starting at $25 a head.
While the sisters are thrilled by the warm reception they have received from the neighborhood, the fact that they are establishing a family business is what brings them the most pleasure.
“All of our family works here. [Our dad] would always preach, ‘Family has to stick together,’ and enforced that, as sisters, we had to look out for each other,” Christina said. Even the Milanos youngest sister, Kaylene, who is still in high school, helps out on the cash register.
For further information, visit www.cocolevu.com.