{"value"=>"<p>Between 1947-1972, residents of Morningside Heights and surrounding neighborhoods formed a variety of organizations designed to either improve the quality of life in those communities or to prevent Columbia University and the other large institutions in the area from destroying the multiracial and diversified socioeconomic character of the neighborhood. Among the organizations that played a role in the events that occurred because of Columbia's building expansion were Morningside Heights, Inc., Morningside Renewal Council, Morningsiders United, the West Side Coalition for Morningside Park, and the Architects' Renewal Committee in Harlem.</p> <p>Morningside Heights, Inc. (MHI) was formed in 1947 by a number of institutions in Morningside Heights with the goal of preventing the perceived deterioration of the neighborhood as the population of low income residents increased, many of whom were Black and Puerto Rican, and to prevent the expansion of single room occupancy hotels (SROs). The institutions, which included Columbia University, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Interchurch Center, and St. Luke's Hospital, described their purpose as being \"to promote the improvement of Morningside Heights as an attractive residential, educational, and cultural area\". According to Christiane Collins, the ideal aspired to was that of an American suburban-like environment, draped in an academic gown, economically and culturally homogeneous, free of \"undesirables\", and implying discrimination along both economic and racial lines. In the first phase of MHI's plan, low rental housing was demolished in the 1950s and replaced with a middle income cooperative housing complex.</p> <p>The Morningside Renewal Council (MRC) was established in 1961 by the City of New York Housing and Redevelopment Board (HRB) to represent the needs and interests of the area. The Council was composed of representatives of tenant and community organizations, political associations, schools, churches, and other institutions who were responsible for formulating urban renewal plans as per the requirements of the HRB. The MRC recommended local sites for renewal projects, such as schools or low income housing. A city agency then considered the local proposals, and if they were accepted, acquired the property from the landlord for demolition. The MRC approved the surveying and planning stage of renewal and the Early Acquisition Plan (the beginning of land acquisition and demolition). In 1963, the MRC sought the rehabilitation of Morningside Park via the construction of a large Columbia University-owned gymnasium, which later became a major source of friction between Columbia and the neighborhood. According to Collins, it is not clear whether it was Parks Commissioner Robert Moses or Columbia that initiated the idea of utilizing the park as a site to construct a gym. Following a bitter spring 1968 student and community protest, Columbia finally withdrew its plans for building the gym in the park. Later, in 1970, the MRC sought to acquire Columbia-owned property to be used for urban renewal projects.</p> <p>The Morningside General Neighborhood Renewal Plan (GNRP), also developed by the HRB in 1964, encompassed an area greater than Morningside Heights. The plan supported institutional expansion, especially that of Columbia, but excluded the immediate environs of Columbia University from urban renewal projects, leaving the interests of the residents unprotected. At the request of the MRC, the GNRP was revised in 1965 to restrict Columbia's expansion. The University, however, continued to purchase scores of buildings, demolishing a large number of these structures and evicting the tenants who were predominately African American and Puerto Rican as well as the elderly and long-term residents with large families who paid low rents. Community members criticized Columbia for establishing a pattern of racial discrimination by its use of intimidation and eviction of these tenants. Columbia's urban policy appeared to be founded on destroying the interracial residential character of the neighborhood without bringing about the improvements originally envisioned by Morningside Heights, Inc. During this period more than 150 buildings were acquired and 7500 people displaced. Columbia forced tenants to vacate buildings by not supplying heat and hot water and refusing to make necessary repairs. Vacant buildings were left standing, causing safety problems, and relatively few low income housing units were constructed as compared with the number of middle class units. As a result of this situation, the MRC brought together the heterogeneous groups that included the neighborhoods of Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley (below 110 Street), and West Harlem (across Morningside Park), fostering an atmosphere of mutual rapport which began to unite these diverse communities.</p> <p>Another organization, Morningsiders United, was formed in 1964 by neighborhood residents, owners of local businesses, and members of several community organizations to \"preserve the Heights as a place to live\" and to maintain the diversified, integrated community. Its primary purposes were to defend the community against the threat posed by \"institutional encroachment\" and effect neighborhood planning that would be fair to all. Morningsiders United, in conjunction with other groups, successfully obtained a guarantee from the New York City Board of Estimate that included a fourteen block area surrounding Columbia University which was to be part of the General Neighborhood Renewal Plan. This plan called for 25% of the housing to serve families of low income, and another 25% to accommodate families of moderate income.</p> <p>The West Side Coalition for Morningside Park was formed in 1971 to oppose Columbia's expansion into the park and to plan the restoration of the abandoned gymnasium site. The Coalition was composed of community leaders and representatives from the Department of Parks and Recreation. The organization was instrumental in rallying City agencies, elected officials, and private foundations to support the efforts for the total renovation of the park. The Coalition procured a grant from the Foundation for the City which made possible a study by Lawrence Halprin and Associates, a private landscape and architecture firm with an international reputation. The Coalition also conducted a planning study, the Take Part Workshop in April 1973, which sought community participation in redesigning Morningside Park. For many years, the park had been viewed as a barrier between the Morningside Heights and West Harlem neighborhoods. Activists began to see its potential for bridging gaps between the diverse adjacent communities and for serving as a focal point for community and person-to-person interaction. The conclusions reached by the Take Part Workshop participants included the following points: that after years of neglect, the park should be properly maintained, and the natural features of the park should be utilized in the design of new facilities; the park should be shared by all communities, ethnic groups, and age groups; the negative image of the park, especially in regard to crime, was to be eliminated; and the community, along with the Department of Parks and Recreation, should take an active and sustained role in planning, improving, and maintaining the park. The results of the workshop were submitted for review to the community-at-large and to appropriate city agencies and decision-making bodies. The recommendations, however, were largely ignored.</p> <p>Members of the Architects' Renewal Committee in Harlem (ARCH) also provided leadership in the Take Part Workshop. This organization was founded in 1964 by a white architect, Richard Hatch, to provide architectural and planning services to the people of Harlem in order to make improvements in living conditions in the community. By 1966, ARCH had become a predominately Black organization. This transfer evolved out of the ideology that Black professionals and local residents must participate in the rebuilding of their own communities. Among the services provided by ARCH were: housing development to community organizations, the development of minority professionals in architecture and planning who were specifically prepared to provide services in poor communities, and initiation and development of social service facilities such as day care centers and multi-service facilities. The Black architectural team of Bond Ryder Wilson planned a design for the rehabilitation of Morningside Park, but only plans for renovating a brick field house adjacent to Morningside Avenue were approved.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>This series documents a wide variety of activist organizations that worked for the development of Morningside Heights and Morningside Park. The Architects' Renewal Committee in Harlem (ARCH) records encompass planning studies, memoranda to members, reports, correspondence, articles, flyers, and news clippings regarding its efforts to plan for the renovation of Morningside Park in conjunction with Lawrence Halprin and Associates, and a report about legal action taken against the Morningside Hotel, an SRO.</p> <p>The records of the Take-Park Workshop, which was co-sponsored by the West Harlem Coalition for Morningside Park and ARCH, include readings, a workbook, and a report enumerating participants' recommendations to renovate the park. Additional records of the West Harlem Coalition include minutes of meetings held with the community planning boards and correspondence with member Bob McKay and local politicians regarding a feasibility and design study. Other material represented in this series include the Morningside Heights General Neighborhood Renewal Plan, under the auspices of the City of New York Housing and Redevelopment Board (consisting of reports, proposals for use of the neighborhood, and news clippings), and Morningsiders United (memoranda and printed matter concerning the maintenance of residential buildings and opposition to Columbia's encroachment and control of the neighborhood). There is also a planning and design workbook for community participation sponsored by Princeton University.</p>"}