{"id":5351,"date":"2025-04-23T17:10:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T21:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weact.org\/?post_type=program&#038;p=5351"},"modified":"2025-06-04T16:49:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T20:49:40","slug":"east-125th-street-community-visioning-action-plan","status":"publish","type":"program","link":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/programs\/east-125th-street-community-visioning-action-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"East 125th Street Community Visioning Action Plan"},"template":"","class_list":["post-5351","program","type-program","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","program_tax-east-125th-street-community-visioning-action-plan"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":5115,"program_type":false,"abstract":""},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_hero_links","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_hero_links":{"title":"","abstract":"","links":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"East Harlem \/ El Barrio\u2019s 125th Street corridor boasts the natural assets of a world-class cultural, business, and transportation center that could anchor good jobs, small businesses, green public spaces, and other services for the people who live, work, and visit the area. But instead of serving community needs, the area currently struggles to stay afloat.\r\n\r\nYears of neglect, disinvestment, and short-sighted planning from the public and private sectors have stifled opportunity, undermined living standards, and allowed severe racial, economic, and environmental disparities to proliferate. In tandem, East 125th Street property owners have kept an alarming 25 percent of the storefronts vacant<sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0while they hold out for the market to turn in their favor. As a result, East Harlem \u2013 and the East 125th Street area in particular \u2013 have been locked in a downward spiral that has produced some of the city\u2019s worst levels of asthma, unemployment, food insecurity, homelessness, climate vulnerability, and more.\r\n\r\nNow as the Second Avenue Subway Phase II project advances, outside landlords and investors are scrambling to take advantage of New York\u2019s next real estate goldmine. Together with the 2017 East Harlem rezoning and federal \u201copportunity zone\u201d tax breaks, the subway extension is enabling a low-road development model that rewards displacement and puts the future of the corridor and community into the hands of developers. With the tallest construction ceiling to date, an expanded target market of new subway riders, and rising property values all promising top-dollar payoffs, developers have a highly attractive incentive to invest in developments that are out-of-reach and out-of-character for the existing community. Long celebrated as one of New York City\u2019s last bastions of affordability and Latino culture, East Harlem \/ El Barrio is at risk of losing that distinction.\r\n<h5>What if development decisions were made based on a commitment to social impact, shared prosperity, and community voice, rather than narrow outside interests? How might we use transit-oriented growth to spur resources and attention to community concerns, enhance local assets and wealth, and improve quality of life, particularly, for the low-income, people of color who have long called the area home?<\/h5>\r\n<img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5494\" src=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/THhero640-300x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" \/>With these questions in mind, and with support from WE ACT for Environmental Justice, East Harlem community members and stakeholders began coming together to build a big-picture vision for the East 125th Street corridor in September 2017. Since then, we have grown from 11 people at an initial meeting to a community planning platform that has engaged more than 400 residents, transit riders, employees, small business owners, neighborhood activists, and government leaders from throughout El Barrio. We knew that the Second Avenue Subway expansion along with the rezoning and opportunity zones represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the neighborhood. But without a community-led framework this opportunity would be squandered on the same model of development that has historically failed East Harlem and continues to fail low- and moderate-income communities across the city.\r\n\r\nAfter more than a year of community planning and research, we have created a detailed community vision plan that outlines a range of interlocking strategies and recommendations to transform the area. As City and State leaders continue to double down on commitments to climate change, aging infrastructure, public transportation, affordable housing, and economic development, the moment is right to take bold action on these issues and support a vision for an equitable and sustainable future in East Harlem. This plan serves as a guide to achieving that.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/East-125th-Street-Community-Visioning-Action-Plan-FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Download the East 125th Street Community Plan<\/strong><\/a> (PDF file)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/opinion\/ny-oped-attack-climate-change-for-communities-of-color-20210812-mw6y2sdrxzcr7i3tu26qnlin5q-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the New York Daily News Op-Ed on the Disparate Environmental Impacts<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/opinion\/ny-oped-how-a-revitalized-transit-hub-can-strengthen-east-harlem-20211124-qelghoo5nvduziw6s4sewgpnsu-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the New York Daily News Op-Ed on the Need for an East Harlem Transit Hub<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weact.org\/2019\/04\/second-avenue-subway-presents-opportunity-to-address-environmental-and-economic-issues-in-east-harlem-el-barrio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Read the Press Release<\/strong><\/a> (link)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/patch.com\/new-york\/harlem\/second-ave-subway-presents-opportunity-risk-e-harlem-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Read the Coverage in Patch<\/strong><\/a> (link)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harlemworldmagazine.com\/second-ave-subway-could-bring-new-opportunities-for-east-125th-street-in-harlem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Read the Coverage in Harlem World Magazine<\/strong><\/a> (link)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crainsnewyork.com\/who-owns-block\/east-125th-street-gets-boost-ahead-second-avenue-subway-extension\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read the Coverage in Crain's NY Business<\/a><\/strong> (link)<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>WE ACT would like to thank the following for their support with this initiative:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The Institute of International Education Inc.<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>And we would like to thank all of our partners and participants in this initiative:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Ascendant Neighborhood Development<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Community Voices Heard<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CIVITAS<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">East Harlem Talent Network<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">East Harlem Tutorial Program<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Exodus Transitional Community<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Harlem Neighborhood Block Association (HNBA)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Hi-ARTS<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Landmark East Harlem<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">LenoxFive 127th Street Block Association<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">LSA Family Health Service<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Manhattan Community Board 11<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Marcus Garvey Park Alliance<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Mayor\u2019s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New Harlem East Merchants Association (NHEMA)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York City Councilmember Diana Ayala<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York City Councilmember Bill Perkins<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York City Department of City Planning<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York City Department of Transportation (DOT)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York City Human Resources Administration\/ Department of Homeless Services<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York City Police Department \u2013 25th Precinct<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York Community Trust<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Capital Construction<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Metro- North Railroad<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York Metropolitan Transportation Council<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York State Assembly Member Robert J. Rodriguez<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">New York State Senator Jose M. Serrano<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Northern Manhattan Collaborative<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Picture the Homeless<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Tri-State Transportation Campaign<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">TWU Local 100<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Strive International<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Youth Action YouthBuild<\/p>\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5495\" src=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/WEACT125_88-640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" \/>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<sup>1<\/sup>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www1.nyc.gov\/assets\/sbs\/downloads\/pdf\/neighborhoods\/n360-cdna-east-harlem.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NYC Department of Small Business Services East Harlem Commercial District Needs Assessment, Page 10<\/a>)","include_drop_cap":false}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>East 125th Street Community Visioning Action Plan - 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