Meeting 1990

My experience with 1990 Lexington Avenue began during the heat-wave in late July, 2006. My recently found roommate and I had callously left ourselves with only a few weeks to find a new apartment before our present lease in Bedford-Stuyvesant expired. He, a green teacher in the Bronx and myself, a greener construction project assistant in Midtown, immediately set our sights on upper-Manhattan. Craigslist yielded an ad for an apartment on Adam Clayton Powell and another, boasting a great view, on Lexington Avenue. After a long, hard day in the construction trade, my roommate and I rendezvoused with a real estate broker on 125th street.
Racing down the corridor from 125th to 122nd we passed a smattering of homeless people, raucous youths and your everyday, upstanding Harlemites. After a few months of residing in BedStuy and working in Manhattan, nothing phased me. The broker, however, was talking fast and walking faster. Part of me perceived it as aggressive salesmanship, but his wavering tone and trembling hands, which fumbled around for the correct key to open the main door to the brick tower, lead be to believe otherwise. Upon entering the lobby of 1990, my first thought was of a being in a run-down school building. The tan-latex-paint-covered bricks in the lobby and the brown elevator doors looked like remnants of what was once considered modern architecture by public sector standards.
Upon stepping out of the elevator on the 33rd floor, the aesthetics remained consistent with the lobby. The temperature had risen about 20 degrees, bringing the Fahrenheit reading to triple-digits. We raced for the rightmost corridor and found ourselves at a brown door surrounded by more tan-painted brickwork. The door opened to a fairly large living area (by Manhattan standards) and a sliding glass door which separated the living room from a long and narrow terrace.
By the time the four of us returned into the apartment after witnessing the view of all of East Harlem, Queens, the South Bronx and the Upper East Side of Manhattan, we were all but sold. A quick inspection of the two bedrooms introduced us to a walk-in closet, shoddy sheetrock and more tan paint. According to the real estate agent, the bedrooms would be upgraded to wall-to-wall carpeting and the living room would have “wood” flooring installed. The kitchen already had brand new black appliances and beautiful wood cabinetry.
After a brief viewing of the apartment on Adam Clayton Powell, we opted for the 33rd story 2-bedroom on the top floor of 1990 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10035.

What is 1990 Lexington Ave?

What is 1990 Lexington Ave?

1990 Lexington Avenue, more commonly referred to as “Nineteen-ninety” by residents, is an East Harlem high-rise, constructed in 1974 [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=1990lexingtonavenuenue-newyorkcity-ny-usa] This red brick structure towers over Lexington avenue between 121st and 122nd streets—a short distance between New York’s Harlem and East River. While most of Manhattan is inundated with high-rise structures, they are few and far between in the uptown region of Harlem. In fact, with the exception of three towers along 1st avenue (adjacent to the East River) and the quadrant of the four Taino Towers (found between 3rd and 2nd avenues/122nd to 123rd streets), 1990 is the only other building in East Harlem to exceed 18 stories.

Standing 33 stories tall, with spectacular views of Manhattan, Central Park, Yankee Stadium, Randall’s Island, the East River and Upper East Side, and of course Harlem, this building is the length of a city block. Its red brick facing covers a solid steel construction, which somehow dampers any vibration from the Lexington Avenue subway line above which it is firmly planted. Like an oak tree in a forest of ferns, this scraper exudes an unwavering, utilitarian prowess. A monolith to a tough neighborhood with even tougher construction, 1990 will outlive many of its past and present tenants.

During the poverty and crime of the 1970s, the need for affordable housing hit Harlem harder than most any other neighborhood in America. 1990 was built to fill this very void. An alternative to the myriad housing projects of that surrounding area (of which there are dozens), 1990 Lexington Ave boasted large living spaces, high-rise architecture and best of all terraces. With a Section 8 voucher and some luck, tenants could look down their noses (literally) at the rest of the city who were subjected to sky-rocketing rents and defunct, decrepit living conditions. Furthermore, the modernity of the building post-dated steam heat, allowing for electric baseboard systems to be installed in every room of every apartment. Even air conditioner sleeves were spaced appropriately in all rooms. For the tenants, who were primarily all low-income, the fact that all utilities were included allowed for a very comfortable urban lifestyle. In short, the infestations, the scorching heat or bitter cold, the ubiquity of urban decay, was something that could have very easily been shut out of 1990 Lexington Avenue.

Introduction

The purpose of this site (at present, I believe that all writing is an evolving process) is threefold:

First, to flesh out my experience of living in 1990 Lexington Avenue for two years.
Second, to tie this experience in with the experience of others, in order to chronicle some of the gentrification that is pouring across the streets of Harlem during the mid 2000s.

Third, to archive some of my own personal experiences in an effort to lay the groundwork for a more grandiose project.

Welcome all! I hope you find this site informative, useful for your own personal interests and even controversial.