MMPCIA’s 2nd Annual Midsummer Membership Picnic is now Thursday, July 15, from 6 to 9 PM. The location has also changed. See below.

A strong neighborhood voice is important to Central Harlem. MMPCIA has continues to be that irrepressible squeaky wheel that the police, politicians and NYC Commissioners listen to with a bit of trepidation.

MMPCIA’s place as an advocate for the neighborhood in Harlem continues to solidify. Our impact on the revitalization and preservation issues of our community is directly attributable to the strength of our Membership–those stakeholders who understand that it takes time, talent and treasure to stay strong and relevant.

It is in appreciation of these friends and neighbors that MMPCIA is hosting its 2nd Annual A Midsummer Night’s Picnic in the Park. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s easy to walk the streets of Central Harlem these days and observe all the preservation, renovations, new construction and new businesses that look like they could be in SoHo and wonder, “Wow, what’s next!?”

That’s what inspired the theme of this year’s Annual House Tour: Harlem. What’s Now. What’s New. What’s Next!

Don’t miss this day full of history & inspiration:

11 AM to 4 PM: Follow the Self-Guided Tour of Homes at your leisure. Guests will visit 12 venues including inside brownstone homes, urban live/work apartments, boutique art galleries, a landmark church, the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque, and the landmark jazz club, Minton’s Playhouse.

1 PM and 3 PM: Join the Architectural Walking Tour and explore this neighborhood rich with architectural detail and history with preservationist, historian and Harlem resident, John Reddick.

1:30 PM: Join the Marcus Garvey Park Walking Tour and see such park landmarks as the Amphitheater built–and soon to undergo an upgrade and restoration–with funds provided by the City of New York and Broadway legend and former resident, Richard Rodgers Family Foundation, and the Fire Watchtower on top of the Acropolis, which, at 153 years old, is the only surviving structure of its kind in New York City–with a view to die for!

12 Noon and 2 PM: New this year--Go Inside & Intimate in Historic Harlem with Harlem’s preeminent historian and preservationist, Michael Henry Adams, the author of Harlem Lost and Found. You’ll explore inside three extraordinary houses in the Mount Morris Park Historic District that are not on the regular tour and ordinarily strictly private. Group size is limited. This 1.5 hour walk requires a separate ticket which may be purchased at the Tour Start. Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin McGruder

On Thursday, May 6, from 6:30-8 PM, MMPCIA welcomes Harlem scholar Kevin McGruder as its speaker for Mount Morris Talks! – a series of conversations between the community and leaders, news makers, authors and thinkers who live in the Harlem area.

Kevin McGruder’s involvement in the Harlem community has spanned a broad spectrum: as an entrepreneur in Harlem-themed businesses; in work for a non-profit providing arts education; in real estate development; and as an advocate for gay men of African descent.

He’s now looking forward to June, when he will receive his doctorate in history from the City University of New York. His dissertation, “Race and Real Estate: Interracial Conflict and Coexistence in Harlem, 1890-1920,” uses real estate transaction to explore the complexity of interracial interactions during the period when Harlem’s black population grew dramatically.

While quick to point out that 2010 is a very different time than 1910, McGruder sees some mirror images today as Harlem’s racial and ethnic makeup evolves. Regardless of the time period, one thing remains constant: Harlem is a unique and decidedly special place.

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Tuesday, April 20, from 6:30 to 9 pm, MMPCIA is hosting its second annual Spring Wine Tasting Evening — aka Spring Membership Drive.

Dean and Dwayne with Madison Avenue Wines, 1793 Madison Avenue @ E118 St, will pour a selection of new wines to sample, appreciate — and buy a bottle or two.

Bring your credit card, cash or checkbook and support our local business while tasting what’s new from the vine, sampling hors d’oeuvres from Ristorante Settepani and cupcakes from Tonnie’s Minis, and enjoying a Spring evening with friends and neighbors.


Admission is free for MMPCIA members; $10 for guests. We are offering a Get to Know Us discount membership for first-time joiners. Maybe now’s the time to get involved in your neighborhood. Join or renew today.

Venue: Chrissy & Russell Nance, 66 West 120th Street. (No high heels, please!)

A Votre Sante!

Curtis Archer

MMPCIA welcomes Curtis Archer, President of the Harlem Community Development Corporation and a resident of the Mount Morris Park community as speaker at the April  Mount Morris Talks—Thursday, April 8, 6:30 to 8 PM.

Curtis LeRoy Archer, a native New Yorker, was born in the Bronx, attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, and then went on to attended Mercy College, as a double major in Sociology and Criminal Justice. In 1983, Curtis attended Columbia University as a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science.

In 1989, Curtis began his career in community development, being hired by the New York City Office of Business Development. This agency later became known as the New York City Department of Business Services  under Mayor David Dinkins. Working for DBS gave Curtis a sense as to how the city operated and how communities were revitalized.  It also gave him a real taste for a career, which could be a uniquely satisfying public service, in the field of community and economic development.

Please join us for what is sure to be an interesting evening with neighbor Curtis Archer, Thursday, April 8, from 6:30 to 8 PM at the Harlem Branch of the New York Public Library, Community Room 3rd floor, 9 West 124th Street.

MMPCIA is proud to sponsor this series and offers it free of charge to the community.

March is Women’s History Month—a time specifically set aside to celebrate the achievements and the impact that women have made on the world. We are proud to welcome Leah Abraham and Beatrice Sibblies, two dedicated and highly accomplished women from our own community, as our guests at the March Mount Morris Talks—Thursday, March 4, 6:30 to 8 PM.

Leah Abraham

Leah Abraham is the co-owner of Ristorante Settepani, which she opened in Harlem 10 years ago with her husband, Nino Settepani. A native of Ethiopia, Leah has been part of the New York City culinary scene for more than 15 years.  Her multicultural perspective, her graciousness and her entrepreneurial spirit have come together on the corner of Lenox Avenue to give Harlem one of its most popular upscale meeting places.

Settepani has come to embody Leah’s belief in the power of community and the importance of family. In celebration of their 10 year anniversary, Settepani’s new spring menu will emphasize locally grown food and healthier eating.

Jamel Joseph

On Thursday, February 4, from 6:30-8:00 PM, MMPCIA welcomes filmmaker and educator Jamal Joseph as its speaker for Mount Morris Talks! — a series of conversations between the community and leaders, news makers, artists, authors and thinkers who live in the Harlem area.

When Jamal Joseph urges young people to grow, heal, come together or reinvent themselves through the arts and education, he’s speaking from some pretty compelling first-hand experience.

These days Joseph is recognized as chair of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program, co-founder and executive artistic director of the IMPACT Repertory Theatre of Harlem, executive artistic director of the New Heritage Theatre Group and an Oscar nominee, to name just a few highlights.

He was directing theater back in the ’80s, too — a prison theater, which he established while serving time at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, KS, for harboring a fugitive in a fatal armored car robbery.

It was that time in federal prison, Joseph says, combined with his experiences in the Black Panther Party, that became the fire forging his creative sword and launched him into a lifetime spent helping others learn, share and grow through the arts. While in prison he earned two college degrees, wrote five plays and two volumes of poetry, and founded a theater company that brought together prisoners who’d previously been divided by race, culture and beliefs.

After his release from prison he started teaching, and eventually became a professor at Columbia — the same university where as a 15-year-old he’d been part of the big protests of 1968.

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MMPCIA's first scholarship winner, Christian Myers-Roach

New annual award totaling $4,000 honors college-bound Harlem high school seniors who succeed in school and help the community through service.

Christian Myers-Roach struggled a bit when he started high school at Thurgood Marshall Academy. But before long he found his footing_rooted in a desire to help people in his community and a growing talent for leadership and inspiring others.

His hard work and potential impressed the Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association, which honored Myers-Roach with its first college scholarship. He’s using the $1,000 renewable award to help finance his education at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

“Christian is a diligent and zealous individual who has overcome a great deal of struggle,” Thurgood Marshall Academy math teacher John D. Johnson said in recommending Myers-Roach. “He realizes that college is an opportunity for him to be successful and return to the community to give back. Christian’s commitment to excellence and wanting to ‘better himself’ are exemplified through his willingness to go above and beyond what is required of him.” Read the rest of this entry »

Craig S. Harris

On Thursday, January 14, from 6:30-8:00 PM, MMPCIA is proud to begin our 2010 series of Mount Morris Talks! with a visit with Craig S. Harris, world-renowned jazz trombonist who for three decades has shared his distinctive talent and take on the African-American music vocabulary with a global audience.

A born collaborator, Craig Harris has created and performed with such jazz greats as Sun Ra, Sam Rivers, Lester Bowie, Abdullah Ibrahim, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Jaki Byard, Cecil Taylor and Muhal Richard Abrams.

Although his career is clearly rooted in the world of progressive jazz, he has successfully branched out into multimedia and performance art as composer, performer, conceptualist, curator and artistic director. He has blended his musical talent and innovation with that of other musicians and vocalists in and out of the jazz world as well as with the words of acclaimed poets and the works of world-class choreographers.

One of his most prolific collaborations has been with the poet Sekou Sundiata, beginning with their collaboration on the acclaimed praise poem The Circle Unbroken Is a Hard Bop, which opened at Aaron Davis Hall in 1992, then went on to win the theater world’s prestigious Bessie Award and garner honors for both Sundiata and Harris as writer and composer, respectively.

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We want to be first on your holiday calendar! Tuesday, December 8, the Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association will gather with friends, neighbors and supporters to ring in the season and celebrate its 2nd Annual Holiday Gala & Fund Raiser.

The Holiday Gala & Fund Raiser is one of MMPCIA’s important fund raising efforts. Proceeds support the Scholarship Award given in June to a Harlem High School senior on her/his way to college; the Harlem Library; the Rice High School Student Tuition Fund; provide toys for the holidays to children in need; and help support the organization’s other community efforts set forth in its annual goals.

The Oline Auction Ends at 9PM Monday, 12/7! You can still join the fun today by logging on to MMPCIA’s Online Silent Auction! Click here and you’ll find how easy it is to find special gift items for yourself–or significant others–from Dinners for Two at local restaurants, gift certificates, collectibles and fashion items, to Harlem Renaissance artwork from established and up-and-coming Harlem artists, weekends away, and more.

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