New York City is honoring tennis legend Althea Gibson with a street renaming on what would have been her 95th birthday. West 143rd Street between Malcom X and Adam Clayton Powell Junior boulevards in Harlem will now be known as Althea Gibson way.
Watch the story below:
New York City real estate companies' attempts to rename a Harlem neighborhood "SoHa" have enraged long-time residents of the historically black enclave, who say the move erases the community's rich cultural history.
The neighborhood served as home and inspiration to generations of leading African Americans, including activists W.E.B. Du Bois and Malcolm X, who dubbed it "Seventh Heaven." Artists such as poet Langston Hughes and singers Harry Belafonte and Ella Fitzgerald also lived there.
The "SoHa" name, echoing the high-priced, largely white Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo in lower Manhattan, has begun appearing in real estate listings for apartments located between 110th Street and 125th Street, and Realtor Keller Williams boasts a "SoHa Team" of agents on its website.
Keller Williams did not respond to a request for comment.
Harlem's U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat vowed to introduce a House resolution to protect Harlem from being renamed.
Espaillat said the congressional resolution he plans to introduce this week "supports imposing limitations on the ability to change the name of a neighborhood based on economic gain."
"I along with leaders and constituents of this community stand united to vigorously oppose the renaming Harlem in yet another sanctioned gentrification," he said in an email. "This is an incredibly insulting attempt to disown Harlem's longtime residents, legacy, and culture."
Jamie McShane, a spokesman for the Real Estate Board of New York, an industry association, said the group supports existing state regulations, which prohibit real estate brokers from using "a name to describe an area that would be misleading to the public."
Harlem is not the only historically black U.S. neighborhood to have its image challenged by eager real estate agents. Further north, parts of the South Bronx have been christened the "Piano District," a reference to its former instrument manufacturing base.
Read more: Move to rename Harlem neighborhood sparks outrage over erasing black history
Tuesday is Primary Day in New York, and one of the biggest congressional races is for the 13th District. For the first time since 1971, Charles Rangel won't be on the ballot as he is finally retiring after more than four decades in Congress.
Now nine candidates are running for his seat in a district that goes from Harlem though Washington Heights and into the Bronx.
After 46 years in Congress, Rangel says the man to follow in his footsteps is New York Assemblyman Keith Wright.
Combs announced Monday that the Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School will open in the fall. Watch the story below.
*As of the time of the post 5:34 AM EST Adriano Espaillat has yet to concede.
[SOURCE: NY DAILY NEWS] Rep. Charles Rangel, the Lion of Harlem, roared one last time Tuesday night, beating back a fierce challenge from state Sen. Adriano Espaillat to win a 23rd and final term in Congress.
With 100% of the precincts reporting, Rangel had 47.4% of the vote to 43.6% for Espaillat, a margin of about 1,800 ballots in the 13th District Democratic Primary.
African American Reports reached out to the campaign of NY Congressman Charles Rangel on this busy primary day to ask why voters should support the 21 term congressman again. The campaign made the statement below:
I need you to vote for me today so that I can keep working with President Obama for the final two years of his administration. There's so much to do: raising the minimum wage, creating jobs, building more affordable housing, passing the DREAM Act and immigration reform and protecting the Affordable Care Act. I've been a leader on all of those, standing up against Tea Party Republicans who want our President to fail, and we still need a champion for our values.
It's been humbling enjoying the endorsements of fellow elected leaders including Governor Cuomo, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Public Advocate Tish James and so many of my colleagues in Congress. I've been honored to gain the support of unions, the Daily News and friends like you. It's reminded me just how much we need strong leadership that delivers for our communities.
But those expressions of support aren't enough: what I really need is your vote today.
Charles Rangel's website http://www.charlierangel.org/meet_charlie
It was Rep. Charles Rangel's turn to speak in a debate against two rivals hoping to end the New York Democrat's 44-year congressional career. Instead of addressing the audience, though, the 84-year-old Rangel casually picked up his phone, pretended to take a call and mocked his opponents in a folksy, conversational voice as they sat seething beside him.
It was classic Rangel, using humor and hubris while trying to undermine his much younger and less experienced challengers: State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, 59, and the Rev. Michael Walrond Jr., 41, a Harlem pastor. But the audience laughter that Rangel drew for his make-believe phone chat may not translate to voter support, which Rangel sorely needs if he is to overcome threats in Tuesday's primary.
In a double dose of bad news for Rangel this week, the New York Times on Thursday endorsed Espaillat, who ran against Rangel in 2012; and Mayor Bill de Blasio pointedly refused to endorse anyone, denying Rangel the powerful mayoral nod that he had enjoyed under former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
Read more: Rep. Charles Rangel, 84, tries humor to fend off younger challengers
