One45 Harlem Site To Get Community Center In April, Developer Says

HARLEM, NY — The developers behind the newly named "One45 Harlem 4All" plan will open a community center at the 145th Street site next month that will operate while the larger rezoning's approval process plays out, the One45 development team told Patch.

The community center, which is expected to open around April 9 for an unspecified amount of time in a vacant lot at the corner of 145th Street, will operate as a social services hub that will distribute food, clothing and other supplies, developers said.

The hub's official name will be the "One45 Harlem4All-Community Assistance Center."

"We are donating the use of a large portion of our site, including several vacant stores and will pay for the build-out costs to create a social services hub right here in Central Harlem, that will be used on a temporary basis where food, clothing and other supplies will be distributed to those in need, no matter who they are or where they are from," the development team said in a joint statement shared with Patch.

"Now that pandemic-era SNAP benefits are being cut the problem of food insecurity will only worsen and we want to help," the statement added. "The Center-which is open free to the public-will also provide referral and counseling services."

The statement emphasized that the center will remain open for the time being until a final approval decision was reached on the most recent rendition of the One45 rezoning plan, but Teitelbaum, the developer, told Patch that he "cannot see" it being a permanent part of the current site if the rezoning is not approved.

He did not specify whether or not the community center would remain if the rezoning did get approved by the city.

Community members planning to journey to the soon-to-open social services hub will have to pass by a controversial truck depot that is currently fully operational at the site, along with a pharmacy and storage facility that the site's owner has opened since the original One45 plan was pulled in May 2022.

The incoming community center will be operated and staffed by Rev. Walter Sotelo of the nonprofit Love Kitchen, and activist Adama Bah, according to the One45 Harlem 4All development team.

Other nonprofits and social service providers will also be invited to work in the community center, but are not yet specified.

“This community center is desperately needed, especially now when so many people can use a helping hand," Walter and Bah said in a joint statement shared by the development team. "We are very grateful to Bruce (Teitelbaum) and his development team who kindly offered us the use of his site and are designing, building & paying for its construction and operation."

Background On The New 145th Street Rezoning Plan

The first look at plans for the most recent rendition of One45 — a yet-to-be built Harlem development that's already amassed a long history of dramatics and controversy — were revealed at a Community Board 10 meeting two weeks ago.

The new plans to build 915 apartments still include two towers at the corner of West 145th Street and Lenox Avenue, 27 and 31-stories, but now there will be a smaller eight-story building in between that will be for senior and supportive housing.

The smaller "Building 2" is replacing the Civil Rights Museum originally planned for in the first One45 development, but which was scrapped after Rev. Al Sharpton pulled the proposal in May 2022.

Teitelbaum filed a pre-application at the end of January with his latest plans to rezone 145th Street, which he had previously pulled at the end of May 2022 shortly before the City Council was set to vote on it.

The new rendition of the plan will again have to make its way through the city's public review process for rezoning, which includes votes and statements from the City Planning Commission, Manhattan Borough President, City Council, and Harlem Community Board 10.

The plan to build the community center on the One45 site was first reported by the New York Daily News.