Harlem African Burial Ground Development Approved By City Council

EAST HARLEM, NY — The New York City Council approved zoning applications for a massive development on an East Harlem site home to the former 126th Street bus depot and a 17th century African burial ground, the city Economic Development Corporation announced Wednesday.

The City Council vote will rezone the entire block of West 126th Street between First and Second avenues to accommodate a development containing up to 655,215 square feet of residential space, 315,000 square feet of commercial space, 30,000 square feet of community space and 18,000 square feet dedicated to an outdoor memorial on the site of a former african burial ground dating back to the 17th century, city officials said.

Including parking, the entire development would span 1,090,215 square feet, according to an Environmental Impact Statement.

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"Today’s City Council approval paves the way for NYCEDC to create a memorial that will honor the historic contribution of African-Americans to East Harlem and our city’s history, while also bringing much-needed affordable housing and jobs to the East Harlem community," EDC President and CEO James Patchett said in a statement.

An estimated 80 percent of the apartment units constructed in the development will be offered at below-market prices, and EDC spokesman said. The EDC announced in March that 20 percent of the new units will be offered at "deep" affordability. Those units will be offered at 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), or an annual income of $24,500 for a family of three, officials said.

The development — which the EDC has dubbed the "126th Street African Burial Ground Memorial and Mixed-Use Project" — has been in the works since 2015 when the city formed The Harlem African Burial Ground Task Force and Bus Depot Task Force to create a proposal that would both honor the site's history and meet the housing and jobs needs of East Harlem, according to the city EDC.

Photo by Google Maps street view