Harlem Truck Depot To Open Despite Borough Prez Pushback: Developer

HARLEM, NY — A controversial truck depot will open in Harlem this week despite opposition from the Manhattan Borough President, who took to Twitter over the weekend to decry new plans for the site of the defeated One45 complex, developer Bruce Teitelbaum told Patch.

Teitelbaum told Patch Tuesday the Borough President's call to rezoning action wasn't going to stop him from opening the 200 truck-capacity depot by the end of the week on West 145th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and Lenox Avenue.

"Levine's latest expression of support for One45 notwithstanding, nothing has practically changed," Teitelbaum said. "I mean, what's the point of restarting a totally unpredictable process under the circumstances?"

Teitelbaum confirmed his plans two days after Mark Levine, Harlem's former City Council representative, reiterated worry about the environmental impact of the truck stop and the need for affordable community housing in a Tweet thread.

"This will worsen air quality in a neighborhood that already has high asthma rates due to decades of environmental racism," Levine wrote. "We can't let this stand."

Levine's call to action — days before the truck stop is expected to open — comes about a year after he issued a recommendation that the city reject the two-tower rezoning unless developers came through with more affordable housing options and committed to a slew of other community improvements.

The final plan ultimately did meet Levine's demand that 50 percent of the unit be affordable but Teitelbaum — facing a likely down vote from City Council — pulled the plan in May 2022.

A spokesperson from Levine's office told Patch that the elected official has not reached out to Teitelbaum in the days after the truck-stop opposition Twitter thread.

Months later, Teitelbaum told Patch he'd install a big rig truck stop instead.

"The alternative of allowing this site to languish in the heart of Harlem—or worse, to remain a truck depot—is absolutely unacceptable," Levine wrote Sunday, months after the announcement. "We need to act now."

On Tuesday, Teitelbaum placed the blame for the truck stop on Harlem Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan, who opposed the project on the grounds it would contribute to gentrification and displace Black and low-income residents.

"Levine is preaching to the choir that does not include Council Member Richardson Jordan," Teitelbaum told Patch. "She remains the problem and the reason why a truck and storage depot are coming to Harlem, not hundreds of deeply affordable income-restricted homes."

For her part, Richardson Jordon blames state officials who allowed Teitelbaum to install the controversial truck stop within months of announcing it.

"New York State should not authorize the business license of an environmentally hazardous business in an environmentally protected area," the City Council member said.

"This developer needs to fall in line with everyone else as we have set new standards to keep Harlem Harlem."

These concerns are not the Council Member's alone.

With truck stops known for their noise and filth, many Harlemites reacted with dismay to news of the depot, noting that the neighborhood already has above-average rates of childhood asthma and pollution.

This is part of the reason that One45's defeat, celebrated by many in Harlem, was condemned by others who said the development would have helped alleviate the city's desperate housing shortage.

But supporters note Richardson Jordan has thrown her support behind four other planned affordable housing projects in various stages of development in Harlem.

"The narrative seems to be that KRJ is against any housing developments in Harlem," reads a news release from the Fortune Society, who is working alongside Richardson Jordan on a development at 107-111 East 123rd St.

"This is completely untrue. The Councilwoman is in full support of creating green spaces that uplift the current residents of Harlem, and will not contribute to gentrification."

Read More:

• Truck Depot On Harlem's One45 Site Almost Ready, Developer Says
• Harlem's One45 Site To Host Big-Rig Truck Depot, Developer Says