Harlem's Famed Striver's Row Caught In Legal Battle Over Gates

HARLEM, NY — Leaders of Harlem's famed Striver's Row district are caught up in a legal battle with their neighbors over a set of gates that were recently installed near the landmarked rowhouses — but residents say the lawsuit is simply payback for years' worth of disagreements.

"It's very disrespectful," said C. Virginia Fields, the former Manhattan borough president who now leads the 138th Street Block Association — one of four groups facing the suit brought by the owners of two adjacent buildings.

Last month, four neighborhood groups made up of owners of the picturesque Striver's Row brownstones were sued in Manhattan Supreme Court by the owners of 272 West 139th St. and 273 West 138th St. — a pair of four-story buildings that abut Striver's Row, facing Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

Earlier this winter, Striver's Row residents hired a contractor to install the metal gates across a driveway that runs between the neighbors' buildings and into the Striver's Row complex. The new gates had been approved by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission last year, intended to replace a previous, damaged gate that had spanned the driveway for decades, according to a letter sent by the Striver's attorney to the next-door owners.

Another issue was also in play, however: vehicles associated with the next-door owners "regularly park in this driveway," violating an agreement between the two groups, according to the letter.

But the next-door owners say it's the other way around, alleging that ownership of the driveway is "in dispute" and that the Striver's residents "routinely park vehicles" there, disrupting garbage collection.

In late March, the next-door owners filed suit against the Striver's Row block associations, accusing them of trespassing and damaging their buildings while installing the gates. The owners are asking for monetary damages, as well as a judge's order forcing the Striver's groups to remove the new gate.

The next-door owners are not identified in the suit, but public records show the two buildings are owned by H&Y Properties, a New Jersey-based firm.

The Striver's owners say the lawsuit is nonsensical, noting that they warned H&Y in writing months before installing the gates. An easement document dating to 1894 between the two properties specifies that the driveway and gate are controlled by the Striver's Row owners, according to court filings from their attorneys.

Fields, meanwhile, believes the lawsuit stems from previous disputes between her group and H&Y. She pointed to a 2017 case when Striver's Row residents vigorously opposed a proposal to relocate a U.S. Post Office branch from West 140th Street over to H&Y's buildings on Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

Amid harsh pushback from other groups like Community Board 10, that planned move has failed to materialize — but bitterness remains, according to Fields.

For now, a judge has ordered the Striver's Row groups to give H&Y a set of keys to unlock the new gate, along with a stipulation that the gate remain locked while not in use, according to Fields. The legal case remains ongoing, with Striver's owners scheduled to appear in court next week.

Fields told Patch she remains troubled by her next-door neighbors' "disregard" for the historic Striver's Row complex, and the careful planning that went into the recent repair work.

"It’s not something that we just got up one day and said, 'Let’s put up these gates,'" she said.