Local Pols And Community Members Rally Against Harlem Truck Depot

HARLEM, NY — Harlem elected officials, union workers, and other uptown community members rallied Wednesday against a controversial truck depot that opened last month on 145th Street and Lenox. The group called instead to find an agreed upon path forward in building new affordable housing in the neighborhood.

The much-maligned truck depot opened around a month ago on the Harlem block once slated to hold a massive residential development called One45.

The rally and press conference was led by Assembly Member Al Taylor, who was joined by State Senator Cordell Cleare, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and the District Council of Carpenters.

"This truck stop hurts us all and needs to stop now," Taylor said during the event. "Instead, let’s forge a new path that puts our people first, that creates deeply affordable housing where our working families can put down their roots and build up our futures, and which enhances instead of hurts our neighborhood communities.”

The group urged for the "immediate cessation of dangerous truck stop operations" and called for stakeholders around the One45 project to come engage in meaningful dialogue to "forge a path forward."

The truck stop can hold up to 200 vehicles depending on their size.

The site's developer Bruce Teitelbaum, voluntarily withdrew the original rezoning plan in May 2022 rather than it be rejected by the City Council. However, he announced on Feb. 2 that he was recommencing the project under the new name One45 Harlem for ALL.

The new plans call for 915 new homes, 50 percent of which (458 specifically) will be income-targeted "affordable apartments."

Teitelbaum told Patch that he was "mindful" of people's concerns over the new truck lot.

"We are mindful of our neighbors concerns about the truck lot, which we do not discount and take very seriously," he said. "The last thing we want to do is use any portion of the property as a truck lot."

"Once Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan sidetracked our plans we had no choice but to pivot and re-purpose the site which is how we ended up with the truck lot and unless something changes or someone steps in to save the day, the truck lot will remain," Teitelbaum added.

Teitelbaum put his focus on Jordan, and while she was one of the most vocal opponents of the original One45 rezoning plan and new truck stop, she was also joined by Harlem Community Board 10, and hundreds of Harlem residents who voted and voiced their opposition against the development.

On the other side of the debate, members of the influential labor unions 32BJ and Local 79 both held rallies in support of the original One45 project in May 2022.

In terms of Wednesday's press conference led by Taylor, the subjects of the new One45 Harlem for ALL development plan and truck stop situation are expected to be leading issues in the upcoming Democratic Primary for City Council District 9.

Jordan is the incumbent, but Taylor has announced he is going to run against her, along with longtime Assembly Member Inez Dickens and Yusef Salaam of the exonerated Central Park 5.

“I fully support the efforts of Assembly Member Taylor to end the truck stop charade and bring the community together around a new model of social housing for our residents," Harlem State Senator Cleare said during Wednesday's news conference.

While Dickens was not at the Wednesday rally, her office did not miss the opportunity to put out a statement on the same day about her opposition to the truck stop.

"I do not support the truck stop at 145th Street," Dickens said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. "It is a terrible idea that is detrimental to our environment and quality of life."

"A truck stop in Harlem, which would never even be suggested in a white-majority neighborhood, is a slap in the face to our black families who already suffer from some of the highest asthma related hospitalizations due to air pollution," she added.

Read More:

• Civil Rights Museum Replaced With Affordable Homes In New One45 Plan
• Harlem's One45 Rezoning Advances To City Council, Setting Up Showdown
• Harlem's One45 Project Thrown Into Confusion As Sharpton Wavers
• Harlem's One45 Project Rejected By BP Over Affordability Concerns
• Harlem Board Rejects One45 Development, But Battle Continues
• Big-Rig Truck Depot Officially Opens In Harlem At Proposed One45 Site