A row of brownstones in Strivers’ Row, on north side of 139th Street. This weekend, homeowners in the famed Harlem neighborhood are holding public house tours. (ROBERT SABO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Big Hair, Don’t Care – Harlem Filmmaker Making Movie That Begs Women To Go With The ‘Fro
From NYDN: “Rhadamés Julián is working on a hybrid-documentary to untangle the experiences women have had with chemical relaxers, perms and other processes to change the look and texture of their locks.
“I want my film to make people think,” he said. “What I’m saying is, Hey, take a leap of faith and go back to your natural state, and see what happens.”
Julián and his four-person team began working on the project in March. In the film, titled “Follicle: People of color, identity and the barriers that lie in between,” he interviews women from South Africa and the U.S.
Famed Jazz Venue Minton’s Playhouse To Reopen As Restaurant And Lounge
From NYDN: “Minton’s was really the home of be-bop and jazz legends like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis,” explains the spot’s chef de cuisine Banks White, who did time in Michelin-starred restaurants on the west coast before moving here for this project. “The building has been vacant for quite some time; Richard Parsons and Alexander Smalls took the initiative to revamp the space.”
Black Preachers Want Rev. Al Sharpton OUT Of Harlem
From NYDN: “Speak Out Say It Loud, headquartered at Mount Neboh Baptist Church on Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., is a new coalition of black ministers determined to create a unified African-American power base with citywide clout.Green, along with pastors Carl Washington of New Mount Zion Baptist Church on W. 140th St., Kris Erskine of Bethany Baptist Church on W. 153rd St. and Patrick Young of First Baptist Church of East Elmhurst, Queens, has planned a large rally for Oct. 24 at Mount Neboh.”
Affordable Housing Development From Absynnian Development Corporation Stalled Due To Lack Of Funds
From NYDN: “The 8-story building between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Blvds. was slated to be completed by Jan. 9, but that date now seems hopelessly optimistic. With construction halted, a third of the block is closed off, frustrating drivers looking for spots. Worse, residents of another Abyssinian building on W. 124th St. were promised apartments in the new building.
“They told me I would get to move into the new building,” said Margarita Perez, 45, who has three children with special needs and currently lives in a cramped two-bedroom apartment on 124th St. “(Now) I don’t know when. It’s important for my kids.”