Cracks in foundation leave residents of an East Harlem building hanging

Credit: Chine Labbe

Rose Sylvester, 48, says she fears for her life. For the past year, she has been watching the vertical cracks running from the basement to the roof of her apartment’s building, fearful that it would collapse.

“I’m letting the building speak for itself,” she said, while offering a guided tour of her home, at 8 East 110^th Street, off Fifth Avenue, in East Harlem. “Just look.”

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Care for seniors presents unique problems

By Frances McInnis
September 1, 2009

On a Friday afternoon in late August, fifty or so people sat at picnic tables and in folding chairs under the trees in Riverbank State Park. They ate fried chicken and arroz con gandules, a Puerto Rican rice dish. A few young girls jumped double-dutch, the rhythmic thwap of the ropes against the pavement punctuating the hip hop and salsa music emerging from a large boom-box. It was a day to relax for the clients and staff of Iris House, an AIDS Service Center with offices in East and Central Harlem. Read the full story

A Harlem grandmother fights for a decent place to live

By Frances McInnis
October 10, 2009_

Marie Miranda, 58, sits outside her apartment building on 117th Street. Photo Credit: Frances McInnis

Marie Miranda, 58, calls herself a troublemaker. She doesn’t look like one, sitting in the sun on the seat of her walker, partially disabled by arthritis and osteoporosis, wearing a shimmering black tank top, silver earrings and pink lipstick. But, when she imagines herself in her landlord’s shoes, she pronounces with certainty, “I would hate me.” Read the full story

By Chine Labbe
October 22, 2009