Officially, the Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association (MMPOA) incorporated in 1981. Prior to incorporation, committed residents like Patricia Pates-Eaton, Hilda Stokely, Olive and Julius Adams, Harold Dolly, and Dr. Thelma Adair to name a few, joined forces to develop and preserve the neighborhood’s historically significant landmarks, affordable housing stock, park infrastructure, and promote public safety.
Proposed, Mount Morris Park District by NYC Landmarks Commission
Blurb: Unofficially, the Mount Morris Park neighborhood was vigilant and active for decades. Committed residents like Hilda Stokely were very instrumental in securing landmark status for the Fire Watch Tower in Marcus Garvey Park in 1967.
(Harold Dolly, Dr. Thelma Adair and others picketed, protested and succeeded in foiling (in the late ‘60s and ‘70s and again in the mid- ‘80s) the State’s taking of nine brownstones on Mount Morris Park West for a home for wayward boys, a drug rehab facility and finally an extension of the prison on the corner. The result—in 1971 the buildings were landmarked, and Mount Morris Park was designated New York City’s 18th Historic District.
The park was created in 1840 and was originally named for Robert Morris, then the mayor of New York City. It was renamed after black activist and businessman Marcus Garvey in 1973.
In 1970, the Community Thing and other activist groups suggested naming the park for Marcus Garvey, a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, activist for black nationalism, and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). They also asked that a portion of the newly built recreation center contain a Garvey Museum.[2] That August, the African Nationalist Activist Movement called for a Marcus Garvey Day celebration, and The New York Times noted that the park was already being “called Garvey Memorial Park by some persons.”[3] More than 1,000 people reportedly attended the celebration in the park.[4] The NYC City Council voted to officially rename the park to Marcus Garvey Memorial Park in 1973.
Patricia Pates-Eaton
Officially, the Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association (MMPCIA) began in 1981, when Patricia Pates-Eaton, Harold Dolly and others organized a meeting of neighbors to address the improvement of the quality of life in the area in and around the Mount Morris Park Historic District. The organizers firmly believed in the “Squeaky-Wheel-Gets–the-Grease” Theory.
One of the founders of MMPCIA, Patricia Pates-Eaton, recalls finding out about the state’s idea to add a drug treatment center where the “Ruins” were. The ruins were former brownstones that had slowly been destroyed over the years due to lack of care. When Patricia heard they were adding a drug center where the ruins where she said “And I said no, we can’t do that. You know, we can’t have an institution of that sort there. And we also had a jail sitting on the corner. So, you know, we managed to get our group together and we began to fight on those fronts”. Adding a drug treatment center to the community would take away from what the community was trying to fix, which is the perception that mount Morris Park was a bad place to be in. So, MMPCIA began one of their first important actions as an improvement association by protesting the construction of the treatment center and looked to return the ruins back into beautiful brownstone houses. MMPCIA fought for a very long time to get the state to release the property back to mount Morris Park. Finally, after many long years NY state released the Ruins to the Harlem Urban Development Corporation, which allowed them to restore the ruins to their former glory. In 2002 the ruins were finally transformed into architecturally acclaimed condominiums and are now a staple in the Mount Morris Park community.
Over the decades, we’ve seen us change from a struggling but determined group of residents to a beautiful and thriving community.
One thing that’s remained constant, however, is the character of our neighborhood. That’s what we showcase each year in our house tour.
This is character that takes many forms. It’s the character of the long-time residents who were determined to take Harlem through another, more lasting renaissance. It’s the historic character of original architecture that homeowners maintained as they revitalized brownstones. It’s the character that landlords and tenants have “decorated in” to new construction.
And it’s the characters themselves that call Mount Morris home, adding color and vivacity to an already-exuberant neighborhood. Wherever it comes from, each this year, we say Welcome.
The Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association, which led the lobbying effort that convinced lawmakers that closing the prison would spur the The Ruins’ rehabilitation.
MMPCIA has granted select high school students in historic Harlem with scholarships to defray the cost of attending college. The MMPCIA Harlem Scholars have attended a range of schools, including Morehouse College, Amherst College, Hampton University and the University of Southern California.
MMPCIA began awarding local high school seniors $1000 per year to help with college tuition.
The $4000 stipends are awarded to students in need of financial aid. The scholarship has been handed out to 12 recipients. The 2015 recipient, Jeannine Joseph stated “knowing that I have a community behind me definitely motivates me to achieve much success during my college career”.
These safety improvements included granite blocks, planters, new signage, and a new painted sidewalk extension.
Over the decades, we’ve seen us change from a struggling but determined group of residents to a beautiful and thriving community.
For almost four decades MMPCIA, has continued its stewardship of the Mount Morris area and Marcus Garvey Park. The members of MMPCIA were the catalyst for returning the park to its beauty. At their urging, in 1986 under the leadership of then Manhattan Borough Commissioner Patrick Pomposello, $1 million was put into the Parks Department budget to develop a master plan for restoring the park, which included landscaping the east side while restoring the amphitheater and the city’s only remaining Fire Watchtower.
The Mount Morris Park Watchtower first went into service in 1857. Watchtowers were used to watch for fires, warning of danger by ringing the bell. Eventually becoming obsolete due to technological advances, they decayed overtime. The watchtower was given landmark status in 1967 and listed on the national register of historic places in 1976. Although the watchtower was kept intact due to its landmark status, it needed restoration. Roof damage allowed water into the structure, rusting structural components. The original copper roof deteriorated and fell off, exposing the interior to more damage. Many of the internal steps were missing and park visitors could no longer visit the structure.
In 2013, Syderia Asberry-Chresfield and Laurent Delly, MMPCIA’s president and vice president at the time, spearheaded the fundraising efforts to restore the Fire Watchtower after years of deterioration. Partnering with the Department of Parks and Recreation and others, the initial $4 million was raised to restore the historic cast iron structure, which was dismantled in 2015 and returned to the public today, October 26, 2019.
