Preparations Begin for Mansion Move in Harlem

Preparations Begin for Mansion Move in Harlem
Friday, December 28, 2007, by Lockhart


Preparations Begin for Mansion Move in Harlem
Friday, December 28, 2007, by Lockhart

The Friends of St. Nicholas Park (on the Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville border) email, "Should be interesting cutting a colonial home in half and moving it across the street." Uh, yeah? The move won't happen until this spring—and the resuscitated house won't open to the public until 2009—but it's not too soon to start getting excited about this. Right? (Okay, maybe.) They've just fenced off the area of the park where the house will move, and groundbreaking is slated for January 11. · Preparations for Hamilton Grange Move Begin [Friends of St. Nicholas Park]

Posted in Manhattan: Harlem/Morningside Heights, Manhattan: Inwood/Washington Heights, Real Estate Miscellany

Comments (7 extant)

Zach
Hasn't that house already been moved about five times?

Comment #1, left at 12/28/07 04:09 PM.
Zach's stats. Zach: 19 comments, 0 followers, 0 ignores.

Larry
Why would they intentionally move it into Harlem?

Comment #2, left at 12/28/07 04:24 PM.
Larry's stats. Larry: 10 comments, 0 followers, 0 ignores.
guest
It already is in Harlem. It's being moved, basically, across the street.

Comment #3, left at 12/28/07 04:27 PM.

guest
The house was moved once already - from it's original site in Harlem ("Hamilton Heights" to be exact) a few blocks from where it sits now. Hamilton owned the whole area, and it's new home in St. Nich park is actually part of his original estate.
Comment #4, left at 12/28/07 08:52 PM.

guest
It's about time this landmark had some breathing room. Congrats!
Comment #5, left at 12:28 AM.

guest

The park itself is actually full of historical sites. (I guess that is where the Friend's call it "Harlem's Historic Green." The north part where the Grange will be moving to is part of Hamilton's original estate. The southern part contains the "Point of Rocks" where Washington stood his ground over British troops before finally retreating upstate. I believe a monument to this event is in the planning stages as well.
Comment #6, left at 11:12 AM.


Reysmont
True enough, the Hamilton Grange was moved once before and when moved to St. Nicholas it will still be within the original land owned by Alexander Hamilton.

St. Nicholas Park is located within Hamilton Heights and on the border of WestSide Harlem and Central Harlem two disticnt and separate communities.

There is a great disconformity with the move as National Parks made agreements with the Community 1i 1995 regarding the relocation and the use of the vacated site and now are claiming not to have the funds to fulfill the 1995 Agreement and the orientation of the grange house within St. Nicholas is not as originally agreed and many community leaders are in disagreement with National Parks on that issue as well.

The 1995 agreement permitted the transfer of the St. Nicholas Park land from the City to the Federal Government for the relocation of the Grange.

Community Board 9 which covers all of WestSide Harlem has taken these issue with Congressman Charles B. Rangel who originally brokered the arrangement between National Parks and the Community and funded the project.

WestSide Harlem encompasess the three historical neighborhoods of Morningside Heghts, Manhattanville and Hamilton Heights.

Sugar Hill, Vinegar Hill and Carmanville are sub-neighborhoods of Hamilton Heights.
Cathedral Heights and University Heights are sub-neighbohoods of Morningside Heights.
Manhattanville is also usually referred to as West Harlem.
Comment #7, left at 04:31 PM.
Reysmont's stats.


Reysmont
By the way I would not call the Grange House a Mansion even by today's standards and was most definitely not a Mansion when Alexander Hamilton and his wife lived in it in the late 1790's early 1800's. It was a confortable farm (grange) house.
Comment #8, left at 05:03 PM.
Reysmont's stats. Reysmont: 2 comments, 0 followers, 0 ignores.


guest
Reysmont - what disconformity are you talking about? The whole community is excited about this project. The orientation debate is ridiculous. It has taken 17 years to get to this place and all you want to do is stop it. Congressman Rangel has fought hard to secure the funds to move this house. Its current place is beyond unacceptable. But you would rather stall this progress still than move it into an open area that it deserves. Unbelievable. As for the promises made in 1995 - THAT WAS 17 YEARS AGO. Things change - like National Parks budgets.

The empty lot (so small it actually should be left vacant) should be a Hamilton Historic visitor and education center if anything.

If you are complaining about affordable housing - I can list you dozens of larger lots owned by churches that refuse to develop the land and rather leave it vacant.

Get real - be appreciative that we have someone like Charlie Rangel who finally has funded a plan to respect one of this country's founding fathers. And for once be happy about a positive thing in Harlem!
Comment #9, left at 12/29/07 09:52 PM.

getridoftheprojects
when will they put some of the massive Harlem projects on wheels and move them away from the area???
That would be a story!!!!
Comment #10, left at 12/31/07 12:56 PM.

getridoftheprojects's stats. getridoftheprojects: 13 comments, 0 followers, 0 ignores.

Reysmont
Re Comment #9 - Dear Sir or Madam you must live a very sheltered life.

CB9M and I in particular, are very appreciative and proud of our Congreesman, Chairman Rangel.

The fact is that an agreement for a consideration was made signed seal and delivered, that makes it a contract and that contract between the community and National Parks is being broken by National Parks 13 years after it was made regardless of the funding obtained by Chairman Rangel.

What is objectionable is that breach that will leave a hole in the ground on Convent Avenue and as it belongs to the Federal Government the most that will happen is that it be seeded for a lawn without further care or attention.

Perhaps some developer will get that piece of land and the empty lost next to it and erect a towner on Convent Avenue for housing the homeless or turne it into another Condo take your pick.

I personally agree that the orientation of the house in the Park is a ridiculous fight not worth the effort, but those people who feel that way have a right to express their opinions and be heard and hopefully reason will prevail.

I respect your opinion but obviously in this case you are sorely short of information.
Comment #11, left at 12:52 PM.
Reysmont's stats

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