For some longtime West Harlem tenants, 131st Street in Manhattanville is just a shadow of its former self.
With several auto mechanics surrounded by post-industrial buildings, the street sports but a few remaining relics of its past. Now, one of the block’s persistent tenants may soon be permanently saying its goodbyes to 131st.
The Hint House Artist Collective, located in the footprint of the University’s campus expansion plan in Manhattanville on 131st, west of Broadway, could soon be relocated by the University to another location in the Manhattanville neighborhood. But negotiations between the University and the Collective remain strained, as details surrounding the status of Hint House and its prospective future location remain unclear.
Hint House, a gallery that has provided performance and studio space for around 40 artists for the past 12 years, received a notice of termination from the University, its landlord, about two months ago. The notification ended the gallery’s lease on Jan. 31—a move which visual artist Tamara Gayer, one of the Hint House’s organizers and a Community Board 9 member, said came as a shock.
Despite the notice, Gayer said they have not officially moved out yet, because the University has not taken any actions to take over the space.
“I actually totally didn’t expect it,” Gayer said. “I think everyone in the area had relaxed a little bit ... and then all of a sudden this happens.”
But given Hint House’s contractual agreement with the University, some say this move should not have come as a surprise. Hint House is “on a month-to-month lease until the University requires the space,” Columbia spokesperson Victoria Benitez said. This means that the three-story brownstone that houses the Collective is University-owned, and as the landlord, it can end the Hint House’s lease at anytime, as long as it gives proper notification.
University officials said that they have been engaged in ongoing negotiations with Gayer for quite some time, and have been working to great lengths to assist her in relocation.
“We can confirm Hint House’s statement that we have been working to achieve a win-win resolution that allows Hint House to relocate to other convenient University-owned space nearby, since the demolition process … must move forward,” the University said in a statement.
Gayer responded that as of this week, “The situation has been going downhill.” She said that the University had presented her with an alternative location at one point, but then withdrew, and recently suggested a different space that did not meet the Collective’s needs.
Though the University declined to comment on specifics of the negotiation, spokespeople said the University will continue to work through negotiations with Gayer, pointing to Columbia’s Manhattanville planning website, which says that it is, “committed to supporting and building on the historical and economically important arts and culture aspects of Harlem.”
Meanwhile, Gayer is also facing some internal conflicts within CB9.
When Gayer received the notice of termination, she attempted to solicit support from fellow CB9 members, to mixed success. She and several other CB9 members sought to receive priority from the University when it allocates 5,000 gross square feet to local artists as part of its Community Benefits Agreement, a memorandum signed by the West Harlem Local Development Corporation and the University which details how funds for the neighborhood will be allocated.
Gayer wanted to pass two resolutions—CB recommendations of action—granting the Hint House priority to arts space: one to go to the University and one to the LDC. A resolution to the LDC passed at the January full board meeting, but amid strong opposition—strong enough that she decided not to even bring up the second resolution to the University.
“I couldn’t believe how belligerent and nasty they were,” Co-Chair of the Arts and Culture Committee Diane Wilson said, referring to community board members who vocally opposed the resolutions. “I think there was a prejudice against Tamara because she’s been outspoken throughout the Columbia battle, and I also think that arts and culture issues are always historically relegated to the backburner.”
Arts and Culture Committee member Christa Giesecke , agreed, saying, “These questions were clearly personal because none of these types of questions have ever been asked by anyone else.”
But other members said such opposition was warranted in light of Gayer not fully disclosing critical details about the Hint House.
“There are certain standards that community boards have to follow, one of which is that we cannot support an individual who’s a member of our community board—that’s a conflict of interest,” CB9 member Savona Bailey-McClain said.
Bailey-McClain and others also asserted that the Hint House is not a legitimate organization in the sense that it is not a 501(c)(3) or a registered business, and that Gayer failed to disclose details such as the number of members in the Collective and its types of projects.
“Some of the questions resulted from a lack of familiarity with the subject, as voiced at the CB9 meeting,” CB9 chair Pat Jones said. “Members had various issues—some related to the lack of familiarly with the group, the legal standing of the collective, and its visibility in the West Harlem community.”
Ultimately, it could be a long time before the University even allocates arts space. The University said in its recent statement, “It is premature to speculate on the artists’ space provisions in the General Project Plan and Community Benefits Agreement.”
kim.kirschenbaum@columbiaspectator.com
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