25 units had to be called in to put a two-alarm fire that ignited inside a Harlem firehouse last night. Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries and the firefighters who usually man Engine 80 Ladder 23 had to be reassigned elsewhere following the blaze that FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief James Manahan said was started by faulty wiring that's over 100-years old. A resident near the W. 139th Street firehouse told NY1, "I'm very worried because this......

Photo: Bridgeport Seasoning Harlem's M&G Diner—the “Old Fashion’ But Good!” soul food spot on 125th—closed for summer vacation earlier this year, and never reopened. Elsewhere, Charles’ Southern Style Kitchen racked up a significant amount of critical violation points in an inspection last month. The restaurant closed to correct them, but hasn’t reopened since and disconnected their phone. “The current economic downturn seems to be hitting Harlem businesses particularly hard,” notes City Room. “On some......

Three people were shot in Harlem last night around 10:00 p.m. outside the subway station at 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. An NYPD spokesperson tells WABC that two women and a man were wounded; the women suffered graze wounds and the male victim—who is believed to be the intended target—was shot in the leg. Apparently, the two women did not know the man and were caught in the crossfire....

Politicker NY's Azi Paybarah was on the scene at 134th in Harlem when Representative Charles Rangel and his wife Alma went to vote at 6 a.m. and reports Rangel was thrilled with the line: "This is beautiful. This is exciting.. Who would have thought it? I've never seen anything like this." Rangel, who also said he was confident with Barack Obama's chances, was also overheard saying, "Those Europeans never thought the slaves would be in......

A Harlem woman was arrested yesterday after fatally stabbing the father of her 2-year-old son on Halloween. Adele Louis stabbed Darryl Taylor inside her apartment Friday afternoon. Taylor had come over to pick up his son, dressed as Batman, and take him trick-or-treating when the altercation broke out. Apparently Louis was set off by Taylor not purchasing a winter coat for their son, Daryl Jr. Earlier in the day, Taylor's mother says that Louis had......

PropertyShark analyzed Harlem condo sales data, finding a 76% drop in sales between third quarter 2008 and 3Q 2007. Oddly enough, prices increased 3% in 3Q 2008 vs. 3Q 2007. The Observer remarks upon "oversaturation in the Harlem condo market," and PropertyShark CEO Bill Staniford says, "This almost looks like a complete crash; prices are going to have to drop." However, there could be a bright side: The "possibility of substantial Harlem and East Harlem......

A fire ripped through a brownstone on West 122nd Street next Lenox Avenue last night. Four residents were rescued, with firefighters knocking out windows on the the third and fourth floors, but an 85-year-old man died. At least one of the survivors went into cardiac arrest. The FDNY told Fox 5 that it started in a 2nd floor kitchen; a witness added that the flames were incredibly red and that it was amazing anyone survived.......

19-year-old David Diaz (pictured here with his former girlfriend) recently moved from Harlem to the Bronx, but on the last night of his life he was palling around with friends in his old neighborhood, tossing eggs off a roof on West 135th Street. When one of their targets headed up on the roof to confront the teens—wielding a knife according to one report—the youths scattered. The Daily News says that Diaz, his right arm in......

Yesterday the City Council gave the go-ahead for a $700 million redevelopment plan between 125th and 127th Streets and between Third and Second Avenues in East Harlem. According to the NY Times, the "1.7-million-square-foot project includes office and retail space, a small hotel, a cultural center, open space and 800 apartments, 600 of which will be set aside for families with low and moderate incomes." There are seven developers involved with the project, including General......

NYC the Blog details a mugging on 145h Street in Harlem. When a man was leaving the subway station, one person grabbed his iPhone, a second assailant tried to steal his wallet, and a third punched him and punched him again when he was lying on the ground. Luckily, a passer-by yelled, called the police (the perps fled) and helped the victim. The passer-by also asked, "I thought this area was getting better?" but the......

Upon outrage over news that he occupied four rent-stabilized apartments, Representative Charles Rangel said in July he would give up one used as a campaign office. Now, two and a half months later, Rangel's campaign office is still at Lenox Terrace, according to the NY Post. A lawyer for Rangel, who pays $630/month while the unit's market value is $1,700-2,005 (and rent stabilization only applies to residential use), says, "The campaign identified a new office......

After a two-day delay, the mainstream dailies are finally reporting on Harlem's violent Sunday night, which saw police helicopters, plainclothes cops and myriad squad cars flooding the neighborhood in response to shootings that left six hospitalized. The incidents occurred after the African American Day Parade. According to Cop in the Hood, "The parade ended in the afternoon. The tough kids come out at night. Between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., people were walking around with......

For over a year now, chickens have been mysteriously gathering on a vacant lot on 125th Street in Harlem and hanging out on the sidewalk. Corey Kilgannon over at the Times investigates, and a construction worker tells him, “This crazy guy keeps buying them from the market — some animal-right guy, but I think he’s messed up in the head — and he keeps leaving them here. He thinks he’s saving them, but it’s not......

The "First Black President" and the first black presidential candidate will reportedly meet on Thursday at Bill Clinton's Harlem offices. Newsday reports that Clinton extended the invitation to Obama, "signaling another step toward party unity as the race for the White House intensifies." Clinton was accused of making racist remarks when wife Hillary was running against Obama, and he gave a speech at the DNC emphasizing Obama is ready to be president. Maybe they will......

Yesterday afternoon, around 4 p.m., a 63-year-old woman was shot in the leg near 112th Street and Third Avenue. WABC 7 reports, "Police say the 63-year-old victim was shot once in the leg by a bullet intended for another target." While the victim did not have life-threatening injuries, unfortunately daylight shootings with bystanders caught in the crossfire are not uncommon: Last month, two 60-something women were shot when they stepped out of a building on......

After a teenaged boy was shot dead Friday night on West 144th Street in Harlem, the police are now offering a $12,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of his killer. The Daily News reports that Scotty Scott, 13, was on his way to buy sneakers, but stopped to chat with friends playing dice and apparently got caught in some gunfire. The two other teens who were wounded are not cooperating......

A 13-year-old boy was shot dead in Harlem last night. Around 7:30, Scotty Scott was shot in the chest and stomach and died instantly in front of an apartment on 144th Street off of Malcom X Boulevard. Two other teenagers were shot and wounded. Both are hospitalized in stable condition. Police do not have a motive or any suspects, but witnesses said the shooter and the victims were just having an ordinary argument before the......

Some more info about 23-year-old missing school teacher, Hannah Upp, who works at Thurgood Marshall Academy in Harlem. WNBC reports police want the public's help in finding her. A source says cops "don't suspect foul play" since "she may have been unhappy in her job," though many close to her say she was looking forward to the school year. Her brother told ABC that she "isn't some naive small-town girl off to the big city......

Earlier this year, subway conductor Maurice Parks was coming off his shift when he was attacked by a group of men in Harlem. A skilled martial arts experts, Parks managed to defend himself and in the frenzy, stabbed someone he thought was an attacker--but it turned out to be a bystander who may have been trying to help. Now Parks has been arrested and charged with the bystander's murder. The NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said,......

Reader Yojimbot offers some photographs and perspective on the Sunday afternoon shooting where two 63-year-old women were injured on St. Nicholas Avenue near West 113th Street. On his blog Harlem Hybrid, he writes, "This is the 4th mass shooting of the Summer of '08, and it is only by the Grace of God, that no one has been killed yet as a result. It was this latest round, which took place on Sunday at 2pm......

Yesterday at 2:30 p.m., two women leaving an apartment building on St. Nicholas Avenue near West 113th Street were shot when they were caught in the crossfire. The Daily News reports that investigators think two shooters "firing at each other" across St. Nicholas; Donna Davis, who was hit in the buttocks, said they ran and hid between parked cars (her sister-in-law was hit in the neck). One neighbor told WABC 7, "We've had a couple......

Back in January, it was reported Major League Baseball's new TV network would be the anchor tenant at a planned 21-story glass skyscraper on 125th Street and Park Avenue. Then last month, the skyscraper was reportedly undergoing some changes, since developer Vornado was having trouble securing financing. Now, it looks like there's more trouble, as the NY Times says the plan has started to "unravel," because Vornado wants MLB to "take additional space and pay......

Photos by Spencer T Tucker/NYC.gov Late New York composer and Broadway writer Richard Rodgers became world-renowned, but as The NY Post notes, "never forgot his Harlem roots." Yesterday his family donated $1 million to restore the neglected bandshell at Marcus Garvey Park, and as Bloomberg reminded everyone at a press conference--Rodgers also donated the original funds (to the tune of $150,000) to build the facility in 1970. The city has also put forth $4......

Annette Mateo appears to have been one toke over the line last night when she allegedly carjacked an NYPD van and took it for a joyride that almost immediately became devoid of joy. According to the Post, Mateo had gone to file an unspecified complaint at a police station in Harlem and became frustrated with the lackadaisical response from officers there. Storming out of the building at 9:40 p.m., she came upon two rookie cops......

Last October, a faulty gas line caused an explosion in a Harlem apartment building. The explosion killed a woman and severely burned her four daughters, who have been in hospital burn units. Yesterday, six-year-ld Duaa Al Ghaithi was the last of the girls to return home, after many months of rehab (she will need many more years of therapy). According to NY1, she "wears a head-to-toe compression garment 23 hours a day" which also includes......

There goes the neighborhood? Some Harlem residents are distressed at a sudden “epidemic” of Smart Cars parked around the ‘hood. One blogger even came out of retirement to marvel at the sight of a Smart Car parked on the street; apparently it’s a symbol of gentrification on steroids and proof that Harlem is “over.” But at least one commenter on Harlem Fur isn’t having it: “I am a teacher who moved to Harlem last year......

Earlier this year the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee voted 10 to 1 on a proposal that would create a loan program for displaced small businesses. Now NY1 is reporting that the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Company is offering $750,000 in loans to the dozens of "businesses being uprooted by a controversial rezoning plan." The businesses being forced off of 125th Street can now apply for the no-interest loans. According to locals there are around......

After midnight, a shooting outside 41 West 129th Street wounded four people. According to WABC 7, a group of four people had "walked up to...the victims, who were in front of the building--and opened fire." A man is in serious but stable condition while two men and one women are in stable condition. WNBC reports, "Officers said they are having a hard time gathering information because the victims won't reveal details about the crime."......

The once rosy relationship between Harlem and Bill Clinton may have soured significantly due to some of the tenser moments spawned from the drawn out primary battle between his wife Hilary and Barack Obama. The NY Times has a piece today about black residents still harboring a grudge against the former president who has kept an office in Harlem since 2001. After several highly publicized comments during the campaign from Mr. Clinton that were perceived......

Yesterday, elected officials marched and held a rally over reports of police officers drove an unmarked police car with a black doll's head affixed to the antenna. State Senator Bill Perkins said, "We wanted an apology and we were given an excuse. We wanted an investigation and we got ‘It was a prank.' Without both an investigation and public apology for this demeaning, disgusting and racist action, the distrust between the Harlem community and police......