Journalist Editor Photographer
Journalist, Editor, Photogrpher
Plum Guide Selection
Short Term Apartment Rental
We are a journalist and cinematographer, part of the New Harlem Renaissance, who have restored a gracious 19th century brownstone to luxury standards. We’ve renovated our ground floor guest flat with the same high end finishes as our home above: custom cherry cabinetry, honed granite counters, shining hardwood floors, original artwork, exposed brick walls and two decorative fireplaces. In this 600 square foot loft style floor through we’ve installed new stainless steel appliances, offer copious closet space, and have added conveniences that we ourselves appreciate while away from home such as a clothes washing machine and dryer, microwave, coffee makers, toaster over, cable TV with premium movie channels include HBO, blazing fast WiFi Internet, DVD player, linens, dishes, glassware, pots and pans.
See a video at http://youtube.com/watch?v=WUa922VSQdU
We have three beds to accommodate four people: Two double beds (one a convertible futon couch) and one single.
We are fully air conditioned with two air conditioners and two fans. Guests control the heating.
There’s a food market right across the street, the cupboards are filled with staples such as coffee, tea, fruit, condiments, cookies along with cereal, juice and milk for the first few days’ breakfast so there’s no need to rush out shopping. You can arrive with little more than a toothbrush and a change of clothes.
Accessibility: The apartment is just three steps down with no interior stairs, accessible to seniors and people with somewhat limited mobility.
Location: We’re a five-minute walk from a number of subway lines: A, B, C, D, 2 and 3. The A and D trains are one express stop from Columbus Circle in midtown and Times Square is 20 minutes door to door. The M10 bus, which runs down Manhattan’s West Side stops 20 meters away on the corner of 8th Avenue and the M2 bus, which runs down Fifth Avenue along Museum Mile, stops at the other end of our block. Subways, buses and taxis run 24 hours a day. Yankee stadium is 20 minutes away via public transport.
Harlem Culture: Both historic and ahead of the curve, this neighborhood is best suited to young-spirited culture mavens. Our all brownstone block is in the heart of one of New York’s most intriguing emerging neighborhoods: Celebrity chefs have created a restaurant row on Lenox Avenue including Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster, and the Hipster Corridor is just down the street along Frederick Douglas Blvd. We’re also surrounded by Harlem icons like Charles Pan Fried Chicken (right across the street) and rootsy inexpensive restaurants serving Caribbean, Latino, American Southern and African cuisine. This neighborhood of historic brownstones, some built by acclaimed architects such as McKim, Mead and White, is bursting with jazz haunts, including a no-sign neighborhood secret just a few doors away.
Amenities
· Guide to local activities, restaurant and services with maps
· Air conditioning and heating controlled by guests
· Washing machine and dryer with laundry soap provided
· WiFi Internet access Broadband very fast, both wireless and hardwire
· Basic soaps provided
· Hair Dryer
· Iron and ironing board
· All linens and towels provided
· All paper products provided including paper towels and bathroom tissue
· All dishes and cooking utensils provided
· Full kitchen includes full size gas stove and oven, full size refrigerator and freezer, and an array of appliances including two coffee makers, microwave, toaster oven
· Full bathroom including toilet, tub and shower
· Bedding: one double bed, mattress and box spring; one double size fold out futon couch; one single bed on request
· Apartment is stocked with all basic pantry items and refrigerator is filled with a selection of snacks, breakfast for several days and of course a bottle of wine!
· Street parking with alternate side of the street regulations and reasonably priced garages
· Entertainment items include: TV with premium cable channels including HBO, books (specializing in entertainment subjects), CD and DVD player, DVD library, radio, DVD dock
Suitability
· Ideal for couples and families with small children
· Good for people with limited mobility (not wheelchair accessible)
· Minimum age of principal renter 25 years
· Absolutely NO SMOKING in or near the apartment
· Apartment can accommodate four people
Exceptional Local Attractions
· Lively restaurant scene: Celebrity chefs, indie chefs, mom and pop ethnic restaurants
· Remarkable jazz scene: Live jazz spots on nearly every street including one a few doors down from the apartment
· Churches with Sunday gospel services
· Historic architecture
· Museums
· Libraries
· Parks
· Columbia University
· Local festivals
Conveniences nearby
· Supermarkets and gourmet shops
· Banks
· Drugstores
· Medical services and hospital
· Fitness centers
· Central Park 15 minute walk
Neighborhood Highlights
Restaurants
Celebrity Haunt
Red Rooster. (Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson) 310 Lenox Ave. Between 125-126 (212) 792-9001. redroosterharlem.com Trendy soul food.
Harlem Classic
Charles Pan-Fried Kitchen. 2461 Frederick Douglass Blvd at 132nd street. Phone: (212) 281 1800. This Harlem classic has just reopened right across the street. Greaseless fried chicken, fall-off-the-bone barbecued ribs, meaty oxtails, pork chops smothered in peppery brown gravy. Prices are extraordinarily low: one fried chicken dinner priced at less than $12. ---which includes two side dishes like collard greets and mac and cheese, plus corn bread --- was enough for two. Hours: Monday through Saturday 11am to 2am, Sunday noon – 10pm.
Architecture
Striver’s Row: 138th and 139th Streets, a five minute walk from our flat, are two of New York’s most ravishing brownstone blocks. Many of these century- old homes were built by the renowned architects McKim, Mead & White, the firm that designed the Harvard Club, the first Madison Square Garden and the arch in Washington Square Park.
Convent Avenue south of 145th Street. This broad avenue north of the City College campus (on the other side of St. Nicholas Park) has large mansion like Georgian and Queen Anne style homes. The area receives its name of Hamilton Heights as it was once a farm belonging to founding father Alexander Hamilton.
Museums/Galleries
Studio Museum of Harlem. 144 West 125th St. 212-864-4500. www.studiomuseum.org
Origin of the Broadway Musical. Hamilton Grange. 5 minutes walk. Newly reopened. www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm In Saint Nicholas Park, 414 West 141st Street, between Convent Avenue and St.Nicholas Avenue. A Founding Father’s Harlem estate. From humble beginnings as an orphan in the Caribbean island of Nevis, Alexander Hamilton became George Washington's right hand man. The Grange has stood in three locations in its 200+ year history. Hours: Wednesday through Saturday year round except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Days. The visitor center (bookstore, exhibits, restrooms) open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitation to the historically furnished floor is limited to a maximum of 15 people at a time. Visitors have two options for visiting the historically furnished rooms: A Ranger-guided tour and talk scheduled for 10 a.m., 11 am., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The second is a relatively self- guided experience where visitors can view the rooms at their own pace with a Park Ranger nearby to answer questions. Scheduled for two 1-hour periods, 12-1:00:p.m. and 3-4 p.m. Free
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 515 Malcolm X Boulevard. (212) 491-2200. Park of New York Public Library. www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html
Museum for African Art www.africanart.org/ 1280 Fifth Ave., at 110th St.; 718-784-7700 75,000 square foot space in a new Robert A.M. Stern–designed luxury residential tower on Fifth Avenue. The 75,000-square-foot space
El Museo del Barrio. www.elmuseo.org 1230 5th Avenue New York, NY 10029 (212) 831-7272. Beyond the ravishing art collection you’ll find one of the hippest crowds in New York. Artisan jewelry in the gift shop
Music/Jazz
Harlem Nights. 2361 7th Avenue at 138th Street. Hours: Sunday through Thursday 4pm – 2am, Friday and Saturday 4pm – 4am. One of the buzziest new openings in Harlem, this stylish bar/lounge has live music six nights a week, 8pm – 11pm, no cover charge. Each night has a specialty. Right now the lineup includes: Tuesday – acoustic; Wednesday Latin; Thursday – modern jazz, Friday – pop cover band; Sunday – classical jazz, Monday – open mike, poetry. Saturday there’s a DJ. Just like our home, this space has been artistically restored, stripped down to its original brick walls and tile floors, smartly repurposing elegant piping as banisters and hanging antique shutters on the walls for character. Happy Hour 4pm – 8pm brings discounts on a superb selection of craft beers and imaginative cocktails like the Harlem Sizzle: tequila, fresh lime, jalapeno, infused with agave syrup. The homey but light menu Lunazul includes personal pies like the Buffalo Soldier with roasted free range chicken and blue cheese sauce $8, and hardwood smoked wings $6 www.harlemnights.com
Apollo Theatre. 243 West 125th Street. 212-531-5305. www.apollotheater.org
American Legion Hall. 248 West 132nd St. (Halfway down the block on the same side of the street as our house.) Musicians jam on the ground floor Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from around 7 – 10 pm. Other nights, DJ. No cover, soul food buffet and inexpensive drinks. Some jazz aficionados say it’s the best place in the city.
Ginny’s Supper Club. (Downstairs at Red Rooster) www.ginnyssupperclub.com 310 Lenox Ave Manhattan, NY 10027 (212) 421-3821. Soignée Old Harlem style cabaret.
Shrine. 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd nr. 134th St. shrinenyc.com 4pm to 4 am 212-690- 7807 Afro-beat, calypso, and roots-reggae as well as traditional jazz and American funk staples with an occasional dip into newer, rockier waters. A back kitchen offers Mediterranean platters, chicken kebabs, and Jerusalem Toast (toast with olive paste, feta cheese, tomato, and zaatar)
Churches
Many Harlem churches have Sunday morning gospel services open to the public.
Abyssinian Baptist. 132-142 West 138th St. Rev. Dr. Adam Clayton Powell www.abyssinian.org Go on Wednesday night for a more intimate and authentic experience.
Mother A.M.E. Zion. 140–148 West 137th St. Its former downtown location was part of the Underground Railroad.
First Corinthian Baptist Church. 1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (116th street) Housed in a 1913 building that was once the Regent Theater. Welcomes international visitors. http://www.fcbcnyc.org/im-new-here/international-visitors http://www.fcbcnyc.org/
Mount Olivet Baptist. 201 Lenox Ave. Built as a synagogue in 1907 for the neighborhood’s founding German-Jews. www.mtolivetbaptist-oh.org
Cathedral of St. John the Divine. World’s largest Gothic cathedral on Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street. Tel: 212 316-7490 Tours: 212 932-7347 www.stjohndivine.org
Nearby Greater Zion Hill Baptist. Homey Sunday morning gospel service. 2365 Frederick Douglass Blvd. at 127th St. Tel: 212 864-5744.
