The building said to have birthed Hip Hop dodged near foreclosure this week, due to a New York City program that will aid some of the city’s failing buildings. Located on 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the complex, which DJ Kool Herc first spun records in, was bought out in 2008 and left neglected by new developers. However, the program has already committed $3 million to restore the 102-unit building, and to keep prices down for residents.
Mayor Mike Bloomberg, with the significant help of Councilwoman Helen Foster, Speaker Christine Quinn, and other elected officials, launched the initiative to save the complex.
“New York City’s economy may be recovering faster than the nation’s,” said Mayor Mike Bloomberg, “but real estate speculation that led up to the recession left many apartment buildings throughout the city in trouble…In January, we launched a $750 million program to protect New Yorkers in such buildings. It will enable us to reverse the declining conditions at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, famed for its role as the birthplace of Hip Hop, and keep it affordable for hundreds of tenants.”
Work on the building will begin officially in spring 2011.
