Tag Archives: Vornado Realty Trust

Harlem’s most ubiquitous activist and resident Cassandra, Sikhulu Shange, has been warning against the perils of gentrification and the displacement of small businesses in the community for decades. He became living proof of his most dire prophesies this summer when he was forced to close his iconic music store on 125th Street, the Record Shack, after losing a two-year legal battle with his landlord. A team of city marshals seized all of his inventory and evicted him on July 24 from the store he occupied for 36 years — more than three months after the May 31 deadline a civil court judge had given Mr. Shange to vacate the space. He claims he was in the process of appealing the decision, and did not know that “they would be coming after me after a certain date.” Continue reading →