Manning: Newt Erratic, Unpredictable Due to His Black Father

Say what?  This guy cracks me up.

Have no idea what he was trying to say, but this Harlem pastor basically draws the conclusion that Newt is erratic because he has a black father.  How does that even make sense on any level?

Other favorite lines:

• "If yo name is Hector, ev'body know somewhere down the line, you're Hispanic, homie!" (1:07)
• "Nobody on the planet, except black people name their children Leroy" (1:22)
• "Put that in yo pipe and smoke it for awhile!" (5:04)

Clyde Williams to take on Charlie Rangel?

I read with interest an article in the Huffington Post about a possible challenge to Charlie Rangel in next year's congressional race for NY-15.

Now, let's be clear - Charlie Rangel, love him or not, has vanquished many challengers over the years.  He's held the seat for over 40 years!  In December 2010, he was even made to step down as chairman of the powerful Ways & Means committee in the House in the wake of his being censured for ethical lapses (only the 23rd member in the history of the House to be censured, the most severe punishment short of expulsion.  

Of course, all of the ethical issues were well known in advance of his re-election a month earlier, when he obliterated the second place vote-getter, state Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, in the Democratic primary.  He won almost 80% of the vote in the 2010 general election.


This is a guy who may just be in office for life.


Why would 2012 be any different?  Well, Clyde Williams, who has made some moves in the direction of taking on Rangel, is a different kind of candidate than has been seen in Harlem in a long, long time.

Listen, Harlem is for Harlemites!

Saw this recent high-minded addition to the plywood surrounding the site at the southeast corner of 125th and Fifth Ave.

You'd think that this is passe already, but I guess those damned Dutch just won't give it up!

Crazy Uncle Jimmy

Oh, crazy Uncle Jimmy.  There he goes again.

And since we're all a big disfunctional family here, you know I'm talking about James David Manning, the pastor at the ATLAH World Missionary Church at the corner of Lenox Avenue and 123rd Street.

He's got a new sign up that proclaims "Jesus is True: Obama is Evil.  He used black vote to Uncle Tom for Wall Street."  Confoundingly, the last line says "Speak Love & Truth".  Uh-huh.

Who is this guy anyway?  Well, he has a Wikipedia page, that says he is a convicted felon (he committed burglaries on Long Island), became a Christian in prison and took over the former Bethelite Community Baptist Church and renamed it ATLAH, which he says stands for All The Land Anointed Holy.  


Oh, and by the way, did you know he has changed Harlem's name to ATLAH too?  Going from Nieuw Haarlem to Harlem is a much more logical procession than going from Harlem to ATLAH, so we're nodding, smiling and slowly backing away from crazy Uncle Jimmy.

But as the infomercials say, "Wait, there's more!"  Haven't even mentioned his supposedly biblically-based "No Dew, Nor Rain" boycott campaign to create a general suffering in Harlem - ahem, ATLAH - so as to drive out all property owners and businesses so that his congregation can buy up the area.


Or that he hates gentrifiers (presumably, that means whites) but said that 'Africa is cursed and also that African-Americans should not support Kwanzaa, the NBA or any major Black-owned business', not to mention his strange hatred of Obama (what the heck is a long-legged mack daddy, anyway?).  


One of my favorite things, though is that he has a Doctor of Philosophy degree (a Ph.D.) - from the ATLAH Theological Seminary, which he himself "founded".  I think I'll give myself a Masters of Business Administration - no, wait, I want my own Medical Doctor degree...from the Mount Morris Monitor Medical College, of course.


Sorry, Uncle Jimmy.  You have to sit at the kids' table at Christmas this year.

1 Year Later

Wow - it's been a whole year (actually more) since my last post.

I started MMM on a lark and have actually been surprised to get the interest that the blog has received.  It's been fun providing information and opinion about the goings on in and around the Mount Morris Park 

That said, other sources are more consistently posting updates and have more timely and complete news, like DNA Info, Harlem + Bespoke and UptownFlavor.  (I wholeheartedly recommend checking them out).  That, and a busy schedule, are two of the reasons I stopped posting to this blog.

But this is not goodbye!  I'll start to post again - periodically - but will focus more on observations, opinions and reviews related to our local businesses, restaurants, real estate and of course, the center of it all, Marcus Garvey Park.

Sister Mary Celine: May God Keep You In His Loving Care

Sad news today, as the New York Times reports that Sister Mary Celine Graham, 83, a Roman Catholic nun with the Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary was the victim of a vehicular homicide today.  


Three suspects in a gunpoint robbery on Lenox between 122nd Street and 123rd Street were pulled over at 141st Street and Lenox by police at 9:30am. 

Officers stopped the suspects at West 141st Street, and pulled the driver from the minivan. One of the two other suspects slid behind the wheel and drove off, making a U-turn and heading back south on Lenox, Mr. Browne said.

The minivan ran through a red light, struck a Honda Odyssey and careered into [Sister Mary Celine, her home health aide, Patricia Cruz, and an unidentified 20 year old male]. 

The impact hurled them 15 feet into the northbound lane, witnesses said.

The two suspects fled on foot and remain at large.


Sad. Scary. Will offer my condolences the next time I see one of the kind old nuns of Franciscan Handmaids - they must be hurting especially right now.

Event: Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic this Sunday

One Sunday in June, several years ago, my wife and I decided that it was a perfect day to take our bikes out and explore the neighborhood.  Get some use out of the bikes we never use quite enough.


It was a lovely day.  We loved seeing the brownstones, the flowers our neighbors planted in tree beds, the warm sun splashing our faces as we rode around Harlem's open spaces.


We rode east down 120th Street and crossed Mount Morris Park West, heading toward Fifth Avenue....and promptly found about 30 professional and semi-professional road bikers in brightly colored spandex bearing down on us at high speed!  What the heck was that?!? we wondered as we jumped the curb to get out of the way.


Turns out, we unwittingly rode right into the middle of the oldest continually held bike race in New York City - the Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic.  This Sunday, June 20th, the 37th annual Classic will be held at Marcus Garvey Park.  From the Classic press release:

"Cycling in New York City has a long and storied tradition dating back to the 1800's when Madison Square Garden was first built for track cycling," said Senior Vice President for New York City Sports Marketing Andrew Gould. "The sport of cycling has continued to flourish in New York City throughout the years, due to world-class events such as the Harlem Cycling Classic, and it brings me tremendous pleasure to add a new chapter to this event by awarding the prestigious NYC Mayor's Cup to this year’s winners."

The David Walker Memorial Pro/Am starts at 4:00 p.m. (I'm guessing this is what we were almost run over by).  FYI, according to last year's NYT write-up:

Created as a Father’s Day event in 1973 by David A. Walker, a community affairs police officer who also brought double Dutch to public schools, the race has molded several generations of New York cycling talent, including Nelson Vails, a former bicycle messenger and a silver medalist at the 1984 Olympics.

There will be a series of children’s and community races from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Each child who competes will be given a free helmet and T-shirt. Winners of the children’s races will each receive a free bicycle.

There will also be live performances by hip-hop icons Biz Markie and Mister Cee and other performers. New York City’s famed Wafels & Dinges and Frites & Meats food trucks will be at the event for all in attendance.   Check it out!  I'll stay off the course.