While Harlem is often credited as having been the epicenter of African-American cultural activity, the New York Times identified an area farther north, the corner of Edgecombe Avenue and 155th Street in Sugar Hill, nestled between Hamilton Heights and Washington Heights, as being the true hotbed of African-American talent and intellectualism. One building at 409 Edgecombe Avenue was home to no fewer than three luminaries, Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois and Aaron Douglas, the purported “father of black American art,” according to the Times. Another, at 555 Edgecombe Avenue, counted musical prodigies Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkings and Lena Horne as tenants. In this story, residents of the neighborhood look back at how the area shaped their lives.

Scenes from the Hamilton Lofts open house in Harlem last night

Following price cuts, contracts were signed for two units at Hamilton Lofts, a 12-unit, two-building condominium development at 117 and 121 Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem, with a third one in negotiation, Felicia De Chabris, a senior vice president in Halstead Property Development Marketing, said at an open house event last night. Sales at Hamilton Lofts started seven weeks ago. Contracts have been signed for a 745-square-foot one-bedroom unit listed for $425,000, and for a 1,135-square-foot, two-bedroom unit, with a listing price at $629,000, De Chabris said. Other units at developer Romy Goldman’s project, between 140th and 141st streets, have seen price cuts. A two-bedroom, two-bath unit was slashed by $126,000 to a $629,000 asking price. The price of a three-bedroom, two-bath penthouse with an outdoor terrace was also cut by $111,000 to an asking price of $659,000. [more]