Call for Mitchell-Lama preservation in the Bronx

Housing advocates, politicians and tenants held a press conference at a Bronx Mitchell-Lama yesterday in order to call attention to the fact that the building, which has been recognized by the Historic Preservation Office as the birthplace of hip-hop, may become unaffordable to its tenants if its owner exits the Mitchell-Lama program. The 100-unit property at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue is where DJ Kool Herc, widely credited as one of hip-hop’s founding fathers, used to spin in the early ’70s. “[Hip-hop] started right here,” said Rondu Allarh, 37, who has lived in the building his whole life. “It was something never done before and you knew it would grow into something bigger, but if you take the building and raise the rents and the original tenants are not here anymore, then where is the legacy?” more [Metro]