{"id":11,"date":"2016-05-13T18:43:44","date_gmt":"2016-05-13T22:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/voicesofharlem\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2016-05-17T11:48:57","modified_gmt":"2016-05-17T15:48:57","slug":"maya-angelous-harlem-home-sale","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/voicesofharlem\/maya-angelous-harlem-home-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"Maya Angelou’s Harlem home for sale"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Karis Rogerson<\/p>\n

On a peaceful block of brownstones in West Harlem, an unassuming sign in front of 58 W. 120th St. announces that the home is for sale. The house, whose listing price is $4.595 million, has five floors, five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, an elevator, original detailing on the banisters and walls and the echo of Maya Angelou.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because this home in Mount Morris Park West Historic District, east of Malcolm X Boulevard, belonged to the writer and civil rights activist herself; it is where she kept a suite of rooms, entertained friends like Oprah and cooked meals. The house has been emptied of furniture, but small traces of Angelou remain, from the colors in the bathroom to the 80s-feeling kitchen to the deep red carpet on the staircase in the foyer.<\/p>\n

Her personal library is on the second floor, a spacious room with three large windows that overlook the tree-lined, calm street the house sits on. There is an unusable fireplace in the corner, a pretty ornament to enliven the house without actually warming it. On the top floor, two skylights fill the hallway with natural light. In contrast, the basement is lit artificially, a few light bulbs providing a way to see the gently curving arches that hold the ceiling up.<\/p>\n

West 120th Street, where the house resides, is itself a popular one, part of a Harlem neighborhood that has seen rising prices and a changing demographic over the past few years, a sign of gentrification that neighbors say is both good and bad.<\/p>\n

Angelou\u2019s house has been on the market for a little over two months, according to Valon Nikci, founder of Link NY Realty and exclusive broker for Angelou\u2019s estate. Once sold, it would be the most expensive townhouse ever sold in Harlem, he said. During its two months on the market, \u201chundreds\u201d of interested people have viewed the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s one of the best townhouses in the area,\u201d Nikci said. \u201cAs I always say, someone who buys this property in a way obtains a cultural history, not just a piece of great [real estate]. I hope someone who buys it will be someone who values and appreciates Maya Angelou and her work and her legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angelou originally bought the home in 2002 and it was fully renovated by 2004, when she began to inhabit it. Of course, Angelou\u2019s full-time home was in North Carolina, where she taught at Wake Forest University, but this was her New York home, which she stayed in during holidays and when she was entertaining friends in the city.<\/p>\n

By the time she moved in, Angelou was already in her 70s, and many neighbors who were on the block during her visits said that while they saw her about, they never actually met her.
\nChrissy Nance, a white neighbor who has lived just a few houses down the street for the past 10 years, said having a celebrity of Angelou\u2019s stature gave the street some \u201cred.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maya

Maya Angelou’s personal library, which overlooks the street.\u00a0Photo by Karis Roberson<\/p><\/div>\n

Nance added that West 120th Street itself hasn\u2019t changed very much over the past few years, but the surrounding blocks and the neighborhood as a whole have definitely experienced gentrification.
\n\u201cI have mixed feelings,\u201d Nance said about the changes. \u201cIt\u2019s really nice that we have some of the amenities that we have now, it feels a little safer, but at the same time I do miss some of the color and flavor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chrissy

Chrissy Nance, who has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years, with her daughter, Gigi.
Photo by Karis Rogerson<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite that, Nance admitted that she considered her family lucky to live in the area. While she was speaking about having relationships with her neighbors, her five-year-old daughter Gigi came out of the house and began pointing out different homes, naming the children who lived there.<\/p>\n

Before moving to Harlem, Nance lived in Union Square for seven years, and said she rarely spoke to her neighbors and only knew what was happening because her doorman kept her up-to-date.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere you know your neighbors,\u201d she said. \u201cThey shoveled my sidewalks for me\u2026everybody looks out for everybody, and I really understand who are the people in your neighborhood now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regina Caracter, a black woman who has lived in the area since shortly after Angelou\u2019s arrival, agreed that the gentrification is both good and bad. She spoke passionately about the need to allow original residents to remain in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people that have lived here are being pushed out,\u201d Caracter said. \u201cIt\u2019s good that people are coming in, but you have to remember the people that have been here. The rent is sky-high now. If you\u2019re not already in here, you can\u2019t move in here because it\u2019s too expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caracter said she was not necessarily worried for herself because she has lived in the area for a long time and her rent is basically stabilized, but she worries for others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are people going to live?\u201d she asked. \u201cIt has to be a mixture, it can\u2019t be just all rich or high-income people, because that\u2019s not reality anymore. Reality is that all races, all creeds, everybody is struggling right now, so you have to make things affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nikci, the broker selling Angelou\u2019s house, said the price on the townhouse was raised by about $1 million simply because of the star power of its previous owner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would kind of break a record, too,\u201d he said of the fact that the townhouse is selling for such a high price. \u201cWhen we sell this, it will increase the value even more of the properties in the area.\u201d
\nPrices have already gone up over the past few years. According to Zillow, values of some homes in the neighborhood which were bough in the past few years have increased by anything from $300,000-$1 million.
\nNance, who is a homeowner on the street, agreed that the sale of the house will increase the value of other properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith it going for that much, it changes things, it raises the real estate prices, it raises the rent,\u201d she said. \u201cIt won\u2019t raise our rent, but it will be a better appraisal for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many people looking at Angelou\u2019s house want it specifically because it belonged to Angelou, Nikci said. However, for some people the asking price is simply too high. When that is the case, these families turn around and begin looking for another townhouse, but one that is still on West 120th Street.<\/p>\n

\"The

The kitchen where Angelou used to cook her meals.
Photo by Karis Rogerson<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThey specifically want this block because of the value, the park, a few celebrities live on the block, you cannot beat it. Nikci said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re inside, you feel like you\u2019re in the country but at the same time you\u2019re in Manhattan. If you go into the backyard of these townhouses, it\u2019s very peaceful and very quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caracter, who does not own her own home, said that while she likes the positive changes gentrification brings, she is always concerned about how regular New Yorkers will stay in the city.
\n\u201cA lot of people are moving out because they can\u2019t afford it,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to remember that not everybody\u2019s rich, we\u2019re not born into money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nikci said he is \u201c99.9 percent\u201d certain the house will sell, then added, \u201cWe will have a buyer in a matter of days if not next week. [Interested buyers] are a combination of foreigners, locals, nationals and most of them are cash-deal buyers.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those wondering why the estate didn\u2019t simply turn the house into a museum, Nikci said that it is complicated to do so, and it would be up to the new owners if they want to transform the home into an Angelou museum. But, he said, that isn\u2019t likely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe buyers we have now are people that will live in it and raise a family here,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope and I wish and I\u2019m sure someone who buys it will appreciate the value and the fact that it was her home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Karis Rogerson On a peaceful block of brownstones in West Harlem, an unassuming sign in front of 58 W. 120th St. announces that the home is for sale. 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