Capping off multiple Pride Month festivals, Mayor Eric Adams will be on stage at the 13th Annual Harlem Pride Celebration Day Event at 2 PM, Saturday, June 25th in West Harlem at 12th Avenue and West 135th Street.
Scheduled to join him at the annual celebration – which will run from Noon through 6PM and traditionally garners crowds of over 20,000 people — are such local elected officials as Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and City Council members Shaun Abreu, Kristin Richardson Jordan, and Gale Brewer, among others.
The culmination of the daylong festivities will be the unveiling of renderings and plans for the new 20,000-square-foot Community Center under construction at Marcus Garvey Village, 212-224 West 124th Street. The 330-unit mixed-income multifamily project, in which 50 percent of the residences are affordable, is being built by Harlem-based MBE company, Carthage Real Estate Advisors, a leading developer of affordable and workforce housing founded by Edward Poteat.
“There is so much to celebrate and be thankful for as we are able to once again be outside for our annual Harlem Pride Event,” says Carmen Neely, Co-Founder and President of Harlem Pride. “In addition to the many esteemed elected officials and celebrities planning to celebrate our community, we are thrilled to showcase our new Harlem SGL•LGBTQ Center which we know will foster an even greater sense of community for same gender loving, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer residents of the city.”
The new Harlem SGL•LGBTQ Center is expected to be completed in late 2023. Plans for the space include offices, program rooms, café and lounge, drop-in medical clinic, and a library with rare LGBTQ history archives.
Adds Mr. Poteat, “We are proud to be an active supporter of the LGBTQ community in Harlem. Harlem has been and continues to be at the vanguard of Black Culture. We are prayerful our development adds to that legacy.”
Featured appearances at the Harlem Pride Celebration Day include hosts Harmonica Sunbeam and Rodney Chester and self-made success Jesseca Harris-Dupart, Founder & CEO of Kaleidoscope Hair Products, who is joining the group to share a Guiness record-setting event, alongside her wife, Da Brat. In addition, there will be performances by iambOs, Jay Saint, Jypsy Jeyfree, Billiam B, Milli Tyme, and others.
In 2010, Harlem Pride’s founders saw an opportunity to celebrate not just our Same Gender Loving/LGBTQ community, but its role and contributions to Harlem’s rich history. And thus, Harlem Pride was born. The mission of Harlem Pride is to empower Harlem’s SGL/LGBTQ community (which includes, family, friends, and allies) to improve its physical, mental, and economic health and wellness.
The mission of the Harlem SGL•LGBTQ Center is to provide a safe, culturally competent environment in which to offer programs and services, and to foster a sense of community for Same Gender Loving, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer residents of New York City, their families, friends, and allies. The center is currently under construction. Its first phase is anticipated to be completed in late 2023, at which point, it will be a one-stop hub and resource center for the community.
Founded in 1999 by Edward Poteat, Carthage Real Estate Advisors is a leading developer of workforce and affordable income housing in the Tri-State/New York City Area. Carthage works with private investment clients, not-for-profits, and municipalities throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to produce supportive housing development that improves communities and generates much needed economic development activity. Its portfolio encompasses mixed-income, mixed-use, and affordable preservation projects.
Carthage Real Estate Advisors is a Black-owned firm. Its name is historic and come from the ancient African city of Carthage, which was led by Hannibal and challenged the Roman Empire for the supremacy of the Mediterranean region.
Carthage Real Estate Advisors has developed more than 1,500 units of affordable housing with a total budget close to $350 million. The firm is recognized for creating and preserving affordable housing through a triple bottom line approach. Its developments are profitable for investors, sensitive to the needs of the local community, and environmentally sustainable.
