Harlem's Morningside Park Takes Another Step Toward New Food Spot

HARLEM, NY — Harlemites haven't been able to grab a bite to eat or a cold drink in Morningside Park for two decades, but an incoming cafe kiosk just took another step toward changing that.

A kiosk that will be built on the park's east side, along Manhattan Avenue near West 110th Street, got unanimously approved earlier this month by the NYC Landmark Preservation Commission.

It's exact address will be 353 W. 110th St.

"We think the scale, orientation, materials composing this this temporary structure harmonize with the beauty of the park, and is respectful of its historic fabric," George Ranalli Architect psychologist Anne Valentino, who specialized in environmental psychology and design operations, said during the Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting.

Funding and operating it will be Michael Summerville, whose business Crabman Mike has become a staple at local events like the Bronx Night Market. Specializing in Cajun seafood boil dishes like blue crabs and lobsters, Summerville says the business is a tribute to his father, who sold seafood along 125th Street for 30 years.

There were two people during the public comment session of the LPC meeting that spoke out about how the incoming structure would contrast with the existing building, but it was not enough to dissuade the commission from unanimously approving the plan after a "respectful disagreement" from the design team.

"Please keep in mind that a kiosk is not a work of art or a monument," Valentino said.

Friends of Morningside Park and Harlem's Community Board 9 also wrote letters of approval for the incoming cafe kiosk.

A former vendor known as Muscoota Café operated in the park for just one season in 2003, with the space left dormant since then. The city came up empty in recent years when it put out "requests for proposals" seeking operators for the not-yet-built kiosk, Brad Taylor, president of Friends of Morningside Park, previously told Patch.

You can check out the LPC's discussion and vote on the new Morningside Park cafe kiosk in the below video, it starts around the 2:30:30 mark.

The new cafe is expected to open by the late spring of 2023.