Harriet Tubman has landed in Harlem!

Yesterday morning I get a call at 7am from Lucy who is bubbling over with excitement. "Cator I wanted our Block President to be the first to know that the Harriet Tubman statue is finally being hoisted into place! Go look!"

With that I bound out of bed with my camera and head to the corner of 122 St and Eighth Avenue (Frederick Douglas Martin Blvd). Sho’ nuff there is a crane and a flat bed truck with dear ole Harriet calmly waiting to be put in place. She has a hook on the top of her head and a massive crane begins lifting her up and in the direction of the platform on which she is to rest. I must say she was looking VERY Mary Poppins flying through the air with a cinched waist, billowing skirt and petticoat flapping in the wind. The boys set her down, screwed her in and voila! There she gallantly stands gazing down Eighth Avenue towards Central Park.

This is a momentous day for us on 122 Street. About four years ago that triangle (between St. Nicholas, Eighth and 122 St was made up of massive weeds, bushes and uneven sidewalks that caused many people to twist an ankle. One day I noticed them leveling it all and find out that it was to become a Harriet Tubman Memorial. FOUR YEARS LATER a tiny triangle has blossomed into a granite mini park where people sit and chat, stroll through and now can gave up at Harriet. She looks quite amazing in her wide billowing skirt with people’s faces replacing a floral print. Many of her quotes have been etched around the sides of the petite plaza, one of which you can see here.

I am so happy the memorial is finally complete although I am assuming better plants will be in the works for the spring. Dear Harriet never lived a happy life. An article about her in the NYT last week mentioned her horrid upbringing, and even after she helps hundreds of slaves to freedom she was still beaten and lived in poverty. Lucy and I plan of taking a bottle of wine over to the triangle soon and toasting to the life and times of one terrific Tubman.