In the 1970s, young Clive Campbell (later known as DJ Kool Herc) played parties in the rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, a housing project in the Bronx where he was living at the time, and which has consequently come to be considered by many the birthplace of rap music. Despite its exceptional history the building, like most housing projects in the city, has been in dismal condition for decades.
Now, the Times reports that the city has tapped a program to help multifamily buildings in poor condition for $5.6 million to help the Boston-based real estate company WinnResidential buy the building from its current owners, who picked it up during the real estate boom and, surprise-surprise, couldn’t afford their $6.2 million loan. Hopefully that’ll be enough to make this historic site a pleasant place to party again. Herc told the Times: “This is where hip-hop comes from. This is it.”