Harlem is unfortunately going to be closing its doors. As far as out of character stuff, the site will remain online as an archive. Members should email the leaders with an in character reason for their character's departure, as well as any final updates. We'd like to resolve as much as we can so that if someone else wants to start a new house in Harlem or nearby territory, they can have something to work off of.
In Character Reasons for Closing
On July 17th, 1905, at around 4:45 pm, Mrs. Victoria Evans, owner and proprietor of the Harlem Newsgirls' Lodging House, while tending to the front desk, goes into cardiac arrest. Several horrified newsgirls play witness to this event. An ambulance is called and Mrs. Evans is rushed to the hospital, but it is too late. There is nothing the doctors can do.
Now stuck in a sort of limbo, house leaders Flash and Blue Skies do their best to run the house and keep up morale in the face of this disaster. Though the thought goes largely unspoken, everyone is wondering what will become of the house. Flash and Blue Skies are subsequently paid a visit from a lawyer. He informs them that Mrs. Evans sister is to become the sole heir to the estate. The fate of the house, as well as the rest of Mrs. Evans' assets, are in her hands.
Many of the girls are upset at this decision--why hadn't Mrs. Evans thought to put the house into the control of someone who she knew would run the house or knew how to run things? Why hadn't she included more specific instructions? They are dismayed to learn that Mrs. Evans' will had been written years ago, when her husband died and left her the house and money. She had not planned for such a young death or other medical disaster--who would have? The woman had been, it seemed, in good health.
The girls soon learn that Mrs. Evans' sister, Harriet, plans to sell the property immediately. With a home and family in Queens, she has no desire to take up the task of running the lodging house. It is unknown what the new owner would do with the property. The girls must vacate so the building can be put on the market.
Other factors are also contributing to the demise of the Harlem Lodging houses. The new subway system, completed this year, spurred a housing boom in Harlem, only for many of the units to remain vacant. Harlem, once a suburb for the well-to-do, is beginning to slip, and an influx of African Americans are entering the neighborhood, moving into the new housing. Mr. Searls, shaken by the sudden death of Mrs. Evans and getting on in his own right, is compelled to create a greater sense of security for himself in his old age. Having run the East Harlem Newsboys' Lodging House for years, he has finally saved up enough cash for him to purchase the building from the landlord. Many of the boys are growing old and looking to move on anyway, and he can reap greater returns on his investment by capitalizing on the inflated rates that blacks are willing to rent apartments. He offers to take in a few of the boys who wish to stay. In return for their help with converting and maintaining the building, he furnishes them with a place to sleep and food. They live on the first floor, while the upper levels are to be rented out.
Please email us if you have any questions about this fictional scenario. Thank you.