A new push to give the ‘Harlem Hellfighters’
of World War I a golden honor, a century late
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
More than a century after the
conclusion of World War I,
the Harlem Hellfi ghters — the
369th Infantry Regiment — who served
in defense of the United States against the
forces of tyranny in Europe are a step closer
to the recognition they’ve longed deserved,
but were denied.
Queens/Long Island Congressman
Tom Suozzi came to the 369th Regiment
Armory in Harlem on April 8 to announce
that he’s introducing legislation to honor
the Hellfi ghters with the Congressional
Gold Medal.
Suozzi was joined by former Assemblyman
Keith Wright, whose grandfather was
a Harlem Hellfi ghter; former Congressman
Charlie Rangel; Manhattan Borough
President Gale Brewer; state Senator Brian
Benjamin; Assemblywoman Inez Dickens;
Debra Willett, granddaughter of Sergeant
Leander Willett, a Harlem Hellfi ghter;
and Jérémie Robert, the Consul General
of France in New York.
The U.S. Army didn’t equip the Harlem
Hellfi ghters, who fought on the front lines
for 191 straight days, with combat gear
when they sent them to Europe in 1918.
Once in France, the French Army, who they
Congressman Tom Suozzi with Debra Willett at the accouncement of the
introduction of the Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act at the
369th Regiment Armory.
were assigned to because white American
soldiers refused to fi ght alongside African
American soldiers, supplied them with the
necessary military combat gear to beat back
the invading German Army.
Nicknamed “Men of Bronze” by the
French, the Harlem Hellfi ghters fought
alongside their French counterparts against
the Germans in the frontline trenches,
PHOTO BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
losing 1,400 men. Though they were hailed
as heroes in France because of their courage,
sacrifi ce, and dedication — the French
Government honored them with the Croix
de Guerre — they faced another enemy
when they returned home, racism and
segregation.
With the legislation, Suozzi wants to give
the Harlem Hellfi ghters the long-overdue
recognition for their bravery and outstanding
service during World War I.
“We need to keep on bringing this up
to try and get as much attention as possible.
So I think I made all the points that I
wanted to make. The bottom line is, we’ve
got to get this done. And we can’t do it
without all of your help,” Suozzi urged.
Rangel pointed out that, hadn’t it been
for the immediate former president,the
country would have never learned about
the amount of racism that still lives on in
the United States.
“One would say it unpatriotic to be critical.
But when you love something, and you
don’t speak out, that’s the hypocrisy,” said
Rangel, now 90, a Korean War veteran
himself.
Sergeant Willett was posthumously
awarded a Purple Heart in 2019. Debra
Willet said Thursday that the words her
grandfather and his fellow soldiers had
hoped to hear when they returned from
World War I was that they are Americans.
“I’m going to say the words honor, gratitude,
but most importantly, American. And
these were the words that my grandfather
and the other soldiers hoped to hear and
deserve to hear when they returned from not
only World War One, World War Two, Vietnam.
They deserve this,” she emphasized.
Central Park Conservancy bid for rinks skates on thin ice
BY ARIAMA C. LONG
With millions of dollars of concessions
fees, and restaurant
revenue at stake, the city is
looking for an entity to take over Central
Park’s famed Wollman and Lasker Skating
Rinks from the Trump Organization, and
the Central Park Conservancy (CPC) is
jockeying for the inside track.
Former President Donald Trump – then
a New York City real estate magnate – and
his organization have run the rinks since
a 1986 agreement wherein the company
renovated the dilapidated rinks for the
city at 25% under budget and took over
the concessions. Over the past 18 years,
the Trump organization paid the city
about $46 million in concession fees,
plus several million in capital improvements,
according to a Parks Department
spokesperson.
However, the de Blasio administration is
looking to sever the deal with the Trump
organization, citing former Trump’s alleged
criminal involvement in storming the nation’s
capital in January.
CPC President and CEO Betsy Smith
The Wollman Rink
said the nonprofi t, which has managed
Central Park for more than 40 years, put in
a $50 operational and management (O&M)
offer to be the sole-source contract holders
for the rinks and parks facilities.
“The city had asked to do an analysis
of the condition of Wollman Rink, which
we did. The rink is in very poor shape. It
is going to have to be completely rebuilt.
So that was our idea, that we were going
FILE PHOTO
to take the next couple of years while we
were running it and really spend the time
to rebuild it,” said Smith.
The CPC’s plan was to re-envision
Wollman as they have Lasker, which is
located on the northside in East Harlem
and is closing in June for construction and
improvements to the ice and grounds over
the next few years.
Smith said under their model, the plan
would have the millions the Trump Organization
made in profi ts stay within the park
and be used for its maintenance. Their
vision also includes more public access
to bathrooms, community programming,
coordinating displaced Lasker skaters to
Wollman, doing a complete overhaul of
the grounds, and making the ice more
environmentally sustainable.
But the plan also included a city investment
– something the Parks Department
wasn’t ready to do – along with several
other concerns. So they issued a request for
proposals (RFP) to operate the southside
Wollman Rink back in February.
“The City did not contribute any money
under the prior agreement. Our goal is to
negotiate a comparable deal. As per their
M&O agreement, CPC would get to keep
50% of those funds, this would limit the
amount of money the City would be able
to make from this concession,” said the
Parks Department Spokesperson Crystal
Howard.
The deadline for the RFP responses was
Friday, March 19, 2021, and currently, the
Parks Department is reviewing several
proposals.
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