1520 Sedgwick Avenue, considered by some as the birthplace of hip hop, is to be recognised as a landmark of historical significance by the New York State Office Of Parks, Recreation And Historic
Preservation. AllHipHop.com report that the Office will formally confirm the new status of the Bronx building next week.
1520 Sedgwick Avenue, described by the New York Times while acknowledging its cultural significance as "an otherwise unremarkable high-rise just north of the Cross Bronx Expressway and hard along the Major Deegan Expressway" was the building where the legend that is DJ Kool Herc first staged parties in a communal room where what became New York's early hip hop community first met and performed, including the likes of Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa. Herc himself described the building to AllHipHop.com as "the Bethlehem of hip hop culture".
The building is still set aside as housing for low income families, although its owners are reportedly planning on selling it to one of those shady private equity types, leading to fears house prices in the area will rocket, leading to a housing crisis for lower income locals.