The Dempsey, a new 80-unit sustainable, affordable housing development located in the central Harlem community sponsored by Phipps Houses and West Harlem Group Assistance, Inc. (WHGA), was officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 8th. The celebration of the new building on West 128th St. was led by Stanley Gleaton, director - government/community relations for WHGA; Donald Notice, executive director of WHGA; and Adam Weinstein, president/CEO of Phipps Houses. Comptroller John Liu; assemblyman Keith Wright; Mark Jahr, president of the NYC Housing Development Corp.; Lermond Mayes from councilwoman Inez Dinkens' office; and Henrietta Lyle, chair of Manhattan Community Board #10 - as well as representatives of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the NYC Human Resources Administration - spoke about the importance of this project, one of Harlem's newest affordable housing developments launched under the Bloomberg administration's New Housing Marketplace Plan. Designed by Dattner Architects and built by Monadnock Construction, Inc., the six-story building is organized into bays of contrasting brick colors to provide scale and visual interest. A glazed window wall bay visually marks the entry and humanizes the scale of the street façade. Brick banding and a contrasting brick base emphasize the residential character of the building and complements the West 128th St. streetscape. A landscaped band provides a buffer between the street line and first floor apartments. The building is located on a formerly-underutilized parking area of the Oberia D. Dempsey Center, a social, health, educational, recreational and neighborhood service center operated by West Harlem Group Assistance in association with the NYC Human Resources Administration. The building preserves outdoor play spaces for the center and provides a landscaped garden area for apartment residents. The project participated in the NYSERDA Multi-Family Performance Program and incorporates sustainable features including a well-insulated, well-sealed cavity wall exterior envelope, energy-efficient lighting and mechanical equipment and EnergyStar appliances. Corridors have natural lighting and corridors and stairs have bi-level lighting fixtures. An interior, naturally day-lit stair is located opposite the elevators to encourage stair use and physical activity. Other project team members included: Landscape, Abel Bainson Butz; environmental, AKRF; M.E.P,. Ettinger Engineering Associates; structural, Rodney D. Gibble Consulting Engineers; and sustainability, Steven Winter Associates.