NEW YORK CITY-Giscombe Realty Group founder and CEO Eugene Giscombe has weathered a lot of change during his time in Harlem. Known affectionately as “the Mayor of 125^th Street,” his firm currently manages a little under a dozen buildings and owns a 40-year ground lease on 200 W. 40^th St. He also owns the Lee Building, at 1825 Park Ave., a building adjacent to the Metro-North Railroad that he’s currently redeveloping.

After almost 40 years in the business, Giscombe sat down with GlobeSt.com to talk about the new interest in Harlem as a retail destination, the inevitability of change and the shifting demographics in the area—and within the commercial real estate industry itself. 

GlobeSt.com: What does your business tend to focus on and where are you currently most active?

Giscombe: We’ve been in business close to 40 years now—we started, I think, in 1972—and we’re primarily a real estate management company. A good portion of our efforts is spent managing other people’s properties. We started off with both residential management and commercial management and we now do strictly commercial management. The majority of our work is done in Manhattan and the majority of that work is done in Harlem on 125^th Street. We represent all of the major landlords on 125^th Street in finding them tenants, finding them financing every once in while when it’s needed, and also in the disposition of their properties.

GlobeSt.com: What are you seeing happening now along 125^th Street, especially in terms of retail? How has the area changed?

Giscombe: There’s a change going on as far as the type of retail. Meaning that for many years it has been family run and owned and operated retailers—clothing store and restaurants. And that is starting to change now. The chain stores are discovering 125^th Street at this late date, and Harlem as a whole. A lot of that has got to do with the younger people that are getting involved in chain corporations that have a whole different mindset than the people that they replaced. They’re more oriented toward growth and look at markets with one set of eyes.

In the time that I’ve been in business, the hardest thing was to get a major chain—a drug retailer or any of these chains—to come in to a place like 125^th Street or Fulton Street in Brooklyn or the Concourse up in the Bronx. There were a lot of poor people living up there, they did not have the income, a lot of crime and all of the social negative things. They thought, “Why should we go in and subject our workers and put money into areas like that?” That went on for maybe 20 years and then things started to change. New people are coming back, the city’s are being cleaned up and its safer.

GlobeSt.com: So the retail is following these people here?

Giscombe: Yes. It always follows people. And that’s what’s happening here. The good part is that the people in the community are now getting a diversity of quality-type items that they can purchase because the new people coming in are offering goods and services that weren’t offered here before. There was a time when you’d walk 125^th Street and all you’d see was stores selling sneakers and running suits and that was it. Well, it’s not that way anymore.

GlobeSt.com: The diversity is good in terms of what is offered to people living here and the jobs are good. But what are some of the negatives?

Giscombe: I don’t see any negatives. Change is going to happen regardless. The leadership within the community does what it can to ensure that there isn’t a major negative impact on any major change that happens in the neighborhood. I was chairman of Community Board 10 and chairman of 125^th Street Business Improvement District, so I’ve done volunteer work within the community, for the community, about the community and in a certain way helped in the planning of things that have happened in the community. I don’t buy the story of large box, big retailers coming up and putting small businesses out of business. I don’t buy the story that rich white people are coming up and pushing poor black people out of the community. I was born here in 1940. I was raised in this community. I’m a halfway successful businessman and I know a lot more like me. So I don’t believe in excuses and I think a lot of those are excuses. I know that changes that come to this community should be guided and helped along by those people here, but change is going to happen one way or another. You can’t fight it.

GlobeSt.com: What benefits do you think the area along 125^th Street offers for retail or office tenants?

Giscombe: 125^th Street is part of Manhattan and the cachet of Manhattan—just like 59^th, 40^th, 34^th, 23^rd and 14^th. You have the quickest access to the FDR Drive and the West Side Highway on 125^th Street than any other major cross street in Manhattan. This is a hub for mass transportation, with the FDR Drive coming in feeding the Triborough Bridge and the Major Deegan coming and crossing up here, and the East Side Highway, and the Metro North Train stop. You’ve got the airport less than five minutes right across the bridge.

GlobeSt.com: There are few people of color in this industry. Did you face any barriers entering commercial real estate? Or what do you think the barriers might be now?

Giscombe: When I got in the business there weren’t any people of color working in any downtown firms. None whatsoever. And I remember meeting one of the first guys working for Bob Shapiro’s firm, City Center Real Estate—he was one of the first guys who took a young black fellow in to the real estate business. Julien Studley, an icon in the business, was a hell of an individual. He took a young black person in and taught him the business. There have been a few others, but I think in the future there should be more. I don’t know how you’d call commercial real estate, but it’s clubbish, it’s family oriented… so it’s hard to break in to.