(New York Jewish Week) — The director of JCC Harlem announced that she was fired last week, and now Harlemites are wondering about the future of what they see as an inclusive neighborhood hub for Jews and non-Jews alike.
Meg Sullivan, who became founding director of the Jewish community center in 2016, wrote a Facebook and Instagram post on Oct. 21 saying that she was fired by the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, which oversees the uptown satellite.
Sullivan did not give a reason for her firing, but said that she “found the direction of the current leadership to be incredibly troubling.”
In an email exchange, Sullivan told the New York Jewish Week that she would not comment about the firing.
“I want to be sure that the Harlem community’s voices are centered as they continue to build towards their aspirations — a project still incomplete — of a truly reflective community of belonging for all who seek to call JCC Harlem home,” she said, echoing the language of her Facebook post.
Danya Haber, a Harlem resident for eight years who served on the Harlem JCC advisory council, said that she was disappointed that the JCC Manhattan, located on the Upper West Side, did not reach out to the Harlem community about the change.
Instead, an email written by JCC Manhattan CEO Rabbi Joanna Samuels was sent out Friday, Oct. 21 to patrons, after Sullivan’s post, confirming that Sullivan was not with JCC Harlem anymore.
“We are grateful for her dedicated work in establishing JCC Harlem and her leadership in growing the organization,” Samuels said. “We thank her for all her efforts and wish her success in her future endeavors.”
In a separate phone call, Samuels told the New York Jewish Week that the leadership “remains committed to JCC Harlem, which is really a vibrant part of the Harlem scene and something JCC Manhattan is really proud of.”
Jeff Feig, the chairman of the board of the directors at JCC Manhattan, told the New York Jewish Week that “it’s not rare” for a person let go by an organization “to question the leadership.”
“Most people in my experience don’t necessarily go public with it in the way Meg has, but it’s not a surprising comment,” said Feig, who is also a member of the board of 70 Faces Media, the New York Jewish Week’s parent company.
Samuels succeeded Rabbi Joy Levitt, who retired last year, as the chief executive of JCC Manhattan on Jan. 1.
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In Sullivan’s statement, she wrote that she feels “an acute responsibility” to remind people that “the JCC Harlem project requires consent from the Harlem community.”
“Without it, it is not a legitimate endeavor,” Sullivan said. “It is not for me to decide if that has been violated here.”
The UJA-Federation of New York, which provides funding to the JCC Harlem and JCC Manhattan, said in a statement that it has “significantly supported JCC Harlem since its founding, and is proud of the wonderful resources it is bringing to the Harlem community.”
“JCC Manhattan has done an excellent job running JCC Harlem and UJA remains deeply committed to supporting both organizations going forward,” the statement said.
The population of Central Harlem, where the JCC is located, is home to a population that is 54.3% Black and 23.6% Hispanic, according to 2019 statistics from the NYU Furman Center, with over 25% of households making $20,000 or less.
When the JCC opened the 6,000-square foot space in January 2017 on West 118th Street, it pledged to “base its programming on the needs and interests of the diverse and unique community it serves.” Earlier in the decade, UJA-Federation noted an emerging Jewish population of about 8,000 in the area, and the JCC “saw an opportunity to create a mission-driven community organization,” according to its web site.
Sullivan noted at the time that there is “vibrant Jewish life in Harlem that’s hungry for a home base.”
Haber, who is white and Jewish, said that Sullivan was very conscious about not being seen as some “inconsiderate, gentrifying force.”
“I felt comfortable being in that space, knowing that it was respectful of others, that it was looking to be an inclusive space,” Haber said. “In an email, they took that all away. That didn’t feel good.”
To serve the Harlem community better, Sullivan introduced a cashless system at the JCC, allowed families and caregivers to use their gym and other facilities for free, offered breakfast for caregivers, set up meals for local housing projects and provided other outreach work.
Former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, who is now the Social Justice Activist in Resident at JCC Manhattan, told the New York Jewish Week that Sullivan’s leadership at JCC Harlem was “extraordinary.”
“I think really highly of her and the work that she’s done,” Messinger said. “I’m sorry that it came to her losing her job because she’s been spectacular.”
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Messinger said that “she did not see any extensive effort to engage with the advisory council for the Harlem JCC or leaders in the Harlem community about how things were going, even about their perceived need to make a change.”
She added that while there may be “corporate aspects” of the JCC Manhattan, she found “lots of flexibility on issues of social justice and social responsibility.”
“One of the best examples was their commitment to Harlem,” Messinger said. “I hope that continues in a spirit in which the Harlem community is able to have maximum input on how the Harlem JCC operates.”
Sarah Seltzer, a longtime Harlem resident, told the New York Jewish Week that under Sullivan’s leadership, the Harlem JCC had become “an independent entity.”
“As a Harlem mom, this is such a loss,” Seltzer said. “I liked the programming at JCC Harlem. If the JCC Harlem just becomes another arm of the JCC Manhattan, I don’t think I would participate as much.”
She added that the JCC Manhattan still does great work, but JCC Harlem is much more of “a real community center.” She said that Yom Kippur services held this year in Harlem were “the most radical, spiritual, Jewish space that I’ve been in for a very long time.”
“I’ve gone into the JCC Harlem and changed one of my kid’s diapers,” Seltzer said. “That’s not something you can do at the main JCC. There is security [at the JCC Manhattan]. It’s more formal. You can’t just walk in there.” There is security at JCC Harlem as well, officials explain.
In Sullivan’s initial Facebook post, she wrote that the Harlem JCC “unearthed a Judaism that actually captures us: a Judaism that is dynamic and alive.”
“I’m not sure what’s ahead,” Sullivan wrote, “but here’s one thing I know and one thing I’ll ask: JCC Harlem’s magic is ours; it is imprinted in us forever.”
