History

Sydenham began in a Harlem brownstone house in 1892 as an African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 hospital. Around 1924 the hospital moved to a new 200-bed building. In 1944 the staff doctors were all white despite serving a mostly African American community. The facility was shut down in 1980 under the administration of Mayor Ed Koch

Ed Koch

Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...

, despite intense community protest.