Edward Sisters Realty Association (ESRA), now known as ESRA Realty LLC, was started by sisters Lucille, Millicent, and Sarah Edwards. The sisters came to the U.S.A. from the Caribbean country of Guyana in South America for better life opportunities and settled in Harlem, NY.
They later established the real estate business at 740 St. Nicholas Ave., 2nd Floor, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
Ramona Grey-Harris, the daughter of Sarah Edwards and niece of Millicent and Lucille Edwards, spoke with Caribbean Life about her journey of learning its early beginnings and history. One of the first things she learned was that her aunts, in the 1940s, bought an 11,000-square-foot house in Hastings, on the Hudson River, which later became the family house for all who came to the U.S.
“We held onto the house until the 1960s, when they moved to Westchester, and that became the family house. I always knew about the house from my mother’s stories of how people on Strivers Row, the upper Black enclave in Harlem, had contests during Christmas,” Grey-Harris said.
She added, “During the Harlem Renaissance, Strivers became known as an upper-middle-class Black community in Harlem, basically a socially upwardly mobile area. They would decorate their balcony with Christmas decorations and see who was the most ‘beautiful.’ From the census, I learned the names of the family members who lived in the house.”
She also shared that the longevity of this Westchester house and the discovery that her aunts purchased and sold more than 75 houses in their lifetimes helped influence their future decision to start the business in Harlem.
“They had a business on 34th St. and 6th Ave. before purchasing houses in Harlem. So, it looks like they operated two businesses, the employment agency and the real estate business,” she explained.
She then discussed her interest in and experience running it. She said she was always interested in how her family had done so many things and knew so many people since her aunt Lucille and her mother traveled to many places, brought back souvenirs, and sent postcards from the places that they had visited.
“She made a lot of contacts while traveling, as people started to look to come to America. She smoothed the way for a lot of immigrants. As a young child, I would ask questions, and as an adult, I started the search for information. That informational journey led me to discover the start of the business. I found a letterhead for the employment agency, which was the first business that they started,” she added.
Grey-Harris entered the business when she graduated college. Her brother and sisters each had a specific role in the business: her older sister did sales, her brother managed properties that we owned, her sister was the lawyer, and she managed other buildings that they managed.
In addition, she said it was amazing to find out about the previous employment agency that existed before the real estate business that her aunts ran.
Additionally, Grey-Harris reflected on seeing her aunt deal with racism in running the business as a young child. On the impact this experience had on how she runs it today, Grey-Harris stated, “I would say it taught me the value of achieving my goal. When faced with racism, I would try and find another way to achieve what I needed to get done, especially as a black woman in a man’s business world.”
She then discussed what it’s been like to run the business, in the midst of the recent changes that the neighborhood has gone through, specifically with methadone centers and shelters, following past ones involving riots (the frustrated break on not being heard), sit-ins (a way of being seen in a racially discriminatory society), and drugs. But Grey-Harris said the drug problem was never addressed until it affected white societies.
“It has been a struggle to see people constantly trying to dump methadone centers in the Harlem zip codes when research has shown that methadone does not work according to medical studies, and that most of the people coming to the centers show that they are not from those zip codes. It has been another way to make Harlem a dumping ground to make money, and now developers have found a new way in tearing down buildings to build shelters for the migrants and now homeless people,” she stated.
She also feels sad that we have not come up with ways to help people in need, whether it is mental conditions, drugs, or even supportive assistance.
Knowing that she and her siblings all followed in their aunts’ and moms’ footsteps by going into real estate, keeping the family business running, and extending the family legacy, Grey-Harris said, “I am proud of our longevity and adaptability, and now my two nephews are continuing the family business.”
Furthermore, discussing the growth of the business, she says that under her leadership and now her nephews’ leadership, the business is now focused on more management and development.
“As a whole, Harlem needs businesses that understand the community and can put out that helping hand, not just take the commission and have no contact with the many organizations that make up our community. The business contacts, the community, and political contacts make Harlem unique,” she says about the business’s impact on the community.
Grey-Harris encourages younger generations who may be interested in pursuing a career in real estate: ” Not to take no for an answer from anyone and continue to follow their dream, no matter how hard it is. I look back at all the business and political leaders and see that their success was not always easy, and many gave their lives to fulfill their dreams.”
To celebrate the business’s 100th anniversary, a black-and-gold gala will be held at The Alhambra Ballroom, located at 2116 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., on Friday, Nov. 14, from 6 to 9 p.m. The gala’s theme is “100 Years of Harlem.”
Tickets are $200 from Sept. 1 to Oct.31, and tickets for late registration are $250 after Oct.31. Those who are interested in attending can purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/esra-100th-anniversary-gala-tickets-1474730210759?aff=oddtdtcreator.
