A Bid to Preserve Hip-Hop--and Hope

Across the street, jobless men playing checkers in the shade look over at the old Fourth Avenue Firehouse and see crumbling brick, padlocked garage doors and boarded-up windows.

Mayor Ernest Davis sees the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame.

He sees big Hollywood-style induction nights. He sees rotating exhibits of memorabilia from such rappers as LL Cool J, Heavy D, Mary J. Blige and Doug E. Fresh. He sees shows that relate hip-hop culture to African history.

And he sees hope for the desolate neighborhood--”coffee shops, artists’ galleries, new sidewalks, new street lights.”

“It looks like a building, but it’s not,” Davis said outside the 94-year-old firehouse, vacant since the 1960s. “It’s an idea.”

The idea is to latch on to the wildly popular rap music culture for a project that will attract Mount Vernon’s youth away from drugs and crime and serve as an anchor for the renewal of its toughest neighborhood.

The city of 67,000 just north of the New York City borough of the Bronx is using a $500,000 federal grant to start the process. Davis is confident of getting more grant money and contributions, especially from wealthy hip-hop performers and executives.

“In rap they call this city ‘money-earnin’ Mount Vernon,’ ” the mayor said, quoting a bit of rhymed hip-hop slang.

“But,” he added, “we don’t keep the money.”

Sean “Puffy” Combs, an industry titan who grew up in Mount Vernon, and his mother have spoken to the mayor about helping out. Combs has earmarked some personal rap paraphernalia for the museum, including the desk on which his first big record deal was signed, Davis said.

Davis said he will involve young people in the planning, construction and operation of the museum, which he said could open next year.