Richard D. Parsons, 1948-2024. Our First Chairman of the Board

On behalf of the entire UMEZ board and staff, all of us at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) offer our deepest condolences to the family of Richard D. Parsons. The public and private tributes to Dick have come from all quarters over the last few days, and we wanted to share our memories of his meaningful and lasting contributions the city and communities we serve.


Dick was our first Chairman of the Board, serving in this capacity from 1996-2001. He brought his political and financial acumen to our early years and through his humanity and sense of purpose, served as a stabilizing and guiding force during his tenure.

Under his leadership, he brought together corporate, government, and community partners to establish a range of historic investments in the communities we serve. Notable among his many accomplishments was the inspiration to reimagine 125th Street in Harlem as a viable, large- scale retail hub beginning with approval in 1998 of Harlem USA and subsequent groundbreaking which provided access to a Magic Johnson Theater, as well negotiating for efficiently priced, quality goods and services from national retailers.

He also ensured there was broad-based institutional investment to support the critical role cultural institutions played in strengthening 125th Street and other communities in Upper Manhattan with the creation of a Cultural Industry Investment Fund in 1999. This fund was directly responsible for support community-based-cultural entities including the Apollo Theater, Studio Museum in Harlem and others.

Dick remained a friend of UMEZ over nearly 30 years. He will be missed.