NEW YORK CITY-Having been pushed back about a half dozen times since this past summer, the opening of Aloft Hotels’ first New York City location finally took place Tuesday in the aftermath of one of the city’s biggest snowstorms on record. According to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the Aloft Harlem at the corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 124th Street is the first lodging property from a major brand to open in the neighborhood in a century. It’s also the first to open its doors since the landmarked Hotel Theresa, whose guest list included luminaries such as Duke Ellington and Sugar Ray Robinson, closed its doors in 1967, only to reopen as office space four years later.

“Not only is Aloft ushering in a new era of lodging in Harlem, but we’ll be a local neighborhood outpost for the community as well, and we look forward to becoming an integral part of the Harlem landscape,” says Starwood’s SVP Brian McGuinness, SVP of specialty select brands, in a release. He predicts that the property’s “vibrant social atmosphere” will offer “the perfect complement to the dynamic and energetic neighborhood of Harlem.”

Adds Richard Gorsky, who leads the RCG Longview Development/Ownership team, “Harlem is a resurgent community which has retained its timeless charm while embracing new lifestyle attractions, particularly along the bustling Frederick Douglass Boulevard corridor.” The Aloft is part of a mixed-use project under development by RCG Longview that also includes Apex, a 44-unit condominium tower.

As the 124-key hostelry, the latest of more than 40 new Alofts opened since Starwood rolled out the "style at a steal" brand in 2008, makes its debut, a high-tech feature will make its debut along with it. Starwood says its Smart Check-In program will allow guests to skip the front desk and head directly to their rooms with a special RFID-powered keycard.