Growing up I was always told that Harlem was a dangerous neighborhood that was to be avoided at all costs. In my imagination it was a place of abandoned houses riddled with drugs and drug lords. Therefore, you can imagine my surprise after reading Sharon Zukin’s “Why Harlem is Not a Ghetto,” a short piece on the gentrification process that has been taking place in Harlem for a large portion of my life. Specifically, the way that Zukin described the “high class” food and atmosphere at Settepani’s bakery got my mouth watering. Maybe I was just hungry or maybe the descriptions were extremely well written. Either way, I decided to check out the SettepaniNYC Instagram page.
Once there, I found posts that made me do a double-take. The food looked sensational. It also looked really expensive. I especially loved the picture of a little girl eating bread and pasta. The caption read “What are you eating for dinner? Our favorite 3-year-old got her favorite spaghetti.” I had to laugh at the formality of the cute little girl. She had a lovely cloth napkin tucked into the top of her shirt so that she looked perfectly prim and proper. She was, essentially, a mini adult. In other words, the neighborhood that I had long pictured as a dump, looked like a sophisticated playground for three-year-olds and their parents.
After describing the food at Settepani’s in great detail, Zukin goes on to write, “You understand why Settepani is popular among Harlem’s new movers and shakers. You’ve heard that Maya Angelou, the distinguished poet, playwright, and actor, who lives in a restored brownstone townhouse nearby, often has lunch here” (64). Other big names that Zukin drops are Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Bill Clinton. Clearly, Harlem is not the way it once was. Clearly, its restaurants are catering to a clientele that is anything but poor or criminal.
Still it makes me wonder: Are there any places left in NYC where poorer individuals can afford to live? Brunching regularly at Settapani’s has got to cost a pretty penny. So, while having greats like Angelou and Clinton in our midst is exciting, is Harlem really benefitting? Do we need another neighborhood for the wealthy? How many posts can we see of mini-adults eating pasta, before it occurs to us that there is a reason that children from low-income families do not get posted on the Instagram pages of restaurants like Settapani’s?
Yes, the beautiful pictures of Harlem seem to tell a positive story about a neighborhood that has been revitalized, yet I am most concerned about whether the families who have called Harlem their home for decades, are being edged out.
Questions to consider:
- What was your impression of Harlem before taking this class? Did you know that it was being gentrified?
- Check out the Settepaninyc Instagram page. What do you think of the atmosphere? Does the large number of white patrons pictured surprise you?
- Do you think long-time residents of Harlem appreciate new establishments like Settapani’s?
