A Background of East Harlem

Although called East Harlem, it is completely separate from the neighborhood of Harlem. East Harlem’s identity as El Barrio or Spanish Harlem was solidified after the first World War when many people of Puerto Rican descent flooded into the neighborhood. Previously, it was a majority Italian neighborhood where many went after the construction of above ground railways that went uptown, replacing a previously rural landscape. It was hard to imagine that there were ever rural areas in Manhattan considering the current geographic landscape in 2016. Following the increase of Puerto Ricans and others of ‘Hispanic’ descent, the Italians and other Europeans fled East Harlem. Sadly, the following developments affected the socioeconomic history of East Harlem immensely as it left much to be desired and leaves one wondering how could infrastructure be so neglected by the public sector. During the 50’s and 60’s, large sections of East Harlem were leveled to create “urban renewal” projects that failed to serve the neighborhood. There was overcrowding in what were essentially tenements that existed this late into the twentieth century within New York City. As a result of the failure of local governance, riots emerged and poverty embellished the neighborhood as East Harlem saw the highest unemployment rates in the New York City. Gangs emerged and East Harlem became known as one of the most dangerous sections of Manhattan. However, these preconceived notions of the neighborhood that prevailed throughout the twentieth century are changing as socioeconomics shifts occur in the neighborhood.

The socioeconomic situations during the decline of East Harlem can still be felt today. During the 50’s and 60’s, tenement housings were destroyed and ravaged by fire as rioters attacked these buildings, leaving landowners with nothing but extremely damaged infrastructure that needed to be repaired or would be rented for little to nothing. Additionally, public housing was also hit by these arson riots, ruining many low income housing options. The city repaired them later on, yet no one wants to rent out their apartments anymore after witnessing the increase of property values over the years and previous neglect of their land. An article published by the New York Times titled In East Harlem, ‘Keep Out’ Signs Apply to Renters delves into the discussion of lack of housing situations within East Harlem. “At Dr. Mark’s Optical Center, on the corner of 108th Street and Third Avenue, the store’s manager said the apartments above the shop, perhaps a dozen in total, had been empty for 30 years.” The boarding of these apartments certainly destroy a sense of a booming, revitalizing neighborhood as they are covered with wooden boards or scaffolding. They provide a stark contrast to the bubbling, vibrant businesses that occupy the street levels. Some say the owners are trying to capitalize on a extreme housing crisis that enables them to charge disproportionate values for their apartments or some owners don’t want to deal with the troubles of renting their apartments out as it is troublesome. Still, the city pressures and attempts to incentivize the owners into renting out low-income apartments. People like Kathy however still rent out whatever they can to the residents of the area. This isn’t the only issue plaguing East Harlem. According to NYC Government studies, East Harlem is a Food Desert as it lacks supermarkets. Residents do not have access to fresh, cheap produce and the produce that is available is always costly in comparison to supermarkets around Manhattan. As a result, it contributes to unhealthy eating habits of residents in the area explaining why there are exorbitant health issues involving diabetes, obesity, and asthma in East Harlem.

The Probable Future of East Harlem

Regardless of all these shortcomings of the area, it was featured on the New York Times’ list of New York’s Next Hot Neighborhoods. The list features predicted up and coming neighborhoods that involve economic incentives to move into such as cheap rent. East Harlem was featured in the spread as one of the few remaining ‘deals’ in the city to get an apartment in. “The median sales price was $499,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, according to StreetEasy. By comparison, the median was $749,000 in Central Harlem and $900,500 in Yorkville for the same period.” As such, it is not surprising it is prized for its convenient location on the Lexington Avenue subway line, proximity to the Upper East Side, and relatively dirt cheap apartments in comparison to neighboring wealthy neighborhoods.

Another future development for the region of East Harlem is rapid growth of retail stores and other amenities throughout the area. On 125th street near the Metro North Station, there have been extremely large scale development occurring. In 2014, a company bought out one of the remaining supermarkets in the area which was Pathmark for $39 million dollars. Extel Development Company now has 500,000 feet of residential property air rights for future work. On the corner of 125th street and Park Ave saw the opening of a Whole Foods Market. Nearby, there are plans to open coffee shops, a gastro pub, and other beer-style garden restaurants. All of these ‘amenities’ are luxuries that cater to people who of are better economic standing. This suggests that the economic demographic of East Harlem will most likely change from low to mid-income to “yuppies.” As a result, it will probably displace a large proportion of the Hispanic heritage and community from East Harlem.

Who is Kathy and Why Does Her Flower Shop Matter?

Facade of Kathy’s Flower Shop, Source: Ameer Khan

I had the opportunity to interview Kathy, the owner of Kathy’s Flower Shop that resides on 116th Street between Lexington and Third Avenue. She has kept shop at that establishment and has owned the building for 22 years. Kathy is truly an extraordinary individual, she was born in Malaysia but decided she wanted to see and learn more of the world. Because of her ambitions, she travelled to over 70 countries and learned 5 languages before she settled down, married her husband, and had a child with him. Kathy provided to me a very unique perspective of East Harlem as someone who doesn’t exactly fit the regular description of someone who lives in East Harlem. She is an Asian in a Latino majority neighborhood, although it is important to distinguish that people who categorize themselves as Latino can be Asian but that is rare. She has seen the neighborhood evolve and change over the years. She even said “I’ve seen these kids grow up from tiny children to adults leaving for college” in reference to the people she has had the opportunity of renting her apartments to. Kathy believes gentrification benefits no one except those who do not live in the neighborhood that is being affected. A common preconceived notion is that property owners benefit from the increasing property values as their possessions benefit from that. Yet, Kathy says “The current economic system disenfranchises the middle class that currently resides in changing neighborhoods and I will not see or feel the benefits of my property’s value increasing.” She believes that as she will soon sell her building to resume adventuring across the world. The amount of money she earns from selling her property will go nowhere as the profits earned from such arrangements are so easily squandered as everything is more expensive than it used to be due to inflation. Additionally, she feels that people who rent their apartments like her are unnecessarily vilified for raising rent when she has to as property taxes and valuations increase for her. Regardless of what negative or positive outcomes result from gentrification, there is something that can be learned from Kathy.

Kathy’s business caters to the neighborhood and she consistently updates her business to reflect the changing socioeconomic landscape of East Harlem. She will change the types of flowers and flower qualities dependent on who resides on the neighborhood currently, while keeping some of her own cultural influences through the cute asian characters that decorate her store such as Doraemon and Hello Kitty. Because of this, Kathy is considered a merchant who serves the needs of the neighborhood. However, all of these development plans fail to serve the neighborhood in any meaningful way. The shutdown of Pathmark marked one extreme disservice to the neighborhood as East Harlem is considered a Food Desert where little fresh produce can be found that’s affordable to the residents of the neighborhood. Pathmark served as one of the mere few supermarkets in the area that could cater to these people of lower socioeconomic standing. Yet, a Whole Foods was erected in the neighborhood even though they cater to a crowd that is more wealthy so it can be of little to no benefit to the people who already live there. Another qualm are the opening of unnecessary restaurants and coffee shops when a walk down any main street in East Harlem such as 116th and 125th street that already contain multiple well established restaurants. These newer restaurants and coffee shops are meant to entice people of higher socioeconomic standing to move into the region and partake in these luxuries.

One aspect that is extremely intriguing is the search for the “authentic experience” of New York City. New residents to previously low-income neighborhoods cite that as one of the major reasons as to why the wanted to move specifically to that location. Yet, what does “authentic experience” actually entail? Is it Kathy’s experience of moving to a low-income neighborhood, starting a flower shop, and integrating herself into the local culture of the area while she was originally considered an outsider demographically and culturally? Or does it entail polarizing and stratifying a neighborhood into poor and wealthy sectors that create a harsh division amongst people? It seems to be that gentrification is taking the latter of routes and that is quite problematic. That route compromises the experiences and struggles of actual people as they maintained a neighborhood only to be superseded by people who shunned the neighborhood previously for its negative traits. How can that be considered “authentic” at all? At this rate, East Harlem, still a blooming flower of a neighborhoo, stands to loose its blossoms too soon.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/nyregion/east-harlem-landlords-keep-apartments-sealed-up.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/realestate/new-yorks-next-hot-neighborhoods.html?_r=0

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21256070