The neighborhood of East Harlem is one that has seen a variety of people over time. On just one corner we could some of the different ethnicities that shaped the streets and history of Spanish Harlem. The residents of East Harlem, whether they intended to stay in the city or not, all felt a certain attachment regardless of their experiences. Even Piri understands the impact that the neighborhood had on his life and the decisions he had to make.
The readings this week were definitely interesting, because reading personal accounts really gives you a closer picture to people’s experiences instead of just a straight up presentation of facts and statistics. The accounts of Maria, Mohamed, Jose and Lucille showed how immigrants came to be a part of the neighborhood. Part of what makes leaving a neighborhood difficult (even if you had decided to stay only temporarily) is that you become attached. I myself have lived in the same neighborhood with my parents for eighteen years—ok well fourteen years since we lived in Florida for a few years—and we came back to the same neighborhood because we were so accustomed to it. Like Shirley said, changes in our neighborhood can be unsettling, and once we came back here we could easily spot the changes in the community like new stores and construction going on.
