Harlem is Hot
Posted on April 18th, 2007 in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
In what New York City neighborhood can you now find FedEx-Kinkos, Starbucks, Staples, Chuck E. Cheese, Children’s Place, Citarella, Old Navy and H &M?
In Harlemâwhich is, coincidentally, my neighborhood.
As the Times reports, the pace of gentrification is astonishingly fast in Harlem. I have mixed feelings about the prevalence of national chains in the mix, but make no mistake: This is a good thing. These businesses aren’t forcing out interesting local shops. They’re taking over underutilized and empty spaces, and putting dreary, dirty and depressing shops out of business. And they’re bringing a new energy and vibrancy to 125th Street. And make no mistakeâthe people who’ve lived here for some time need shops such as Staples and Old Navy. For too long, they’ve had to travel south to 96th Street or thereabouts in order to purchase some basic goods.
Now, if Columbia would just start building its new campus…this is going to be the hottest neighborhood in the city.
5 Responses
4/18/2007 2:38 pm
More hogwash cannot be found on a pig farm.
Gentrify thyself, fool.
4/18/2007 2:39 pm
Written like a true suburbanite.
4/18/2007 2:51 pm
Which is just how real Harlemites view you.
4/18/2007 2:55 pm
Touche. Nicely zinged.
Nonetheless, it is borderline racist of you to suggest that African-Americans don’t like Starbucks, don’t want clean, nice stores, and don’t need access to the same useful products that other New Yorkers and Americans have access to.
4/18/2007 5:08 pm
And its borderline racist to suppose that they couldn’t possibly want the mom and pop hair weave and basketball shoe stores that the big box corporate stores have now supplanted. Dingy or not, Harlem once had character. 125th Street is now starting to look like Times Square — or the Roosevelt Field Mall (take your pick). If you think that’s good for Harlem, the question is who in Harlem will be benefiting. You certainly will. But who else? Is it really the “urban” poor — or yuppies, white and black, heralding the end of yet another piece of New York authenticity?