Tourism has increased dramatically in Harlem over the years, but who benefits from it since services are not provided by Harlemites?
Harlem, once known around the world as the Black capital of the world, may soon lose its identity. A massive new wave of gentrification is sweeping over Harlem. Housing in areas once crowded with people of color are being restructured for the rich and white owners and renters.
The new building that is being constructed on the corner of 115th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard is designed for millionaires; only two bedroom condominium units are available, and they cost $860,000 each. All over Harlem, new housing and new businesses are growing while the Black population is dwindling.
The big question is: Where will the displaced people go? It appears that no one cares. The real estate people are concerned only about making a lot of money, and the prices are out of control. The average wage earner in Harlem cannot afford these new dwellings. Only a few moderate structures are being made available to people earning under $100,000 a year.
Harlem's face is changing from 110th Street East and West. The change became visible several years ago with the renovation of the subway stations on the 2 and 3 lines in Central Harlem. White families began to move in. You only have to ride the A, D, 2 or 3 lines to see the increasing number of whites getting off in Harlem.
The most profound indication that Harlem was changing came with the sale of the WLIB radio station to a group of so-called white liberals, headed by former Vice President Al Gore. With this station gone, the Black community in New York City has been silenced. When people are unable to communicate and exchange ideas there is no progress. Blacks in Harlem are seeking an answer to why Inner City Broadcasting Corporation sold this important radio station to whites.
The changes in Harlem began more than 50 years ago when Harlem was in its heyday. The beautiful brownstones and elegant apartment houses have been warehoused for years. Banks redlined [the practice of denying whole communities services based on the race or economics of community members] African Americans who sought a mortgage to buy a home in Harlem. The wealthy whites who were the original owners of the property refused to sell.
Another sign of a dying community is the Black Family Church, which will soon be a thing of the past. A growing number of Black people whose main concern is making money and living large are joining the mega churches for connections and networking. The Christian religion is secondary for most of today's African Americans, especially the young adults.
It is estimated that within five years, the majority of the population of Harlem will be white. Major banking institutions have moved into Harlem in great numbers. Chain stores and restaurants can be seen on 125th Street – the main business area – from river to river. The Marriott Hotel chain will open a hotel in Harlem at 125th Street and Park Avenue within months. The entire area on 125th and Park Avenue has been cleaned up. Prostitutes can no longer be seen on Park Avenue under the train tracks of the Metro-North Station, where trains stop in Harlem on their way to Connecticut and other points north.
The face of Harlem has been changed forever. Soon this world famous village will be known as "Upper Manhattan," and the name “Harlem” will fade away.
Mrs. Helen Jenkins was born in Harlem Hospital in 1932, and she has lived in Harlem her whole life. The part of Harlem Hospital where she was born is not in service for medical patients any more. A new building has replaced the old Harlem Hospital building, just like the new Schomburg Center for Research in Black on the corner of 135th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, which will be renovated into a newer and larger facility later this year.
"The face of Harlem is changing fast. When I was growing up, the population in Harlem was almost totally black, and one had trouble trying to find a room to rent. I remember the parties hosted by Blacks to pay the rent for their apartments. Back then, and into the 1970s and the 1980s, times were tough. With high unemployment, bank redlining, and a severe shortage of funds, many Blacks were kept from buying homes and other property when real estate in Harlem was cheap," Mrs. Jenkins said. "I am convinced that within five years most of the people living in Harlem will be whites and Asians. It is happening all around me. I live on 114th and Malcolm X Boulevard. When I walk two blocks from my apartment I pass by Graham's Court, a magnificent apartment building on the corner of 116th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. At one time all of the tenants were black, now the taxi cabs and cars stopping at the front door are delivering mostly whites, and the changes being made to upgrade the building will set the price of those Condos out of our reach."
Ms. Rivania Scott, Ms. Ronda Sally, Mrs. Nannie Wilson, and Mrs. L. B. Collier agree that the majority of the population in Harlem will be white within five years. Mrs. Collier said it may take six years for the change, but "it's coming."
Retired Professor Lester Alston, who taught Psychology at Baruch College in Manhattan for 25 years, disagrees with this assumption. "I don't think Harlem is going to flip the same way some other areas in the City and Manhattan have flipped, where they went and really displaced all of the people who were in the area. I have a feeling Harlem had a different structure to begin with. There are established people there, and they are going to [stay] there,” Professor Alston said. I think some of the people who will move into Harlem will be Black upper middle class folks, and I think that's going to keep it integrated. I don't think that [integrated] is a good word for it, but I don't think it's going to flip completely. That's the sense that I have."
Another thing that is different about Harlem today is amenities. Compared to the late 1960s, Harlem has more amenities now. Shops, big stores, and supermarkets are things that weren’t there before.
"I am going to dinner with a Black accountant who lived in Mount Clair New Jersey and is now living in Harlem. He has a new town house on West 117th Street. I don't know what he paid for his place; I’ve never asked him that. But here's someone who is about 55 years of age and is coming to Harlem. I don't think he has ever lived in New York City, but he is willing to live in Harlem. I know I hear people saying this is the end, but I don't think so," said Professor Alston.
