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I'm aware there are several zip codes within Harlem, but can you point one out that 'greatly varies' from the others?
Look, I don't live in Harlem, but I've been around many, many times in addition to also having worked there (135st & bdwy) for 3 yrs to get a pretty damn good idea of how the area is.
I think telling the OP that Harlem varies from 'sub-neighborhood' (whatever that silly term is supposed to mean) is a big disservice to him, since he proabably will think that some areas are quite different from others, which is not the case. OP is asking about safety issues, and the bottom line is that Harlem zip codes don't deviate much from each other.
Parts of Harlem do vary greatly from another. I'm sorry if you disagree. It seems you haven't spent as much time there as you think, or you only spent time in specific areas. Contrary to your belief, I think telling OP that all of Harlem is the same is a disservice.
Parts of Harlem do vary greatly from another. I'm sorry if you disagree. It seems you haven't spent as much time there as you think, or you only spent time in specific areas. Contrary to your belief, I think telling OP that all of Harlem is the same is a disservice.
OP can compare the crime rates for Harlem zip codes and see who's right.
This likeminas fellow seems to be a troll or just really unintelligent. Repeating the same second-hand misinformation over and over again accomplishes nothing.
By your own admission, you have first-hand experience in only one particular part of Harlem. Everything else you "know" you "learned" from TV. Awesome.
My first non-sublet apartment in NYC was on 110th & Lenox. There is no chance in hell I would ever let my wife go out on her own after dark while we lived there. I myself didn't always feel too comfortable when it was very late because of how isolated it would get, how many people from the short stay on the corner were out and about, etc.
Now we live in what I consider a completely different part of Harlem: near 125th and St. Nick. No matter what time of night I go out, I always feel safe. There's plenty of vehicular and pedestrian traffic as well as a better police presence. There are more restaurants and retail shops in the area. Parking is better. Residents are less obnoxious and/or seedy. It's a completely different world. But of course, likeminas doesn't want to hear any of that. Let him be ignorant as he sits up in his ivory tower, but some people want to actually learn things here.
To answer the OP's question: 118th and 5th is okayish. It's not my favorite part of Harlem, but it's not the worst either. You won't have the greatest walk to subway stations late at night, and from my experience living across the street from Central Park you might find the late-hour quietness a little unnerving. IMHO once you're past 116th St, I'd try to stay at Lenox or further west.
118 st & 5 ave isn't Harlem? Are we both talking about the neighborhood in NYC?
I've heard the term 'Spanish Harlem' but I didn't know Harlem was so big it was divided into East, West and Central. Is there a remarkable difference between them?
This likeminas fellow seems to be a troll or just really unintelligent. Repeating the same second-hand misinformation over and over again accomplishes nothing.
By your own admission, you have first-hand experience in only one particular part of Harlem. Everything else you "know" you "learned" from TV. Awesome.
My first non-sublet apartment in NYC was on 110th & Lenox. There is no chance in hell I would ever let my wife go out on her own after dark while we lived there. I myself didn't always feel too comfortable when it was very late because of how isolated it would get, how many people from the short stay on the corner were out and about, etc.
Now we live in what I consider a completely different part of Harlem: near 125th and St. Nick. No matter what time of night I go out, I always feel safe. There's plenty of vehicular and pedestrian traffic as well as a better police presence. There are more restaurants and retail shops in the area. Parking is better. Residents are less obnoxious and/or seedy. It's a completely different world. But of course, likeminas doesn't want to hear any of that. Let him be ignorant as he sits up in his ivory tower, but some people want to actually learn things here.
To answer the OP's question: 118th and 5th is okayish. It's not my favorite part of Harlem, but it's not the worst either. You won't have the greatest walk to subway stations late at night, and from my experience living across the street from Central Park you might find the late-hour quietness a little unnerving. IMHO once you're past 116th St, I'd try to stay at Lenox or further west.
Is that the area where Popeyes is? My buddy lived around there and we went game shopping in that area. I also found that area different than more Central and East Harlem, alot busier too, maybe because of the subway stations around there.
It is true though, different blocks will FEEL like different worlds. I believe it's subjective but I'm sure statistics in crime, wealth, etc. can back it up. Don't listen to the guy who says Harlem is all the same.
Unfortunately, this simple sounding question is difficult to answer. In Harlem, there really are block by block differences, with no rhyme or reason to it.
Example, you would think that major throughfares are safer than side streets but, the intersection of 125th St. and Lexington Ave. is I think the worst intersection in Manhattan. So many junkies, bums and dealers crammed into one spot.
It's a tricky balance. In any bad neighborhood, it's bad because of the people, so the more of them you avoid the safer you'll be but, on the flip-side, in a poorly-lit area there are less witnesses. I'd still avoid Lexington Ave. in that area if I could.
West of Lenox has gotten a lot better than it was just 5 years ago. Of course my next example isn't NYC but it's close;
Avoid Ashburton Ave. in Yonkers at all costs, I've been to over 20 cities and 3 overseas combat deployments, and this was the only place that scared me enough to not stay stopped at red lights.
wow, this likeminas character is ignorance personified. Either that or some shrill that just likes pushing buttons.
Anyway, back to the whole Harlem thing; this is the challenge with areas that are/have been stigmatized. One may think "oh Harlem?" and then whatever image from popular media filters into their mind about what Harlem is like- and that gets applied to the whole vast area. This is even more challenging for areas that are undergoing change. Do any of you remember a while back, maybe like 10 years ago, there were ads about Williamsburg on the subway? It was a serious of ads that had images of vastly different types of people: a Hasidic man, a "hipster-ish" woman with a sleeve tattoo on her arm, a young couple with a kid in a stroller. Above each image it said "Williamsburg?" I can't remember what the ads were for (but I'm sure they were for real estate) but the point of the whole campaign was to challenge the perception of what type of neighborhood Willamsburg was (emphasis on was- the demographics have shifted a lot in 10 years!).
There are some blocks that if you didn't look at the street signs, you'd think you're on the Upper East side!!
in NYC everybody knows that a neighborhood is composed of only ONE BLOCK -thugs and gang members never get out of their block- so if your block is OK, then the entire eighborhood must be also OK. So no worries about shootings, muggins or gang activity. because remember Harlem should be judge on a BLOCK to BLOCK basis, and not by the crime stats of each zip code.
Last edited by likeminas; 01-30-2012 at 01:53 PM..
There are some blocks that if you didn't look at the street signs, you'd think you're on the Upper East side!!
in NYC everybody knows that a neighborhood is composed of only ONE BLOCK -thugs and gang members never get out of their block- so if your block is OK, then the entire eighborhood must be also OK. So no worries about shootings, muggins or gang activity. because remember Harlem should be judge on a BLOCK to BLOCK basis, and not by the crime stats of each zip code.
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