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Great article....an example of how much the city is changing..finally. Having entire swaths of the city uninhabitable and segregated ghettos is NOT healthy for anyone...these changes are good for current and future residents of the community and NYC overall.
I think that people are finally realizing that living around blacks and hispanics is not a death sentence. For years people have thought if you move in a neighborhood with blacks than you are in danger. College students are now opening their parents eyes to world they never knew, judge a person by their character not by color of their skin or their looks. Same thing happened in Brooklyn, I have in laws who bought a beautiful home 30 years ago it was all white and they all fled thinking that the people were not going to care it and now they are trying to move back in. They see how well the homes where cared for and the land they have and want it back.
We do not need to be segragated, times have change people she live wherever they can afford to live
Changes in Harlem reflect broader changes in the city. The city is changing as well too and the term minority is going to have to re-evaluated or done away with considering "minorities" make up most of the city now. The Census results are going to be interesting to say the least...
knowing the history of the harlem renaissance and after reading this article here's what I got from the irony of the situation:
1900- There was supposed to be this big realestate boom in Harlem after it became accessible by train, hoping the same thing that happened to the UWS in the preceeding decade would happen to it.
1910- Some whites moved to Harlem but there were still large vacancies to be filled, so a cunning black realtor convinces developers to allow African Americans to occupy these homes though under condition that they would pay a higher rate.
1910-1940- Blacks populate the area as the remaining Whites leave Harlem with their properties going to Blacks as more blacks move to Harlem from "The Tenderloin" (Hell's Kitchen area), the South and Caribbean.
1940-50's- Italian Harlem transitions into Spanish Harlem as Puerto Ricans move to work in the garment industry and other manufacturing jobs.
1970-1990- As industrial and manufacturing jobs leave as do many residents leaving large swaths of vacant lots and buildings.
1990-2009- With low rents due and many vacancies whites begin to repopulate those vacant areas.
I'm sorry for the whole history lesson, but I find it ironic that the same thing which triggered a black presence in Harlem triggered the resurgence of a white presence. Maybe its just me, I'm just fascinated with history. Being that racism isn't as prevelant as it once was I hope that this is more of a stabilization as opposed to a transition. I would like to see a community integrated for the long term.
Changes in Harlem reflect broader changes in the city. The city is changing as well too and the term minority is going to have to re-evaluated or done away with considering "minorities" make up most of the city now. The Census results are going to be interesting to say the least...
So am I to understand. Minorities in neighborhoods decrease = "revitalization", high percentage of minorities in neighborhood = "urban decay"?
The fact of the matter is, there's not a single neighborhood anywhere in the city that hasn't undergone change. Nothing is static. The less you read into that, the better off you'll be.
(You want change? Take a look at the history of Bushwick. It was founded as a Dutch community--originally Boswijk--became heavily German when Hessian mercenaries decided to stay here after the Revolution. Then it went through an Italian phase. And most recently, black and Hispanic. Now "hipsters" are moving in.)
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