In spite of its Dutch name, Harlem has been a predominantly black neighbourhood for almost a century. Located in the northern section of Manhattan, it was the centre of African-American life, both for New York City and the United States. Between the First and Second World Wars it was famous for its jazz clubs and entertainment; after the 1960s it became a symbol of urban decline.
In recent years Harlem has been changing again. White Americans are moving in. Italian-American Gina Soloperto, who runs a creative management company called Glue, is a typical example. She moved to Harlem three years ago. We asked her why:
Gina Soloperto (Standard American accent): I wanted to get out of the apartment that I was in on 87th Street because it was tiny, it was too small, and I had a friend up in Harlem, on 115th Street, who (had) just bought a new condo and asked me to take her lease over. I went and saw the apartment immediately because it was two to three times bigger than my other apartment, and a better price. And I spent the day in the neighbourhood, touring the neighbourhood and meeting some of the people that lived there, and it felt like a real neighbourhood to me, so
I chose to go there.
energy
We asked her for more details:
Gina Soloperto: I live on Manhattan Ave, 115th Street. Manhattan Ave is just west of Central Park, it’s northwest of Central Park. I’m about about five blocks north of Central Park and just east of Columbia University and Morningside Park. It’s a beautiful neighbourhood, gorgeous; I have two parks within five minutes of me in either direction. And I was really attracted to that from a logistics standpoint, and then, from a community standpoint, it felt like a real neighbourhood, and it is a real neighbourhood. There are people that have lived there for generations and there are families and individuals from various different countries in Africa. We have big populations from Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Nigeria in our neighbourhood.
And it’s a nice convergence of culture where you really see people finding that common ground of human nature versus unique cultural identity, and we all have found a way to coexist together and get along, and it’s really nice to see how all these other cultures experience their day-to-day lives in New York City. It’s a tough place to live at times, especially when you’re coming in from another country, or just another part of the US. You have to work hard to maintain a successful life here. So that energy is alive in the neighbourhood and it’s kind of exciting.
no regrets
And is there anything negative about living in Harlem?
Gina Soloperto: Transit: so I have work and friends and business downtown; Lower Manhattan, SoHo, Tribeca, I have a lot of good friends in Brooklyn. I don’t see them any more because nobody wants to come up to Harlem! It’s not because they’re afraid, it’s ... it takes time, and it’s sort of the same reason why I don’t go to Brooklyn or Queens too often because I have to plan for an hour plus commute to get there. There are trains, but it just takes a long time. So, other than that, I have no complaints about the neighbourhood; it’s been very, very good to me.
Per saperne di più: The Changing Face of Harlem: New York City