Wednesday, February 9, 2011

☞ LISTEN: One Block in Harlem Continues

Here's the link to the second part of BBC Radios great documentary on One Block in Harlem. There are interviews with longtime locals and the documentarian was a former New Yorker when the neighborhood was a no-go zone: LINK.  Topics such as "redlining" when banks would not loan out to certain neighborhoods, how 80 percent of local property owners abandoned their buildings in the bad years, the lost of the Harlem's iconic institutions along with folks that didn't think things changed quickly enough and thus have left are all discussed.

This segment tends to play much on the economics of gentrification and blames it for the lost of culture but doesn't really point out that the great Harlem establishments mentioned (such as the Savoy and the Cotton Club) were demolished for public housing and not the wealthy. They also missed the point that East Harlem was also one of the largest Italian communities in the nation up until the 1940's and has had a more vast recent demographic shift than the one Central Harlem is currently undergoing: LINK.  It's 25 minutes long so listen to it when you have some down time.
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5 comments:

  1. Harlem BBCFebruary 9, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    I think that the documentary is a good one but as you pointed out Ulysses it focuses on Black Harlem. I think that the main issue with Harlem today is the idea that Harlem somehow "belongs" to black people and anyone moving in is an interloper. This was a village and remains just that a village, not of any colour or race but a village.

    This village is changing again and that is the one thing the documentary does make clear.

    For those people who run from Harlem because it has not changed enough for them I think that is crime related, but it is unrealistic of them to think that crime will suddenly disappear. For that to happen law abiding folks have to stand their ground, report the crime when they see it and take a stand. I see corners that were once crime ridden now safe. If crime is reported it will get cleaned up.

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  2. westsiderFebruary 10, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    One of the best documentaries I have heard on the varying positions and views on the new Harlem. Harlem is huge and diverse and similarly diverse are the positions of it’s Harlemites. On the one hand we have the gentleman who tells of redlining as if it prevented any improvement by locals. On the other hand we have the story of Dawn who bought her brownstone for pennies on the dollar and with a government loan and a huge personal effort is now a proud owner in the new Harlem. I am impressed that the story of Dawn was included as her story and those like her are often overlooked in telling the story of Harlem’s recent history in favor of the blame and redlining story.

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  3. westsiderFebruary 10, 2011 at 8:30 AM

    I sympathize with Mr. Adams position on the loss of Harlem’s unique institutions and identity, but a welcome loss is Harlem’s famous ghetto which was crime and drug infested and I have yet to hear someone yearn for the good old days of ghetto. I would be horrified to see the Lenox Lounge replaced with a TGIF.

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  4. Harlem BBCFebruary 10, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    Westsider give me my TGIF....hehehe kidding of course. I agree with you wholeheartedly.

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2011 at 12:33 PM

    FYI -- this is another link into the BBC site that offers some additional options (i.e., podcasts and downloads) for listening to both episodes:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2011/02/110201_documentary_one_block_in_harlem.shtml

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