The question we receive often is whether a certain block in Harlem is safe. One new reader who was planning to move to Harlem contacted us and wanted to know specifically if the 120s were safe around Lenox Avenue. We in return mentioned that the area is safe enough for Whole Foods to decide to break ground on 124th Street in the upcoming months. With that said, we also will mention that this is still New York City and no matter how improved a neighborhood becomes, everyone should be aware of their surroundings.
We always tell folks to pick a nice day, have lunch in the neighborhood, walk around the blocks that they are interested in and also head up to 125th Street to check out the scene. Any seasoned New Yorker will recognize that Harlem is easily manageable especially if they have lived further downtown or in midtown before all of the major gentrification took over.
Before moving to Harlem from the UWS we also had some concerns about the neighborhood's safety, since we didn't know the area very well. We wanted to move to a location on FDB below W125th St, so before we made a decision to move we decided to walk in the area at night. We were pleasantly surprised. The area is very vibrant and it didn't look unsafe to us. Nowadays the more I walk in Harlem, the more comfortable I feel. As a woman, I have no issues walking alone anywhere in the area during the day, and during the night my boyfriend and I often venture out way passed W125th and never had any issues. I know that many people still have this misconception about Harlem, but when they actually visit they are often as surprised as we were.
ReplyDeleteI would venture to add that Harlem ABOVE 125th is also largely safe. No, people do not look like everyone who live in the UWS, but we don't bite.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a little shaky below 116th Street to the Park. Between 116 and 125 it's fine
ReplyDeleteHarlem is definitely safe north and south of 125th Street but as someone that lived on Lenox (south of 116th street), I can say that you will find a lot of people hanging out on the street, especially on warmer days and nights. While I never felt unsafe there were times when this was a big nuisance.
ReplyDeleteI was walking down Lenox around 8pm on a Saturday night a couple weeks back...around 120's. And some guy tapped his plastic bag on me and it made the bottle drop. He instantly complained that I broke it. I knew right away it was a SCAM. There was probably only water in the bottle. The guy was bigger than me, looked a bit drunk and wanted drinking money. He pretty got away with $35. I had no choice. If I put a fight I don't know what he could have done. I told him what he did was wrong and he just cursed at me and said some racist thing. So, lesson to be learned: Harlem is still not 100% safe.
ReplyDeleteOur friends in Chelsea last year had this happen to them around 7th Avenue and 18th Street so this scam is not really Harlem specific. This is New York City and most seasoned New Yorkers know there will be petty crime even in the safest neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteMost people want to know basically if Harlem is still what it was like in the 70s,80s and 90s. Police officers told you back then to go back downtown if they thought you did not live in the area. That is not the case today.