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Part 2 - Windshield Survey of Harlem

The purpose of a windshield survey is to assist your group in identifying objective data which will help define your neighborhood, community trends, stability, and changes taking place there. This information is best collected by going into the field and verifying your background information on your neighborhood that was prepared in PART I.

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The goal of a survey is to increase our understanding of the neighborhood(s) we are investigating to help us determine if gentrification is occurring in your groups’ neighborhood.

This task is to assess the neighborhood. Record the information in the wiki to collaborate with your groups and present your findings on May 2nd.

"Wikis in Plain English"	"Wetpaint wikis in Plain English"

NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES

There are no highways; however the Metro North rail road is on East 125th street. There are no lakes, rivers, or varied terrain. Commercial units and residential units co-exist, however the commercial units are predominantly on 125th street, whereas residential units were on the cross avenue. The area we surveyed is the heart of Harlem.

The identity, though changing throughout the years, is currently African American. However, it is becoming more international in recent years, with a large presence of Western Africans and Caribbean Islanders. There are official flags that say Harlem (depending on the season), and many stores have chosen to include Harlem in their name. For example, Harlem's bookstore, Harlem fashion etc. The sub-communities include the Western Africans, the Islanders, and the African Americans. However, a significant intercommunity link is the growing popularity of Islam.

HOUSING & ZONING

The apartments are brownstones, and brick. The architecture is beautiful, and was clearly intended for the wealthy when it was built originally. We can see the effects of "filtering." Harlem is interesting, in that there are elegant living quarters, projects, and small apartments over store front businesses in vicinity of one another. There are some for rent signs for residential buildings, however the most notable "for sale" or "for rent" signs were for commercial buildings.

However, we interviewed one woman from the area who said that many newcomers are moving in. It seems that the reason there aren't many "for rent" signs for residential buildings is simply because people snatch up the apartments before they have time to advertise. There are many signs of disrepair, however this is far more common on 125th street than the cross avenues. Additionally, there is a lot of graffiti on the sides of the buildings.

SOCIAL CLASS

The residents are consisted from various social classes. The reason for this is that people don't only live in Harlem because the real estate is cheaper. Since Harlem has such a long cultural history, often middle class or upper middle class African Americans will live in Harlem for identity reasons. However, the population is predominantly working class. Evidence of this can be seen from signs in windows saying "food stamps accepted here," as well as check cashing shops. An interesting aspect of the part of Harlem we surveyed is that since the Metro North is on 125th street, those who work in the city but live in Westchester will often take the train into Harlem. Therefore, there are many upper class people who walk through Harlem on a daily basis. It is unclear to what extent businesses like The Body Shop, Starbucks, and Coldstone are appealing to Harlem residents or those who pass through.

BUSINESS LOCAL ECONOMY

125th St. is devoted primarily to commercial use. Stores occupy most of the buildings along 125th St.. There are few large supermarkets but small-sized grocery stores instead. There are many clothing stores, shoe stores, barbers/salons, furniture stores, a car dealership, various restaurants, banks, chains- McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Starbuck’s, Ben & Jerry’s. Residents likely walk or travel by bus/subway to the stores. There are few/no laundries or dry cleaners in the area. Drug stores include Rite Aid, CVS, Duane Reade, and others.

TRANSPORTATION

There is many modes of transportation in this neighborhood. Public transit consists of busses and subway. Busses stop all along 125th St. as well as Lenox Ave. and run frequently. Subway stops include the 1 (at 125th & Broadway), the A/B/C/D (at 125th & St. Nicholas Ave.), the 2/3 (at 125th & Lenox Ave.), and the 4/5/6 (at 125th & Lexington). In addition, the Metro North Rail Road stops at 125th St. and Park Ave. The subway runs underground while the Metro North runs above ground. Streets are fairly well maintained despite being partially littered with trash. 125th St. (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) is the main Street in the Harlem running east-west from the FDR to the Henry Hudson Parkway with 2 lanes in each direction.

SIGNS OF DECAY

The Harlem neighborhood shows signs economic investment. Most buildings along 125th St. are occupied by businesses with only a few vacant lots/buildings. Buildings along Lenox Ave. are mostly residential and are maintained fairly well. The neighborhood seems to be alive and thriving. There are not many abandoned, boarded up buildings. Few buildings appear to be in poor shape or dilapidated. There are no abandoned cars on the street. Many of the commercial and residential properties show signs of significant renovation. Along 125th St. many of the businesses are relatively new (last 5 or 10 years).

"COMMONS"

There were two commons identified during the survey. Male gatherings in front of State Office Building, Women gatherings in the front at the braiding hair shop and accidentally met a religious group gathering.

While it was around 9:00 a.m. on Weekday, gatherings of numbers were mostly male; relatively young age, around 30s, in front of State Office Building. They were standing; talking to each other, cups of coffee is hand and watching people. Some of them were sitting on the part concrete of building. While walking around there with cameras, the group was fully aware of it and some shouted “Pictures, pictures!” 　The group’s territorial sensibility was high.

State Office Building Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building Plaza. (163 West 125th Street) Along 125th street, there were numbers of Hair Salon for braid. They were usually located on the upper floor of commercial buildings and in front of those buildings. There were women, who are about mid thirty to forty, sitting on instant chairs. Usually they were sitting not alone but gathered little group of two or three. They were doing small talk to each other. Because they were sitting to invite customers from street, they were friendlier group compared to the gatherings in front of State Office Building.

There are parks in this neighborhood. The biggest park would be Marcus Garvey Park. In addition, there are small playgrounds, green spaces along streets and open space owned by Department of City Planning as the map shows. However, through our walk on 125th street and Lenox, the recreational space was very limited. There was one only in front of State Office Building next to H&M.

There was one large open land with gates around. There was no indication who owns it and how it is going to be used. However, with assumptions from land used classification map, it is highly likely private property for commercial use.

SERVICE CENTERS

The neighborhoods have various service centers from health care to education service. Below lists is what we found during the survey.

• Harlem Children’s Zone & Promise Academy
• U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force Recruiting Center
• Metro Plus Health Plan Service bus
• Dentists

STREET PEOPLE

Weekday morning survey found that there are many commuters and many males on street. Commuters are relatively easy to tell since usually they walk faster to bus and subway stations with i-pot on ears. On the contrary, there were many men on the street. They usually stand aside of street and watching people, or strolling. There were some women with shopping bags as well. However, the sex ratio of street people was definitely higher in male in this neighborhood.

ETHNICITY/RELIGION/RACE

There are quite a few churches and church school in the Harlem area. On 125 street alone there are over 3 churches and one church school located a little off of 125 street. When it comes to racial groups there are many but African-American community would have to be the Hispanics. Below lists are neighborhood churches.
>St.Joseph of The holy family (125, morningside)
>La Gree Baptist Church (125, Saint Nicholas)
>Holy Ghost (125, Madison Ave.)
>Samuals Temple (125, Park Ave.)
>La Sinagoga (125m Park Ave.)

HEALTH & SAFETY

There is much evidence of accidents, substance, poor lighting on the streets and plenty of poor sidewalks and street conditions. This judgment is based on the fact that I live in the area and see all of these things everyday. The majority of people riding biles in the area do not wear helmets. Most of the time the sidewalks are clear of obstacles but there is plenty of garbage all over the streets that could cause problem.