Spanish Harlem is also the name of a song by Ben E. King.

Spanish Harlem, also known as El Barrio or East Harlem, is a neighborhood in north-eastern part of the borough of Manhattan and one of the largest predominantly Hispanic communities in New York City. It was formerly known as Italian Harlem, but since the 1950s it has been dominated by people of Puerto Rican descent, sometimes called Nuyoricans. In recent years the neighborhood has also become home to many Mexican American immigrants. Spanish Harlem extends from about East 96th St. to East 125th St. and is bound by the Upper East Side, East River, Harlem, and Central Park.

The construction of the elevated rapid transit to Harlem in the 1880s urbanized the area, precipitating the construction of apartment buildings and brownstones. Harlem was first populated by German immigrants, but soon after Irish, Italian and Russian Jewish immigrants began settling Harlem. In East Harlem, Southern Italians and Sicilians soon predominated and the neighborhood became known as Italian Harlem, the Italian American hub of Manhattan. Puerto Rican immigration after the First World War established an enclave at the western portion of Italian Harlem (around 110th St. and Lexington Ave.), which became known as Spanish Harlem. The area slowly grew to encompass all of Italian Harlem as Italians moved out and Latinos moved in another wave of immigration after the Second World War.

In the 1920s and early 1930s, Italian Harlem was represented by future Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in Congress, and later by Italian-American socialist Vito Marcantonio. Italian Harlem lasted in some parts into the 1970s in the area around Pleasant Avenue. It still celebrates the first Italian feast in New York City, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Some remnants of Italian Harlem, such as Rao's restaurant, started in 1896, still remain.

Spanish Harlem was one of the hardest hit areas in the 1960s and 1970s as New York City struggled with deficits, race riots, urban flight, drug abuse, crime and poverty. Tenements were crowded, poorly maintained and frequent targets for arson. The area still has some of the worst problems with poverty, drug abuse and public health in New York City. However, like the rest of New York, it has enjoyed a resurgence in the past two decades.

With the growth of the Latino population, the neighborhood is expanding. It is also home to one of the few major televisions studios north of midtown, Metropolis (106th St. and Park Ave.), where shows like BET's 106 and Park and The Chappelle Show'' have been produced. The major medical care provider to both East Harlem and the Upper East Side is the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, which has long provided tertiary care to the residents of Harlem. Many of the graduates of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine make careers out of East Harlem public health initiatives including the battle against asthma, diabetes, unsafe drinking water, lead paint and infectious disease.

Spanish Harlem is home to many artists and writers, including James De La Vega, whose murals and street drawings decorate the neighborhood and Piri Thomas whose autobiography "Down These Mean Streets" became a best-seller in 1967. El Museo del Barrio, a museum of Latin American and Caribbean art and culture is located on nearby Museum Mile and endeavors to serve some of the cultural needs of the neighboring community. There is a diverse collection of religious institutions within the confines of East Harlem: from mosques, a Greek Orthodox monastery, several Roman Catholic churches, including Holy Rosary Parish-East Harlem, and a traditional Russian Orthodox church.

Despite the moniker of "Spanish Harlem" or "El Barrio", the region is now home to a new influx of immigrants from around the world. Yemeni merchants, for example, work in bodegas side by side with those from the Dominican Republic. Italians live and prosper next to the influx of Central and South American immigrant populations. Their neighboring businessmen and local neighbors can be Korean, Chinese or Haitian in origin. The rising price of living in Manhattan has also caused increasing numbers of whites to move in, to take advantage of the inexpensive rentals, relative to the adjacent neighborhoods of Yorkville and the Upper East Side.

External links

• East-Harlem.com
• East Harlem Preservation
• A brief history of East Harlem
• East Harlem Board of Tourism
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine
• Association of Hispanic Arts (AHA)

Manhattan neighborhoods

Spanish Harlem | El Barrio (Vecindario) | Spanish Harlem | Spanish Harlem