Am I now going to start to see white people too?
There's an article in this morning's NY Times about Harlem losing it's black majority to middle class whites.
From the article: Some experts say the decline in the black population may be overstated because poorer people are typically undercounted by the census, and Harlem has a disproportionate number of poor people. Others warn that proposed development and higher property values may force poor people out and say that when the city was the neighborhood’s leading landlord it should have increased ownership opportunities for Harlem residents.
Harlem is hardly the only ethnic neighborhood to have metamorphosed because of inroads by housing pioneers seeking bargains and more space-—my neighborhood is also gentrifying with some whites gobbling up cheap rentals in the area. My husband and I count them, noticing what streets or buildings they walk towards from the train. Pointing at hip bike messenger-looking types, sailing down our part of Bedford Ave on fixed gear bicycles. We mentally record these numbers as comically as we do when we're looking out for black people in a Woody Allen movie. I think I counted seven in Annie Hall, but I digress.
Anyway, with the Atlantic Yards/Nets Arena being a definite thing in Brooklyn, more expansion is coming to neighborhoods like mine.
At this past Sunday dinner, a friend of my cousin remarked that black people don't help one another.
Whether or not that's true, it's becoming more difficult to own property in this unforgiving city. And in this new decade New York City will officially become a valley for the rich.
So, dear reader, friends and foes, as our candle burns at both ends with no guarantee to last through the night, it still gives a lovely light and that makes it all the more worth it to suck it up and stick it out.
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