Harlem's demographics are changing.
In 2008, there were about 77,000 blacks living in central Harlem north of 110th Street between Fifth and St. Nicholas Avenues, a smaller number than at any time since the 1920s, according to an article by Sam Roberts in today's edition of The New York Times.
In that area, the article reported that blacks accounted for about 6 in 10 residents, "but native-born African-Americans born in the United States make up barely half of all residents." "The Hispanic population, which was concentrated in East Harlem, is now at an all-time high in central Harlem, up 27 percent since 2000," the article continued, adding that "Since 2000, the proportion of whites living there has more than doubled, to more than one in 10 residents - the highest since the 1940s."
"In 2008, 22 percent of the white households in Harlem had moved to their present homes within the previous year. By comparison, only 7 percent of the black households had," the article maintained.
In greater Harlem, which runs river to river, and from East 96th Street and West 106th Street to West 155th Street, blacks by 2008 constituted only 4 in 10 residents.
"Because so much of the community was devastated by demolition for urban renewal, arson and abandonment beginning in the 1960s," the article said, "many newcomers have not so much dislodged existing residents as succeeded them. In the 1970s alone, the black population of central Harlem declined by more than 30 percent....Meanwhile, the influx of non-Hispanic whites has escalated. The 1990 census counted only 672 whites in central Harlem. By 2000, there were 2,200. The latest count, in 2008, recorded nearly 13,800....In 1910, blacks constituted about 10 percent of central Harlem's population. By 1930, the beginnings of the great migration from the South and the influx from downtown Manhattan neighborhoods where blacks were feeling less welcome transformed them into a 70 percent majority. Their share of the population (98 percent) and total numbers (233,000) peaked in 1950."
About 15 percent of Harlem's black population is foreign-born, mostly from the Caribbean, with a growing proportion from Africa.
Geneva Bain, the district manager of Community Board 10, was quoted in the article as blaming the economy and the lack of jobs, rather than gentrification, for the dwindling number of blacks, added that she "thinks that central Harlem has become a better place because of integration."
In 2008, there were about 77,000 blacks living in central Harlem north of 110th Street between Fifth and St. Nicholas Avenues, a smaller number than at any time since the 1920s, according to an article by Sam Roberts in today's edition of The New York Times.
In that area, the article reported that blacks accounted for about 6 in 10 residents, "but native-born African-Americans born in the United States make up barely half of all residents." "The Hispanic population, which was concentrated in East Harlem, is now at an all-time high in central Harlem, up 27 percent since 2000," the article continued, adding that "Since 2000, the proportion of whites living there has more than doubled, to more than one in 10 residents - the highest since the 1940s."
"In 2008, 22 percent of the white households in Harlem had moved to their present homes within the previous year. By comparison, only 7 percent of the black households had," the article maintained.
In greater Harlem, which runs river to river, and from East 96th Street and West 106th Street to West 155th Street, blacks by 2008 constituted only 4 in 10 residents.
"Because so much of the community was devastated by demolition for urban renewal, arson and abandonment beginning in the 1960s," the article said, "many newcomers have not so much dislodged existing residents as succeeded them. In the 1970s alone, the black population of central Harlem declined by more than 30 percent....Meanwhile, the influx of non-Hispanic whites has escalated. The 1990 census counted only 672 whites in central Harlem. By 2000, there were 2,200. The latest count, in 2008, recorded nearly 13,800....In 1910, blacks constituted about 10 percent of central Harlem's population. By 1930, the beginnings of the great migration from the South and the influx from downtown Manhattan neighborhoods where blacks were feeling less welcome transformed them into a 70 percent majority. Their share of the population (98 percent) and total numbers (233,000) peaked in 1950."
About 15 percent of Harlem's black population is foreign-born, mostly from the Caribbean, with a growing proportion from Africa.
Geneva Bain, the district manager of Community Board 10, was quoted in the article as blaming the economy and the lack of jobs, rather than gentrification, for the dwindling number of blacks, added that she "thinks that central Harlem has become a better place because of integration."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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