Tag Archives: Spanish Harlem

Urban Garden Center NYC

Posted on February 10, 2018 by | 10 comments

Urban Garden Center

By Johna Till Johnson

When it’s cold and snowy out, where does a New Yorker in search of lush greenery go? The Urban Garden Center, of course!

It’s a whimsical wonderland hidden under Park Ave at 116th St., and one of the many crown jewels of Spanish Harlem.  In summer, there are live chickens (because what’s a garden center without chickens?). Children love to come and visit, and feed the chickens.

In winter the fauna are more limited: Teddy bears and mermaids.

Fairyland (with teddy bears!)

And speaking of fairyland, the center’s owner, intrigued by my picture-taking, regaled me with stories of New York “back in the day” (we are pretty much the same age).

My favorite was the time when he, as an 18-year-old from Long Island City, Queens, drove his brand-new Honda CRX right into the middle of a gang war in Spanish Harlem.

As he drove into a narrow alley, the two sides stopped fighting each other and attacked him. They lobbed a Molotov cocktail at his car, lighting the hood on fire.  There was nowhere for him to turn, so he threw the car into reverse and burned rubber backing out of the alleyway, flaming hood and all.

Ah, New York… those were the days!

Fairyland fauna: Mermaid

 

 

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Welcome to Spanish Harlem

Posted on February 8, 2018 by | 10 comments

Welcome to Spanish Harlem!


By Johna Till Johnson

They say old New York is dead.

The city’s hot lifeblood has gone thick and sluggish. Starbucks and suburbanization have driven a stake through its  heart.

They’re wrong.

The beating heart of New York never dies. You just need to know where to find it.  The pulse is particularly alive in Spanish Harlem, which shimmers with dynamic energy. It’s bright with color, even on a dark snowy day.

Spanish Harlem street corner

Like much of old New York, Spanish Harlem (also known as East Harlem or El Barrio) is known for many things: Poverty. Addiction. Gang violence (the area is home to the most dangerous block in the city, according to police statistics).

But Spanish Harlem is not defined by those things, or not defined only by them.

It’s diverse: Puerto Ricans, African Americans, Asians, and a remnant of the original Italians who settled there in the early 1900s mingle with displaced WASP Upper East Siders and the influx of international staffers working at Mt. Sinai, the steadily-growing medical complex that dominates the southern part of the neighborhood.

There’s also a spirit of pride, and neighborliness. You’re more likely to be greeted with a nod and a smile here than anywhere else in the city.  “We’re all in this together,” is the unspoken sentiment.

Helping each other

More than that, Spanish Harlem is characterized by hope. It boasts one of the best high schools in all of New York state,  Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, which regularly sends local students to top-ranked universities.

There are a number of community gardens, decorated with whimsy and offering bright spots in the urban landscape.

And a surprising number of artists, poets, and musicians hail from Spanish Harlem. A notable one is Marc Anthony,  the top-selling salsa artist (and Jennifer Lopez’ ex-husband).

Above all, Spanish Harlem is the land of dreams.

Hall of Fame

I am not certain, but I suspect that the graffiti in this mural refers to the song Hall of Fame, which celebrates setting high goals and working to achieve them.

“Yeah, you could be the greatest
You can be the best…
You can be a master
Don’t wait for luck
Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself…

Standing in the hall of fame
And the world’s gonna know your name
‘Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world’s gonna know your name
And you’ll be on the walls of the hall of fame…

Do it for your people
Do it for your pride
How you ever gonna know if you never even try?“

Harlem: Do it for your people

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Watch Out For a Man With a Hot Grill!

Posted on January 19, 2018 by | 5 comments

He doesn’t LOOK that dangerous…

By Johna Till Johnson

Two years ago, a new falafel shop, Gyro 96, opened up on my street. It focused primarily on lunch, so I investigated immediately—there are few good lunch options near me, and I was looking for something fast, cheap, tasty and reasonably healthy.

It was a tiny hole in the wall, no seating, just a grill/kitchen behind a serving window. But the way the crowd of construction workers, hospital employees, and assorted denizens of the Upper East Side and Spanish Harlem gathered around told me the food had to be good.

Aside from serving up the best chicken gyro salad I’ve ever had (and introducing me to hibiscus iced tea),  the shop did something better: it made me laugh.

I don’t know whether the sign behind chef/owner Waled Harady’s head is intended to be humorous. But the way he and his partner Inna Sobel laughed when they saw me taking the photo makes me suspect it is.

Harady seems to be the kind of guy who’s well aware of gender roles—and doesn’t mind upending them a bit. He’s a former aeronautical engineer who ended up running a falafel restaurant in Harlem, then after a few iterations ended up at the current location with his partner.  There’s a great piece about the story in the New York Times.

Harady’s recipes are all authentic. They come from his mother and his grandmother, and he makes them the old-fashioned way. And that hibiscus iced tea? It’s not only a lovely drink on a hot summer day, but may be a wonderful natural way to lower blood pressure.

So if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by. But watch out for those men cooking!

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