Living in East Harlem: A True NYC Community

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Known as Spanish Harlem, El Barrio, and the birthplace of salsa and graffiti, East Harlem is an Upper Manhattan neighborhood with many varieties of local food, culture, and history.  A mixture of lively immigrant communities, many residents have family roots tied to East Harlem going back generations. Newcomers often compliment the sense of kinship within the area.

The district’s current education system hosts some of the most groundbreaking programs in NYC, with primary schools having competitive admission benchmarks and excellent approaches to education.

The northern area of East Harlem is predominantly made up of pre-war low-rise apartment buildings and rent-stabilized housing. With more affordable prices compared with other NYC neighborhoods, living in East Harlem offers excellent opportunities for renters with larger apartments at a great value.

East Harlem History

During the 1800s and early 1900s, East Harlem was predominantly inhabited by poor Irish, German, Scandinavian, and Eastern European Jewish immigrants—with Italian immigrants joining the melting pot in the 1870s. Italians began to make up most of the area, leading to the nickname “Italian Harlem” and later, “Little Italy.”  Crime syndicates populated the neighborhood such as Black Hand and Italian-American Mafia, not to mention the Genovese crime family, one of the most well-known crime families to dominate NYC’s organized crime.  After WWI, Puerto Ricans and Latin Americans came into the neighborhood in waves, and Italians moved towards Brooklyn, the Bronx, New Jersey, and upstate NY.

In the 21^st century, East Harlem has become a racially diverse melting pot of a neighborhood, although approximately one-third of the population is Puerto Rican. Gentrification has affected the area, leading to The New York Times featuring East Harlem as one of “New York’s Next Hot Neighborhoods,” and many realtors describe the area as one of the few places in NYC where you can get a bang for your buck as far as living space is concerned.

Living in East Harlem: Things to Do & Places to Go

“El Barrio” is home to authentic locally owned businesses. Taquerias, bakeries, pizzerias, and more are owned and staffed by local residents. See, smell, taste, and hear Latin America and the Caribbean islands everywhere you step foot in East Harlem. Enjoy hand-blended smoothies, Puerto Rican plantain mofongo, organic food markets, and authentic live music.

Head over to East River Plaza for suburban living stores like Target, Costco, and Old Navy.

East Harlem is home to a plentiful sum of public green spaces and playgrounds to take the kids to for some exercise and play.

Museum of the City of New York is located within East Harlem and is just a short walk away from the Upper East Side’s Museum Mile.

Moving to East Harlem with Shleppers 

If you’re about to become one of East Harlem’s newest residents, you’ve most likely lucked out with nice-sized living space at a great price. Keep your lucky strike going by choosing Shleppers for all of your moving needs! As the leading moving company in New York City, Shleppers will get you moved in hassle-free, simply contact us or request a quote today!