Slappy On The Savoy

Ninety-one-year-old Harold Slappy remembers Saturday nights in Harlem dancing to Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Here’s what he says about his evenings as a youth at the legendary Savoy Ballroom:

Click to hear Slappy's story [MP3, 1:18 minutes]

Slappy and his friend Monica recorded this story through StoryCorps, a national project that documents individuals’ personal histories and stories. The StoryCorps booth, located in New York's Grand Central Station, is a small studio where anyone can go to record their story and have it archived in the Library of Congress.

As Harlem residents question how the neighborhood will maintain its history in the midst of change, I thought Slappy's recording provides but one interesting answer.

Two Sides of the Track

As varying viewpoints on the changes in Harlem continue to trickle in, I think of the 1984 film, The Brother From Another Planet. In it, a man on the New York City subway says:

“Wanna see me make all the white people disappear?” And, just like that, he performs magic. When the doors of the express train open, all the white passengers get out of the car that continues uptown to Harlem.

Much has changed in the 22 years since that film was made, and nothing has changed at all. While the dividing line has moved further uptown, the racial divide symbolized at the midtown subway stop continues to travel through the consciousness of Harlem residents.

As I examine the thoughts being posted on this blog, one overriding concern is that the Harlem of the past is at risk of disappearing; that, much as the white people disappeared off that train, Harlem’s history could very well vanish due to the significant changes occurring in the neighborhood.

When it comes to change and preservation, can Harlem straddle both sides of the track? Here are a few of the posts I’ve received that cut to the heart of this matter:

“…Harlem is the last place in New York where black people can feel and call home. When you [white] people… come uptown, in large numbers, the community will slowly start to die…”

"The one thing we've all learned as New Yorkers is that time waits for no one... This city is constantly reinvented. It's not like other places where history is preserved and things that have always been can be relied upon to always be."

“… I welcome anyone who understands the beauty and history of this community and wants to preserve it, while helping it to evolve and grow---preservation and growth do not have to be mutually exclusive.”

Bad Bagel

Having too much of a good bagel is a notion that never crossed my mind. In my wildest dreams, I never considered that more bagel could equal bad bagel.

Today, however, a bagel nightmare has emerged thanks to a recent firing on Donald Trump’s reality show, The Apprentice. Last week, Trump fired Brent Buckman in front of millions of TV viewers and criticized him for being overweight. Now Buckman is shifting his focus from the boardroom to his belt-size. And he’s doing it with the bagel.

It seems the Toronto-based lawyer has lost more than 100 pounds since the taping of the show last fall, and now he’s hoping consumers will digest his simple weight-loss secret: the four-bagel-a-day diet.

The diet entails—you guessed it—eating four bagels every day. The specifics of his weight-loss plan are outlined on his Web site and Buckman hopes a book deal on the subject is in his future.

The only future I see for the four-a-day bagel is a bloated one. Someone really ought to fire this bagel…

Schoolhouse Rock

Strong points of view were expressed on last Friday’s post, as tensions flared over issues of gentrification, affordable-housing and racial stereotypes here in Harlem.

One issue that was lightly touched upon—and is about to take center stage—is education. It’s a topic that Harlem parents will watch closely this week, as state lawmakers are scheduled to make a controversial decision affecting the educational future of neighborhood children.

With students in Harlem’s public schools generally performing worse on city and state standardized tests than public school students in other New York neighborhoods, the charter school has become the great Harlem hope for parents.

Free to students, charter schools are independent public schools that operate under a five-year performance contract or "charter." Harlem has the largest concentration of charters of all school districts in the city—18 out of 47 are located in this neighborhood, with plans for at least two more to open in the coming school year.

But the law limits the number of such schools to 100 statewide, and now all of those charters have been doled out. As part of the budget negotiations in Albany, Governor George Pataki has called for lifting the cap from 100 to 250, but the Republican-controlled Senate wants to keep the charter issue separate from the budget.

Opponents argue that the charter schools are funneling much-needed dollars away from the public school system and that public dollars should not be used for schools that operate outside of local oversight.

In addition, some argue that there are a disproportionate amount of charters already in Harlem, and question whether this neighborhood should have more. Of the 1.1 million students in New York City, only about 30,000 of them are in Harlem, yet a third of the city's charter schools are here.

Although early evidence shows the charter schools here are working to increase students' level of education, many question if it's enough. Even if state lawmakers vote to increase the limit of charter schools, will the schools admit enough students to boost the median grade of the neighborhood? How will this educational equation add up here in Harlem?

The Harlem Divide

The disparate views of the neighborhood expressed on yesterday’s post are puzzling. While some residents write of gunshots and reverse racism, others spot $800-dollar Bugaboo strollers on Harlem’s sidewalks and describe feeling more a part of this community than anyplace else they've ever lived.

Seems odd. Harlem residents are either seeing the same thing but experiencing it differently or else their neighborhood blocks are extraordinarily dissimilar.

My experience is somewhere in-between. I feel safe in the neighborhood but can attribute much of that feeling to my close proximity to 125th street – a street always bustling with activity even as I walk home late at night. Harlem is the first place in the city where I’ve ever known my neighbors’ names, but it’s also the first neighborhood where it’s been a struggle to find fresh produce.

Maybe my midwestern roots have something to do with my middle-of-the-road view of the area or perhaps it’s my central Harlem location that’s kept me away from extremes here. What do you think? Is there a reality-perception gap or is it, in fact, all about location? What accounts for the Harlem divide?

Fighting Words

The boxing gloves are on, as New Yorkers weigh in on the future of Harlem real estate. A posting on Curbed.com regarding big development in the area has triggered a heavyweight division fight.

The thread began innocently enough, with a premise that the higher the number of vacant lots a neighborhood has, the higher the chance big developers will come in and transform the area. What started as a reflection on that idea turned into a heated debate over Harlem's economics, race relations and hipness.

I’ll highlight a handful of the jabs here, but reader beware: If you live in neighborhood and are faint of heart, you might want to skip this round…

"Even if Harlem is going through a huge renaissance, I'd never want to live up there -- too far from everything. Who wants that kind of commute? I'd rather live in Brooklyn if that's the case."

"Personally, I'm glad y'all don't venture above the 80s. Keeps the streets uncrowded and free of vacuous chicks in Uggs complaining about how there's no Barnes and Noble."

"...do you really think that people are going out on the town in Harlem, as though it has a hip nightlife? Heck no. You would have to leave the neighborhood for that sort of thing, and then you might get shot when you return home at 1 am..."

"...you clearly know nothing about Harlem. How do you think Harlem became world famous. It and places like it provide the globe with much of the slang, style, swagger you digest and pay big money for."

"Harlem is definitely hyped. Yes there are new condos building up, but it is all speculation that people will buy those damn places."

"...Harlem is horrible. With all the new developments there, believe me it is still SCARY after midnite. The deli's are shady with the windowed cashiers. Did i mention about the Conway? If there's a conway, then your neighborhood is screwed..."

Ouch.

Harlem on Ice

On this first full day of spring, a winter sport has glided its way into today’s headlines. Some of the world's greatest ice skaters are participating in an event to raise money for a figure skating program based in Harlem.

Michelle Kwan, Dorothy Hamill and Oksana Baiul will lace up their skates to benefit Figure Skating in Harlem – a 15-year old organization that has changed the lives of thousands of girls from the neighborhood.

"I have more confidence in myself, because here you learn more things and can't say… I can't do that,” program participant Scarlett Jimenez said in an interview with WABC. “It helps you in every type of life."

Before hitting the ice, the girls must do their homework in order to maintain the required "B" average to remain in the program. Girls between the ages of six and 16 who live in Harlem are eligible for enrollment. The organization runs entirely on donations.

The second annual "Skating with the Stars, Under the Stars" gala will take place on April 10th and will run from 6 to 9 p.m. in Central Park’s Trump Wollman Skating Rink.

Shamrock Shuffle

My search for a bagel in Harlem intensified this St. Patrick’s day, as thousands of New Yorkers got into the holiday spirit with all things green – the beer; the clothes; and of course, the shamrocks. But there was one piece of green that was conspicuously missing.

“Any chance you’ve got a green bagel?” I asked the young man behind the counter of a bodega on 126th Street in Harlem.

I knew it was a long shot, but I wanted to channel the St. Patty’s Day spirit in my own way. It’s a holiday that I’ve never fully embraced, and I figured that with a green bagel in hand I had a better chance of falling for the four-leaf clover.

While explaining this logic to the bodega clerk, the luck of the Irish struck. Although the clerk informed me that the green bagel was not in stock, a woman who was shopping in the store turned to me and said:

“You think it’s hard finding a green bagel here? Just try finding the green Shamrock Shake.”

“The Shamrock Shake!” I gasped as Midwestern memories of its cool minty freshness flooded my taste buds.

I quickly learned that this creamy concoction has nearly disappeared but that New Yorkers are committed to its return. In fact, there’s a “Bring Back the Shamrock Shake” Web site devoted to the cause.

I scoped out three different McDonalds here in Harlem; alas, it was nowhere to be found. But I’m convinced that if enough people are looking for the green shake, I’ve got a shot at the green bagel. However this bagel search shakes down, the plot has certainly thickened…

Bagel Bowl (Chapter 2)

Leave it to former President Bill Clinton to get the party rolling here in Harlem.

His foundation’s Urban Enterprise Initiative has helped launch the first bowling alley in this neighborhood in three decades, and he was on hand this week for the grand opening on 126th Street and Adam Clayton Boulevard.

Congratulating sisters Sharon Joseph and Gail Richards – now the first black women in the United States to own a bowling center – Clinton said:

"Small businesses are the cornerstone of the American economy. I am pleased that my foundation can contribute to the expansion and success of small businesses here in Harlem."

In fact, Clinton himself has enjoyed bowling for years (note picture above) and has turned to the game in troubled times. In a 2004 interview with Dan Rather on CBS’ 60 Minutes, Clinton reflected on some of the scandals that plagued his presidency and pointed to finding respite in an Arkansas bowling alley where he would routinely bowl with friends.

Certainly puts a new spin on critics’ claims that Clinton was ‘striking out’ during his two terms in office. Enough of that. Keep your bagel out of the gutter…

Soggy Bagel

With summer just a few months away, a debate over a proposed water park is heating up. At issue is a $168 million dollar Six Flags-style outdoor water park and indoor beach club on Randall's Island – a city-owned park across the river from my East Harlem neighborhood. If built, it would be the first such theme park in a major U.S. city.

Opponents are challenging NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to lease the 26 acres of land. One point of contention is the admission price to the park that could run as high as $37 dollars for adults and $27 dollars for children. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer noted that many residents of East Harlem and the Bronx, the two neighborhoods nearest to the proposed park, won't be able to afford going there. In an interview with the NY Daily News, Stringer said:

"How will an East Harlem family of four pay $150 dollars for a day in that park? Or do East Harlem kids just watch the water rides through binoculars on a hot summer day?"

Parks Department officials and the upstate firm chosen to build the theme park say it will create hundreds of new jobs and produce millions of dollars in new revenue for the city. This bagel sounds familiar…

Hamentashen in Harlem

Each year there comes a day when I set aside this bagel business and make room for a three-cornered pastry known as the hamentashen. It’s a tough cookie to love, as the middle of the hamentashen is usually filled with prunes or poppy seeds – not exactly the stuff that inspires pastry passion.

Still, today I feel obligated to show the hamentashen a little respect, as the Jewish holiday of Purim is in full swing until sundown this evening. It’s a celebration that commemorates a major victory for the Jews some 2,500 years ago, when the lovely Queen Esther was able to thwart Prime Minister Haman’s nefarious plot to destroy the Jewish people.

The hamentashen represents the three-sided hat that Haman wore as he planned his dastardly deed, and the triangular pastry has become a Jewish symbol of good overcoming evil. Today, much in the same vein, big cookie has overcome small. Just hours ago, a half-ton hamentashen was unveiled in a Jerusalem bakery. Weighing in at 1,012-pounds, officials say its an achievement worthy of the Guiness Book of World Records.

Even though I’d prefer a pint-size bagel to a heaping helping of hamenstashan any day, I wish someone would break off a couple chunks from the behemoth Israeli cookie and send them over to East Harlem – finding a hamentashen here hasn't been easy. Although I'm optimistic about finding a fresh bagel in El Barrio, I've got my doubts about the hamentashen. I suppose that's the way the cookie crumbles...

Legal Grumblings

If law is a mirror of society, then Harlem is having trouble recognizing its reflection in the legal system.

In New York State, approximately three percent of lawyers are Black, while African-Americans make up nearly 80 percent of Harlem’s population.

“This is an issue that we’re struggling with,” said Thomas Giovanni, a staff attorney at The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, a non-profit organization providing legal representation to area residents.

“It’s difficult to obtain top-notch attorneys who reflect the demographics of this neighborhood.”

According to a report in Newsday, Blacks make up less than six percent of all lawyers in the country; and between 2002-2004, African-American enrollment in New York State law schools declined by nine percent.

Cuts in federal financial aid packages and scholarships are part of the reason for the declining numbers as is the increased emphasis on the law school admission exam - which, historically, minorities haven’t scored as high on as their White counterparts. Both of these factors have made attracting the small pool of Black law graduates into Harlem increasingly difficult.

“Money is a big factor in all of this,” said Chris McGrath, the President of the Nassau County Bar Association, who recently began a minority scholarship program for local Long Island law students.

He points to the fact that most law school graduates face significant debt out of school and notes that the majority of them have no choice but to take a high-paying job at a large firm.

“They aren’t going back into their communities and into the public sector because – financially – they can’t do it,” McGrath said.

In fact, at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, only two of the 11 attorneys on staff are Black. While Giovanni acknowledges that his organization is losing recent graduates to high-paying corporate jobs, he says that the decision to go to these firms extends well beyond the debt.

“On top of these crushing loans, some minority law school graduates need to support their families. In many instances, this is the first time anyone in their family has earned a substantial wage, so the graduate has significant family responsibilities.”

Those responsibilities are a heavy burden too cumbersome for many to carry into Harlem. But how can residents here have a voice if their face isn't reflected in the legal system? Without a considerable minority presence, I wonder how Harlem will do its residents justice.

Bagel Dreams

The Hoosier in me often fantasizes about frolicking in a grassy meadow filled with bagel – it is a magical meadow, where different varieties of bagel actually sprout from the Indiana soil upon which I skip.

But suppose I take that bagel and replace it with a tortilla, and substitute a five-block stretch of East Harlem for the meadow.
Well, now I’ve just entered a dream that was indeed realized by thousands of Harlem residents in 1938. And it’s one that could recur as soon as this summer.

La Marqueta, once the pride of Spanish-speaking New York, was a giant public market located along Park Avenue from 111th to 116th Streets. Created under Mayor Fiorello Laguardia, the market was a place where immigrants could get a taste of home – residents found freshly imported bacalao (salt fish), platanos (plantains) and hundreds of other delicacies from their Latino countries.

Over the years, due to a combination of economic downturns and political upheavals, the market languished. Today, La Marqueta only spans half a block, and of the 500 businesses that were once there, only eight are left.

But there is news of big plans to turn this market around. Sixteen million dollars has already been secured by the East Harlem Business Capital Corporation to create an even larger market - complete with freshly imported foods, restaurants and cafes. The development team has secured a 49-year lease on the space that runs from 111th street to 119th street under the Metro North Viaduct above Park Avenue, and insiders say they are optimistic that a groundbreaking could occur this summer.

When I return to my original dream, I wonder how the bagel will fit into the landscape of this project. In the past, East Harlem has been home to scores of immigrant groups - Italians, Jews, and West Indians, to name a few - and all of them have found a space for the food that connects them to their roots. I'm hopeful that as my grassy meadow slowly fades into cement terrain, I'll find a place in East Harlem where I can enjoy the bagel that brings me closer to home.

Cramped Quarters

It’s been said that at any given moment, most New Yorkers are looking for one of three things: a new job, a new relationship or a new apartment. I’ve spent most of my time in Manhattan looking for the latter, as my midwestern sensibilities of what constitutes an apartment were never challenged until I moved here.

A quick review of what I learned in Indiana:

An apartment fits couch and bed.
An apartment comes complete with toilet and sink.
A crack den does not an apartment make.

A quick review of what I learned living in Manhattan:

For $1,700 a month, one fits either couch or bed.
For $1,950 a month, one gets either toilet or sink.
A crack den does not an apartment make.

It’s taken me five years and seven apartments to find a place that not only has room for a toilet, sink, couch and bed but also a dishwasher, an extra bedroom and a dining room - oh my! So, it figures that only after getting a much larger place, do I discover that there can be a big reward for living in a teeny space.

Curbed.com tipped me off to Apartment Therapy’s annual Smallest, Coolest Apartment Contest – an online competition for the best apartment in NYC and beyond that is under 650 square feet. Curbed tracked last year’s contest and noted gems like "Brandon's Chic Shoebox", a 450-square-foot apartment on the Upper West Side. Here are a couple more you'll enjoy.

Move Over Hippie, Here Comes Something Funkier

As hundreds of thousands of people grooved their way into the national spotlight at Woodstock in the summer of 1969, a story of soul, funk and R&B was unfolding in New York City’s Central Park – an event that’s been seemingly forgotten. Until today.

Thirty-seven years after the Harlem Music Festival drew huge crowds to the northern end of the park, a couple of filmmakers are bringing the event, sometimes referred to as the Black Woodstock, out of obscurity. They have just announced that they are compiling footage of the six-day show into a feature-length film and their goal is to have it ready in time to premiere at January’s annual Sundance Film Festival.

The Harlem Music Festival was originally shot by television producer and director Hal Tulchin, who said that no distributor was interested in purchasing the footage after the event.

“Time and time again I was told candidly, 'There is no interest in putting on a Black special,'" Tulchin said.

Emceed by Jesse Jackson, the security at the Harlem Film Festival was provided by the Black Panthers – a job said to have been declined by the New York Police Department. There were performances by B.B. King, Sly & the Family Stone, the Staples Singers, and Mahalia Jackson. Along with show performances, the filmmakers plan to put the concerts in historical context through interviews with surviving participants.

Turn on, tune in and funk out.

New Angle On The Bagel?

As I wander my East Harlem neighborhood in search of a fresh bagel, there’s news today that I’m looking at the bagel from the wrong angle.

Certainly the bagel has evolved in the 30-some odd years that I’ve been tracking its whereabouts; it’s generally gotten bigger in size and the bagel’s rise in popularity is evident by all those clamoring to be close to it: the raisin, the chocolate chip; even the jalapeno pepper wants to get in on the bagel party.

But now, it seems, there’s a new bagel boiling and it’s causing quite the doughy uprising here in El Barrio (I’m uprising). A new line of square-shaped bagels has hit the market. Thomas' has launched a product they refer to as “Square Bagel Bread.”

I haven’t brought myself to try one, but I researched it and the squagel isn’t getting good reviews. One blogger wrote:

“It sucks on a level that goes above and beyond what I have come to expect from the bread-aisle bagel.”

The only new angle I’m taking away from the square bagel is that my old faithful – Lender's – isn’t looking nearly so bad...

Separating Church and Real Estate

If Harlem’s rising real estate prices weren’t tension-inducing enough for long-time renters, the condominium conversions of area churches are sending residents into a frenzy.

“It’s sacrilegious,” said East Harlem resident Joe Rodriguez. “First they take our apartments and now they’re taking our churches.”

With hundreds of churches in Harlem, real estate developers have begun transforming these houses of worship into luxury residences; some individual units priced well over a million dollars. Although the trend has been gaining momentum in West Harlem, it just touched down a block away from my east side apartment.

The former Gospel Temple Church of America, located on 127th Street and Fifth Avenue, will undergo a major renovation and is now being marketed as The Rhapsody on Fifth – a 22-unit luxury condominium complete with bamboo floors, fitness room and doorman.

Bobby Brown, the superintendent of an income-restricted rental residence across the street from the new Rhapsody, said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the purple advertisements on the church announcing plans for the new condominium.

“I know things have been changing around here,” he said in disbelief. “But the church?”

Although some developers continue to build affordable housing in the area by renting or selling some units at market rates while using profits to subsidize apartments for working-class and middle-class residents, other private developers are outbidding nonprofit groups for land. In a neighborhood where the median family income is approximately $26,000 – half the citywide median – some residents are disoriented by the high-priced real estate.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Karen Phillips, a long-time Harlem resident and NYC planning commissioner, said that finding the middle ground is imperative.

“Harlem has a chance to be one of the few neighborhoods where you have a true mix of races and incomes," she said. "The challenge is to keep the housing affordable and to remind people that we live in a neighborhood with a heritage of struggle."

That struggle can certainly be felt here today, but how will it translate to the Harlem of tomorrow?

Friday's Short

Oscar Wilde said that life imitates art far more than art imitates life. With all the changes occurring in my neighborhood, I thought this weekend’s Harlem Film Festival could be an interesting venue to test Wilde’s theory.

I was curious if any of the 25 films selected for the three-day event reflect the changing environs of this area; what impact, if any, the new conversations on the streets of Harlem are having on the films being screened and how the artists are incorporating that dialogue into their films.

I spoke to Brad Learmonth, the director of programming for the festival, and while admitting that Harlem has changed, he noted that the issue of gentrification is highlighted specifically in only one of the films – Harlem Stories: A Community In Transition.

“Most importantly, the changes in Harlem are economic,” Learmonth said. “And while that might drive ticket prices up or increase attendance to the event, it’s important to point out that people of all colors are moving into Harlem.”

In fact, this weekend’s event showcases 23 filmmakers of all color; African American, Latino, East Indian, Asian and White, to name a few. Michelle Materre, the curator of the film festival, pointed out that while the filmmakers are from all over the country and the world, the themes of their films are universal.

“The stories encompass a wide range of issues,” she said, pointing to films on such topics as self-esteem, racism, women’s rights and social activism.

The three-day event kicks off today and runs through Sunday – here’s a program guide if you’re interested. If anyone attends, let the rest of us know your thoughts… Have a great weekend and keep an eye out for the bagel.

After School Story

Nine-year-old Narcius Burns says he’s always felt safe in East Harlem.

“If someone tries to steal my money somebody’s always around to help,” he says matter-of-factly. “I know a lot people.”

As if on cue, a 40-somethingish man with cornrows in his hair and a young boy at his side comes over to the sidewalk corner where Narcius and I are standing. “Who’s this lady, Narcius?” he asks cautiously.

“Oh don’t worry about her,” Narcius replies glancing up at me. “She just wants to know what I think about Harlem.”

The man eyeballs my notebook and informs me that he’s a friend of Narcius’ family. He politely tells me that if I want to continue talking to Narcius, I will need to speak to his mother.

“No problem,” I stammer.

“She’s not far,” he says to me, answering the question that’s on my mind. He takes out his cell phone, dials a number and begins walking south toward 125th Street.

As we follow a few steps behind, Narcius tells me he's in the fourth grade at P.S. 197 in Harlem. He says he gets straight A’s and B’s and when he grows up he wants to go to Harvard and become a lawyer. I ask him what he’ll do with all the money he earns and he says that besides giving it to his family, he’d like to build new playgrounds and churches in the neighborhood because some of them are run down.

“So you’re going to stay in Harlem?” I ask. “There are so many places all over the world where you could live. Why do you want to stay here?”

He tells me that he likes other places but that he “gets to be friends with people of other cultures here.”

“Well that’s a good reason,” I say as we make our way off the busy street and into an old hair salon on 125th street.

A nice-looking woman named Vera, who I learn is Narcius’ mother, greets me inside.

I tell her why I’m talking to her son and try explaining the bagel blog to her. Although she must think this bagel business is nuts, Vera nevertheless agrees to let me sit down on a salon chair and finish my interview with her son.

“My mom does hair,” Narcius says to me as he puts his backpack on the ground and settles in.

He tells me that he’s looking forward to his science class this year because he gets to dissect a frog. In his free time he likes to play football and collect rocks in Marcus Garvey Park.

When we finish chatting, Narcius walks me out of the beauty shop and asks where I live.

I point east and tell him just a few blocks away.

“I know a lot of people around here,” he says. “So you can tell me if you need anything.”

I thank him, say goodbye and make my way home. It’s been a long time since a 9-year-old had my back. I’m glad he does.

Mo' Better Moves

New York City real estate brokers won't be singing the bagel blues for at least another couple of weeks. In an effort to deter rental brokers from posting the same apartment several times in a single day, Craigslist had planned to start charging them $10 a listing beginning today. But just hours before the deadline, a two-week delay was announced by site CEO Jim Buckmaster:

"Based on feedback received through your emails and in this forum, we are not convinced we are ready to provide the level of customer service required for paid postings in the NYC apartment categories, and will be postponing charging by at least two weeks. More details to come."

While we wait for the specifics on these changes, I wanted to pass along a couple of Craigslist-related tips. I found my East Harlem apartment on Craigslist and after catching a glimpse of my place in a recent NY Times article, readers have emailed looking for details on how I did it.

My trick of the serial moving trade is quite simple: Never meet a broker without seeing pictures of the apartment first. I searched hundreds of apartments online by using one search word: "pictures". Plug this word (and the neighborhood where you'd like to live) into the search button on Craigslist. If you don't see pictures, the broker doesn't get your bagel. If the pictures appear blurry or warped, move on to the next posting.

Also, the search words "rent stabilized" and "pictures" can work. If, by the way, the apartment is listed as "rent stabilized" but the rent is more than $2,000 a month, you have not found a rent stabilized apartment. The broker is pulling your bagel. Rent stabilization is only valid on apartments below $2,000 a month.

With a little help from my friends at Curbed.com, I've attached a few Web sites to make your bagel hunt a bit easier. If you know of any other good sites, please let us know...

Craigslist.com - Fee and no-fee apartments. I found serial move apartment #3, #6 and #7 on this site.
NYTimes.com - An oldie but a goody. I found serial move apartment #1, #2 and #5 on this site.
Plugstar.com - "Low listings volume but pleasing layout like Craigslist."
RealtyPostings.com - "Slick-looking newcomer with seeming potential."