Friday's Bagel

Strike Out: On Monday, a nationwide "Day Without Immigrants" strike will hit Harlem's 116th Street. A community group is working with local Hispanic restaurant and store owners to "shut down" the main shopping drag. Some Latin taxi drivers say they'll pull over for an hour at noon.

"Harlem Not For Sale": That's what some protestors were chanting Thursday, as they gathered to oppose Columbia University's proposed Manhattanville expansion. Demonstrators said the plan will ruin the historic area of Harlem and force many residents out of their homes.

The Countdown Is On: For those of us counting down the minutes until Tom Cruise walks the red-carpet here, an interesting tidbit of Tom-in-Harlem history. When Cruise first came to New York, he was short on cash and used to haul garbage in Harlem to make a few extra dollars. Garbage truck no more! He'll be returning to the neighborhood for his film premiere of “Mission: Impossible III” this Wednesday by way of boat and Lamborghini.

Harlem Headlines

Suspects In Court: The four teenagers who allegedly chased an NYU student to his death during a failed robbery attempt in Harlem earlier this month are scheduled to appear in family court today. The suspects have been held in a youth detention facility, after the judge said the robbery of the student, Broderick J. Hehman, appeared to be premeditated, and that returning the boys to their homes before trial would be "contrary to their best interests" and those of the community.

Protests Over Harlem: Hundereds of demonstrators are expected to gather on 116th Street and Broadway at 4P.M. today to protest Columbia University's proposed $5-billion dollar expansion into the Manhattanville section of West Harlem. Protestors say the plan will destroy the historic area and damage the surrounding neighborhood.

More Soggy Bagel: The Associated Press reports on the "latest bit of suburban creep" to come to New York City – the 26-acre Randall's Island water park. Splash or Splat?

Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow

The Harlem real estate renaissance rolls on, as new residential developments continue to pop up in the neighborhood. Here are a few of the homes available on the market today:

Hot Bagel for Sale: A full-floor penthouse apartment includes 2-bedrooms, 2-baths plus office with wide-plank walnut floors, floor-to-ceiling windows with direct park views and private elevator access. Located on West 116th Street and Morningside Avenue. Asking: $1.6 million

Toasty Bagel for Sale: A two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with hardwood floors, open kitchen and a courtyard terrace. Located on East 110th Street and Second Avenue. Asking: $693K

Warm Bagel for Sale: A two-bedroom, one-bath apartment with open kitchen, washer/dryer hookup and recreation room. Located on East 129th Street and Madison Avenue. Asking: $520K

BONUS Bagel For Sale: It's not much to look at, but the folks at Curbed have pointed out a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment that isn't new but it sure is cheap. Located on West 144th Street and Seventh Avenue. Asking $150K (yes, 150K)

Got 1 Percent?

Harlem’s got milk, but according to health officials it’s the wrong kind.

After a New York City Department of Health study found that one out of every four residents here is obese, the city has launched a pilot program to get local bodegas to sell low-fat milk, which has fewer calories than whole milk.

Jorge Melo, a pilot participant and manager of El Barrio Superette on 115th Street and Lexington Avenue, told the New York Post: "A lot of people are buying it - especially older people and mothers with young kids.”

The program comes at a time when area residents’ health is on the decline. Death from strokes is 90 percent higher here and diabetes kills 80 percent more people in Harlem than anyplace else in the city.

Former President Bill Clinton has been outspoken on the subject, raising millions of dollars to combat childhood obesity in the neighborhood. And Harlem's soul food has gone on a diet too. Sylvia Woods, of the world famous Sylvia's restaurant, now promotes sugar substitute Splenda in her recipes and the eatery has just partnered with North General Hospital to launch a healthy cooking class program in neighborhood schools.

While it's unclear just how effective these new initiatives will be, at the very least we have officially stepped into the fray of Harlem's fat.

Risky Business

First he’s jumping on Oprah’s couch, now he’s hopping into Harlem. It seems Tom Cruise is coming to the neighborhood.

In an effort to promote his new movie, “Mission: Impossible III”, the top gun plans on crisscrossing Manhattan by motorcycle, speedboat, taxi, helicopter, sports car and subway before landing at a screening of the movie here in Harlem next week.

“Impossible!” I gasped after reading the news. I know Cruise’s behavior has been a bit odd as of late, but why is Harlem the top gun’s top choice?

While trying to unlock this mystery, I stumbled upon a news blurb that connects the star to the neighborhood. Cruise’s religion of choice – Scientology – not only has an office here (The Church of Scientology of Harlem), but the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Cavalcade is having a premiere of it’s own this week at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Plaza. Festivities run through next Sunday.

It remains to be seen if TomKat's new kitten will make an appearance, but for now Cruise's Harlem mission is scheduled to be accomplished on May 3rd.

Passover Rap

As the Passover holiday comes to a close at sundown today, I look back on the past eight days that were void of bagel. All that unleavened bread was cause for me to nearly boil over, until I was introduced to the one man who could simmer things down.

The Passover Rapper brings the cool back to matzah. His "Hip Hop Fo' Hebrews" video provided me with just what I needed to munch down every last bite. Enjoy.

Cup Of Harlem

Of the nearly 11,000 Starbucks in the world, there is but one in Harlem. Located on 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, it’s a Starbucks that bucks the trend — at least that’s what historian Bryant Simon is reporting as he visits hundreds of these coffee shops to learn what it means to live and consume in the age of globalization.

''There's a deep sense of unpredictability in the modern world,” Simon said in a recent NY Times article. “And what Starbucks provides a lot of people is predictability.''

Unless, of course, you’re in Harlem. Simon, who teaches at Temple University in Philadelphia and is working on a book titled “Consuming Starbucks”, noticed a couple of irregularities on 125th Street. According to The New Yorker:

The store was busy and cramped — too cramped, he thought — and lacked the usual niceties like upholstered furniture. The dinginess struck him as more than coincidence. “It’s a classic American story,” he said. “African-Americans get less of everything.”

While many residents here could probably take Starbucks or leave it, I'm curious about Simon's observation. Is Harlem getting a half empty cup or is Simon's filter — or view — simply the wrong fit for the Harlem pot?

Beware Of Bagel

Some bad press for the bagel today.

It seems the dough with a hole is responsible for more emergency room visits than all other household mishaps combined. An article in an Indiana newspaper (of all places) warns that people are slipping and slicing open their hand while trying to cut open the bagel.

Lucky for us, the writer offers some "anxiety-free slicing" tips that include pinching the bagel firmly between the thumb and fingers and using a gentle but steady sawing motion.

Practice safe bagel.

Home Is Where The Leak Is

Some East Harlem homeowners are speaking out today, saying their new Madison Avenue apartments are falling apart. Many moderate to middle-income families who won a lottery to buy a city-subsidized home are reporting problems such as leaky roofs, cracked foundations and poorly-fitted windows.

According to the New York Post, dozens of complaints have been filed by residents in the area between 117th and 123rd Street. One new development in particular, Madison Park, has drawn a long record of reported problems since being completed in 2002.

"Affordable does not have to mean inferior," said New York State Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright.

But as demand for affordable apartments grows, the city is trying to keep up. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has set forth an ambitious $7.5 billion-dollar plan to build 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2013.

"It's a good public policy goal to encourage people to own their own homes, but you have to build a quality product," said Lou Coletti, president of the Building Trades Employers Association. "You can pay now or you can pay later."

Until that decision is made clear, at what cost do East Harlem residents pay for these city-subsidized developments?

A Passover Story

Eighty-six-year-old Bernard Lifschultz is in the fish business here in East Harlem. In his small stall at La Marqueta on 115th Street and Park Avenue, he cuts the ends off piles of dried cod (bacalao) and organizes the fish into neat stacks on his front counter.

Although Lifschultz has been selling this kind of fish for decades to Spanish Harlem locals, he admits it’s not his favorite dish. Instead, he prefers fresh fish – particularly gefilte fish.

“We used to make it for the festive occasions, like Passover,” he says. “But now my wife usually buys it ready-made at this stage of the game.”

At this ‘stage of the game’, Lifschultz finds himself among the last in a generation of European Jews who work at La Marqueta in Spanish Harlem. There were well over 100,000 Jews in this area when the market opened in 1936, and a host of Jewish vendors set up shop.

"It was very busy," Lifschultz says, recalling the hundreds of food and clothing vendors present in the market’s heyday. “Customers had to fight their way in!”

He came to the neighborhood after serving overseas in World War II. Since then – for 55 years – Lifschultz has made a tiny corner under the Metro-North Viaduct his own. Six days a week, from 9am to 4pm, you can find him here at “Benny’s Place”, selling fish and chatting with the regulars in both English and Spanish.

“I like the atmosphere here and I like the people,” he says. “So even though I don’t have to come to work every day, I come because I enjoy being here. I like to be productive.”

Today, due to a combination of economic downturns and political upheavals, of the 500 business that were once at La Marqueta, only eight are left. While plans are in the works to expand the market, Lifschultz isn’t entirely optimistic.

"A lot of people have forgotten we're here," he says as a Metro-North train rumbles by on the tracks above. “Those officials have been talking about making it better here for years. I’m not holding my breath.”

But as I detail to Lifschultz some of the changes I’ve seen sweeping through the area he seems excited and says that he’s not planning to leave anytime soon. He chuckles when I tell him about my quest for the missing bagel in East Harlem and I ask him if he thinks a bagel stand could be in La Marqueta’s future.

“I do like a good bagel,” he says wistfully. “I suppose anything’s possible.”

Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow

As an increasing number of prospective buyers are looking for luxury apartments here in East Harlem, real estate developers are building new residences to keep up with demand. Here are a few of the newly constructed apartments available on the market today:

Pipin' Hot Bagel for Sale: A two-bedroom, two-bath penthouse apartment with two terraces, private roof deck and separate home office. Located on 112th Street and Second Avenue. Asking: $750K

Toasty Bagel for Sale: A three-bedroom, two-bath apartment with keyed elevator entry, stainless steel kitchen and common roof deck. On East 117th Street and Second Avenue. Asking $655K

Warm Bagel for Sale: A two-bedroom, two-bath south-facing apartment with small balcony and full-time concierge. Located on East 119th Street and Madison Avenue. Asking $500K

Can of Worms

As more details behind the death of the New York University student surface, law enforcement officials have announced that the motive behind the Harlem crime is robbery, not racial bias.

Although police had been investigating the incident as a possible bias crime, citing an anonymous witness who said he heard one of the black attackers yell, “Get the white guy,” they determined that the assault on the 20-year-old was instead a robbery gone awry.

But this determination has led to claims that the police are shying away from the hate-crime designation for political reasons. Prominent civil rights lawyer Norman Siegal said:

“They don’t want to have increased racial tension, racial divisiveness and violence. They’d rather ignore what’s painfully real, which is that there are still racial tensions in this town.”

Certainly racial tensions have crept into some of the threads in this blog, but I wonder what is at the heart of this latest debate. Is it reflective of a deepening racial divide here in Harlem or is this tragic story simply the tool that's being used to help pry open this can of worms?

Hatred in Harlem?

News of an alleged hate crime here in Harlem is rattling.

A homicide investigation is underway in the death of 20-year-old Broderick John Hehman – a white, New York University student who was killed just three blocks from where I live. Four teenagers have been arrested in connection to the crime and charged with second-degree murder and robbery.

Reports state that the teens were harassing Hehman outside a fast-food restaurant and chased him into oncoming traffic on 125th Street and Park Avenue, where he was struck by a car and killed. Directly before the incident, witnesses say they heard the group of teens shouting, “Get the white-boy.”

When I first heard about this story, I immediately thought of a previous thread in this blog where someone wrote that "there would be blood on the streets" if more whites continued to come into Harlem.

Even after reading that post and taking in the details of this tragic story, I was stunned by the news; it's incongruous with my perception of the neighborhood.

Is Hehman’s death a case of reverse racism? And if so, now what? Does this alleged hate crime change your view of Harlem?

Debate Class

Protestors are expected to gather in Harlem next week, as a controversy over high-priced real estate plays out in a neighborhood classroom. The issue highlights just how difficult it is to find space for charter schools in a city with such pricey property.

The debate revolves around a plan to place a new charter school — Harlem Success — into Harlem Public School 154. Advocates of the school's location say the expense of building a new school is prohibitive and that moving into P.S. 154 provides an affordable solution. Opponents say the city shouldn't be giving away these facilities to a nonpublic endeavor and that the charter school — privately-run, but with some public money — will squeeze P.S. 154.

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, many residents say the charter school is the only chance for neighborhood children to get a good education.

It's a local debate with city-wide implications: Should charter schools be placed in public school buildings?

Vague Territory

The thread in yesterday’s post brought an interesting issue to light: As more and more people find a home in Harlem, there seems to be some confusion over where, exactly, their new apartments are located. One blogger wrote:

"I believe the "luxury bagel" is on West 124th, since it technically is on the West side of 5th Avenue. I still don't understand why Elliman insists on placing it in "East Harlem" -- not that there's anything wrong with that, but technically, that's Central Harlem, no?"

The New York City Department of City Planning divides Central and East Harlem by Fifth Avenue. But the two sections outlined on this map are different from the lines drawn by long-time residents, who certainly don’t consider East Harlem to be everything above 96th Street and east of Fifth Avenue. Take a look.

Where are Harlem’s boundaries?

Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow

With real estate prices in Harlem at about half of what you'll find in other parts of New York City, it's no surprise that I'm seeing more and more prospective buyers wandering around my neighborhood. Here are a few of the apartments on the market today:

Seriously Hot Bagel for Sale: A 5,400 square-foot brownstone that can be used as a legal 3-family or single family residence. Owner triplex and floor-through one-bedrooms on two additional floors. On East 128th Street between 5th and Madison Avenues. Asking $2.65 million.

Luxury Bagel for Sale: One- bedroom, 1.5 baths in brand new luxury building overlooking Marcus Garvey Park. Washer/dryer, lobby attendant, on-site parking, state-of-the-art gym and large common outdoor terrace. On East 124th Street off 5th Avenue. Asking $464K.

Toasty Bagel for Sale: While this apartment is significantly further north and west of me (it's located next to the "Sugar Hill" area of Harlem), the views (and the price) are worth blogging about. Two-bedroom, one-bath with new floors, lighting and unobstructed South/East views of the Empire State Building. Asking $399K.

Butt Out

While a new study reveals that students in Harlem have the lowest rate of smoking in city high schools, it appears that Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel has accepted more tobacco dollars than any other New York congressional delegate.

According to a Newsday article, between 1999 and 2006, Rangel took approximately $37,000 dollars in tobacco industry campaign contributions - the most tobacco dollars received by any New York congressman. This, as Harlem students lead the pack in saying “no” to smoking.

Statistics released by City Hall show that only 11% of students in city high schools last year reported smoking - 30,000 of them - down from 23% in 1997. The highest rates of high school smokers were in Staten Island, where 23% of teens light up, and Queens, where 13% of them do. The lowest rate - 6% - was here in Harlem.

Rangel, who quit smoking 50 years ago and lost his father and uncle to lung cancer, speaks candidly about his tobacco dollars.

"I don't support them, they support me,” Rangel said, citing his voting record that supports bills that ban smoking in public spaces.

An article in the NY Daily News points to the declining number of young smokers in Harlem as part of a national trend: 378 billion cigarettes were sold in the country last year - the lowest since 1951.