Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658. It is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.

Harlem has been defined by a series of boom-and-bust cycles, with significant ethnic shifts accompanying each cycle. Black residents began to arrive in 1904, with numbers fed by the Great Migration. In the 1920s and 1930s, the neighborhood was the locus of the "Harlem Renaissance", an outpouring of artistic and professional works without precedent in the American black community. However, starting with the job losses of the Great Depression and especially after World War II with deindustrialization in New York, rates of crime and poverty increased significantly.

New York's revival in the late 20th century has led to renewal in Harlem as well. By 1995, Harlem was experiencing social and economic gentrification. Though the percentage of residents who are black peaked in 1950, the area remains predominantly black.

LOCAL PARKS & ENTERTAINMENT

Jackie Robinson Park [ between 145th and 155th Street and Edgecombe

and Bradhurst Avenue ]

St. Nicholas Park 100 Saint Nicholas Terrace and Street Nicholas Avenue

Morningside Heights Park 399 West 110th Street and Morningside Drive

Apolo Theater 253 W 125th St btw 7th Avenue and Frederick Douglass Blvd.

Museum of the City of New York 1220 5th Ave

Studio Museum of Harlem 144 West 125th Street

[ between Lenox Avenue and 7th Avenue ]

Harlem Jazz & Music Festival West 135th Street

[ from 5th Avenue to Malcolm X Blvd ]

Harlem Heritage Tours 104 Malcolm X Blvd. and 115th Street

Dyckman Farmhouse Museum 4881 Broadway

RESTAURANTS

Amy Ruth’s 113 West 116th Street [ between Lenox & 7th Avenues ]

Bilie’s Black 271 West 119th Street

[ between Frederick Douglass Blvd. & St. Nicholas Avenue ]

China de Puebla 3143 Broadway and LaSalle Street

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que 646 West 131st Street and 12th Avenue

Mis Mamie’s 366 West 110th Street [ between Columbus & Manhattan Avenues ]

Patsy ’s Pizzeria 2287-91 First Avenue [ between 117th & 118th Streets ]

Zoma 2084 Frederick Douglass Blvd. and 113th Street

SCHOOLS

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

PS028 Wright Brothers Schol 475 West 155th Street

PS046 Tapan Schol 2987 Frederick Douglass Boulevard

PS125 Ralph Bunche Schol 425 West 123rd Street

PS149 Sojourner Truth Schol 41 West 117th Street

PS161 Pedro A. Campos Schol 499 West 133rd Street

PS175- IS Henry H. Garnet 175 West 134th Street

PS180 Hugo Newman Schol 370 West 120th Street

PS 192 Jacob H. Schif Schol 500 West 138th Street

PS194 Counte Cullen Schol 244 West 144th Street

PS197 Joen Russwurn Schol 2230 Fifth Avenue

PS200 James Smith Schol 2589 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard

PS208 Alain L. Locke Schol 21 West 111th Street

PS241 Family Academy 240 West 113th Street

PS76 A. Philip Randolph Schol 220 West 121st Street

PS92 Mary M. Bethune Schol 222 West 134th Street

HIGH SCHOOLS

IS195 Roberto Clemente Schol 509 West 129th Street

Rice High Schol 74 West 124th Street

Wadleigh High Schol 215 West 114th Street

COLLEGE

Jewish Theological Seminary of America 3080 Broadway

Manhattan Schol of Music 120 Claremont Avenue

New York Colege of Pediatric Medicine 1800 Park Avenue

Teachers Colege, Columbia University 525 West 120th Street

SHOPPING

Fairway market 2328 12th Avenue

Universal Games 3529 Broadway

Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd

Atmos 203 W 125th Street

Rite Aid 2170 Frederick Douglass Blvd

LOCAL HOSPITALS

Harlem Hospital Center 506 Lenox Avenue

St Nicholas Child Health Center 281 West 127th Street

Renaisance Health Care Network 215 W 125th St # 2

TRANSPORTATION

SUBWAY 6, 2, 3, A, B, C, or D

BUS M2, M10

POLICE

28th Precinct 2271 8th Avenue [ T 212.678.1611 ]

32nd Precinct 250 West 135th Street [ T 212.690.6311 ]

26th Precinct 520 West 126th Street [ T 212.678.1311 ]

LOCAL POST OFFICES

Morningside Post Office 232 West 116th Street

Park West Post Office 693 Columbus Avenue

U.S. Post Office 365 West 125th Street

U.S. Post Office 1123 Amsterdam Avenue

Triborough Post Office 167 East 124th Street

Hel Gate Post Office 153 East 110th Street

Manhattan vile Post Office 365 West 125th Street