East Harlem

Get to Know East Harlem

While Harlem has long been a heart of the city’s, and the country’s, African-American population, East Harlem has played a similar role for the Latino, and specifically Puerto Rican, community. Sitting north of 110th Street and east of Fifth Avenue, “El Barrio” fills the northeast corner of Manhattan. The area was known as Italian Harlem before demographic changes around the time of World War I led to it becoming a center of Puerto Rican life and receiving the somewhat-misleading nickname Spanish Harlem. Puerto Rican culture still dominates much of life in East Harlem, with El Museo del Barrio being one of the city’s leading institutions focused on Hispanic art and culture. Alongside its Puerto Rican roots, however, the neighborhood has become increasingly diverse, attracting new residents drawn by affordable apartments in a quiet area that sits conveniently near the cultural and culinary riches of the Upper East Side.

Large scale new developments in East Harlem offer a wide variety of luxury living options in the neighborhood. Notable standouts include One Museum Mile at 1280 Fifth Avenue, overlooking the Harlem Meer in Central Park, 1399 Park, a modern, new development at 104th Street and Fifth on the Park at 1485 Fifth Avenue which overlooks Marcus Garvey Park. The neighborhood has also seen the addition of a slew of boutique condominiums and rentals filling up the neighboods previously empty lots. There are plenty of historic brownstones and churches in the neighborhood. The Church of St. Paul is a landmarked Roman Catholic parish located on 117th Street. The Astor Row townhouses on 130th Street, also landmarked, are notable for having front yards giving it a suburban vibe.

Raos and Patsy’s pizza are perhaps the most famous dining institutions in the neighborood both having thrived for over 100 years! Newcomers to the gastronomic scene offer some high quality inventive fare in casual surroundings, yet in general the cuisine of East Harlem tends to be more casual with delicious Mexican and Italian options. While walking off your meal you may notice the neighborhood has many vibrant murals on the side of buildings. One artist in general who is interesting to seek out is @funqest. Originally from Japan, this prolific mural artist is based in NYC and is known for wearing a large red mask so no one knows what he looks like.