By Elizabeth Arakelian<\/p>\n
The Apollo Theater looks somewhat accidentally placed on 125th Street. The relic of the Harlem Renaissance now stands among modern day icons of consumer culture, with a Red Lobster next door and an American Apparel across the street.<\/p>\n
A similar phenomenon is occurring nearby. The Hotel Theresa, once regarded as the \u2018Waldorf Astoria of Harlem,\u2019 now houses offices above a White Castle and Aerosoles store. The former Blumstein department store, the first to have black mannequins in the 1930\u2019s, a black Santa Claus in the 1940\u2019s, but for a long time <\/span>refused<\/span><\/a> to hire black workers, eventually shuttered its windows in the late 20th century. Now, Platinum Jewelry of 125th Street is in residence among other stores. Hurricane Sandy dislodged Blumstein\u2019s original marquee in 2012 and it was removed, erasing the last detail of the historic building, save for its Art-Nouveau architecture.<\/span><\/p>\n But the changes aren\u2019t stopping.<\/p>\n This year a 39,000 square foot Whole Foods<\/span> Market<\/span><\/a> is slated to open at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue in the same building that will house a Burlington Coat Factory, Olive Garden and American Eagle. Many residential streets are fraught with construction equipment as additional modern condos will be <\/span>built<\/span><\/a> into the Harlem landscape, known for its historic brownstones.<\/span><\/p>\n But, what could be interpreted as a commercial assault on Harlem\u2019s history is met with mostly ambivalence by residents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is what it is,\u201d said Ron Armstead of the shifting culture in Harlem, where he\u2019s lived nearly 50 years. \u201cIt\u2019s a change. Change must happen. That\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Harlem has a storied history as an epicenter of cultural and creative expression during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920\u2019s, today, the borough is largely residential, serving as a bedroom community for commuters to areas like midtown Manhattan. Central Harlem\u2019s wide, tree-lined streets are accented with nearby historic statues, like that of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Harriet Tubman. Fusty brownstones that sit shoulder to shoulder have entertained such owners as author Maya Angelou and actor <\/span>Neil Patrick Harris<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n A historically black enclave, the demographics in Central Harlem are shifting. The number of black residents have dropped by more than 10,000 people from 2000 to 2010, according to City University of New York\u2019s<\/span> Center for Urban Research<\/span><\/a>. In Central Harlem South alone, white residents have have swelled from 3.5 percent of the population to 16 percent. This change in racial composition is undercut by an overall increase of nine percent in the number of people that call Central Harlem home — 109,095 to 118,665 — between the years of 2000 and 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n But, Harlem resists being neatly buttoned up in data. It\u2019s complex and diverse and ever changing, especially now. Like in many neighborhoods, people gage the tone of community by what they hear from others. The Wall Street Journal attributes information to what \u201clocals say\u201d in its<\/span> article<\/span><\/a> on Harlem\u2019s historic Sugar Hill neighborhood. <\/span><\/p>\n Harlem resident Christine Reedy, 27, moved to the area nine years ago and has since had a daughter. Initially, she had reservations about the school system, having \u201cheard a lot of negative things about the schools.\u201d But Reedy said the system, as well as free programs for kids in the community, where her daughter plays tennis, have improved. She likes the changes at play in Harlem, including the new Whole Foods, because the area feels safer, especially as she welcomes baby number two.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really see a crime statistic, but you would hear terrible things, you know. But, it\u2019s changed. It\u2019s a lot safer,\u201d said Reedy.<\/p>\n Reedy\u2019s instinct is correct according to <\/span>DNAinfo<\/span><\/a>\u2019s Crime and Safety Report, which states the most serious crimes, including murder and rape, have declined by 71 percent in the precincts that cover Central Harlem from 1993 to 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n Harlem is also regarded as the latest borough to capture the interest of <\/span>young professionals<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI already had a group of friends who moved here and I think that seems to be a trend in Harlem for young professionals,\u201d said Harlem resident Varsha Purda, who is white. \u201cThey will know a friend who lives up here and then people will slowly start to build a community and that\u2019s how the gentrification of young professionals has kind of taken over this area I think.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacqueline Orange, a 14 year Harlem resident and owner of Taste Harlem, which provides food and culture tours of the area, said the uptick in young professionals since she arrived has been noticeable.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are absolutely more young professionals,\u201d said Orange. \u201cIt\u2019s affordable, it\u2019s a great nightlife, it\u2019s a bedroom community meaning many people live and play there, but don\u2019t work there.\u201d<\/p>\n These people moving in, like the young professionals, are also the ones helping to bolster Harlem\u2019s vibrant restaurant scene, said Orange.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first came you might see a new restaurant once a year. Now you can\u2019t even keep up,\u201d Orange said.<\/p>\n