East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, is a section of Harlem located in the northeastern extremity of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. East Harlem is one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City, mostly made up of Puerto Ricans, as well as a rising number of Dominican and Mexican immigrants. It includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, in which the remnants of a once predominantly Italian community remain.
East Harlem has the highest violent crime rate in Manhattan. The area is patrolled by both the 23rd Precinct and the 25th Precinct of New York City. The neighborhood suffers from many social issues, such as the highest jobless rate in New York City, teenage pregnancy, AIDS, drug abuse, homelessness, and an asthma rate 5 times the national average. It has the second highest concentration of public housing in the United States, closely following Brownsville, Brooklyn.
The neighborhood, all of which lies within Manhattan Community District 11, is bounded by East 142nd Street along the Harlem River to the north, the East River to the east, East 96th Street to the south, and Fifth Avenue to the west.
El Barrio is notable for its contributions to Salsa music. East Harlem is also the founding location of the Genovese crime family, one of the Five Families that dominate Italian organized crime in New York City as part of the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra).
Read more about East Harlem: Demographics, History, In Popular Culture, Notable People, Education, Social Issues, Land Use and Housing
Famous quotes containing the words east and/or harlem:
“The current of our thoughts made as sudden bends as the river, which was continually opening new prospects to the east or south, but we are aware that rivers flow most rapidly and shallowest at these points.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“When I got [to Hollywood], all the movie moguls claimed to be astounded by the reality of my films. How did I do it? And I’d say, “Well, it wasn’t hard to make Harlem look like Harlem.””
—Shirley Clarke (b. 1925)