Demographics
Manhattan Community District 11, which covers East Harlem in its entirety, is a mostly low and moderate income area. It is made up of first and second generation Puerto Ricans, African-Americans, Italians and a growing population of Mexicans, West Indians, Dominicans, Asians and Central American immigrants.
It has one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in all of New York City. In the 2000 Census, 52.1% District describe themselves as of Hispanic origin, 35.7 as Black Nonhispanic, 7.3 as White Nonhispanic, 2.7 Asian and Pacific Islander Nonhispanic, 1.7% as Two or more Races Nonhispanic, and 0.5% as other. By New York City averages, the youth makes up a larger than normal percentage of the East Harlem population with 30.6% of residents age 18 or younger.
93.6% of all housing units are renter occupied, and over 25% of the population resides in public housing units managed by the NYCHA. 46.5 percent of the population receive a form of income support by the government.
According to a 2010 study, the number of Asians in East Harlem doubled between 2000 and 2010, largely due to Chinese people moving to East Harlem. Increasing rents in Lower Manhattan's Chinatown drove many into public and subsidized housing developments in the neighborhood. Advocates have been calling for Chinese language services to be available in the community centers to accommodate the growing number of Chinese residents in the area. In 2000, the Chinese population was less than one percent, but by 2010, it has gone up to being three percent in the area.
Read more about this topic: East Harlem