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Harlem Experiences Resurgence as it Cashes in on Tight Market

NEW YORK CITY-Middle-income multifamily housing units, retail space and office space are all experiencing a new Harlem Renaissance.

By Amy Vaughn | Updated on September 24, 2000

NEW YORK CITY-Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant established the village of Nieuw Harlem in 1658 and throughout colonial times it was home to farms in the east and palatial estates for such families as the Bleekers, Rikers, Hamiltons, Beekmans and Delanceys in the west. It has since been home to great highs and terrible lows, immigrants, wealthy community leaders, distinguished culture and vicious crime. Today, it stands on the brink of a new high.

In 1994, the Clinton administration’s Empowerment Zone initiative placed a 10-year “Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone” designation on Harlem. The program is meant to revitalize suffering communities with public funds and tax incentives by inspiring private investors to commit to the area. The federal government committed $100 million, which was matched by the state and city, creating a $300-million pot.

In the six years since the designation, New York City as a whole has seen crime drop and lead the nation in job growth. In some areas of Harlem, NYPD numbers show crime has dropped 50%. While UMEZ and private investors, as well as other public fund sources, generated $68 million in the first year of the project alone, most developers and space seekers still did not consider Harlem in their searches. This is finally beginning to change.

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