KEY POINTS:
Oscar Richardson looked every inch an old-time Harlem resident. He manages a local soul band under his stage-name, Flame N' King, and he held a pack of cards as he sat in the street waiting for someone to join him for a game.
"I've lived here 40 years. I've seen it good, I've seen it not good and now it's back good again," Richardson said from his spot outside Marcus Garvey park, named after a black nationalist intellectual.
Certainly the living in Harlem - the spiritual home of black America - is better than it has been in decades. Crime is down and new developments are springing up almost overnight. Hundreds of millions of dollars are flooding into an area that was once a byword for inner-city crime, yet is now one of Manhattan's hottest neighbourhoods.
For generations, Harlem has been home to jazz, blues, soul food, Africana and all the other trappings of black American life. But now an inflow of outsiders, many of whom are white or foreign, is transforming Harlem from the heart of black America to just another slice of wealthy Manhattan.
Many locals worry that black residents, who survived the worst of the murderous crack epidemic in the 1980s, will finally fall victim to rent rises driven by wealthy white newcomers.
"People are being priced out. There's no doubt about it,' said Selwyn Roberts, another Harlem local of 40 years'. "It will change Harlem. But there's no stopping it now."
The wave of gentrification that has already transformed blighted areas like SoHo and the East Village into the haunts of models and millionaires has finally washed up on Harlem's streets. Cherished brownstone houses are being sold, while new condominium buildings are rising from vacant lots. Even high-end stores are making the trek north from downtown.
Two years ago, Israeli concert pianist Inon Barnatan bought an apartment in a Harlem warehouse that has been converted to luxury lofts. It has high brick ceilings and ample room for his piano.
The roof of the building has views of Central Park. Barnatan said he has never experienced any sort of resentment from more long-standing residents of his new neighbourhood.
"I was expecting that a little, but I have never had any reaction like that at all," he said.
Yet resentment does exist. Harlem's main thoroughfare, 125th St, was recently rezoned to allow new development, including the building of hundreds of chic apartments. An open meeting to approve the measure was disturbed by cries of "sell out" until eventually the public had to be removed.
Flashpoints can come anywhere. One of the most seemingly innocuous, yet bitterest, is over the weekly drum circle that gathers in Marcus Garvey park. Long a mainstay of the neighbourhood, the drummers have drawn the ire of some newcomers who bought expensive apartments nearby and complained of the noise. Amid accusations of racism, the drummers have been moved from one end of the park to the other.
The reason for the high passions in Harlem lie in the neighbourhood's unique place in history. Harlem became a largely black neighbourhood in the 1920s and developed into a thriving centre for black America.
It was the neighbourhood of the Apollo Theatre, jazz greats including Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club and political heroes such as Malcolm X. Its main streets and parks bear the names of black heroes including Martin Luther King and ex-slave Frederick Douglass.
It was here that the 1920s Harlem Renaissance happened; the birth of a vibrant black culture that paved the way for the civil rights movement and assertion of black political power. "It is the cultural capital for us. It is a mecca for African-Americans," said Carolyn Johnson, a Harlem businesswoman who runs the Welcome To Harlem website.
Many of the newcomers are themselves black Americans, who just happen to be wealthy and from outside the neighbourhood. That makes the issue of gentrification just as much about class as it is about race.
Chris Cullen, who writes the local blog Harlem Fur, points out that many of his fellow newcomer neighbours are black professionals, such as doctors or academics.
It also highlights the many positive aspects of the changes. There is no getting away from how bad things once got in Harlem, when burnt-out houses and a drug dealer on every corner was the norm.
Yet while all the residents appreciate the safe streets, there is still a lingering feeling that Harlem is losing its identity.
"We all know change is coming," Johnson said. "But at what price? Do we strip a community of its heritage or manage it so people here can stay and benefit, too?"
DECADES OF HERITAGE
JAZZ
Then: The Cotton Club was world renowned in the 20s and 30s, when it played host to the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
Now: Bill's Place, a renovated brownstone townhouse, has been converted into an intimate jazz club run by saxophonist Bill Saxton.
DINING
Then: Old-fashioned hearty soul food restaurants, such as Copeland's and Charles' Southern Style Kitchen.
Now: A plethora of new restaurants and bars, such as Cafe Veg, Toast and Mobay, serve up eclectic cuisine from "new soul food" to vegetarian.
LIVE PERFORMANCE
Then: The famed Apollo Theatre was a huge draw in 30s Harlem. It even had a man with a broom who would sweep unpopular acts from the stage.
Now: Some things don't change. The Apollo is still going strong, showcasing black talent as well as bands such as the Strokes.
- OBSERVER
