You are currently browsing the stories about the East Harlem neighborhood
Where East Village Meets West
by Christie Grotheim 01/18/2011Neighborhood: East Harlem, East Village, West Village
Where East Village Meets West Village I’ve spent the last ten years of my life in the East Village of Manhattan, movin’ on up Avenue B. Quite literally: I first lived at 4th and B, then briefly moved to 6th between B and C, ending up on 13th and B. I lived in a shoebox […]
At the Polo Grounds
by Thomas R. Pryor 04/06/2010Neighborhood: East Harlem, Yorkville
"Hey Dad, who were you just talking to down at the end of the bar?" "Oh, that’s Al Dorow, the quarterback for the New York Titans." It was fall 1961, Dad and I were in Loftus Tavern after throwing the ball around outside on York Avenue. My two teams, the New York Giants, football, and […]
Brujeria
by Kelly Kreth 02/26/2010Neighborhood: East Harlem
Having grown up in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, most of my friends were Cuban. Marly was my best friend throughout high school and beyond. I loved hanging out with her and her mother, Mirna, because their home was so exotic. I loved eating her mom’s rice and beans, okra and pork, and practicing my Spanish. […]
I Lose My Cherry
by Thomas R. Ziegler 08/10/2006Neighborhood: East Harlem
It’s mid-afternoon on a Saturday in April 1973, and my first-day tour on the job, when that seminal alarm sounds. The disembodied voice of the dispatcher booms from loudspeakers throughout the firehouse, “Attention the following units…Engines 83, 60, 41-1 Ladders 29, 17-2 Battalion 14…Respond to…” The box number and address are given, and then the […]
The Man in the Window
by Vanessa Hartmann 07/06/2006Neighborhood: East Harlem
I noticed him during the first week of living in my new apartment. I was staring down from my fourth floor two bedroom. He sat in a window on the south side of the block, to the west of Kelly’s Flat Fix facing 3rd Avenue, his elbow hanging out the window as if he were […]
Event Horizon & The Baby Blue Jordans
by Llanira G. 12/31/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
“The movie was mad nice,” said Anissa. “That movie was the dumbest movie I ever seen,” Brian answered. “It was a waste of money. I thought that Event Horizon would be the scariest movie of the month, but turns out it was just another dumb movie.” Anissa answered, “The only reason you think it’s dumb […]
Parades
by Aundrea C. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
Sometimes I think about the reasons why I love New York, but the one thing I love the most about it is the parades in the summer time. When I was in Flatbush, Brooklyn, at my aunt’s house, we stayed to see the parade. It was the West Indian Parade and everyone was outside. There […]
My Damn Sister
by Cinetra C. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
One day I was on the M60 bus going across 125th Street. It was a nice bright sunny day. There were lots of people who had just came from shopping, from all the stores on 125th Street. I was with my friend and my little sister, who is four. My little sister’s name is Maya. […]
The Truth about Christmas Eve
by Fontae W. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
Two weeks before Christmas, my Aunt Cooklyn and I were decorating. We decorated the Christmas tree, put lights on the windows; we also decorated the apartment door. It was snowing; the exact date was December 8, 2001. “Hurry up, you’re as slow as a half dead chicken, give me the tape.” said Aunt Cooklyn. I […]
The Drano Kids
by Natalie M. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
It was a nice Saturday morning, sun shining bright and all. I woke up to get ready to go to my grandmother’s house to go shopping for her. It was about 11:00 a.m. as I got ready to go. I put on my sweatpants, my slippers, a wife beater, and a hoody. I did not […]
Snapped
by Antonio C. 08/05/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
It was a nice day, the sun was out and it wasn’t too hot or too cold it was just right. That after noon I was with my friends dub and Dee on the corner of 128th and Lexington Avenue chilling when Dee decided to go to the store. Now that we were walking to […]
The Irony of Identity
by Jerrod S. 08/05/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
Walking through the backyard to get to the basketball courts, to work out by myself at 6:00 a.m., like I do everyday. It was kind of misty outside and the grass was wet and the benches and ground were slippery. I had on basketball shorts, Orlando sweatshirt, and my ball kicks dribbling the rock through […]