Post on 19-Aug-2019
Victoria Hsiao
Professor Nancy Aries
IDC 3001H
5/21/15
Hamilton Heights: Battles with Change
“Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies” –
Robert Kennedy
I fell in love with Hamilton Heights the first time I visited it. The neighborhood
had a different character and charm from the New York City I was accustomed to. I could
tell that despite the changes in the neighborhood, it was still nobly holding on to its rich
history and culture. After the Revolutionary War, although it was not named Hamilton
Heights at the time, the area began to transform itself from purely rural to more suburban,
and finally urban, due to its close proximity with the heart of New York City. Today this
valiant and culture-filled neighborhood is enduring its own battles with gentrification and
change as evidenced by transformations in real estate, local businesses, and
demographics.
Appropriately so, Hamilton Heights was named after one of its most famous
inhabitants: Alexander Hamilton. The founding father and first US Secretary of Treasure
spent the last few years of his life in this neighborhood. Up until the beginning of the 20th
Century, Hamilton Heights was mainly used for farming, but after an extension on the
subway line was built to connect downtown with upper New York City, many luxury
apartments and brownstones began to pop up in the area (Harlem Heights Historical
Society). This gave way to an ideal place for the upper to white middle class to reside.
During this time, City College was also erected at the top of the Convent Avenue Hill.
During the mid 20th century, the population shifted toward the African American
middle class due to the Harlem Renaissance. A period of about 40 years brought rich
black culture, such as jazz, to the neighborhood. Famous Black professionals such as
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B Du Bois, Charlie Parker and Duke
Ellington all resided in Sugar Hill. In one New York Magazine article the author writes,
“Pleasantness has a historical dimension, here. The Sugar Hill neighborhood was the
center of the sweet life during the Harlem Renaissance, the mythic destination in the
Ellington/Strayhorn standard “Take the A Train.” Langston Hughes, in a 1944 essay
in The New Republic, described these heights as the peak of black bourgeois
aspiration: “It is, I should imagine, nice to be smart enough and lucky enough to be
among Dr. Dubois’ ‘talented tenth’ and be a race leader and go to the symphony
concerts and live on that attractive rise of bluff and parkway along upper Edgecombe
Avenue overlooking the Polo Grounds, where the plumbing really works and the
ceilings are high and airy.” (Davidson)
The historical significance of this time period still has a strong presence in the
neighborhood today and is predominately what the neighborhood is known for.
Beginning in the 1980s, the neighborhood shifted again. This time the majority of the
population became Latino—predominately of Dominican origin (Harlem Heights
Historical Society). This occurred because further downtown rent was becoming too high
for the new immigrants to afford. Currently, the neighborhood is headed back in the
direction of becoming an area that mainly caters to the upper, middle-class white
population. For a long time, Hamilton Heights has managed to resist the modernization
that we see further downtown. There are laws in place to prevent knocking down
buildings for construction, and most of the businesses are predominately independently
owned and operated. Within the past ten years there have been drastic changes and they
are happening quickly and swiftly. This shift has raised concerns that the area will lose,
and is losing, its rich diverse culture of immigrants and African American/Dominican
history.
As I stood at the intersection of 145th Street during my first visit to the neighborhood,
one of the first things I noticed was the absolutely beautiful architecture of the buildings.
They weren’t the normal gray cement buildings or the characterless glass modern condos
that were springing up everywhere further downtown. These buildings had character and
detail. They were not tall, but they were wide, often spanning several storefronts. They
were made of brick and painted various shades of warm beige and orange-brown.
Some of the brownstones looked exactly like the ones downtown that sold for
millions of dollars. Many of the brownstones and buildings have a medieval feel to them,
emphasized by City College’s stunning noe-Gothic architecture. All along the buildings I
caught glimpses of botanical carvings detailing floral vines and thistles. After spending
many hours getting to the neighborhood, I can still say now that the architecture of the
buildings in Hamilton Heights are one of my favorite parts about the neighborhood.
After interviewing a woman who worked at a church in the neighborhood, I
discovered that although the brownstones looked the same on the outside, there were
drastic changes happening to the inside. She told me that developers were not allowed to
knock down the brownstones because law protected them. Hamilton Heights is a historic
district, meaning many of its buildings must be preserved to reflect its original
architecture (Hamilton Heights Historic District). However, there are few laws protecting
the insides of the buildings.
The woman Dafna and I interviewed also recounted how she knew of friends who
had lived in these brownstones that had paid an affordable rent. They were forced to
move out after their lease was up because the landlord had raised the prices. After forcing
many of the tenants out, the floor space in the brownstones was divided up into smaller
apartments so that more people and families could fit inside the buildings. Then, the
landlord sold the smaller units at a high price. According to our interviewee, there were
college students from Columbia and City College occupying the once family-inhabited
apartments. This is mainly due to the Columbia Expansion, a $7 billion plan to expand
Columbia University that has not only impacted the communities within its borders, but
has also impacted the surrounding communities as well.
Although our interviewee did not seem outright angry that this was happening, there
was an evident sadness and bitterness in her voice. It was obvious she was not an enemy
of the changes occurring but she did represent many of those who did not want to see
their friends and families being forced out of their homes. My impression was that if I
had interviewed one of the families that was forced to leave from their homes, I would
have gotten to see the side of Hamilton Heights that was against the changes happening
in the neighborhood. The problem seemed to be that the people in the neighborhood had
little power to fight back against what was happening to their homes. They did not have
resources like money or political alliances that could fight back against the changes that
were occurring. Many residents realize that they will soon be pushed out of their homes
by either eminent domain or their tenants will raise the prices in order to cater to the
students and professors who can afford to pay more.
Although it was uplifting to learn that the government was protecting the historic
authenticity of the outsides of the buildings, there seemed to be little concern for the
inhabitants that occupied the buildings. Architecture is only one aspect of a neighborhood
that needs to be protected in order to preserve culture and history.
Dafna and I also interviewed a real estate agent, who seemed to be a proponent of the
gentrification happening in the area. The middle aged white man had lived in Hamilton
Heights up until his 20s and then moved further downtown once he was able to afford the
rents of the Upper West Side. When we asked him about increasing rent prices, he
shrugged it off as a natural increase that all neighborhoods face due to inflation and rising
prices all around Manhattan. Curbed NY claims that Hamilton Heights has the fifth
largest jump in housing prices—from $503,200 in Hamilton Heights to $639,000 in 2015,
a 27% increase (Curbed). The owner of a new coffee shop stated that she had moved to
Hamilton Heights in search of affordable rents but had to move further uptown to
Washington Heights because the rents had increased so much in the past two years.
We also asked the real estate agent if he noticed any changes in the demographics of
the area and he noted that he noted there were more “hipsters” moving in who were able
to afford the increasing rent prices. He seemed to encourage this transition but failed to
comment on how many of the immigrant families had to move out to accommodate the
new influx of middle class citizens. He denied that landlords were “forcing” out blacks
and argued that they were simply trying to remain competitive in a tough market. His
point of view represented the other side of the struggle with gentrification. Although he
showed little concern for how many blacks and Dominicans were being forced to move
out of the area, his point of view made me look at how gentrification is sometimes
inevitable no matter how hard you try to resist it, and can be beneficial towards as many
people as it harms. This real estate agent was an excellent example of those who were
fighting on the side of new change in Hamilton Heights.
Residential rent in the area has traditionally ranged from about $800 to $1,500 per
month. Today, prices are about 2,300 per month, which is only $200 away from the
median Manhattan rent price of $2,500 (Longman). The median value of owning an
apartment in Hamilton Heights is $630,000—a 10% increase within the past year. This
rate is supposed to increase by 4.1% within the next year (Zillow). Even more concerning
is the number of foreclosures in the area; the foreclosure rate is about 5.5 homes per
10,000 compared to 0.5 homes per 10,000 in the rest of New York. There is no doubt that
many people are choosing to leave their homes because they can no longer afford to stay
in the area.
According to one woman in an article I read, “The community needs to be educated
to what their tenant’s rights are, and the community needs to be empowered,” she says,
“because if they are not empowered, we are going to disappear.” Many locals believe that
it is important their neighborhood emphasize passing down history, rather than trying to
become more gentrified. The local residents in the area are very aware of just how
drastically the neighborhood is changing and many of them do not want it to.
The Columbia Expansion into Manhattanville has greatly impacted the Hamilton
Heights Community; there is little argument about this point. The disagreements lie in
whether these changes are beneficial or harmful. In addition the Columbia Expansion,
there are other factors for its increasing popularity and gentrification. The Upper West
Side of Manhattan is an undeniably desirable place to live for upper income families, but
these days—even they can’t afford to keep their families of three, four and sometimes
five—afloat with such high rent (Longman). Prices in the suburbs are decreasing, while
prices in Manhattan are increasing at an alarming rate. All in all, the transformation of
Hamilton Heights and its property prices is projected to be a big economic improvement
for the area. Who wouldn’t want to live in one of these beautiful newly renovated, yet
still-rustic on-the-outside brownstones? The real question will be whom will it benefit in
the long run.
After marveling at how beautiful the architecture of Hamilton Heights I was able to
focus in on many of the obvious changes that were also happening on the outside of the
buildings. The storefronts that occupied the brownstone buildings were comprised of a
variety of businesses ranging from corporate chains to small businesses. For example, on
just one block alone I saw a Dunkin Donuts and Popeyes as well as small businesses such
as “Chelsea Hair Salon” and “African American Caribbean Market and Halal Meat”.
There was also a shoe repair store, a dry cleaner, a foot care center, a dental office, a
beauty salon and a deli. Many of the store owners seemed to be first generation
immigrants—they spoke in Spanish or in English with accents. It was evident that
although there were quite a few corporate restaurants and stores in the area, there was still
a strong presence of small businesses owned by members of the community. Although on
the outside the neighborhood seemed to be quiet and friendly, beneath the surface there
were rising tensions all along the street stemming from tensions between the old
businesses and new franchises.
During one of the interviews Dafna and I conducted I asked a young black man if
he had a job and his reply was that he was looking for one but he hadn’t heard back from
anywhere yet. He had applied to places such as Foot Locker, Modell’s and Pathmark but
hadn’t heard back from them yet. He noted that the process of applying for jobs was
changing in the area. “It used to be that you could just walk into a store and apply right
there, but with more well-known franchises entering the area, it’s a lot harder”. Now, in
order to get jobs people must first apply online, and then go in for an interview. With this
hiring process in place, it is harder for young people obtain jobs, when people from
virtually anywhere can apply for jobs online. Chain stores and franchises are heavy users
of this online application method.
The result of gentrification for this young man was that he was unable to access even
low-wage jobs. This observable contrast between the types of business in the area served
to shed light on the fact that there seemed to be an ongoing struggle between immigrant
run local businesses and franchises. The people that were able to get jobs in these two
businesses were either young white people or people that spoke fluent Spanish, leaving
little room for the African Americans that were born and raised in the area, which may be
one of the reasons that African Americans that are moving out of the area.
When I asked him if the situation was improving, he seemed optimistic, indicating
that even though the changes in his neighborhood had forced him to move, he was not
totally against gentrification. He expressed that the Projects were experiencing
gentrification in addition to the rest of the Heights. “There is less violence in my
neighborhood and thinks are a lot quieter… And a lot more peaceful… I like it better that
way”. In fact crime rates have dropped in the area by 60% within the past few years
(Jackson). According to our interviewee, the people that seemed to be moving into the
projects were families and young people who had lived in better areas but that were
trying to escape rising rents, instead of the druggies and gangs that had previously
dominated this particular area of Hamilton Heights.
This young man seemed to have conflicted views about the old and new in his
neighborhood. He was finding it more difficult to get a job but was also glad that there
was less violence in the area. According to an article in the Real Estate Section of the NY
Times, the Columbia Expansion has brought more positive aspects to the neighborhood
rather than negative effects. The article states that Hamilton Heights residents are looking
forward to the new stores and entrepreneurship that the expansion will encourage. They
claim that residents were inconvenienced by having to go downtown to grocery shop or
even grab a Starbucks. They also said that the grocery stores in the area lacked a good
selection of fresh produce (Hughes).
Evidence has suggested that this view does not resonate with all the members of
the neighborhood. Early efforts to install new business in the area seemed to have failed.
For example, Tres Pasos Mexican Kitchen, Vinegar Hill Bread Market and Café Largo,
opening in 2007 but are now closed down (Hughes). Despite the failures of these three
businesses, there has been some success recently. Trufa, on West 139th St. and Tonalli
Café Bar have been prospering in the past year or so. This reflects what the black woman
we interviewed had said about the streets in the neighborhood. “They are always
changing. To me it seems new businesses are closing down or opening up every few
months!” (Hughes).
One woman from the New York Times article suggested that the reason the
Italian restaurants were doing well was because “The neighborhood is changing, so we
wanted to, too”. Another woman said that she would like to see a new stationary store or
clothing boutique in the area (Hughes). This illustrates that the community is still
struggling to find its particular direction. Some residents want to see change and are
willing to abandon the neighborhood’s cultural past. They are in favor of businesses that
promote a more culturally diverse mix, rather than sticking with the Mexican restaurants
that one can assume would be popular in the area given its demographics. To one person
a new “hipster” restaurant is a sign that prosperity for the neighborhood is soon to come,
but to another, this may mean the loss of a community due to gentrification.
Besides changes in the real estate of the neighborhood, as well as in businesses in
the neighborhood, demographics are also a key indicator that gentrification and the old
culture of the neighborhood are at odds. In 2000 there was a total population in the
neighborhood of 111,724 people, in 2010 there was a slight decrease in population to
110,193 people (United States Census Bureau). Of the 111, 724 people in 2000 31.3% of
the population was black. This number has had an almost 10% decrease in 2010. This
clearly indicates that blacks are leaving the area, which is concerning because historically
Hamilton Heights has been a neighborhood infused by black culture. The largest
population in 2000 was actually the Hispanics, which is not surprising, since the
Domincans began to dominate the area in the 1980s. They made up about 43.2% of the
population in 2000 and had a slight decrease to 42.7% in 2010.
The biggest indicator of gentrification is the increase in the white population over 18
from about 18,000 to 23,000—a 28% increase (United States Census Bureau). They went
from representing a fifth of the population to a quarter of the population. Meanwhile, the
Black population in that age group decreased by 16.9% from 18,140 people to 23,224
people. The white population under 18 years old alone there was a dramatic 27% increase
from 2000-2010. Although the cause is unclear as to this increase in the population under
18 years old, it is easy to speculate that more white families with young children are
moving in to the neighborhood. In the population of African Americans under 18, there
was a 47% decrease, indicating that black families with young children may be moving
out of the area due to increasing rents for smaller spaces and lack of jobs for them in the
area. The white families and college students or graduates are occupying these spaces.
Data and numbers are useful in proving the point that this area is going through major
confrontations with the forces of gentrification, but to me the real evidence lies in the
personal experiences of those who have lived in the area or are moving out of the area.
After conducting interviews all around Hamilton Heights, I was motivated to find the
data and concrete evidence that proved this neighborhood was going through battles with
change. Overall, I found that gentrification is winning and probably will continue to win.
Gentrification is definitely not all bad—there is much evidence to support its benefits—
but hopefully the rich culture and diversity of the neighborhood will not all be lost.
Indeed, “progress is a nice word, but change is its motivator. And change has its
enemies.” But change doesn’t always represent a loss for one side and a win for the other.
Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood that truly deserves to be valued for its rich cultural
and historical aspects despite the changes it is going through.
Works Cited
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