Central Harlem, 126th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue

I need to wrap this up tonight; I've been on it over 4 weeks, for god's sake. No wait a minute, one week of that was inactive due to vacation. Well, even three weeks is too long. Anyway, yesterday, I went on a new walk, in a new area for this blog: the meatpacking district! To visit the brand new High Line.

But in the excitement of the new, I cannot neglect the old. Below are two from the last block on 126th Street, and then I'll show you where I finally found dinner.



Mary Sargent © 2009 …………………………………….. click to enlarge




Mary Sargent © 2009 …… click to enlarge




You may remember I was looking for a place to have dinner and not having any luck.


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But here, what's this up ahead? Lenox Avenue and restaurants, primary among them, Sylvia's, the old-time famous Harlem soul food place. I haven't been there since the 80s when I went with a black man and we were treated a tad frostily. Twenty-four years later, maybe it's time to give it another chance. I enter. I see many large groups of white folks. In fact it looks like Sylvia's is the Harlem restaurant for white people. Not that there weren't any black people, but they were definitely outnumbered. I was very graciously shown to a table, alone in my singleness.

It is time for a drink, I think, looking over the cocktail list. Cocktails seemed safer than wine. I order a strawberry daiquiri, it seems like a good match for soul food.



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Omigod, here it comes; it's topped with whipped cream and a cherry! I am mortified. Luckily, no one is paying any attention to me. I order a fried pork chop, candied yams and pickled beets. Whyyyy didn't I order collard greens, blackeyed peas, mashed potatoes, anything, but candied yams? The candied yams were triple sweet with some sort of non-yam taste to them. Pickled beets are pretty much pickled beets. The pork chop, however, makes everything worthwhile. I almost never eat pork anymore since it's gotten so lean and dry and tasteless, but I had a feeling Sylvia might know where to get some unevolved pork. She did. It was great. I would go back there just for that pork chop.


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Central Harlem, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard at 126th Street

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The building across the street is the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building which we've seen before from the front.

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Central Harlem, 126th Street Between Frederick Douglas and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevards

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I can never resist a shot with color coordinated clothes. I mean, of course, coordinated with their surroundings.

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Central Harlem, 126th Street Between Frederick Douglas and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevards

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Central Harlem, Frederick Douglas Boulevard at 126th Street

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Would you have guessed that bright blue and white building was a funeral home? Their website asserts that, contrary to rumors, Unity Funeral Chapels Inc. is NOT owned by a white funeral home chain. Rather, it is owned by five African-American entrepreneurs. Check it out.

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Central Harlem, 126th Street at Frederick Douglas Boulevard

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This is what gets me about this project. I posted this photo because I liked the long shadows, the dilapidated building, the dynamics of the people all going in different directions. (Please enlarge it.) And then there's the House of Seafood. I was going to say something like, I've been looking for a place to eat and this is the first one I've seen so far, but I don't think I'll be dining there tonight. Ha ha. Dismissing it. But just in case there was something to know about it, I googled it. Here's what I found: The Village Voice: "The unprepossessing storefront—a hovel, really—offers no clue that its fish sandwiches are thrilling, a quartet of whiting filets caught locally, fried to perfection, and plunked down on whole-wheat bread with tartar and Tabasco." Thrilling. This opinion is echoed by a reviewer on Yelp: "You'd never guess that this place makes ridiculously good whiting sandwiches, on par with Famous over on 145th St." (Note to self: remember Famous when I'm on 145th Street.)

The problem, you may have noticed, is that House of Seafood is closed. Here's an article from the New York Post in October 2007 that tells why. Redevelopment.

I do like a good fish sandwich, and the best one I ever had was a whitefish sandwich in upper Michigan. But even that wasn't thrilling. And now it looks like I'll never have a thrilling fish sandwich.

But what I mean about what gets me about this project is that it seems everywhere I look there's more there than I think. It's so rich. There's so much. This is why I go ever slower and slower.



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Central Harlem, 126th Street Between St. Nicholas Avenue and Frederick Douglas Boulevard

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Stark. Yet not.

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Central Harlem, 126th Street Between St. Nicholas Avenue and Frederick Douglas Boulevard

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As I was shooting the house with the bower of roses (see two posts back), these two boys came ambling down the street. An instant later, they looked up and saw me. Did you take my picture? one of them asked. Yes, I said. Take a picture of this! they cried as they began performing.



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Take a picture of this! Take a picture of this!




Mary Sargent © 2009 ………. click to enlarge

Take a picture of this!

I wonder when they're middle-aged, will they shake their heads and say uhn, uhn.





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Just as I was about to wrap it up and ask them their names, these girls came along. What, are you modeling? one of them asked. I didn't hear the rest. Next thing I know, they've taken off back the way they came and the girls are walking off in the opposite direction.


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Central Harlem, 126th Street Between St. Nicholas Avenue and Frederick Douglas Boulevard

Mary Sargent © 2009 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Sorry to be a day late, but I was spending the night at the airport in Baltimore (don't ask). U. S. Air did it to me. Yes, I'm naming names! That'll teach em to mess with a blogger. They cancelled the 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. flights to New York because of weather and wouldn't reschedule. 6:00 a.m. was the next flight. And told me blandly, since it was weather, we can't do anything for you. It was hard to be zenlike. Well, impossible. But of course, if you get tired enough, you lose your punch.

On to happier things. Like, great vacation!, great to be home! Now, I have to go to bed.

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Central Harlem, 126th Street Between St. Nicholas Avenue and Frederick Douglas Boulevard

VACATION TIME

I'll be back next Thursday. Don't forget!



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Meantime here's a pretty summertime photo. Note: we've passed into Central Harlem.

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Central Harlem, 110th Street Between Manhattan and Columbus Avenues

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Right next door to Check Cashing is Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too.



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Being appropriately hungry, I walked right in and had myself some authentic Southern cuisine. That being fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and sautéed spinach. Cornbread. And coconut layer cake. I hate to say this, but since the only iced tea they had was sweet (as in sweet tea), I had white wine instead. I know you don't drink white wine with fried chicken, but I couldn't come up with anything else. I don't like sweet drinks. Except for the occasional cocktail. Whiskey sours are good with Asian food. I mean the old fashioned kind of Asian food. With the stylish regional Asian food, of course, sake. But I'm off the subject here. OH. Wny didn't I ask for iced coffee? Anyway, when the food came, I'm afraid I forgot all about my readers and didn't photograph it. How was it? Satisfying, no complaints, but not outstanding. Of course, my mother was Southern.




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When I went in, it was still kind of early, 6:30, and there were no tables outside, but a bit later when I came out, it was darker and their outdoor café had appeared. I had a disagreement with Luka the other night about whether picket fences are appropriate on New York streets. True to my uncompromising and rigid sense of what's right, I don't think they are. Let me hear from you out there so we can break this tie. If you want to vote against me, just sign yourselves anonymous.

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Central Harlem, 110th Street Between Manhattan and Columbus Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …….. click to enlarge

Along about here, I started wondering where all those people in Towers in the Park ate, as I hadn't seen a restaurant since I started this walk. The answer lies straight ahead (tomorrow).

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Central Harlem, 110th Street Between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


This is only a small part of the stacks of construction materials along the street here. I asked a man walking with a baby stroller if he knew what all that stuff was and he said materials for the reconstruction of Frederick Douglass Circle. Those were tiles to lay down. It's been going on for three years, he said. Not happy.


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Central Harlem, Frederick Douglass Circle at 110th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard

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This is Towers on the Park, a condominium built in 1988. I remember there was some stir about it at the time; according to The New York Times, in an article dated August 27, 1989, and titled A Housing Renaissance Sweeps Central Harlem ". . . it was hailed as the start of a housing initiative that would put home ownership within reach of many more Harlem residents." The article goes on to discuss at some length the other projects in the works, the problems and concerns and the cautious optimism.

Now 20 years later, I guess I should track down all those projects and see if they actually happened.

As for Towers on the Park, while it's not hideous, it could certainly look better. Maybe some nice graffiti.

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Central Harlem, Central Park North Between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Boulevards

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After I took this shot, the woman in the middle called me over and with a few friendly remarks handed me the Watchtower pamplet, Awake! The cover article was "Should You Fear the Future?" I guess I'd have to say yes. So I took it. I didn't promise to read it, though.




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How would you like to live across the street from this?

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue at 110th Street

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The plaza beside the new condominium. A group of kids were taking turns jumping on this curb and sliding down. I'm used to seeing kids practicing with their skateboards, but this is skates only.

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue Between 111th and 110th Streets

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Well, look at this. This was not here when I was here a little over a year ago. I fell into a conversation with a man waiting for a bus in front of the building and he told me, yeah, they started it about a year ago. He said apartments were selling for 4.5 milliion. He said if he had 4 and a half million, he would not live in this neighborhood. This is not a good neighborhood, he said. We agreed that there was an unbelievable amount of construction going up and they were selling apartments for an unbelievable amount of money, and I said people have more money than they know what to do with, and we both deplored such a state of affairs and then his bus came and we parted friends, having been in agreement on the issues.

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue Between 114th and 113th Streets

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Carved at the top of this building is "Westminster Hall". I don't know what it was originally, but now it houses a community services organization, called Create, providing rehab and counseling services and shelter, among other things.

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue Between 115th and 114th Streets

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It was a beautiful day; I had to take my jacket off and tie it around my waist, and lots of little children on the street. Parents standing in groups waiting to pick them up.

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Central Harlem, Lenox Avenue at 116th Street

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Now the real walk begins. I took the 1 train to 96th Street and then the 3 uptown to 116th Street at Lenox Avenue. We've been here before when I was walking west on 116th Street.

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