UPTOWNflavor

Last Sunday, the New York Times reported on the work of the AIDS care community-based organization, Iris House on 138th and Adam Clayton. It noted that “the neighborhoods around Iris House have some of the highest infection rates in the country. In Harlem, 116 of every 100,000 people are H.I.V.-positive, compared with 46 per 100,000 in New York City and 18.5 in the nation.”  

Compounding these rates is the fact that Harlem remains one of the poorest neighborhoods in all of New York City, with over a third of its residents living in poverty.  The median household income in Central Harlem and East Harlem is $21,508 and $18,564, respectively. 

Although cosmetic enhancements can be seen throughout the streets of Harlem as million-dollar condominium complexes, brand-name businesses, and institutional expansions convey a message of booming economic development and progress, many of these changes remain exactly that—cosmetic.

Frankly, I’m not interested in debating “gentrification.”  This is about people’s lives, not politics. What is increasingly troublesome is the growing invisibility of problems such as poverty and AIDS that still plague Harlem. It is rare to hear someone talk about homelessness in Harlem these days, yet it still remains a reality I see men and women in Harlem confronting everyday.

I’m  mainly concerned that issues such as poverty and AIDS still existing in our community, are being diminished at best and, at worst, rendered invisible.