I Love Harlem Y'all

Stevie Wonder tune, My Cherie Amor



I love Harlem y'all.
We don't want to give it away,
Wear your Harlem hat;
From here until the Milky Way;

Adam Clayton Powell;
Showed us the true spirit;
Of the General welfare;
So, now let's here it,
I love Harlem Y'all,
Our Harlem is here to stay.

The T-shirt Queen is doing her best to rally the troops with her "I LOVE HARLEM" line of appaarel.

It's unbelievable, even the Record Shack on 125th St. is slated to close in March of 2008. This is after years of fights and riots, including a strange incident which left the perpetrator and 8 others dead in 1996. It's like the wall of money coming in is just so huge. It's up to the politicians to protect Harlem with zoning laws and the like.

Action at the Cotton Club, in Harlem NY

The Cotton Club has been since 1978 at West 125th St., by the West Side Highway. You can go there for a musical performance or just to buy some souvenirs. See their website at the Cotton Club.
Every Monday night is Swing Dancing night, where you get to do original swing dancing to a 13-piece jazz and swing ensemble, the house band, the Cotton Club Allstars. They play 3 50-minute sets, with 20-minutes breaks in between, and a music charge of $15.00 a head. The Cotton Club is also known for its Southern style cuisine.

And don't forget your I Love Harlem t-shirts, and other apparel.

Harlem Mall and Harlem Sprawl

Harlem Mall and Harlem sprawl are striking again. It is not necessarily a bad thing that lots of construction is going on in Harlem, but isn't it premised on making $150,000 a year or so. This is in a community where family income hovers around $35,000/year or less. Even if it was $80,000, you can't afford rents over $2,000 a month really, or maybe barely.

So let's just list "the new projects'. Across the river in the South Bronx, the Gateway Mall is slated for 2009, along the Harlem River and the Major Deegan, starting at East 149th St. You have the construction of the East Harlem Auto Mall at East 127th to East 128th st. There is the East Plaza Mall, to have Home Depot and Costco, at 116th St and the East Side Highway.

On the West side, you have Columbia University's projects. You have the land grab around the Apollo theatre area. It seems like this is going to be big box store heaven, but where do the indigenous residents live, if they can't hit the $150,000 a year income?

So, show your Love Harlem Forever and I Love Harlem pride, at the Tee Shirt Queen. Peace and love.