The 10 Year Plan: Touring NYC: Harlem

Many of us who are new to New York have preconceived ideas about Harlem, but those notions are simply untrue. For example, Susan thought that Harlem dwellings would be large, run-down tenement buildings covered with graffiti and boarded up with plywood. She wondered if the streets would be dangerous.

Whatever Harlem's reputation was a few decades ago, things there in August 2016 appear to be different. Susan, her sister Sally, and brother-in-law Rob went on a two-hour guided walking tour that started at 125th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard and they discovered a lot!

What they observed: The main streets of Harlem are wide and clean. Trees line the residential streets where lovely brownstones have been renovated. A TV show ("The Plug") was being filmed on a quiet side street. Sidewalk vendors sold artwork and jewelry to passersby. A free concert was scheduled in a courtyard outside the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. government building.

Street vendors offered jewelry, clothing, and watermelon to those who thronged the busy sidewalks.

A mural of band leader Cab Calloway spans the side wall of the large hospital at 125th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.

Abyssinia Baptist Church is a wealthy, historic church in Harlem. Among its famous preachers were Adam Clayton Powell and, later, his son (Adam Junior) who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Abyssinia's Sunday Gospel service attracts crowds from all over the city, and it's said that those who wish to visit must plan to wait in line for at least an hour before the church service begins.

A street mural encourages citizens to know their rights.

Watermelon is a refreshing treat on a hot, humid day, and many street vendors sold slices of juicy, ripe melon. We ate some, and it was very sweet and tasty!

Rob and Sally admire an historic residential street in Harlem.

Yes, this is a private alley in the residential area around 128th and 129th Streets. It was constructed during the horse-and-carriage era and is one of the only private alleys that still exist anywhere in Manhattan.

Historic Harlem townhouses have been renovated in the past fifteen years. During the economic decline, most of these buildings were divided into multiple apartments or single room occupancy dwellings, but now they are sought after as single family homes. The one on the end recently sold for almost $3 million.