Categories: Pat Stevenson, Anniversary,
Thirty-four years.
When I say those words today, I sometimes have to stop and think about just how much has happened, not only in my life as a publisher, but in Harlem, New York City, our nation and the world.
First, I thank God for allowing me to continue publishing community newspapers for these past 34 years.
When I began publishing, I could never have imagined the journey ahead. I certainly could not have imagined that more than three decades later, I would still be here telling the stories of our communities and witnessing one of the most extraordinary periods of transformation in Harlem’s history.
Today, Harlem Community News and our other weekly publications reach predominantly African-American communities in Harlem, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. We have expanded into the digital age with Harlem Daily, our daily digital newsletter.
Over the years, we have also published New Jersey Community News, Uptown en Español, serving predominantly Hispanic communities in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx in English and Spanish, and for approximately four years I published Swing Uptown magazine.
The technology has changed. The way people receive their news has changed. Harlem has certainly changed.
But our mission has remained remarkably consistent: “Good News You Can Use.”
Harlem 34 Years Ago
To appreciate the Harlem of 2026, you have to remember the Harlem of 34 years ago.
When I began publishing community newspapers, Harlem was a very different place. There were abandoned buildings and vacant lots throughout the community. Many people outside of Harlem did not consider it a safe place to live, visit or invest.
Yet those of us who lived and worked here knew something that outsiders often failed to recognize: Harlem was never defined by its abandoned buildings.
It was defined by its people.
It was defined by its churches, families, block associations, small businesses, elected officials, artists, educators and community organizations. It was defined by institutions that continued to stand when investment disappeared.
The Apollo Theater was here. The National Black Theatre was here. The Studio Museum in Harlem was here. The Cotton Club, Lenox Lounge and Showman’s were among the entertainment destinations. Sylvia’s and Copeland’s were among the restaurants attracting residents and visitors.
The foundation was here.
What Harlem needed was investment—and the opportunity to build upon what generations of Harlemites had already created.
1990s: A New Era of
Investment
One of the most significant turning points came in the early 1990s.
The 125th Street Business Improvement District was established in 1993 to stimulate economic activity along Harlem’s most famous commercial corridor, encourage private investment, attract businesses and improve the physical appearance of 125th Street.
Barbara Askins, who has led the 125th Street BID for decades, has helped guide that organization as 125th Street evolved into an increasingly important commercial, cultural and tourism destination.
Then came another major
development.
In 1994, Upper Manhattan was designated a federal Empowerment Zone through legislation championed by Congressman Charles B. Rangel and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation—UMEZ—was created as a result, bringing public and private investment into businesses, real estate, cultural organizations and economic development.
Congressman Rangel, known affectionately as the “Lion of Lenox Avenue,” served Harlem in Congress for 46 years. He became the first African-American chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Rangel was also part of a remarkable generation of Harlem political leadership that included Percy Sutton, David Dinkins and Basil Paterson.
Their influence extended far beyond Harlem, but their roots remained firmly planted here.
When Congressman Rangel retired, Adriano Espaillat succeeded him in Congress in January 2017, marking another chapter in Upper Manhattan’s political history.
Harlem—and America—
Witness History
While Harlem was rebuilding, history continued unfolding around us.
On September 11, 2001, Harlem joined the rest of New York City in confronting an unimaginable tragedy as terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. The pain of that day reached every neighborhood, every race and every economic class.
Then, in 2008, something happened that many African-Americans never thought they would live to see.
Barack Obama was elected the first Black President of the United States.
Harlem celebrated.
For a community that had produced generations of civil rights leaders and had been a center of Black political thought and activism, Obama’s election represented something deeply personal.
Then came 2020.
COVID-19 shut down New York and devastated families, businesses and communities. The murder of George Floyd ignited Black Lives Matter demonstrations throughout America and around the world.
On January 6, 2021, Americans watched an attack on the United States Capitol.
We have since witnessed wars, political division, economic uncertainty and enormous technological change.
Through it all, our newspapers continued publishing.
That is what community newspapers do.
We document history while people are living it.
From Vacant Lots to a
Building Boom
Perhaps nothing demonstrates Harlem’s transformation more dramatically than simply walking through the community today.
Thirty-four years ago, vacant lots and abandoned buildings were common.
Today, it can be difficult to find either.
Construction has taken place throughout Harlem, with condominiums, rental buildings, hotels, retail spaces and major developments rising on property that once sat vacant.
The population has become increasingly diverse, and Harlem has become a destination for people from around the country and around the world.
The restaurant industry exploded as well. Before the pandemic, Harlem had grown to more than 100 restaurants from approximately 110th to 155th Streets, with a significant concentration along Lenox Avenue.
Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster helped introduce another generation of visitors to Harlem as a destination for food, culture and entertainment.
The opening of the Magic Johnson Theatre on Frederick Douglass Boulevard brought a major movie theater back to Harlem.
Banks and national retailers followed development.
Today, 125th Street includes national brands such as Target, Trader Joe’s, Sephora and Marshalls alongside longtime institutions and independent businesses.
Hotels have arrived.
New residential buildings have arrived.
Tourists have arrived.
But Harlem’s transformation is much bigger than buildings.
Preserving Harlem While
Harlem Changes
Development brings opportunity, but it also raises an important question:
As Harlem changes, how do we make certain the people who built Harlem remain part of its future?
Harlem remains home to significant public housing communities and Mitchell-Lama cooperative developments that have housed generations of Black families.
Affordable housing provisions in some newer developments have also provided opportunities for longtime residents to remain in the community.
We must continue to insist that progress includes us.
Economic development should create opportunities for local residents, Black-owned businesses, young people, seniors and the institutions that sustained Harlem long before Harlem became “hot.”
Development and preservation should not be opposing ideas.
We can welcome investment while protecting Harlem’s culture.
We can welcome new neighbors while respecting longtime residents.
We can build new buildings without erasing old history.
Our History Is Written on
Harlem’s Streets
Fortunately, much of Harlem’s Black history has literally been written into the landscape.
The statue of Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. stands proudly on 125th Street in front of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building.
Harriet Tubman is memorialized in Harlem. Frederick Douglass stands at the gateway to Harlem at 110th Street.
The post office on 125th Street bears the name of Percy Sutton, the former Manhattan Borough President, entrepreneur and broadcasting pioneer whose contributions included helping to save the Apollo Theater and building Inner City Broadcasting and WBLS into major Black media institutions.
Riverbank State Park was renamed in honor of longtime Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell Jr.
The names of the men and women who fought for Harlem, built Harlem and advocated for Black America have become part of Harlem’s physical identity.
Whatever future Census numbers tell us about Harlem’s racial composition, Black history cannot simply be removed from Harlem because Black history is Harlem history.
The Apollo: Still Standing, Still Shining
Few institutions symbolize that history more powerfully than the Apollo.
The Apollo Theater remains Harlem’s best-known cultural landmark around the world.
Its legendary stage helped launch or advance the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Gladys Knight and countless others.
When James Brown died in 2006, thousands gathered outside the Apollo as Harlem celebrated and mourned the Godfather of Soul.
When Michael Jackson died in 2009, crowds again came to the Apollo.
The Apollo’s Walk of Fame honors legends including Quincy Jones, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Little Richard and Ella Fitzgerald.
The Apollo has survived changing times because it represents something larger than a theater.
It represents Harlem’s contribution to the world.
Institutions Change, but the
Culture Continues
Not everything survived these 34 years.
The Boys Choir of Harlem, founded in 1968, eventually closed, along with the Girls Choir of Harlem.
We lost beloved restaurants, businesses, clubs and community leaders.
But other institutions continued.
Harlem’s historic churches—including Abyssinian Baptist Church and Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church—remain important spiritual, cultural and architectural anchors.
The African American Day Parade continues celebrating the contributions and culture of people of African descent.
And HARLEM WEEK remains one of New York City’s great cultural celebrations.
HARLEM WEEK has special meaning for me because HARLEM WEEK was the subject of my very first feature article 34 years ago.
Think about that.
As I celebrate 34 years of publishing, HARLEM WEEK continues bringing thousands of residents and visitors into Harlem.
In 2025, Harlem lost Lloyd Williams, longtime President and CEO of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of HARLEM WEEK. But one measure of great leadership is whether the work continues after you are gone.
The leaders he mentored—including new Chairman Marko Nobles, Vice Chairman Ade Williams and their colleagues—successfully carried HARLEM WEEK forward in 2026.
That is how institutions survive.
One generation prepares the next.
125th Street Enters Another Chapter
That same philosophy of honoring the past while preparing for the future can now be seen along 125th Street.
On July 31, 2026, the 125th Street BID and New York City Department of Small Business Services, joined by elected officials and community stakeholders, unveiled the Harlem Public Realm Grants initiative.
One centerpiece is Harlem Wayfinder, a digital tool designed to help residents, visitors and tourists discover Harlem’s historical sites, businesses, cultural institutions and other destinations.
This represents a very different Harlem tourism conversation from the one we were having 34 years ago.
Back then, we were trying to convince people to come to Harlem.
Today, we are developing tools to help them navigate everything there is to see when they get here.
That is progress.
Columbia, Cultural
Institutions and the New
Harlem Skyline
West Harlem has experienced equally dramatic change.
Columbia University embarked upon its major Manhattanville expansion, developing approximately 17 acres just north of its historic Morningside Heights campus.
The expansion has changed the physical landscape of West Harlem and includes facilities with community access, including arts and wellness spaces.
Along 125th Street and surrounding blocks, other major developments are reshaping the corridor.
The Urban League Empowerment Center represents another major investment in the community, with the planned civil rights museum adding to Harlem’s cultural landscape.
The Studio Museum in Harlem is entering a new era, and the National Black Theatre is preparing for its next chapter in a new home.
When you put all of this together—the Apollo, Studio Museum, National Black Theatre, Columbia, new hotels, restaurants, retail, housing, historic churches and new cultural destinations—you begin to understand just how extraordinary Harlem’s transformation has been.
34 Years Later, I Am Still
Here
And somehow, through these 34 extraordinary years, I have been blessed to remain here too.
Publishing a community newspaper has never been easy.
We have survived recessions, the transformation of the newspaper industry, the rise of the Internet and social media, COVID-19, changing advertising markets and now the arrival of artificial intelligence.
We have moved from an era when everything was primarily print to one in which our readers can receive community news digitally every day.
But I still believe deeply in newspapers.
I especially believe in community newspapers.
Because if we don’t tell our stories, who will?
Who will celebrate the 100-year-old resident?
Who will introduce the neighborhood entrepreneur?
Who will cover the church anniversary, community board meeting, nonprofit organization, local artist, scholarship recipient or small business opening?
Who will tell our young people about the giants whose shoulders they stand upon?
Who will record what Harlem looked like before the new buildings arrived?
National media comes to Harlem when there is a major story.
We are here every week.
That is the difference.
The Next Chapter
When I look toward 2030 and beyond, I know Harlem will continue changing.
There will be more development, more technology, more diversity and undoubtedly challenges we cannot predict today.
But I also know something else.
Harlem will continue to be Harlem.
Its strength has never been contained in one building, one politician, one business or even one generation.
Its strength is its people.
I have been privileged to spend 34 years documenting those people and this extraordinary community.
I have watched vacant lots become buildings. I have watched businesses open and close. I have watched political leaders rise and retire. I have watched institutions reinvent themselves. I have watched Harlem survive tragedy, celebrate history and welcome the world.
And through all of it, Harlem Community News has tried to do one simple thing:
Tell our story.
So as I celebrate 34 years of publishing community newspapers, I do so with tremendous gratitude—to our readers, advertisers, writers, photographers, employees, community organizations, elected officials, businesses, churches, cultural institutions, friends and everyone who believed that our community deserved its own voice.
Most of all, I thank the people of Harlem and the communities we serve.
You gave us the stories.
You gave us the history.
You gave us 34 years of “Good News You Can Use.”
And we’re not finished yet.
There are many more stories to tell.
