Category Archives: Harlem

Support East Harlem Cafe in their 10k in 30 days campaign

Posted on April 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

Remember how I told you about 67 Orange in Harlem creating a campaign to raise money for various items in the bar? East Harlem Cafe is taking the same approach by asking the community to join in helping them raise $10,000 in 30 days. The café needs kitchen storage, supplies and food prep equipment.  In order to purchase these items, East Harlem Cafe is turning to members of the local and global community for assistance, instead of going to big banks for a loan with high interest rates to expand.

If you would like to invest in East Harlem Cafe, go here from more details.

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Posted in baking, business, Community, drinks, food, Harlem

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Enjoy Spa Week at Polished Finger Tips in Harlem

Posted on April 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

I just learned from EG Bodyworks that this week is Spa Week and its being celebrated at Polish Finger Tips in Harlem. From now until April 22, interested participants can enjoy a 50 minute massage, either Swedish or Deep Tissue, with Edwin Genece of EG Bodywork for $50 this week at the Harlem salon located at 2198 Frederick Douglass Blvd. They are also offering specialized mani/pedi’s for $50 during Spa Week as well. Call 212-222-4466 to make an appointment or learn more details here. Enjoy!

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Posted in Events, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, health and wellness, personal care

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Dream Deferred Opens April 20 at 133rd Street Arts Center in Harlem

Posted on April 16, 2012 | 1 comment

Written and directed by the award-winning playwright Marcus Dargan, Dream Deferred puts a spotlight on racial tensions and social action, as African-American residents of an apartment building in Harlem struggle against the looming commercial dominance of a newly built condominium, just across the street. Dream Deferred is drawn from Dargan’s conversations and observations of Harlem residents. “It’s a historical document, artistically expressed to reflect the experiences of a people who may someday vanish from Harlem’s landscape without having had their final stories told. This play represents the beginning of their untimely end.”

Dream Deferred will run 13 performances from April 20-29 at the 133rd Street Arts Center located at 308 West 133rd Street in Harlem. General tickets are $20 at the door and are available at the box office one hour before curtain or by calling the box office at 347-855-7281. Advance online tickets are $18 for adults, and $15 for seniors, students, and artists at www.brownpapertickets.com.

For complete ticket and schedule information, visit www.nuafrikantheatre.org/dream-deferred.

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Posted in art and culture, Community, education, entertainment, Events, Harlem, history

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Attend Session in Spanish Harlem on Smoke-free Housing

Posted on April 16, 2012 | Leave a comment


On April 18-just a few days before Earth Day 2012 in Harlem-the New York City Health Department and Manhattan Smoke-Free Partnership are sponsoring a session in Harlem on Smoke-Free Housing.  This is part of an education campaign on the benefits of adopting 100 percent no-smoking rules in apartment buildings. All the details are listed above!

On April 18th, we are targeting owners and managers of multifamily buildings in Upper Manhattan.

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Posted in Community, Harlem, health and wellness

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The Village of Harlem stars in NYC 22, watch Sunday evening April 15 on CBS

Posted on April 14, 2012 | 1 comment

Do you recognize the scenery in the photos above? If you live in Central Harlem, you should recognize the location. That is our Harlem in the background and its starring in a new television series called NYC 22. It was previously called The Rookie. I guess that name did not test well in focus groups.

NYC 22, which is a drama about a fictional police precinct in Harlem, is receiving a lot of press right now. Mainly because the TV show premieres this Sunday , April 15 on CBS, and it has huge names behind it, such as executive producers Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. However, what is really interesting about NYC 22, and one of the many reasons why I plan to watch the show and hopefully you will too, is that it was created by a Harlemite. The creator is Richard Price, who lives in Harlem according to The New York Times. Price has resided in Harlem since 2008.

Price told the Times he “made the rapidly changing neighborhood of Harlem an important element of the show, drawing creative fuel from its churning mix of longtime residents and gentrifiers, families and hoodlums, cultural landmarks and upstart bistros.”

If you want to learn more about NYC 22, read the reviews in The Los Angeles Times and NY Times.

NYC 22 is on CBS, Sunday nights at 10 pm.

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Posted in 116th Street, art and culture, entertainment, film, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, review

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New York Magazine says wet your whistle at two Harlem bars on Lenox Avenue

Posted on April 13, 2012 | 6 comments

New York Magazine reports in their “Your New Favorite Bar” section there are two spots in Harlem they recommend to “wet your whistle.” They are: Ginny’s Supper Club, aka the lower level of Red Rooster, and Lenox Social, the new establishment getting picked on by Lenox Lounge!

NY Mag says Ginny’s  is a place where “the young and old can wet their beaks…and you’ll be able to see Asian and French influences.” The weekly magazine calls Lenox Social a place where “there’s something for nearly everyone, with a sturdy comfort-food menu, friendly scattershot decor, and a multipurpose space that simultaneously qualifies as sports bar, group-meeting ground, and quiet dinner destination in Harlem.”

So there you have it!  Two places to check out in Harlem-and on Lenox Avenue-this weekend if you need some ideas on where to go!

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Posted in 125th Street, Bars, drinks, food, Harlem, Lenox Avenue, Lenox Lounge, Lenox Social, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurants

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New York City Coalition Against Hunger to honor Harlem’s Marcus Samuelsson

Posted on April 11, 2012 | 3 comments

In full disclosure, I am so happy to report that one of the organizations I have supported for many years will be honoring one of Harlem’s own and an anti hunger advocate at its Spring Into Action Annual Benefit, May 17th at the Solo Event Space. The New York City Coalition Against Hunger, led by Executive Director Joel Berg, will be honoring celebrity chef and Red Rooster Harlem owner, Marcus Samuelsson, for his commitment to help end hunger. Samuelsson, along with State Senator Liz Krueger, Kathy Goldman and Agnes Molnar of Community Food Advocates, and Rachel V. Stevens Esq. with the law firm DLA Piper, will also be recognized during NYC Coalition Against Hunger’s Spring Benefit.

I plan on attending NYCCAH’s Annual Benefit where Samuelsson will receive his award. I hope that you will join me in supporting this dedicated organization that “represents and is the voice for the more than 1,100 nonprofit soup kitchens and food pantries in New York City and the 1.5 million low-income New Yorker’s who live in households that can’t afford enough food.”  If you would like to attend the Spring Into Action Annual Benefit on May 17 from 5-8 PM, you can purchase tickets here. To learn more about NYCCAH and their mission, click here.

And congrats to our Harlem neighbor, Marcus Samuelsson on receiving this special accolade! Let’s raise our glass!

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Posted in Community, education, Events, food, Harlem, Lenox Avenue, New York, New York City, NYC, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurants

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See Harlem restaurant grades on NY Health Department Ratings Map

Posted on April 9, 2012 | 3 comments

If you were wondering how Harlem’s eating establishments make the grade with the New York Health Department, it’s all right here in a simplified ratings map. The New York Times just updated the page April 5. See how your favorite Harlem restaurants stacks up. I certainly did!

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Posted in 116th Street, 125th Street, 5 and Diamond Harlem, Bars, bier international, Cedric French Bistro and Bar Harlem, Chocolat, drinks, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, Harlem Tavern, Lenox Avenue, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, Melba's Restaurant Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurant row, restaurants

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Two Harlem restaurants win 2012 Food & Drink Award by Time Out New York

Posted on April 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

Two Harlem restaurants recently received the 2012 Food & Drink Award from Time Out New York, except the weekly magazine doesn’t know it according to their published online article (See photo left). Red Rooster, located on Lenox Avenue between 125th and 126th Street was named Best New Neighborhood Joint. And Earl’s Beer and Cheese, located in SPANISH HARLEM since the restaurant is above 96th Street on the East Side, was named Best Pint-Size Powerhouse. TONY said Earl’s was located on the Upper East Side. Wrong! I am hoping it was a typo given this magazine reports on NYC every week.

Congrats to the two eating establishments. Red Rooster and Earl’s Beer and Cheese, share one common characteristic that I have personally experienced, they are both extremely hard to get into, but well worth the wait!

The full list of winners is listed below :

Readers’ Choice:

Chef of the Year: Seamus Mullen (Tertulia)

Best New Restaurant: The Dutch

Best New Cocktails: Maison Premiere

Best New Neighborhood Joint: Red Rooster Harlem (Harlem)

Best Spin-off: Parm

Best New Pizza: Forcella

Best International Eats: Miss Lily’s (Jamaica)

Best Out-of-Town Import: Fleisher’s Grass-Fed & Organic Meats (Kingston, NY)

Best New Bakery: Dominique Ansel Bakery

Best New Beer Bar: La Birreria

Foursquare Award: The Dutch

Critics’ Picks

Best Culinary Blitzkrieg: Acme

Best Countermove to Comfort Food: Boulud Sud

Best New Gallic Charmer: Buvette

The Instant Classic Award: Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria

The Watch The Throne Award: The Monkey Bar

Best Pint-Size Powerhouse: Earl’s Beer and Cheese

Artisan of the Year: New York Distilling Co./ The Shanty

Best Dim Sum Provocateur: RedFarm

Best Love Letter to the Philippines: Maharlika Filipino Moderno

The Intergalactic Kitten Award: Isa

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Posted in 125th Street, Bars, drinks, Harlem, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurants

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Lenox Lounge in Harlem goes after Lenox Social on trademark infringement?

Posted on April 9, 2012 | 24 comments

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I am so disappointed right now by Lenox Lounge in Harlem if this article in Crain’s New York proves true. Crain’s reported April 8 that “Harlem’s Lenox Lounge sent “representatives” to the bar [Lenox Social] to inform the newcomers that using the name Lenox Social “constituted trademark infringement.”

Get outta here! Can you believe this? This just smells of pure desperation and greed on one side. Why is Lenox Lounge going after Lenox Social when they can’t even pay their rent, according to a recent article in the Daily News? Shouldn’t the owners of Lenox Lounge worry about saving their own home before going after someone else’s? And why can’t there be a Lenox Lounge and Lenox Social on Lenox Avenue in Harlem? There’s room for everyone to play in the restaurant sand box and who ultimately has the rights to the name “Lenox?”.

This is just sad and making me want to sort of retract my earlier blog post on Lenox Lounge. I really hope this article proves to be wrong or I hope Lenox Social doesn’t end up caving to this potential nonsense and change their name.

This story is clearly not over. Stay tuned.

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Posted in 125th Street, Bars, business, drinks, food, Harlem, Lenox Avenue, Lenox Lounge, Lenox Social, New York, New York City, NYC, restaurants

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