If you haven’t visited the outdoor terrace at the Museum City of New York on Fifth Avenue, along with listening to live music, tonight is your last chance. The music series ends with The Knox Band. Tickets are $10 bucks for members and $15 for non-members. Hope to see you there!
The Museum of the City of New York is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10029.
Posted in art and culture, Community, drinks, entertainment, Events, Harlem, music, New York, New York City, NYC
Tagged 10029, 103rd Street, 104th Street, Fifth Avenue, Harlem, Live@1220 Fifth, Museum of the City of New York, music, Spanish Harlem
Our beloved Harlem is featured bright and big again in the media, but this time in the UK’s travel section of The Independent. According to the article the reporter/ photographer visited Harlem recently and took direction from Thelma Golden, the Director of Studio Museum Harlem, on what to see in Harlem.
Per Golden’s instructions, Chris Coplans stayed at The Aloft Harlem and he raves about it in the article. He also went to the Apollo Theater, El Museo del Barrio, Studio Museum Harlem, and more. Golden encouraged the reporter to visit the Duke Ellington sculpture and to try Senegalese food at Les Ambassades.
What’s interesting about this article is the reporter covered a lot of Harlem ground-from East to West. He also gives Lenox Avenue big props by saying, “If 125th St is the traditional Harlem, then Lenox Avenue between 125th and 126th is very much the emerging “New Harlem”, with an arty vibe and “Village” sidewalk culture.”
To read the full article, click here. To see additional photos on Harlem from the reporter, go here.
Posted in 125th Street, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., art and culture, Bars, business, commercial real estate, Community, drinks, education, entertainment, fashion, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Free!, Harlem, history, jazz, Lenox Avenue, music, New York, New York City, NYC, real estate, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurants, shopping, spending, The Apollo Theater
Tagged 10026, 10029, 10030, Aloft Hotel Harlem, Apollo Theater, Chris Coplans, Duke Ellington Memorial Circle, El Museo del Barrio, Lenox Avenue, Les Ambassades, The Independent, The Studio Museum Harlem, Thelma Golden
The Museum of the City of New York’s music series continues tonight on its outdoor terrace overlooking Fifth Avenue and Central Park. DJ Devon Craig Johnson is tonight’s musical guest at LIVE@1220 Fifth. “Jazz guitarist, rock drummer, and DJ Devon Craig Johnson will treat audiences to jazz, classical, hip hop, and modern pop. This artist brings an eclectic mix of contemporary styles to his performances.”
The event starts at 6:00 and ends at 9:00 pm. Admission includes after-hours access to the Museum as well as one complimentary cocktail or refreshment.
Live@1220 Fifth ends August 31. Check it out while you can!
Posted in art and culture, Community, drinks, entertainment, Events, food, Harlem, jazz, music, New York, New York City, NYC
Tagged 10029, 103rd Street, 104th Street, Fifth Avenue, Harlem, Live@1220 Fifth, Museum of the City of New York, music, Spanish Harlem
It is hump day and you’re not sure where to go for happy hour in Harlem. Here are a few choices for your consideration and recommended in order!
Those of you who know me on Facebook are a witness to my many execursions to Lido Harlem. I am always there and have more reasons to be there now given their happy hour specials. I recently learned from Susannah that from 5:30 – 7:30 every day, seven days a week, Lido Harlem is offering 1/2 price beer & wine, $5 well drinks and $5 Lido specialty cocktails. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights Lido is now offering a late night happy hour starting at 10 p.m. to close. I believe they are offering a late night menu as well! If Lido’s happy hour is anything like their food, it will be consistently good.
Chocolat has the best schedule for happy hour in my view. It starts at 5 p.m. and lasts until 8 p.m. If you can’t make a happy hour that ends at 7:30 rush on over to Chocolat on Frederick Douglass Blvd and 120th. They offer a selection of flavored martinis for $5 and small plates ranging from $5 to $8. I have had all the small plates and they were all quite good.
And last, the much talked about burger joint in East Harlem has a happy hour. If you want to be one of the first to check out Milk Burger’s happy hour, head on over soon and early or on your day off. They start at 3 p.m. Yuck. Clearly, they want people to drink early. I hope they change that time. It’s hard enough to make it to happy hour at 5 p.m. I recommend this place (see details below) because it is on the rise and experience it now while it is still relatively a new place in East Harlem.
Have a great time at happy hour. See you around in Harlem!
Posted in Bars, business, Community, entertainment, Events, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, restaurants, spending
Tagged 10026, 10029, Chocolat, cocktails, dining, drinking, East Harlem, eating out, happy hour specials, Harlem, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, Milk Burger
I tell ya! At the moment, there is no such thing as bad PR for East Harlem’s Milk Burger, the new hamburger hot spot at 2056 Second Avenue. After the little viral spat that 
happened a few weeks ago regarding Milk Burger allegedly burger-izing Shake Shack, who knew where Milk Burger was heading. Actually, I sort of knew its potential from that incident and now DNAInfo is reporting that Anthony Bourdain’s wife has given Milk Burger a thumbs up on twitter…to more than 18,000 followers! I guess this makes Milk Burger one degree separation from the Travel Channel star and Chef. Not bad! I am wondering now who will be next to step forward and so candidly and openly endorse Milk Burger? Any guess?
There could potentially be another ringing endorsement in Milk Burger’s future, but no one will beat this 140 character endorsement by Mrs. Bourdain: “I actually enjoyed my Milk Burger and I love that they deliver. Shake Shack is still my husband but Milk Burger can be my booty call.” Get that women her own TV show…and another burger!
Posted in business, entertainment, Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, restaurants, shopping, spending
Tagged 10029, Anthony Bourdain, dining out, DNAinfo.com, East Harlem, eating out, Erik Mayor, hamburgers, Milk Burger, Ottavia Bourdain, Shake Shack
In our Money Series, it has covered spending habits for the Harlem areas of 10027 and 10030. The Money Series continues with the focus on East Harlem. The zip code used to come with the data for this segment of Harlem is 10029.
The top three household spending areas for the 10029 area of Harlem resulted in shopping ranking first, health & family is second, followed by house & home. If you compare spending for 10029 with 10027 and 10030, 10029 ranks identical to 10027 in the areas of health & family and house & home. Each of these spending categories ranked second and third out of the top three spending categories versus 10030, these categories ranked first and second. The interesting fact out of all three zip codes was that 10027 was the only part of Harlem that had food and drinks in the top three spending categories. Food & drink did not even rank in the top three for 10029 and 10030.
On a 12 month average, household spending for 10029 includes: $461 for shopping. Next is health & family totaling $452. Most of the spending in this area is dedicated to school & child care and insurance. House & home follows with a total of $432 with the majority of this portion going toward utilities.
If 10029, 10027 and 10030 are compared in their shared ranking areas, which are health & family and house & home, 10030 spends the most on health and family at $798 versus 10027 spends $552 and 10029 spends $452. In house & home, 10027 spends the most at $472 followed by 10030 spends $434 and 10029 spends $432.
All figures are created from an online money management tool and based on ages from 18 to 65 years of age and above, all households (married with kids or without, male or female single with kids or without), and income starting at $20,000 to $125k and above.
Stay tuned as the Money Series will look into spending habits of Harlem residents versus other parts of Manhattan.
Posted in Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., apartments, business, Community, education, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, health and wellness, history, Lenox Avenue, Money Series, New York, New York City, NYC, real estate, shopping, spending
Tagged 10027, 10029, 10030, Bundle, data on Harlem spending, data on spending, East Harlem, finances, food and drink, Harlem, health and family, house and home, household spending, money, spending
There are three Harlem must dos I am recommending for this weekend. Try them out and let me know what you think!
On Friday, July 29, swing by Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar. Their sidewalk seating is in full swing. They have plenty of tables outside for Harlemites to sit and dine on. While you’re there, check out some of their summer cocktails. Here are three to consider!
Try Serena’s Sangria. It is made with a white wine base, passion fruit, sliced plums, and Spanish brandy. It’s hard to drink just one. Try the pitcher for $25.
Next, Lido Lemonade with lemon juice, vodka, and Licor 43 infused with thyme. The glass is garnished with a sprig of thyme.And if you need a carbonated fix, try Fiore Spumante (Italian for Sparkling Flower). It’s gin and St Germaine with champagne and a raspberry to garnish. Also, Lido is now open Mondays and offering
$14 prix fix lunch with free wifi and complimentary iced coffee or tea!
On Saturday, July 31, head on over to Urban Garden Center in Spanish Harlem. They have a sale! They are offering 30 percent off on all in stock inventory. It ends on July 31 so drop by 116th and Park Avenue, take advantage of the sale and say hi to Dimitri, chief designer at Urban Garden Center!
And on July 31, spend Sunday afternoon with Marcus Samuelsson and the Macy’s Food Truck. Macy’s Food Truck is parking itself on 126th Street and Riverside Drive with our fellow Harlemite during Harlem Week. From noon to 4:00 p.m., Red Rooster Harlem owner and Chef Marcus Samuelsson will be on board cooking and serving catfish sandwiches with fried caper slaw and sweet potato fries!
There ya have it! Weekend Harlem must dos!
Posted in Bars, business, Community, education, entertainment, Events, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurant row, restaurants, shopping, spending
Tagged 10026, 10029, 2168 Frederick Douglass Blvd., 310 Lenox Avenue, ABC, America's Next Iron Chef, Autism Speaks and City Harvest. Olives, bloggers, Charity, Check Please, Citymeals-on-Wheels, community, cookbook, cooking, Cooking Class, cooking demo, Cookware, culinary, Culinary Council, Donate, East 116th street, Event, Family, Feeding America, foodie, FOX, free, Free Food, Good Causes, Great Food Truck Race, Green Market, Harlem, HGTV, Homeless, Hungry, Iron Chef, Isabelle's CurlyCakesPlaza Food Hall, James Beard, kitchen aid, La Marqueta, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, Macy's, marcus samuelsson, Men with Heart, NBC, new york city, news, P.U.B. Celebrity, PBS, recipe, Red Rooster, Restaurant, Retail, Sales, sidewalk seating, Spanish Harlem, Urban Garden Center
There is a burger-gate happening right now in our own backyard. The owners of East Harlem’s Milk Burger, located at 2056 Second Avenue, are currently fighting off accusations that they cloned their menu and website from the popular and expensive Shake Shack. This all came about when SeriousEats.com blog posted about Milk Burger’s marketing material looking very similar to Shake Shack. The burger drama happened in the last 24 hours.
So where does the burger drama currently stand? Milk Burger has taken all previous material down from their website and has a static page up. The owner has given interviews explaining it was a mistake executed by an intern, and a ton of free press has been given to an East Harlem establishment that most businesses could only dream of!
In summary, this whole burger drama talking place between David (Milk Burger) and Goliath (Shake Shack) could prove profitable for one business here. Milk Burger just opened. They are not the Rupert Murdoch of hamburgers. I believe the owner. It was an honest mistake. He probably just looked at the material that was presented to him for sign off and quickly approved it. Now there is only one place to potentially go from here when you’re starting a business at the bottom…and that’s up!
My advice to the owner of Milk Burger, start drafting the apology letter to Shake Shack and a big fat thank you note to SeriousEats. You are about to get some serious burger business! Who is going with me to eat at Milk Burger in East Harlem?
Posted in business, commercial real estate, entertainment, Events, Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, restaurants
Tagged 10029, 2056 Second Avenue, Danny Meyer, East Harlem, Erik Mayor, Milk Burger, SeriousEats.com, Shake Shack
This has got to be the best news I have read any Saturday morning. Nola.com, a Louisiana publication, is reporting that Davell Crawford, a musical sensation from New Orleans and dubbed ‘Prince of New Orleans,’ is opening up Davell Underground, August 11, in Spanish Harlem. Davell Underground will be “a new performance space in a former storage room within The Kiosk, a Moroccan restaurant and hookah joint located at East 116th and Park Avenue. This location is right by Urban Garden Center and La Marqueta!
The article says Davell Crawford, who moved to New York City after Hurricane Katrina, and his business partner plan to present live music several nights a week in Spanish Harlem. The roster will include such New Orleanians as Charmaine Neville, Donald Harrison Jr., Delfeayo Marsalis, Benny Turner and Herlin Riley. Crawford also plans to feature New Yorker musicians, including the flutist Bobbi Humphrey.
Crawford tells Nola.com that “I don’t want to call it a ‘club.’ It’s a ‘room. We will have great music there for as long as the people of New York want to accept it, and as long as I can keep it rolling.”
This Harlemite will accept Davell Underground. Count me in. I will be there in Spanish Harlem, August, to listen to music from New Orleans! Yeah!
Listen now to Davell Crawford!
Posted in art and culture, Bars, business, commercial real estate, Community, education, entertainment, Events, Harlem, history, music, New York, New York City, NYC
Tagged 10029, 80 East 116th Street, Davell Crawford, Essence Fest, essence fest 2010, essence fest 2011, french quarter hot picks, Harlem, irvin mayfield jazz fest, jazz fest 2011, lakefront arena, lil wayne, mardi gras, music, new orleans, new orleans jazz fest 2010, new orleans jazz fest 2011, voodoo fest, voodoo fest 2010
Harlem is a Nike symbol or an arrow shooting straight up on a graph when it comes to the rental market for apartments. According to The Wall Street Journal, Harlem, along with the Financial District, share a statistic at the moment being that they are seeing the largest rent increases during the last year. Rental prices in both of these Manhattan areas are up more than 15 percent year-over-year.
The article states “the average Harlem apartment rent was $2,055 a month during the second quarter, up $333 from a year earlier. These rent averages include dwellings of all sizes – studios, as well as one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.”
Posted in Community, Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, real estate
Tagged 10026, 10027, 10029, Apartments, Harlem, real estate, renting, The Wall Street Journal
 | Anonymous on Sting performs to a sold out c… |
 | Bellumnati on Made in Harlem: Uptown Soap Co… |
 | Swift Thorft on Inside Harlem Shake Restaurant… |
 | Olivia Henson on 220 St. Nicholas in Harlem 50… |
 | Betty Anne Syphrette on ‘Soul Train’ celebration is to… |
 | Elle on Mixed use building going up at… |
 | robert brashear on Harlem’s Cantina Taqueria… |
| robert brashear on A Cantina 8th Ave coming to ol… |
 | SilverMarc on A Cantina 8th Ave coming to ol… |
 | A. NEIGHBOR on Is Jado Sushi in Harlem starti… |
HarlemGal Inc. 