Tag Archives: Harlem

Gospel for Teens based in Harlem to be adapted for the big screen

Posted on August 19, 2011 | 5 comments


Remember the movie The Pursuit of Happiness with Will Smith? Apparently the idea to turn that subject into a movie came from a TV segment on ABC’s 20/20. Universal Studio is taking that same approach with Vy Higginsen’s Gospel for Teens, which is based and founded in Harlem.

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment are teaming up to develop a feature film based on the 60 Minutes segment on Gospel for Teens, which aired a few months ago. Stephen Belber will write the script. He has several writing credits and last directed Jennifer Aniston in Management. There is no word yet on who will star in this film. However, whoever it will  be will definitely have to have some singing chops. The subject is about singing with passion in a gospel choir. I think Ruben Studdard, the winner of American Idol should audition? How about one of the cast members from Glee? Or maybe one of the real life teenagers who actually sings in Gospel for Teens?

Overall, this is huge news for Higginsen, the young people who are in Gospel for Teens, and for Harlem as well. I’ll pay to see this movie! Can’t wait till it opens!

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Posted in 125th Street, art and culture, Community, education, entertainment, film, Harlem, history, music, New York, New York City, NYC

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The Winery in Harlem turns 4

Posted on August 17, 2011 | Leave a comment


The Winery in Harlem, located at 116th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd., is celebrating its 4th Anniversary this week by offering four consecutive nights of free wine tasting events and a special sales for this limited time.

Kicking off the celebration today, August 17th, The Winery will drastically reduce prices of selected wines. So if you’re not sure what to buy to take advantage of the sale, head on over to one of the wine tastings! See you there!


Artisanal Italian Wines
Wednesday August 17th, 6-8 pm.
Wines that reveal the true art of Italy, made with love and passion.

Best Value Wines
Thursday August 18th, 6-8 pm.
Sample our discoveries that prove delicious wines need not to be pricy at all.

Sakes and Honey Wine
Friday August 19th, 6-8 pm.
Inspiring Sakes from Japan, and semi-sweet honey wine made with the traditional Ethiopian recipe.

Fresh and Fruity Dry Wines
Saturday August 20th, 5-8 pm.
Easy, fun, refreshing wines that amplify the joy of the summer season.

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Posted in Bars, entertainment, Events, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, shopping

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Harlem’s Sherri Shepherd ties the knot

Posted on August 16, 2011 | 2 comments


Harlem resident and The View co-host is no longer a single Harlem gal. Sherri Shepherd, who lives in a beautiful brownstone in Harlem, wed boyfriend Lamar Sally this past weekend. She shared details of the days leading up to her wedding day, August 13, on twitter. Sherri even teased her followers, which this blog site is one of them, about what her wedding dress might look like before the big day!

According to a celeb blog site, Sherri Shepherd eventually donned a custom Rivini gown to marry boyfriend Lamar and only one gossip magazine has the pics.

Sherri looks great in the photo! Congrats to Sherri and Lamar! And hope to see the newlyweds in Harlem soon!

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Posted in entertainment, fashion, Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC

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Preview of Harlem’s Cedric French Bistro and Bar menu

Posted on August 15, 2011 | 2 comments

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Wondering what Cedric French Bistro and Bar in Harlem will be offering on their menu and at what price? HarlemGal has photos of the menu. Take a look!

The menu will feature five kinds of mussels, including curry, Thai, and provencales. Appetizers include risotto of the day, foie gras ravioli, beef carpaccio, and more ranging from $8 to $18. Main dishes include sautéed duck breast with cherry sauce and gratin dauphinois, steak tartare, roasted leg of lamb and some local dishes, such as fish and chips, jerk chicken, and burgers. As for desert, that is one area of the menu, I completely forgot to look at. My guess is it will be mainly french inspired deserts.

I plan on checking out this place this week since it is opening today, August 15. What about you? Are you going to dine at Cedric Bistro?

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Posted in Bars, Cedric French Bistro and Bar Harlem, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, restaurants, spending

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Inside Cedric French Bistro and Bar, opening day August 15 for lunch and dinner in Harlem

Posted on August 14, 2011 | 6 comments

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When you walk into the new Cedric French Bistro and Bar, located in Harlem at 185 St. Nicholas Ave, there is art work straight ahead that says “Remain Calm.” I think Harlemites are going to do the opposite, be ecstatic and extremely pleased when they walk in and get a load of Harlem’s newest restaurant. Cedric Bistro is red-hot with hot red all over. They chose a red color scheme similar to other Harlem establishments. And as for their menu, it looks very good! More on the menu later. Let’s take a look inside Cedric French Bistro and Bar.

20110814-061328.jpgThey have kept the L-shape bar where it previously was prior to the change. There is plenty of seating, around 40 seats. The brick wall is exposed with banquette seating and wood tables are strategically placed with chairs that have hot red seat cushions. The place looks nice or shall I say “very Upper Eastside.”

I will be checking out this new restaurant soon. How about you?

Cedric Bistro in Harlem opens tomorrow, August 15, for lunch and dinner, plus weekend brunch.

Cedric French Bistro and Bar
185 St. Nicholas Ave
212-866-7766

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Posted in Bars, business, Cedric French Bistro and Bar Harlem, commercial real estate, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, restaurant row, restaurants

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Experience a massage at EG Bodywork in Harlem

Posted on August 12, 2011 | 3 comments


I want you to meet my new best friend in the area of massage, but shhh…he doesn’t know it! Meet Edwin, founder of EG Bodywork located inside Land Yoga at 2110 Frederick Douglass Blvd!

Edwin, who specializes in stress reduction  and message therapy services, is now offering his services right here in Harlem on Tuesday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.  I recently experienced his Swedish and Deep Tissue massage…and let me tell you, it was out of this world wonderful!

I went to Edwin because like most of us, I was feeling stressed all over. I felt tight in my shoulders, my right ankle was bothering me, my stomach was acting up and just felt restlessness-need I say more. When I went to see Edwin, all of those bothersome items went away. I felt relief in my stomach and ankle; and just plain good all over from a Swedish and Deep Tissue massage.

I felt even better after Edwin explained the benefits of Swedish and Deep Tissue massage. According to Edwin, he says through the use of kneading, stroking, friction, tapping, and vibration, this type of massage provides relief from stiffness, numbness, pain, constipation, and other health problems. The goal in Swedish massage is to increase the oxygen flow in the blood and release toxins from the muscles. Other benefits include stimulation of circulation, deeper breathing, relaxation, and increase in muscle tone.

As for Deep Tissue, it is aimed at the deeper tissue structures of the muscle and fascia, also called connective tissue. According to Edwin, Deep Tissue massage uses many of the same movements and techniques as Swedish massage, but the pressure will generally be more intense. It is also a more focused type of massage working to release chronic muscle tension or knots, also known as “adhesions.”

I hope this blog post explains why I call Edwin my new best friend. He listens about what’s on your mind in terms of aches and pain. He works to help find some relief and then explains the benefits. Isn’t that what best friends are for?

If you want to have a similar experience (and a new bf for massages), learn more by visiting egbodywork.com.

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Posted in business, education, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, health and wellness

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Harlem happy hours happening everywhere: Chocolat, Lido Harlem & Milk Burger

Posted on August 10, 2011 | 1 comment

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!

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Posted in Bars, business, Community, entertainment, Events, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC, restaurants, spending

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Imagine a food coop in Harlem?

Posted on August 10, 2011 | 1 comment

Click on photo to launch video

Brooklyn has a food coop that is very popular and provides fresh organic fruits and vegetables for the surrounding area. Imagine if Harlem had something similar? It is not that far out of reach and there are a lot of Harlemites on Facebook realizing that by sharing the Pop-Up Co-Op video. Why are Harlemites passing along this information? Because it is a great food/grocery idea set out in different phases that will benefit Harlem now and for the long-term. Also, it is a well needed service for our community and locals want to see this idea succeed.

What is Pop-Up Co-Op? It is the first phase of several where the end goal is to have a complete food coop in West Harlem. The Pop-Up Co-Op will sell organic coffee by the cup from a takeout window with one full-time worker recruited from a local youth program. The next phase will be to integrate organic vegetables along with increased staffing and so on and so forth. This initiative is on Kickstarter and has ten days left to meet its goal of raising more than $22,000. If you want to help out and learn more about Pop-Up Co-Op, click here.

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Posted in business, Community, education, Events, food, Harlem, New York, New York City, NYC

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See and learn about Kidberry in Harlem

Posted on August 9, 2011 | 1 comment


Listen up parents in Harlem! Are you looking for an educational center right here in the heart of Central Harlem for your kids? You may want to consider Kidberry, which is currently located at 106 West 117th Street in the Lenox Garden Condominium. If you are not sure who they are, check out this visual presentation. They beautifully mapped who they are and what they can offer your little pumpkins. Just watch the video. You’ll be impressed. I certainly was!

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Posted in Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., business, Community, education, Harlem, health and wellness, music, New York, New York City, NYC

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The Money Series examines how East Harlem spends their money

Posted on August 8, 2011 | 1 comment

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.

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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

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