Mouth of the Border Finds East Harlem's Best Tacos

A few weeks ago I met the fantastic food blogger Emily Cavalier of Mouth of the Boarder. She (and a few fellow foodie bloggers) had recent discovered some great tacos up in East Harlem.





Here's their taco tour:
El Aguila
136 East 116th Street
New York, NY 10029

El Paso Taqueria
237 E 116th St
New York, NY 10029

Cascabel Taqueria
1542 2nd Avenue (at 80th)
New York, NY 10075

Get all the details at Mouth of the Border.

Did they miss any great taco joints?

A Target Just for East Harlem

The East River Plaza Target will officially be opening on July 25, and the store will be adding touches that make East Harlemers feel right at home. The East Harlem Target will offer lots of Spanish language items, apartment-sized merchandise and 400 jobs for the locals. The store will also be the first to hold the Harlem Designer Collections with items by Isabel and Ruben Toledo, renowned designer Stephen Burrows, and chef Marcus Samuelsson. Here's some information about the collections from the Target press release:


The IsabelandRubenToledo for Target(R) collection marks the first time Isabel and Ruben have partnered on a retail collection. The collection includes a beautifully psychedelic swim assortment with suits and towels in cerulean blues; cutouts and asymmetry make bold statements on one-piece suits ($17.99--$34.99). The Stephen Burrows for Target(R) collection provides an unexpected assortment of knits that embody an urban-street aesthetic, shown in the zip-front pocketed hoodie dress ($19.99--$34.99). The Marcus Samuelsson for Target(R) collection offers a range of aprons, placemats, kitchen towels, potholders and napkins, and features a pleasantly surprising assortment of men's, women's and kids' tees which will only be available at the East Harlem Target store ($3.99--$19.99).



Each collection will honor Harlem while giving to the local Harlem community. Target will donate 5 percent of each product's purchase price to a non-profit of the designer's choice. The non-profit selected by the Toledos is El Museo del Barrio [http://elmuseo.org]; The Fund for Public Schools in support of the library at The Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem [http://schools.nyc.gov/site/M610] by Stephen Burrows; and The Fund for Public Schools in support of the library at Harlem PS 180: Hugo Newman [http://schools.nyc.gov/site/M180] by Marcus Samuelsson.


Hat Tip: Levi

amNew York Features East Harlem

This post is a little late, but in case you missed it: East Harlem was featured in the City Living section of amNew York early last month. The section was written by one of this blog's first readers, Levi Gibian Fishman. Levi interviewed me for the story and included a quote from me, "The area feels real. It's the sort of area that I always imagined living in when I thought about living in New York City." The section covers some of the haunts you've read about in this blog and a few new places you should check out. Take a look at the full article in amNew York (PDF).

Great article, Levi!

The Secret to Museum Mile

This lovely city has plenty of free events, especially in the summer months. Free, of course, is awesome, but crowds (especially on a hot June day) are not. But, don't let the fear of long lines deter you from Museum Mile, that summer evening when nine museums along Fifth Ave open their doors free of charge. Here's the secret to a slightly less crowded experience: check out the museums uptown. The Museum of the City of New York and El Museo Del Barrio are often the less visited museums during the event.

There's lots going on this Tuesday, June 8th from 6-9pm for Museum Mile. At the Museum of the City of New York all of the current exhibits will be open for you to view including their collection of New York City photos and the New Yorker cartoonist Charles Addams' illustration exhibit.

At El Museo Del Barrio most exhibits will be open, including a permanent collection show. The Museo and street artist James De La Vega (who makes regular appearances on this blog) will host chalk coloring activities along Fifth Ave. Finish your Museum Mile experience with a trip to the the Museo's cafe. I was invited to dine at the cafe this Saturday, and I was impressed with their fare. Try the ceviche or the Chile Relleno con Vegetales ($7 and $5). Relax with a glass of tamarind juice, a beer or soda -- the museum has beverages from all over Latin America -- while listening to one of the performances scheduled for Tuesday evening.


Museum Mile
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
6:00-9:00PM
5th Avenue between 82nd & 105th

The Smurfs Are Coming to East Harlem

Spotted on 104th between 5th and Madison

Spring Awakening

James De La Vega seemed to hibernate for some of the winter, but he seems to be back in full force now that spring has arrived.

Spotted this morning....

A Toast(er) to You and Your Dreams



Things May Be Upside-Down But at Least You Have Your Dreams

Join the East Harlem Facebook Page

It's got a small following so far, but hopefully soon the East Harlem Facebook page will let East Harlemers connect and share info.

18th Annual Ethnic Festival of El Barrio

Celebrated the diversity of East Harlem this Saturday at the Annual Ethnic Festival of El Barrio at 104th St. between 2nd and 3rd Ave. Come out between 11am and 6pm and you'll enjoy music, art and food from a wide vary of cultures including Mexican, Puerto Rican, South American, West African, Caribbean, Arabic and African-American.

Find out more information at the Union Settlement Association Website.

More on the East Harlem Media, Entertainment and Cultural Center

According to a press release from the New York Economic Development Fund the development will include:

* 30,000 square feet of cultural space celebrating East Harlem’s unique and diverse cultural heritage;
* More than 800 total housing units, 600 of which will be affordable to individuals or families with moderate or middle incomes;
* A mid-block public plaza;
* A minimum of 24,000 square feet of landscaped open space;
* 50,000 square feet of retail space reserved for locally-owned businesses at below market rents;
* 250,000 square feet of class A office space;
* A 98,000-square-foot hotel; and,
* A $10 million local investment fund to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs that locate in the new development.

What do you think? Would you want to live in this complex?

East Harlem Media, Entertainment and Cultural Center

A massive $700 million project has broken ground on 125th St and 3rd Ave in East Harlem. GlobeSt and Curbed report that the East Harlem Media, Entertainment and Cultural Center has started construction. The multi-use building will have 800 housing units, a cultural center, office space, retail space for local business and more. The building is expected to be LEED certified.

At the start of construction, GlobeSt quoted Mayor Bloomberg saying, Today's groundbreaking, along with the other projects taking shape along 125th Street, are helping sustain the momentum of Harlem's ongoing renaissance. This major multi-use development –– a major investment and show of confidence in Harlem's future –– will serve the community in a variety of important ways: by creating needed affordable housing, valuable community and cultural space, and new office and retail space. Most importantly in today's economy, it will create thousands of permanent and construction jobs.”

Who Even Knew There Was a Catholic Museum in East Harlem?

Yesterday's New York Times has an article on the rise and fall of the National Museum of Catholic Art and History, which believe it or not was in East Harlem. You didn't know their was a Catholic Museum in East Harlem? Well, that could have lent to the museum's struggles. In case you weren't one of the museum's few visitors, when it was open from 2003 to 2007, the museum was located on 115th St and the building is now for sale. The museum was plagued by money issues as well as other problems, but the museum's director had friends in high places who helped keep it afloat.

Photo: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Welcome the New Neighbors…the Artists

Architect’s Newspaper reported that East Harlem's Public School 109 -- on the far east side of 99th St -- will be the future home of 72 artist’s residences. Artspace, a non-profit that creates affordable housing for artists, is working with financial backing from the Ford Foundation on the the project, which is expected to break ground later this year.

Urban Legends in East Harlem

Have you heard the one about the alligator found in the sewer? Well, that really happened -- and in East Harlem!
Get the full scoop in the most recent episode of This American Life.

Friday 4 the Foodies: East Harlem Eats

There's a great post on the music blog Roll With It on places to eat in East Harlem.

"This week I thought I’d take everyone on a visual tour of what I feel is a neglected foodie area of New York City for some people – Lexington Avenue from 96th Street to 104th street in East Harlem."

They've covered some great spots...definitely worth a look.

East Harlem Rated 54th

East Harlem was ranked 54th out of 60 neighborhoods in New York Magazine's Best Places to Live listing. I've always thought of East Harlem as an "up-and-coming" place to live, so I was surprised it was so low. To me the neighborhood gets points for diversity, Mexican food, Central Park and the museums. Why do you love East Harlem? What makes it the area for you?