East Harlem Voices sponsored by Ford Foundation

East Harlem Voices is a community-based media project documenting the impact of the many rapid and transformative changes that have occurred in East Harlem over the past 18 months.

From June 2008 to December 2009, grassroots correspondents Marina Ortiz, Denisse Andrade, Clara Eugenia Ibarra, Mario Najera-Martinez, Jennifer Wager, Rosemarie Barker, and Julian Gerena-Quinones conducted dozens of interviews and produced seven video reports highlighting various forms of displacement in East Harlem and throughout Upper Manhattan.

Topics include the closure of local houses of worship; the lack of supermarkets and other healthy foods disparities; anti-warehousing and predatory equity campaigns led by affordable housing advocates; neighborhood opposition to large-scale commercial developments; the cultural and historical significance of street / outdoor public art in the neighborhood; the Italian community of East Harlem; and the impact of charter schools on public education.

In addition to the video segments, the East Harlem project involved the development of a neighborhood-based communications hub that engages and contributes to the identity and shared histories of local stakeholders through interactions on Internet blogs, discussion forums, and broader social network websites such as Facebook and Ning.com.

We hope you have enjoyed these reports and that you continue to take advantage of the social networking opportunities Hope Community has developed over the last 18 months. For more information, check out our Facebook.com page or visit:

http://hopecommunity.blip.tv/

http://eastharlemvoices.ning.com/

EAST HARLEM FOCUS (2006-2007)

In May 2007, Hope Community, Inc. premiered a 30-minute documentary, "East Harlem Focus: A Community Facing Transition," at its Carlos Rios Senior Residence. Produced by the agency's community programs department, the documentary is the culmination of a 12-month research / listening project.

The public screening of the East Harlem Focus documentary was followed by a public discussion on gentrification and displacement in East Harlem. Among the local partner agencies speaking were Lakeview Tenants Association, Community Voices Heard, and Esperanza Del Barrio.

Hope staff then coordinated a videotaped panel discussion held at Manhattan Neighborhood Network studios that aired in October 2007.

In addition to the East Harlem Focus video, Hope Community staff produced an accompanying published report available online. Click here to read the final report (PDF).

HOPE COMMUNITY WANTS TO KNOW

What is going on in East Harlem today? What changes are occurring, and how are they affecting you? What will happen to communities that have made East Harlem their home for generations? What will happen to new-comers to the area? What do you think should be happening in East Harlem today? What sorts of changes would you like to see? What sort of future would you like to see for your neighborhood?

These are the questions that we often ask as we went out in the community, talking to our neighbors about their hopes and fears, their memories, and their dreams for El Barrio.

Since 2006, Hope Community, Inc. has interviewed over 100 neighborhood residents to capture their observations, opinions, and feelings about East Harlem. In 2007, we drew from a wide range of sources — including the U.S. census, records from three city agencies, and private data on real estate sales — to analyze demographic trends and flows of investment in local real estate.

Our goal is to identify and explain changing forces, highlight concerns of local residents, and propose practical courses of action for positive future development. We hope the videos and panel discussions will shed new light on the issue of displacement and lay the foundation for an alliance with local partners to preserve East Harlem’s historic standing as a vibrant, affordable neighborhood for working class families.