Is Central Harlem the ghetto?

"baby boomers got almost free housing and almost free college education in comparison."

What Baby Boomers are YOU talking about?

None of the Baby Boomers in my family got *anything* for "free" - they all worked their asses off.

To: joedavis: No, I didn't wander into a T.V./movie shoot. It was young men, with GUNS. If you are trying to convince people that shootings are not happening in Central Harlem, on an ongoing basis (not every hour of every day); they just need to read the crime reports in the newspapers, and watch the news on T.V.

I just went there, for a good meal. That would have been exciting enough for me. Perhaps for you --not so much. Duck and cover!

Matt: again, you're being disingenuous. Even if you were from a "Glass Castle" kind of childhood, as a boomer, there were opportunities both career & education-wise that were available IF you worked hard that are not available to youths of the same age and background today.

And yeah, I'm not "poor-me-ing" myself. People in my cohort did okay as well, esp. if they found a career path early, and shacked up early, saved while in DINKS mode.

"None of the Baby Boomers in my family got *anything* for "free" - they all worked their asses off. "

oh boy, i'm talking about the generational group. there's always people that have it very tough. but find out what was the price/income to buy the typical home back then and also the debt levels after graduating from college. then check how much did it cost to have health insurance. besides many did well even without going to college. get my point now?

it seems to me that many elderly will get in touch with reality (in terms of understanding how hard kids and young adults have it) only once their entitlements are not there cause they cannot be paid. then the young will tell them "work hard!" back. it's the way i see it, not rant, i have it much easier than most my age and younger. i'm grateful for that, yet see how much easier it was a generation ago, but the elderly don't seem to acknowledge this for some reason. why is that?

I must have missed something...Baby Boomers are now "the elderly". The first Boomers may be passing the 65 milestone next year (which doesn't even entitle you for full social security benefits anymore) but the Baby Boomer includes those born through 1964, which means most of us are still in the throes of working full throttle (unless we have been unfortunate recession victims like moi), raising families a paying off mortgages and often caring for aging parents as well.
Most of the real elderly lived through the Great Depression which still outdoes any post-WWII generation in terms of economic deprevation, lack of entitlement etc. Oh and then they had to defeat Hitler...I'd let "the elderly" off the hook. Bitch at the Boomers if you have to, but don't confuse the two.

do let them off the hook if you want. being young with a kid i cannot. the ponzi is too big. sorry!

ghetto is not a location, but a state of mind!

Except when it's Harlem, most of the Bronx, and anything east of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

This thread is a waste. Central Harlem is not the ghetto, I can assure you.

And just HOW can you "assure" us of this?

Because I live there and it is not at all like "Don't be a Menace to South Central while Drinking Your Juice in the Hood"

So YOU say ...

You can trust me. I have very strong morals and ethics.

there is a huge difference between Central Harlem and SoBX or Newark or South Central LA or East Oakland, CA. ANyone who has spent anytime in those places (I have) knows the difference. There is a mix of incomes and ethnicities in central harlem in way not seen in classic low-income ghettos. it WAS certainly like them in the 70s and 80s, but not today.

Define Central Harlem? What is the geography of Harlem?

bioknight, from the Streeteasy home page- type in Central Harlem, and it will include a map of the area. I don't entirely agree with the eastern borders north of 125th- but this should still give you a good enough idea of the geographic area.

have lots of friends in west harlem and its very lovely there. especially by morningside park. however, you do get the 'looks' that you don't get in most manhattan neighborhoods and if you are not careful you can wonder off into a maze of projects that go on for blocks, suddenly becoming very scary, especially in the twilight hours.