Question about the west side of Harlem

Congratulation! The area is going to become the jewel in the crown of nyc. Price will definitely be triple in 10 years.

Chuck, it is def more of a riskier move but with more risk comes more return. I agree with ino in that the area has great potential for appreciation. There is gaining probability that you can score big with this move. Good Luck.

Hi Chuck,

I bought a new construction condo in the upper 140's about 3 years ago- a half block east of Broadway. I have seen lots of dramatic change since I signed the original contract. About a year and a half ago there was a bar on Broadway that was a coke den that got shut down with a major raid by the police- and now it's an upscale deli that looks like it belongs on the Upper West Side...it's a good representation of the change in the neighborhood. We had some arrests on my block for illegal fireworks this July 4th, and since then the block has tamed considerably (and the police considered my block one of the worst in their district). We no longer have parked cars with stereo's blasting in the middle of the night with bass so heavy that my windows rattle. I still see drug dealing on my block- but even that has tapered signficantly this summer. I think the kids that were problematic in the neighborhood are starting to get the message that things have changed and they can't get away with the same things they were able to in the past.

On the plus side, some of the life long residents on the block that I have met are happy to see the changes- one even remarked to me that she could finally have her grandchildren play outside without worrying about them.

While the retail scene has improved a bit since I moved here, it is still lacking, so it requires patience. Columbia will directly reshape the area in the lower 130's...but both directly and indirectly they will change the entire stretch of broadway.

SteveF commented that this is a riskier move, and in some ways I agree with that, but in others, I don't. As a local resident I know that you have really big money and influential people investing in the neigbhorhood- such as a billionaire family (although they are flippers) and a big name Economist.

I live in that zone.

First of all, don't put many eggs in the Columbia basket: Morningside Heights had its ups and downs over the decades, with Columbia firmly planted all the while . . . they're not magicians. Remove that from the equation.

It's beautiful on Riverside Drive, Riverbank State Park offers lots of athletics amenities (great if you're a hockey mom, for example), and beneath RSD on 12th Ave, the little uptown meatpacking district restaurants/clubs are charming and well-located so as not to annoy.

Broadway, much less so. The monstrous 3333 Broadway is ex-Mitchell-Lama-rental and will slowly become less lower-middle-class. The many low-income retirees who hang out on Broadway and do such charming things as air their big fat bellies by lifting their shirts up for extended periods of time will eventually die off. Retail "gentrification", such as it is, in the little over a year that I've lived there has included a few nice restaurants, but also contragentrifiers like Burger King, a supertacky furniture store, and Twin Donuts (yes, really!). Overall, I've never felt unsafe or unloved, and I sometimes keep wee-hours hours.

The #1 train is annoying above 96th St., where it's local-only and slows down around 125th as it bridges the Manhattanville Valley. How much do you love blaring iPods?

I don't know how to research it, but I gather that quite a few buildings are permanent low-income programs -- not rent-regulated, or HDFC, or Mitchell-Lama -- and so don't expect much change there. But that doesn't have to stop appreciation. Same for the 1950s-ish low-income NYCHA projects near 125th & Bway.

inoeverything always posts comments that he thinks are sarcastic, but really he's been reading "How to Be Funny -- a Tutorial", and trying really really really hard to apply the technique. So take everything he has to write with a grain of cyanide.

It's a good move....the growth potential is definitely apparent. The Columbia $7 Billion expansion along with the rezoning of 125th St will help to further improve Harlem in general.

An interesting piece of info....the Dancy Power Automotive Group, an exotic car dealership (selling Bentley's, Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, etc.) just opened-up shop on 129th St and Lenox Ave.....their clientele consists of pro athletes, singers, etc.

FYI - Obama and Clinton had a meeting today at Clinton's office on 125th St.

Thanks semerun, great insight. Thanks to everyone.

I know the area a bit, used to live on 139th, and have ridden/run/driven through there a fair amount. I think you have to be very picky on specific avenues and even specific blocks in that area, along the lines of what alanhart said, and beyond - do a fair amount of exploring the specific streets you're looking at and surrounding streets.

I've seen everything in that general area, ranging from complete ghetto/projects to very nice, quiet green streets with families in brownstones, bordering on a west village feel. That's why you have to focus on specific streets, not just general area.