Poll: Favorite Bar in Harlem

Star studded grand opening for Harlem Target

The Wall Street Journal reports that Target has been busy buttering up Harlem’s trendsetters in preparation for the grand opening celebration later this month in East Harlem. According to the WSJ: The 10-car No. 6 train that will deposit riders on a platform linking to the store by a pedestrian bridge will be wrapped through… [Read more…]

Waking up in city of second chances

Abyssinian Development’s Sheen Wright is featured in a Crain’s article about overcoming urban decay. You can read the article by clicking on the link: Waking up in city of second chances – Crain’s New York Business.

The Scoop: Read all about it edition

Harlem rappers and musicians give back to local youth [NYDN] Waking up in the city of second chances [Crains] East Harlem Target set to open July 25 [Racked] see also [WSJ] Gridskipper offers their list of Harlem’s best live music bars [Gridskipper] Harlem Stage gets some breathing room [NYT] Trying to replicate Harlem Children’s Zone… [Read more…]

Preview Red Rooster’s Menu with Chef Marcus

Join Marcus Samuelsson for an intimate evening in a stylish Soho loft as he prepares a four-course dinner while giving practical cooking instruction. Guests will be met with a delicious specialty cocktail. Then, Marcus will demonstrate and serve a four-course menu that is inspired by both his award-winning cookbook New American Table and his upcoming… [Read more…]

Target: Arts + Culture

Target is sponsoring free or reduced-price admission to arts and cultural events at museums and performing arts institutions in and around Harlem. Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Event will be from July 16-18. For details about the participating museums: Target : Company : Arts + Culture.

2280 FDB moving closer to closings

We received word this afternoon that the much talked about 2280 FDB has received a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) and will begin closings this week. 2280 FDB is a 12 story, 89 unit luxury development located on Frederick Douglass Boulevard at 123rd Street. Residences will range in cost from $509,000 to $1.889 million. Square… [Read more…]

Side Note: From learning to living

Yesterday we posted a link to an article about the fight to preserve PS 186 in Hamilton Heights. The article noted that both PS 186 (opened 1903) and PS 90 (opened 1905) were built by the same architect, Charles Snyder who served as the superintendent of school buildings from 1891-1923. In his tenure he built… [Read more…]

Statue mystery solved thanks to our readers

Thanks to one of our intrepid readers, we were able to solve the mystery of the statue in front of 5th on the Park condos. The statue of three rotund woman recently placed in front of 5th on the Park condominiums has stirred up controversy in our comments section. The sculpture,created by Nigerian artist Nnamdi… [Read more…]

The Scoop: Hotter than July edition

North General in Harlem to close its doors to inpatient and ER services [WSJ] Scuba divers searched for woman feared as drowned in Harlem River [NYDN] ConEd tells the Upper West Side (up to 111th Street) to cool it with power use [NYT] Harlemites boycott BP stations in protest of Gulf spill [NYDN]

Preservation over Progress: The fight for PS 186

With the renovation of PS90 making the pages of The Wall Street Journal, neighbors in Hamilton Heights have been hoping that the same outcome will materialize for a deteriorating school located on 145th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway. City Limits forwarded us the following link about the fight to save PS186, written by former U.… [Read more…]

Fifth on the Park’s mystery ladies

Photos by: D. Bell/Uptownflavor Passing by 5th on the Park yesterday, I noticed a sculpture of 3 woman in front of the building that wasn’t there before. Does anyone have any background information about the artist and how the voluptuous ladies came to make their home in front of this luxury condo development? Perhaps it… [Read more…]

Chocolat is hiring

Construction on Chocolat is moving right along. The bar is in place and there appeared to be some activity going on inside the space on Sunday. If you remember, it was a little over a year ago when we first caught wind that Chocolat was making a long anticipated comeback to the Harlem lounge scene.… [Read more…]

St. Nicholas Park In Dialogue

Walking through St. Nicholas Park you might have noticed a series of mailboxes sprinkled across the park. They are part of a public art exhibit called “In Dialogue.” The exhibit is a collaborative project involving The West Harlem Art Fund, City College, and the Parks department. The exhibit will run from June 16 through July… [Read more…]

Blossoms of Fiber Art in St. Nicholas Park

As a complement to the other exhibits in St. Nicholas Park this weekend, we stumbled upon the Harlem Needle Arts exhibition called “The Blossom of Fiber Art.” The exhibition showcased soft sculptured plant life and floral arrangements created through the mediums of crochet, knit, quilt, felt, and weave. Artists with pieces on display included Denise… [Read more…]

Harlem’s true colors

This weekend Harlem businesses showed their true colors.  The top photo shows Shrine dressed in a kaleidoscopic display of national pride that represents the countries that are competing in the FIFA World Cup. Score! The bottom photos show Billie’s Black draped in a brilliant rainbow of colors to celebrate Harlem’s 1st Gay Pride celebration.  You… [Read more…]

‘Play Me I’m Yours’ Harlem

This weekend we happened to come upon two of the five colorful pianos scattered around Harlem as part of the public art exhibit “Play Me I’m Yours.”  We visited St. Nicholas Park and the Harlem Art Park. The piano covered in plastic was at St. Nicholas park. We plan to hit up the other three… [Read more…]

Art in Harlem

The New York times highlights art in Harlem in two different, but deeply connected stories: Pulling museum mile uptown [NYT] Redoing those ’80s ‘dos [NYT]

Harlem’s Happening

PEDRO MARTINEZ PROJECT (Saturday) Since arriving in the United States at the end of the 1990s, the Cuban percussionist Pedro Martinez has been all over the place, putting rumba and guaguancó into the weave of all kinds of groups. But when his drums, singing and writing are the focus – as is the case in… [Read more…]

Now Open: Jacob Restaurant

Photo by NARMER. Jacob’s 2695 Frederick Douglass Boulevard on the corner of 143rd Street.

Madagascar in Marcus Garvey Park

Young people’s slumber party and movie screening under the stars Located on Madison Ave side of Park btwn. 122nd & 124th St. Madagascar Saturday, June 26th, 8:30 pm Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath, 2005, 86 min. At New York’s Central Park Zoo, a lion, a zebra, a giraffe, and a hippo are best friends and… [Read more…]

A Summer Second Line

The annual Jazzmobile is a sure sign that summer has arrived in Harlem. This year, the outdoor jazz concert founded by Dr. Billy Taylor in 1964,  kicked it up a notch by marking the first day of summer with a New Orlean’s style second line parade through the streets of Harlem. The brass and percussion… [Read more…]

Real Estate Round Up: Summer of 2010

*Updated: 6/26/10* We haven’t done a real estate round up in quite a while. With the market down and the economy taking a turn for the worst, real estate news about Harlem projects had pretty much stalled until recently. Worth noting is the fact that the Wall Street Journal has seemed to become enamored with… [Read more…]

Celebrate 1st Annual Harlem Pride Celebration this weekend

Harlem Pride Launch Party When: Friday, June 25, 2010. 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. Where: Billie’s Black, 271 West 119th Street between St. Nicholas Ave. and Frederick Douglass Blvd. Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at the door, includes drinks, hors d’oeuvres, entertainment and dancing Saturday, June 26 brings the main event, the Harlem Pride Day… [Read more…]

Free Financial Education Seminar at The Apollo Theatre

Self-made Millionaire and Author of New York Times Bestselling Autobiography The Pursuit of Happyness Provides Free Financial Seminar to New Yorkers with the help of MasterCard Chris Gardner, whose personal story of going from being homeless to a successful business owner, inspired the motion picture, “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith. Gardner will be… [Read more…]

The Scoop: Mid-week news round up

12 year old girl from Columbia Secondary Prep drowns on school trip [NYT] Elderly nun killed in police chase in Harlem [NYT] New appraisal rules hurt new Harlem home buyers [WSJ] Aloft Hotel begins interviews in Harlem [Crains] see also [NYT]

Ask UF: Jewish Harlem Tour

As luck would have it, The 92nd Street Y is hosting a tour this weekend. http://www.92y.org/shop/event_detail.asp?productid=T-LP5CW16 If you can’t make the Y tour then check out Harlem Heritage and Manhattan Walks. I believe individual tour guides sometimes advertise specialty tours in places like Time Out New York and other event listings. Keep an eye out.… [Read more…]

Summer Speakeasy is back

THE SPEAKEASY AT 1220 FIFTH WEDNESDAYS | JUNE 30 -AUGUST 18, 2010 | 6:00 – 9:00 PM

Hurricane YahZarah Hits Billie’s Black

As a part of their month-long 4th anniversary celebration, Billie’s Black will play host to YahZarah this Wednesday evening. The event, brought to Billie’s by ONUTSS (One Nation Under the Soul Shack), one of the city’s most popular promoters of independent soul music, will include a meet and greet, a listening session for YahZarah’s just-released… [Read more…]

Stoops

Stoops, originally uploaded by Uptownflavor Photos.

Uptown Family Fun Festival

Jacob Restaurant opens a second location

ByUptownflavor Photos. Jacob Restaurant and Soul Food Salad Bar is opening a second location, after only a year in business. The original location, on Lenox Avenue, was opened by former Manna employee Rachid Niang. Niang is a Senegalese immigrant with more than 15 years experience in the food service industry. The new location is expected… [Read more…]

Save Globe Trippin

Over the pre-summer weekend we popped by Globe Trippin for a refreshing cup of iced tea. We have been receiving emails from patrons of the tiny cafe and readers of Uptownflavor for weeks about the dire straits faced by the cafe’s owner, Georgia Scott. Scott, a published author and former art director at the New… [Read more…]

This week at Maysles Cinema: Homo Harlem Series

Maysles Cinema Presents: Homo-Harlem Film Series June 21st – June 26th, 2010 A week-long film survey of artists and personalities who’ve informed the gay aesthetic in Harlem. Co-sponsored by NY State Senator Bill Perkins, Harlem Sage, Harlem United, Men of All Colors Together, and Queer Black Cinema. Curated by Michael Henry Adams and Valerie Jo… [Read more…]

New: La Nomade Restaurant Cafe & Bakery

A new African eatery has opened on Eighth Avenue between 148th and 149th Street. More African restaurant than cafe or bakery, La Nomade is a welcome addition to an up and coming area (surrounded by PS 90, Ellington on the Park, and The Sutton) that has little more than a couple of bodegas and 99… [Read more…]

Today: A Harlem Jazz Second Line

A New Orleans style second line  of revelers jubilantly dancing as they follow behind a parade of brass band will wind through three Manhattan neighborhoods: Hudson Square (adjacent to Tribeca and SoHo), Lincoln Square (Upper West Side) and Harlem. Each event will feature a concert aboard the Jazzmobile float. In Harlem, a second line led… [Read more…]

New: Sub Conscious opens a second location

Sub Conscious Subs, which already has a location near Columbia, has recently opened up a second location near City College at 1625 Amsterdam Avenue at 140th Street. Check out their offerings by visiting their website: http://www.subsconscious.com

Today: Apply to work at the Aloft Harlem

Today: Make Music New York 2010

Click on logo for full schedule of events.

Parrilla

While the trio of upper Broadway restaurants lead by Cafe Largo are still “temporary closed” a new eatery has opened for business one block down. Parrilla is a Latin Steakhouse, that possibly has related namesakes in the Bronx and up in Washington Heights. The meat is grilled on a circular grill in the front window… [Read more…]