I got up this morning and bought an unlimited Metrocard for the day. I was planning on attending “Hands Across Harlem” here, hopping on the A/C line, then attending ALP’s “Safe Neighborhood Campaign” (which, for all you non-NYC-area readers, is half a world away in Brooklyn).

About 11am with my camera and tripod in tow, I was greeted on the corner of 125th and Broadway by about half a dozen of our more elderly activist residents. I waited about 20 minutes for a crowd that never appeared. The Coalition to Save Harlem doesn’t seem to have its own site, but there is an online petition. I ended up hopping back on another crowded bus and hanging out with a friend nearby.

About 2:30pm, I rode back down 125th Street on yet another crowded bus. I signed the petition, but 125th Street actually does need further development. Tourism is very obviously Harlem’s most valuable asset now, but I don’t think many residents realize the price of that ticket. Most of the new businesses that have been developed seem to be for Harlem’s tourists – not its residents. The bus meandered by the Coalition’s rally at the State Building, but only after passing countless hair braiding salons, dollar stores, sneaker shops, pimp-daddy clothing boutiques and street vendors (legal and illegal). MART125, the building which housed many of those vendors, remains vacant. 125th Street has needed work for more than a minute but, if they are seriously hoping to inspire change, this Coalition has plenty of work to do as well.

I went home and dropped off my gear, deciding to let the letter I drafted early this morning suffice in response to ALP’s campaign. We need to save our neighborhoods, but The Kid also needs his Trader Joe’s fix.