Police Protests, Pandemic, New Buildings: Harlem Year In Review

HARLEM, NY — It's hard to believe now, but 2020 began like any other year in Harlem.

In those early months, we brought you news about a controversial housing development, a scuffle on a subway platform and a church deacon accused of conning his congregants.

Then came the once-in-a-century pandemic, the historic protests over racism and policing, an economic recession and a contentious presidential election. 2020 became a year that no New Yorker would soon forget.

As 2021 begins, Harlem Patch is taking a look back at the neighborhood's top stories.

East Harlem Tops Manhattan In Coronavirus Cases: City Data

Our most-read story of the year, we reported in April that East Harlem's 10029 ZIP code had emerged as Manhattan's worst-hit area based on the number of coronavirus cases confirmed there.

Nearly a year into the pandemic, the virus's toll in East Harlem has become even clearer: more than 200 people have died in 10029 alone, the most in any Manhattan ZIP code.

Harlem Gets A New Ice Cream Shop, Just In Time For Winter

A happier story than most this year: the family behind Sugar Hill Creamery opened a new location, closer to their namesake neighborhood — at an unorthodox time of year.

Harlem Council Rep Clashes With Community Board Over NYPD Funding

After the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, protests against police brutality flared across New York City, and the City Council passed an unpopular budget that redirected about $1 billion from the NYPD.

That led to an unusual clash in East Harlem between Community Board 11, which supported defunding the police, and Councilmember Diana Ayala, who mostly dismissed such calls.

The protests also led to the creation of a celebrated Black Lives Matter mural on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. An upcoming documentary will follow the rise of the mural, which was painted by local artists.

East Harlem Office Tower On Pathmark Site Now Seeking Tenants; Permits Filed To Demolish East Harlem Commercial Building

New developments are a fact of life in ever-growing Harlem. Two of this year's biggest stories included the office tower being built on the former Pathmark supermarket site, and the planned demolition of a row of stores on Third Avenue to make way for a 10-story building.

Other building projects that made the news in Harlem this year included a 28-story tower in Hamilton Heights and the enormous Sendero Verde affordable housing complex in East Harlem.

Patch reporters Anna Quinn and Maya Kaufman contributed.

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