East Harlem

Gustavo Agosto-DaFonseca & Ted Henken

East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or in Spanish simply as El Barrio (the neighborhood), is a New York City neighborhood generally bounded by Manhattan's East 96th Street on the south and East 125th Street on the north, and by 5th Avenue on the west and the East River. Although the neighborhood's history reflects the racial and ethnic diversity that defines New York City, the area has become identified since the 1930s as the unofficial capital of Puerto Rican New York. This entry describes its history and current environment. Dutch traders were the first European immigrants to settle in Manhattan following the establishment of Dutch trading posts during the early 1600s and Peter Minuit's subsequent purchase of Manhattan Island from a native group, possibly the Lenape, in 1626. Modern day East Harlem was named Hellegat, or sinkhole, for the bay that forms along the East River's curve just A ...

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