It was the place I would go to every morning right before school and every afternoon right after school, the place that sold Brisk Iced Tea in a can for 50 cents and pecan spin wheels for 35 cents. That place was the bodega on the corner of 116th street. Now that bodega no longer exists.
    Gentrification is a recurring topic of discussion at the dinner table in my home. My mother, my sister and I always talk about the new places being built and the old stores and buildings that have been closed, replaced or relocated.
    IâÂÂve lived in the same apartment for my 17-year existence so I have witnessed first-hand the tremendous change in the area. Many of my neighbors have relocated to more affordable houses as rents continue to climb, while others, like us, are striving to stay.
    There has been shift in the demographics of the Harlem community. According to the Gotham Gazette, in 2006 Harlem was populated with 69.27 percent blacks and 6.55 percent whites. Back in the 1990s, Harlem was populated with 87.55 percent blacks and 1.50 percent whites. There’s a big difference in the racial make up of Harlem today and that of almost 20 years ago.
    Earlier in my life, I would not have expected such a change in the community. I first noticed the change about five years ago when I started to see Caucasian people make their way around the neighborhood–that rarely ever happened.
    I remember when Caucasians were afraid to walk the streets of Harlem while those streets were just home to me. IâÂÂve never lived in the so-called âÂÂhoodâ but people have always stereotyped Harlem as a den for drug dealers and abandoned buildings.
    Now, the average condominium is selling for $1,601,644, organic supermarkets are replacing regular grocery stores, and people who once refused to step foot above 110th street are walking around late at night with their children.
    I canâÂÂt say that I donâÂÂt like diversity, but itâÂÂs just not the same anymore. Harlem was the place where blacks could feel comfortable in their own skin; they wouldnâÂÂt have to be discriminated against since everyone could identify with each other racially, culturally and for the most part religiously.
    Now there are the veterans in the neighborhood and the new people that have moved in. Everyone can’t quite relate to one another except for the one similarity: living in the same neighborhood.