By Seth Fera-Schanes

An afternoon with your camera in Harlem is a great way to get to know the neighborhood.  As with most parts of New York City, the neighborhood is subdivided even further into West, East, Central (and I recently heard North and South but I am not sure if I am onboard with that yet.)

125th street is usually a great place to start because it is the main East-West arterial and has public transit stops for most Manhattan subway lines.  There is also a Metro-North stop at 125th before being taken all the way into Grand Central Station.

I would suggest spending a few hours in the neighborhood just wandering back and forth along the side streets.  A few points of interest would be:

– Astor Row on 130th street between Malcolm X Boulevard and 5th Avenue

– Striver’s Row on 138th and 139th streets between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Frederick Douglas Boulevard.

If you need a little caffeine then Lenox Coffee is a great place to get a drink and sit for a few minutes to take a break.  If you get hungry then I would suggest Dinosaur BBQ for their fried green tomatoes and pulled pork sandwiches or Amy Ruth’s for some excellent chicken and waffles.

Long New York City Avenues

Winter sunset over Manhattan

St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in East Harlem

Indoor Plants Longing for Warmer Days

Locked Community Garden

Childhood Friends

La Marqueta in East Harlem

Afterparty

Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church at Night