East Harlem
Neighborhood Intelligence

East Harlem is Manhattan Community District 11, occupying the northeastern corner of Manhattan from East 96th Street north to East 142nd Street, between Fifth Avenue and the East/Harlem Rivers. Long known as El Barrio for its Puerto Rican community, the neighborhood has been a center of Latin culture, food, and politics since the mid-twentieth century. The district includes Museum Mile's northern reaches near 110th Street, large NYCHA complexes including the Jefferson, Jefferson II, and East River Houses, and the commercial corridor of Third Avenue and East 116th Street.

East Harlem has been the subject of significant rezoning pressure, most recently the 2017 East Harlem Neighborhood Plan, which rezoned portions of the district to allow greater residential density in exchange for affordable housing requirements. The neighborhood's proximity to the Upper East Side has intensified development interest along its southern and western edges, while the core remains one of Manhattan's most working-class districts, with a large share of residents in rent-stabilized or NYCHA housing.