Timeline of East Harlem History

1700s

1800-1865

1866-1900

1901-1920

1921-1945

1946-1960

1961-1980

1981-2005

1626	Manhattan was bought by European settlers for the equivalent of $24.
1700s	East Harlem is still vacant land. Towards the end of the century, settlers start buying land in Northern Manhattan. In the late 1770s, squatter settlements and farms were established in the neighborhood, before builders constructed new homes and apartment buildings.
1837	The elevated New York and Harlem Railroad, now used by Metro North Railroad, was built along Park Avenue. The railroad created a physical and psychological barrier that has divided the community since it was built.
	East Harlem became "Italian Harlem" after Italian immigrants settled there while they were hired to build trolley tracks on Fifth Avenue. They followed their jobs and displaced the previous Irish residents who moved to other parts of the city or to the suburbs. By 1880, there were 4,000 people living in East Harlem. By 1920, the neighborhood consisted of mostly Jews and Italians, though many Jews were moving out of that area for "greener pastures."(Binder & Reimers, p.176)
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1890s	A first small group of Puerto Ricans arrives in East Harlem.
1895	The Union Settlement Theater is established in East Harlem at 231 East 104th St. The Puerto Rican flag is created by Puerto Rican exiles in New York who were working towards ending Spanish rule in that country.
1898	Puerto Rico becomes a possession of the United States.
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1904	The Supreme Court decides that Puerto Ricans can bypass immigration procedures when they come to the US.
1908	A federal report shows that most of the Italian inhabitants of East Harlem were originally from Southern Italy. The festa of the Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was held every July 16th. In recent years, the Haitians have dominated the festival because of waning Italian participation.
1917	The Jones Act, which gives Puerto Ricans US citizenship, is passed. This legislation facilitates the movement of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. The average trip from Puerto Rico to New York lasted four to five days on a steamship during this period.
1920s	The Italian community in East Harlem reached its peak during this period. Many of the Jews and Irish who lived in the community leave East Harlem for other parts of the city or the suburbs.
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1926	There are mob attacks on Puerto Ricans living in East Harlem. La Liga Puertoriquena e Hispana is established to unify Puerto Rican clubs and organizations in New York City.
1920s-1930s	Puerto Rican immigrants began to replace the Italians and the Jews, who were leaving for better housing. The 1920 census showed that there were 7,364 Puerto Ricans in New York City. That number jumped significantly by 1930, when there were 45,000 Puerto Ricans in the city. Migration from the island slowed to a crawl during the Great Depression and practically came to a halt during World War II. In the meantime, The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party supports a movement for Puerto Rican independence in East Harlem.
1930	By this time Puerto Rican theaters, clubs, and churches opened in El Barrio. The first Roman Catholic Church in the neighborhood, Holy Agony, was opened in 1930. This development would make the neighborhood more desirable for Puerto Rican settlement during the Great Migration. By 1930, 50,000 Puerto Ricans settled in the tri-state area.
1930s	The Depression hits poor neighborhoods like East Harlem especially hard. Italians “could see Italian Harlem crumbling around them; they inhabited its primitive housing and walked its dangerous streets.” (Binder & Reimers, p.178) In the 1930s, East Harlem (between Park and 2nd Ave. and 100th and 116th Streets) was called “La Cura” (the crib).
1932	The Museum of the City of New York is built on 5th Avenue.
1934	East Harlem receives its first high school. Gonzalo O’Neill’s play “Bajo una sola bandera” is staged at the Union Settlement. The first settlement house for Puerto Ricans, Casita Maria, is established in East Harlem.
1935	Vito Marcantonio is elected to Congress as a representative of East Harlem. He was a member of the American Labor Party from 1938 to 1954. When he died, 20,000 people marched in a funeral procession in East Harlem.
1937	Oscar Garcia Rivera, from East Harlem, is elected to the New York State Assembly. He is the first Puerto Rican elected official in the US.
1940	88% of Puerto Ricans in the United States lived in New York City.
1940s	During World War II, Italians in East Harlem demonstrated their patriotism by hanging American flags in their shops and by taking down pictures of Mussolini.
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1946	A banquet is held at the Plaza Hotel for the first Puerto Rican governor of Puerto Rico.
1947	The Bureau of Employment and Migration of the Government of Puerto Rico opens in New York City, helping Puerto Rican immigrants.
1940s- 1960s	The Puerto Rican Great Migration started in the mid 40s and ended in the mid 60s. During this period, 30,000 to 50,000 Puerto Rican immigrants came to New York City every year. After World War II, the United States tried to diversify the Puerto Rican economy. These policies also led to the establishment of mechanisms to encourage Puerto Rican migration to the U.S. The city’s “urban renewal” program demolished many East Harlem buildings. Thirteen high-rise housing projects were subsequently built. This was the largest public housing experiment in the United States. Puerto Rican singers and musicians, like Tito Puente start to gain national attention at the beginning of this period.
1950s	East Harlem gained the nickname “El Barrio” (the neighborhood).
1952	The first annual Fiesta de San Juan Bautista is held. Puerto Rico officially becomes a US commonwealth.
1953	This was the peak year for Puerto Rican immigration. 69,124 people left the island for the US. Puerto Rican immigrants continued to work as unskilled laborers, but their children were learning English and attending public schools. These first generation Americans found better jobs and were more likely to move out of El Barrio. Puerto Ricans also exerted more political influence.
1957	West Side Story, the first portrayal of New York Puerto Ricans in the mainstream media, opens on Broadway.
1958	The first annual Puerto Rican Day Parade is held on April 12th.
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1961	A Puerto Rican and Other Sketches by Jesus Colon is published.
1967	Down these Mean Streets written by Piri Thomas about growing up in El Barrio is published. The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, founded by Miriam Colon, has its first production at the Carver Auditorium in East Harlem.
1968	Salsa made its presence known in the recording industry with albums like Willie Colon’s “El Malo” and Ray Barretto’s “Acid.”
1969	The Young Lords Party is founded by Puerto Rican college students. Its headquarters were located on Madison Avenue and East 111th St. The party, inspired by the Black Panthers, focused on city services, children, and health care. They took over the Spanish United Methodist Church and the Nurses Residence at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. El Museo del Barrio is founded.
1970	The Puerto Rican Migration slowed significantly. Many Puerto Ricans left the city for their native country, the suburbs, or other parts of the city. The Young Lords publish a newspaper called “Palante.” They also seize a TB testing van after the city is accused of neglecting tuberculosis in East Harlem. In October, Julio Roldan, a Young Lord, is shot. Herman Badillo also becomes the first Puerto Rican elected to the U.S. House of Representatives after previously serving as Bronx Borough President.
1971	The Puerto Rican Student Union at Colombia University and the Young Lords Party mobilize 1,000 students in a rally for Puerto Rican independence. In the same year, 10,000 people march from East Harlem to the United Nations to demand independence for Puerto Rico, freedom for political prisoners, and an end to police brutality.
1972	Membership and interest in the Young Lords Party declined as a result of internal disagreements about the future of the party.
1973	Pedro Pietri’s Puerto Rican Obituary is published.
1978	Olga Mendez is elected to the NY Senate, representing East Harlem. She is the first Puerto Rican woman in this position.
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1984	Musica de Camara is founded in East Harlem as a classical music forum for Puerto Ricans.
1990s	The Mexican influx into the community begins .
1992	Nydia Velasquez is elected to Congress from the 12th district in lower Manhattan. She is the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in that position.
1995	The current wave of gentrification begins around this year.
1997	The Julia de Burgos Cultural Center is opened in East Harlem. It becomes the new home for the Taller Boricua and Los Pleneros de la 21.
2004	Olga Mendez loses her seat as New York State Senator representing East Harlem to Jose Marco Serrano.
2005	James De La Vega runs for State Senator representing East Harlem as a write-in candidate. Felipe Luciano might run for the City Council seat to be left vacant by Philip Reed because of term limits.

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