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26 Jul 2008 | Kommentarer ()

En 10 gator upp från där jag bor under min vistelse här, mellan 135:e och 145:e gatan i området Hamilton Heights, pågick in till mitten av 2000-talet tydligen en massiv droghandel, först av Colombianer men sedan främst av Dominikaner. (Läget, med centrala infartsvägar från alla hålla i norra New York, gjorde dessa gator attraktiva). Men sedan staden, under borgmästare Bloomberg, bestämt sig för att rensa bort handeln, har kvarteren normaliserats (man kan väl knappast prata om gentrifiering?). Läser jag om i New York Times-bloggen City Room, som refererar den nyutkomna boken Home Girl: Building a Dream Home on a Lawless Block, av Judith Matloff:

Much of that drug activity was centered on Ms. Matloff's street. Hundreds of men would work on the street outside, with regimented schedules. Periodically, the police would conduct raids, but within a short time the same faces would be back on the street. (...)

But when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took office in 2002, one of his priorities with his police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, was to rid the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of drugs. The police began a campaign called Operation Crackdown, which inundated the area with some of the top officers from the five boroughs. (The police presence became so dense, Ms. Matloff recounts, that undercover officers approached each other to do deals and a traffic cop ticketed an undercover police car as the officers were doing a raid.)

Nu väntar man förvisso på att mexikanska gäng från östra Harlem ska ta över:

A worry now among officers in the neighborhood is that the Mexican gangs from the eastern parts of Harlem might move into the vacuum, Ms. Matloff said. "We're waiting for the next wave for what might come next," she said.

Också bra läsning: New York Magazine om Harlem-mäklaren Willie Kathryn Suggs, om bostadsmarknaden här - "Whose Harlemt Is It?".

Uppdatering: läs också om ett schysst hus som snart står klart på 118:e gatan och Frederick Douglas Boulevard - "A Notorious Harlem Shooting Gallery Goes Condo".

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Much of that drug activity was centered on Ms. Matloff's street.\nHundreds of men would work on the street outside, with regimented\nschedules. Periodically, the police would conduct raids, but within a\nshort time the same faces would be back on the street. (...)

But when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took office in 2002, one of his\npriorities with his police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, was to rid\nthe Hamilton Heights neighborhood of drugs. The police began a campaign\ncalled Operation Crackdown, which inundated the area with some of the\ntop officers from the five boroughs. (The police presence became so\ndense, Ms. Matloff recounts, that undercover officers approached each\nother to do deals and a traffic cop ticketed an undercover police car\nas the officers were doing a raid.)

Nu väntar man förvisso på att mexikanska gäng från östra Harlem ska ta över:

A worry now among officers in the neighborhood is that the Mexican\ngangs from the eastern parts of Harlem might move into the vacuum, Ms.\nMatloff said. \"We're waiting for the next wave for what might come\nnext,\" she said.

Också bra läsning: New York Magazine om Harlem-mäklaren Willie Kathryn Suggs, om bostadsmarknaden här - \"Whose Harlemt Is It?\".

Uppdatering: läs också om ett schysst hus som snart står klart på 118:e gatan och Frederick Douglas Boulevard - \"A Notorious Harlem Shooting Gallery Goes Condo\".

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Jag heter Erik Stattin och det här är min blogg. Jag skriver om digital kultur, ungefär. Du får gärna tipsa mig om saker. Kontakta mig på erik.stattin@gmail.com. Jag är mymarkup på Twitter och Delicious.

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