Julie and I went up to Harlem in the late afternoon. This is the work of a well know graffiti artist James de la Vega but this view is not representative at all of what we saw.
We were in the area of 125th where Bill Clinton has set up shop and for blocks around everywhere we walked with very few exceptions the streets and buildings were clean and well kept and the action on the street was purposeful and lively. A lot of mid-rise new construction is fully occupied. There seems more homeless people and panhandlers in Santa Monica.
We didn’t make it to 138th, because we didn’t check before heading out (bad tourist!). There the grand old buildings are being restored and gentrification has fully taken hold.