Building Healthy Communities | East Harlem

East Harlem, also known as El Barrio, was a welcoming community to Latinos and other immigrant communities for most of the 20th century—from Italians to Puerto Ricans to Dominicans, and most recently, to Mexicans and Chinese. In the 1950s and 60s, urban renewal efforts led to a concentration of poverty in this neighborhood. East Harlem now has the second-highest concentration of public housing in the United States. Overlapping issues of poor health outcomes, high unemployment, and other social determinants of health have threatened the vibrancy of this community. Neighborhood advocates, Harlem residents, and the Harlem District Public Health Office are working hard to improve the health of and increase opportunities for advancement for East Harlem residents.

A group of young people shovel dirt around a tree in a community garden on a sunny day.

East Harlem

Grantee Name: Fund for Public Health in New York
Project Title: East Harlem Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative
Grant Amount: $600,000

Grantee Name: Fund for Public Health in New York
Project Title: East Harlem Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative Phase 2
Grant Amount: $200,000

Community Fast Facts
  • The median income in East Harlem is $33,500.
  • 31% of residents live below the federal poverty level.
  • 44.2% of children live in poverty.
  • The unemployment rate in East Harlem is 12%.
  • The obesity rate is 33%.
  • The smoking rate is 19%.
  • The diabetes rate is 13%.
 Project Goals
  • Increase access to fresh, affordable produce (wholesale and retail);
  • Enhance the physical environment to be responsive to the community’s needs and conducive to a healthy lifestyle;
  • Improve visibility and increase use of existing neighborhood resources for physical activity; and
  • Increase income and opportunities for economic mobility for residents.
What We’ve Achieved to Date

Healthy Foods:

  • Launched a Fresh Food Box program and distributed more than 2,200 boxes to community
    residents; and
  • Launched a healthy restaurant program, highlighting healthy offerings and low-calorie options.

Built Environment & Physical Activity:

  • Made Randall’s Island a more accessible resource for residents through new signage and visual cues to encourage more pedestrian access to the island, where people can participate in free community programming and events related to health and wellness;
  • Developed a 3.5-mile community walking trail that passes through public art installations, museums, community gardens, and cultural centers throughout the neighborhood and connects East Harlem to Randall’s Island’s park space;
  • Engaged residents to survey the walking trail to inform the creation of a State of the Streets report, which will document the condition of the streets and neighborhood perceptions and include recommendations for improvements; and
  • Promoted Citi Bike’s discounted membership rates for New York City Housing Authority residents and organized free community rides.

Community Engagement:

  • Carried out multiple MAPSCorps data collection projects to create comprehensive maps of neighborhood assets and share them with the community;
  • Created the Health in Action Summit, engaging 200 residents in a participatory budgeting process to re-grant funding to smaller community-based organizations in the neighborhood that are focused on health issues, such as emergency preparedness, cooking classes, and walking groups. ; and
  • Engaged residents and stakeholders in the planning process for the East Harlem Neighborhood Plan to inform the Department of City Planning on health-related issues that could be integrated into rezoning plans for the neighborhood.
Partnerships
What We’re Investing In
Bunches of carrots and beets on a table at a farmers market; a hand reaches in to grab a beet. Train entering the East Harlem subway station.

Download a printable one-pager about East Harlem.

ACCESS PDF See more about Building Healthy Communities
Back to What We Fund