Manhattan Community Board 11
US Census Data
While every 10 years the United States conducts a full Census of our country's population, the American Community Survey is conducted every year by the US Census Bureau and is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. Below is a link to the most recent data available from 2008 for Public Use Microdata Area 3804 which almost exactly mirrors Community Board 11's boundaries.
2008 American Community Survey Data - Community Board 11
Manhattan Community Board 11
Planning Assessment
At the request of Community Board 11, the Urban Technical Assistance Project performed a
planning assessment and analysis to help delineate key issues to be addressed in a strategic
planning process. This planning assessment was conducted for Community District 11, bounded
by 96th Street to the south, 142nd Street to the north, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and
Harlem Rivers to the east, including Randall’s and Ward’s Islands. This report also provides
detail data on the current economic conditions of the four major commercial corridors (Third
Avenue, 125th Street, 116th Street, and 106th Street).
Community District 11 has a history of multiculturalism. In the 1930s, East Harlem was home to
a large Italian immigrant community, as well as Jewish and Irish communities. During the 1940s
and 1950s, after World War II, there was turnover in the immigrant communities. Italian and
Eastern Europeans were benefactors of post-war housing growth in the suburbs, while a
significant Puerto Rican immigrant population settled in East Harlem. The East Harlem
community remained predominantly Puerto Rican and African American throughout the 1950s.
At the same time that the Federal Housing Administration was providing mortgages for middle
income families, East Harlem was slated by the Federal Housing Act of 1937 for major slum
clearance. Over a period of thirty years, old tenements and whole neighborhoods were torn apart
to make way for 15,657 public housing units.
Today, East Harlem still retains its multicultural characteristics. Community District 11 is
afforded the benefits of access, diversity, and potential. Access to leaders, knowledge, and
resources in the community gives the District a strategic position in the city. Diversity in
persons and cultures reflects a colorful and dynamic community, who make significant
contributions to the economic base and vitality of the commercial areas. Potential for growth
and empowerment helps in achieving an equitable and vibrant community.
Overall, Community District 11 has a solid infrastructure of community and economic services.
Expansion and investment in the development of facilities that are most beneficial to the
community is imperative in the years to come. The planning assessment provides a detailed analysis of the demographic trends and physical characteristics of East Harlem’s urban fabric,
and quantifies the capacity of the social infrastructure in the district.
This report contains the following five sections:
• A comprehensive demographic profile, including trend and comparative analysis;
• An inventory and mappings of physical characteristics, including land use, zoning,
ownership, and financial status;
• An inventory and mapping of educational, social, and health services;
• An identification of commercial establishments on four major commercial establishments
and an expenditure potential analysis; and
• An evaluation guided by the data captured in the sections above that puts forward issues and
opportunities that lead to recommendations for future revitalization of Community District
11.
Each section presents findings discovered through several sources. Data was obtained from the
U.S. Census Bureau, NYC Department of City Planning, NYC Department of Finance Real
Property Assessment Division (RPAD), NYC Department of Housing Preservation and
Development, and the NYC Department of Transportation. In Addition, site surveys were
conducted to establish an inventory of commercial activity and assess the business
establishments located along the four major commercial corridors: Third Avenue, 125th Street,
116th Street, and 106th Street.
Download the Report below for more information.
