Developers and real estate agents thought that they could come into the lower area of Harlem and dub it “SoHa,” short for South Harlem.
As far as residents are concerned, they thought wrong. NY1 reports that developers want to refer to the area between 110th and 125th Streets to make it more trendy, similar to SoHo.
During a press conference on Wednesday, local leaders rejected the name, saying that it was insulting the culturally rich neighborhood and whitewashes the historically black community. They said the name change would only welcome more high-end developers and wealthy white people, leading to the displacement of long-time residents.
“How dare someone try to rob our culture, and try to act as if we were not here, and create a new name, a new reality as if the clock started when other people showed up?” state Senator-elect Brian Benjamin said.
A post shared by Inside Harlem™ | Harlem USA (@insideharlem) on May 24, 2017 at 1:18pm PDT
The name “SoHa” first appeared in a New York Times story in 1999, according to NY1. Since then, it has increasingly appeared on real estate websites like StreetEasy. Realtor Keller Williams recently dedicated a “SoHa” team in the neighborhood.
“We’re not going to let people who just got here change the name of our community for their profit,” Harlem District Leader Cordell Cleare said. “This is about greed and lust.”
A post shared by Inside Harlem™ | Harlem USA (@insideharlem) on May 24, 2017 at 2:38pm PDT
Community Board 10 member and real estate broker Danni Tyson said profit is possible without rebranding the neighborhood.“This is Harlem — a wonderful brand, a brand that is known all over this world,” she said.
“No real estate company, no coffee shop, no business should be using the term ‘SoHa’ to refer to Harlem. This is a home, this is a culture, this is a place that people visit,” she continued in the video above.
In addition to residents protesting, folks on social media are less than enthused about the proposed name change.
SoHa!?!? Harlem Residents Fuming Over Push to Rename the Area https://t.co/DzxgLVUCgu http://pic.twitter.com/az7LDWjt2E
— Anoa C. ❤ (@TheWayWithAnoa) May 25, 2017
@Phil_Lewis_ Erase the historical significance of "Harlem" + new name + White faces= #gentrification
— Ms. Aishia (@divatherapist) May 26, 2017
That's right! NOBODY should be saying shit like "SoHa" etc... It's #Harlem. The end. STOP trying to erase POC + their history for https://t.co/8pIaEWODqW
— Mark Sundstrom (@106th) May 25, 2017
SOHA ISN'T A THING. IT IS HARLEM. https://t.co/RXsAjPRdKS
— Sandra E. Garcia (@S_Evangelina) May 25, 2017
SoHa? = #Harlem http://pic.twitter.com/PsclNXAkjx
— Anika Noni Rose (@AnikaNoniRose) May 26, 2017
So they wanna name Harlem...SoHa? Who are these white people and are they the same people remaking Dirty Dancing?!
— Jenni Ruiza (@RuizaJenni) May 26, 2017
Benjamin said he’s working on a proposal to legislate the renaming of neighborhoods, according to DNAinfo. It would require a community review of new projects planning to use new name for an area while also receiving local or state subsidies.
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