21 – H & M, from Sweden to Harlem.
If the appearance of a medical college in the last sector foretold gentrification, here between 7th and 3rd Avenues is where the phenomena is witnessed at full force. Here’s where 125th Street starts to look like a suburban outlet mall.
Lenox Avenue, also known as Malcolm X Boulevard plays host to tenants the likes of which Malcolm X would never in his life have expected: H & M, Marshalls, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks. Past Bill Clinton’s office (in a faceless multi-storey glass building) and a spanking new loft apartment complex across the street, The Body Shop itself makes its appearance at the 5th Avenue intersection.
The onslaught continues for four blocks till 3rd Avenue – gleaming mall complexes that occupy whole blocks appear at Lexington Avenue. Quite a few turn-of-the-century townhouses have been demolished to make way for these, and more are already slated to go.
At the end of this stretch sits The Salvation Army, across from yet another spanking new luxury loft apartment complex, looking (almost) out-of-place. Here, old and new Harlem come face to face with each other.
22 – Marshall’s Department Store, and Dunkin’ Donuts.
23 – Starbucks: one of two outlets on the strip.
24 – Bill Clinton’s office building.
25 – A new office and apartment building (it appears).
26 – The Body Shop, at 5th Avenue.
27 – Elegant turn-of-the-century apartment buildings.
28 – The Harlem Children’s Zone and Promise Academy.
29 – Manna’s Restaurant, soul food and salad bar, now gone.
30 – Covenant House, another building slated to come down.
31 – The 4, 5, 6 Subway Bridge, 125th Street station.
32 – Reymour & Flanagan Furniture, Lexington Avenue.
33 – Global Business Institute and mall just beyond.
34 – Pathmark, occupying a whole block between Lexington and 3rd.
35 – The Salvation Army Corps Community Center, 3rd Avenue.
36 – Luxury loft apartments, 3rd Avenue.
D – Gentrification Central
Dream Of A City 