New York 15^th Congressional District

New York’s 15^th Congressional District is the perfect definition of the American melting pot — a community built on a number of different ethnicities and nationalities, each adding a new dimension of culture and character. Predominantly a black population in the early 1900s, the residents of New York’s 15th now reflect a diverse mix of immigrants from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and a number of other Latin American ethnicities, as well as smaller European and Asian populations.

New York’s 15^th covers a broad range of neighborhoods, blanketing Upper Manhattan from East 96th Street and West 91st Street on up. Outside the borough of Manhattan, the 15^th stretches to include a small area of the Bronx, as well as Rikers Island, an incongruous appendage located off Manhattan in the East River and home to a New York City prison complex.

Hispanics make up a large plurality (46 percent) of the population of New York’s 15^th, with non-Hispanic Blacks comprising approximately 37 percent of the population.  The largest concentration of blacks in the 15^th is in west-central Harlem. East Harlem is dominated by a large Puerto Rican population; West Harlem and Washington Heights farther north have large Dominican communities. Most of the 15^th’s non-Hispanic whites live in the south end of the 15^th in the Upper East side, the Upper West side (which includes the top portion of Central Park), a small portion of East Harlem, which is home to a longtime Italian-American community, and a portion of the Inwood neighborhood at the north.

Since first sending an African-American to Congress, the 15^th district has had just two House Members, both Democrats: Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. who won a landmark election in 1944, and Rangel, who unseated Powell in 1970 and has held the seat since. Throughout his career, Rangel has often received the endorsement not only of the local Democrats, who have a lock on the constituency covered by the 15^th, but of the minuscule Republican organization as well.

Once the home to the brilliant Harlem Renaissance, which brought about an unprecedented level of cultural development in the 1920s, New York’s 15^th is now in the midst of a new, economic renaissance. Federal Empowerment Zone legislation, championed by Congressman Rangel in 1995, has given rise to the growth of a number of bustling economies in a variety of neighborhoods in the 15^th district, including Washington Heights, and Central, East and West Harlem.  The economic growth ignited by a high level of investment and development has attracted scores of people of all races to the historic areas of the 15^th, many looking to move in to the majestic and stunning historic Harlem Brownstones that punctuate the district and line Lenox Avenue. The fast pace of economic growth is drawing a new, multiracial middle and upper-middle class to the 15^th.

New York’s 15^th district has long served as a portal to a vibrant and ever-changing population of immigrants. An initial wave of Europeans at the turn of the century settled the area as an affluent extension for Manhattan’s social elite. The early part of the century saw a tremendous migration of Blacks to the district, establishing Harlem as the early center of African American culture. The years following the World Wars saw a huge influx of Latin American immigrants, primarily Puerto Rican, but with large numbers of Mexicans and El Salvadorans as well. In recent years, large numbers of Dominicans, have settled through the northern portions of the 15^th. Today, new African communities have become a cultural and economic presence in the district, further adding to the rich blend nationalities and cultures that compose the 15^th district’s distinct character.

New York’s 15^th is home to a number of world class institutions in education and health.  Among the 27 colleges and universities that call the 15^th home are Columbia University, City College of New York, Boricua College and Yeshiva University. The area’s vibrant health care cluster comprises six major hospitals, including New York Presbyterian Hospital and NYU/Mt. Sinai Medical Centers, which are both first-class centers of research and education.

The district contains such historic sites as the massive Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the tomb of Ulysses S. Grant, and the world famous Apollo Theatre. In addition to these sites, people from the world over come to visit the historic churches, restaurants and clubs of the 15^th.