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New York 15th Congressional District
New York’s 15th 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 15th 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 15th 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 15th, with
non-Hispanic Blacks comprising approximately 37 percent of
the population. The largest concentration of blacks in
the 15th 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 15th’s non-Hispanic whites live
in the south end of the 15th 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 15th 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 15th,
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 15th 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 15th 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 15th, 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 15th.
New York’s 15th 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 15th. 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
15th district’s distinct character.
New York’s 15th is home to
a number of world class institutions in education and health. Among
the 27 colleges and universities that call the 15th 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 15th.
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