Pam. Pam, Pam, Pam from Chicago. She sits on her stoop, her phone in one hand and a gaze out west. She tells me she moved to New York to find a more diverse place to live. She first had a place on the west side but she says everyone was constantly "consuming" and she couldn't stand it anymore - like at the restaurants and the constant shopping! She moved to this side of the neighborhood where she's stayed for over eight years now. Both brownstones directly east of her were dilapidated, ruined, she says. Now the one next door houses Kate and Tom, whose interviews you can find <---- Next Door. And the brownstone over, still somewhat under construction, is bought by two architects, who have obviously treated the place with their artistic eye. Pam remembers when she first moved to this spot and her partner, who she mentions is white, had invited her sister over for dinner. Pam's partner's sister was so terrified to be coming out the subway at 125th street, she asked to be escorted back to the apartment, a mere 3 blocks away. Pam recalls the offense she felt and the absurdity of it. She later mentions that an eighty year old couple, friends of hers, also white, visited her one eve and were able to manage all on their own. She wants to express to me the differences she encounters amongst her circle of people when it comes to Harlem. "For me, though, it's about saying hello and how are you doing." She likes to be able to walk around and spot familiar faces, a rarity, she explains, in the "busy, busy, busy" NYC traffic.
|