Harlem was founded in 1873 when Dutch pioneers came to settle in land near New York City. Seven years later, railroads blessed New York with fortune and New York saw the rapid development of property. As a result of many property developments, New York’s subway network began to slow down, causing the prices of property to drop drastically. The decrease in property prices attracted African Americans which lead to the arrival of many black families in Harlem during the 1880s(Open Learn University, 2019). 

In 1904, a real estate crash affected black neighborhoods sparked the establishment of the Afro-American Realty Company led by Philip Payton, which assisted black families and helped them relocate to other parts of Harlem. Over a decade later during the 1920s, Harlem became a predominantly black neighborhood. Furthermore, in the 1930s, the population of blacks residing in Harlem, increased. White residents left as more black people transitioned into Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. Some people tried resisting the influx of black families through pacts to prevent selling or renting residential property to black people. Other methods such as buying property from black tenants were attempted, however, the Afro-American Realty Company retaliated by evicting white residents through reversing the process of their attempts(Open Learn University, 2019). 

During the 1950s, people would deliberately use a strategy called blockbusting where they convinced property owners to sell their property for low prices in the fear that black people were moving within the vicinity of their properties. Impoverished areas of Harlem had residential buildings that requested high rent were not affordable for black families which led to the deterioration and abandonment of these buildings. By the 1990s, efforts to revitalize Harlem were made. Police would make efforts to reduce crime rates and drugs. Central Harlem’s property values would increase by up to three times and this attracted many people into Harlem, resulting in gentrification.

 Gentrification occurs when low-income families are displaced through any methods of eviction by property owners, thus allowing the higher class residents to take residence in the property. One method named Major Capital Improvements (MCIs) enables landlords to improve the living conditions of their tenants for rent increases. During the year, 2019, many advocates and tenants gathered for tenant rights against landlords. Many tenants would complain of the implementation of MCIs within their buildings causing some people to even become homeless. A resident by the name of Nathylin Flowers Adesegun was impacted by MCIs because it almost tripled her rent from $475 to $1375, which displaced her and caused her to be homeless(Gaffney, 2019). Currently, the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 reduces the increase in rent with MCIs that landlords can place on tenants by 4 percent annually. However, people who were previously affected by MCIs were already displaced(Lum, 2019). 

In this field research study, the issue of residential gentrification and its effects on Harlem residents along with the role of Major Capital Improvements(MCIs) were explored. The scope of this research covered Central Harlem. The main question that drove this research was, what are the effects of residential gentrification on the residents of Harlem? Other questions such as what are the effects of MCIs on residents in addition to what psychological effects that residents encountered as a result of residential gentrification were also explored. Preliminary online research points to possible answers to these questions such as the effects of MCIs and how displacement may cause negative impacts on the welfare of the residents in Central Harlem. To determine whether this hypothesis is plausible within the scope of this study, field research was conducted.  The objective of this research is to determine whether residential gentrification affects residents positively or negatively, and in what ways. The following study consists of interviews with members of the community district board 10, advocates of residents, and advocacy groups as well as surveys of the general public, and observations in the field.