Local Perspectives:
Residents Weigh In

When City Limits walked around the blocks of the Zone, asking passers-by for their take on this major force in the neighborhood, this is what we heard.

A lot of people I think would like to maybe be more involved or have their kids more involved over there. I've heard a lot of people angry that their students are not involved, or that their kids are not involved…which is understandable. I don't have kids, so I don't feel one way about it or another. I just think that it gives more of a sense of dignity and focus, drive, discipline, a sense of accomplishment, which is important anywhere – and the fact that it's for young people, you know what I mean? I know it's corny, but the fact is that you're dealing with the kids.

The right education, right in the neighborhood
Louis Cosme, 51
Mail carrier, grandfather

Children have a quality education to look forward to. … Before the Harlem Children's Zone, I think there was a sense of … 'lethargy' is not really what I want to say, but you know what I mean. …I have a granddaughter who is about to be four years old, and her mother is very glad that now she's not going to have to look for an alternative form of public education outside the neighborhood.

More money, more options
Jennifer Jones, 35
Student and mother of 5th grader

It's brought a lot of money to different types of schools because the Children's Zone is affiliated with a lot of schools in Harlem, like my daughter goes to PS 197 and there's a bunch of programs there for her. Reading programs, after school programs that are affiliated with the Children's Zone that if they wouldn't have been there, we wouldn't have had them. My daughter has participated in some of them. I have a lot of options for my daughter. It's changed a lot, it's changed a lot – I mean the money and stuff, the programs for the children, they're really doing much better. Harlem has changed a lot.

A place for sports
Shaun Mattocks, 17
Rice High School, 124th Street and Lenox Ave.

I know that they have a gym in there and they have basketball tournaments in summertime – my friend plays in there sometimes – it keeps you off the streets because you can go and play sports or whatever after school.

A family affair
Shana, 43
Single mother

I have my youngest, she's 16, she's been with them since she was in fourth grade, she's in the tenth now. I have a nephew that's also been with them for a long period of time and he works security there. And my oldest, which is in college now, she attended there a few years so, I'm very happy. (Shana withheld her last name because she works for the city.)

A new kind of real estate development
Derrick Taitt, 54
Retired, owns property across the street from Promise Academy I

As far as the property being developed, that's like the best thing about that corner. But you know, I had my reservations about whether a school should be on that corner, it's just so busy. … There's been lot of changes, especially that corridor. For many years since after the sixties, when things went down, there were no real businesses east of Fifth Avenue and now this corridor right here between Fifth and Madison is starting to do pretty good, you know … It's slow, but the area's changing, definitely.