Honestly? Unless you're going to listen to a romantic revisionist, it was probably as far back as the '50s. And after the comprehensive zoning revision of East Harlem in 1961, which gave way to the First Avenue highrises, it was just a matter of time.

If you have the time, just Google the zoning revisions of 1961. As soon as those projects went up, the ballgame was over. The fans didn't just stop showing up overnight, though. It took a little while.


By the early '70s, they were already referring to everything from 2nd to Lex as Spanish Harlem.


Thanks, buddy. But it honestly bothers some people here. But the history of New York City is a passion of mine, so that's that. And by now, you know me better to know whether or not I care when people criticize me for being a "know-it-all" about certain neighborhoods.

I forget if it was Yeats or Walt Whitman who wrote it. But they were both great poets, and the quote affected my outlook on criticism in a big way. It went something like this: Too fucking bad .