Pathmark is a household name in my family. As a child we would shop at the one on Bartow Avenue in the section of the Bronx commonly known as The Valley. I can remember my dad on Sunday’s reading the Sports Section of the paper first and then immediately picking up the Pathmark circular to clip those double coupons. In ‘96 when I lived in Fort Green, I loved shopping at the newly built store by the Atlantic Terminal and nowadays I keep the tradition alive by shopping at the store located on 125th Street.

One of my favorite Pathmark pastimes is buying my seafood and getting it steamed right on the premises. So this past Monday night I decided to treat myself to a half pound of steamed shrimp seasoned with Pathmark’s spicy bootlegged version of Old Bay. I placed my order and the young man behind the counter tells me that I made it just in time because they do not steam after 7pm and that I had only 10 minutes to spare. He then tells me I have to pay for my shrimp before I can get it steamed, which I’ve never done before at the Pathmark in Brooklyn or the one in Bay Plaza in Co-Op City where my family now shops, but after reading Sekou’s blog about the craziness that is Harlem, I am not surprised. As I make my way to the front of the store where the cashiers are ringing scores of people– I mean there were at least 25 people on every line, I try to maneuver as much as I can to the front pleading that I have only one item. After my awfully stressful ordeal, the idea of munching on some buttery, Cajun style extra large shrimp seems all the more appealing. I dash back to the seafood department anxious to get my goodies steamed so that I can finally get home and enjoy. The gentleman that served me earlier is now filleting a salmon and another man comes from behind the steamer to “handle” me. He says he needs to see my receipt before he can steam. I show it to him. He says, “oh no, you bought this order of shrimp at 7:02 and I can’t steam after 7pm.” Thinking he is joking, I look over at the first guy that told me I had “10 minutes to spare” and say, “hey please tell him I placed my order with you long before 7pm.” He looks up, his face contorted with confusion and tension. He says nothing. The second guy, who I found out later is named Michael says, “Miss, I’m serious. I will not steam this for you because you paid for it at 7:02.” Now people at this moment I think I blacked out for a millisecond from total shock, hunger and of course rage. It’s not like I was walking around Pathmark lollygagging buying Steak-ums and Jello. I went directly to pay for shrimp and was on line the entire 12 minutes. I told him as much, but Michael wasn’t hearing me and walked away. I demanded to speak to a manager. I was beyond frustrated. I was undone.

Of course I was told there was no manager on duty and that I should go to Customer Service. Even the Customer Service rep seemed shocked by my dilemma. He called the Seafood Department to verify. “Hey Mike, you didn’t steam this woman’s shrimp? (pause) For two minutes?! Aight.” He hangs the phone up only to tell me that I could get my money back. “Of course I can,” I respond. But I wanted more than my $3.52 returned. I wanted service. I wanted my steamed shrimp. Wasn’t I the customer standing in need at Customer Service? How come Mike in all of his inappropriateness was getting his way? Clearly at Pathmark on 125th Street, Customer Service is code for Employees Have Final Say, Beeyotch! I was completely flabbergasted. They did not even offer me a free order of shrimp if I decided to ever return for steamed seafood again (which at this point I am not sure I will). It was humiliating and most of all a total waste of my time, which we all know you never get back. In the end, I was told the manager of that Pathmark, Mike Dixon, is not there in the evenings and so things run amok. Well the amok part wasn’t verbally said, but it was apparent.

As I put my refund in my wallet I wondered what was going to happen to that half pound of shrimp. Was it just going to sit on the counter until someone decided to return it to the seafood department for resell– talk about your food poisoning. Or were they just going to throw it away? What if it was a pound of shrimp or three pounds of crab? Do they just throw seafood away here in Harlem? In these recessive times Pathmark has got to do better. I feel especially duped because just two months ago my hairstylist and I got into a very heated debate with a board member of the Harlem Development Coalition who hated Pathmark and thought it was nuisance to the neighborhood. We argued that unlike Citarella further up the street (which she loved), Pathmark is more accessible to more of the surrounding community and that this particular branch on 125th believed in the growth and promise of Harlem long before gentrification was ever uttered. I do hope that as we make strides in the neighborhood that proprietors in Harlem and their employees will not sacrifice service and products just to get that buck or that extra two-minute break. It’s bad enough to make someone pay for steamed shrimp before they can even complete their shopping, but it’s reprehensible to refuse service for which one has already paid.

Microsoft Softwear T-Shirt Launch - Common Performance w/ Biz Markie from Freshnessmag.com on Vimeo.

When is Microsoft Software not a Windows based program? When it’s the new collaborative t-shirt line Softwear by Microsoft and designed by hip-hop backpacker, up and coming actor and Serena’s boo– Common. I had the chance to attend the collection’s launch party last week at Skyline Studios and I must say, I not only enjoyed myself, but I thought many of the designs “inspired by the 1980’s when both Microsoft and hip-hop really came of age, (that) depict(s) shared principles of the technology company and the hip hop star” …were great. On the heels of his recently released LP, “Universal Mind Control,” it would seem some of those shared principles gotta be geek chic, retro electro styling and analog/DOS musings. Besides the open bar, Jeremy Piven waving to me, and the tuna tartare, the highlight of the night was when Common was joined on stage by the DJ for the evening, Biz Markie, to perform a crazy off the hizzee freestyle. Comm’s electric boogaloo performance of his single was aight, but Biz skrate ripped it. Check the video and look out next week when the tees will be available at specialty retailers for about $32 a pop.

Always around Thanksgiving I am consumed by thoughts of great food, my family, our ancestors and of all the blessings in my life. At this time we all think of our loved ones, of those less fortunate and we hope and pray for their upliftment. And if anything these last few months should have taught us is that prayer is great and necessary, but that we can and must also extend ourselves physically and financially to be the change that we seek. Coming off of an invigoratingly historic political season filled with altruistic activism and intellectual inspiration, it’s no surprise that there is still this thrust for social change lingering in the air. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of his company, Kenneth Cole, who is far from being the old man I had envisioned, launched his Awearness book and initiative two weeks ago in a celebrity filled party at his Kenneth Cole storefront at Grand Central Station. Between passed trays of filet mignon and grilled shrimp, co-host Rosario Dawson, who is a founding member of Voto Latino, talked about the importance of engaging individuals and how her organization mobilized Latinos to vote in record numbers. My highlight of the night was meeting Harry Belafonte who was simply stunning with his wife. His essay in the book focuses on the incarceration of our youth. I asked him how he felt about Barack Obama’s win and he said, “Am I here? Am I alive? Of course I am elated.” Everyone in the room seemed to be elated by Obama’s win, which was albeit a great exuberant feeling, but still kinda weird. It’s still strikes me a tad strange to be in the company of people publicly talking about their political preferences especially when those preferences are based on the platform of an African-American man. It is incredible to have a Black President. Matisyahu, an Orthodox Jewish reggae rapper performed. Too bad he performed sitting down because from that stance he never successfully gained the attention of a totally restless and inebriated audience. I had heard many things about him and I can’t front he is really, really good. His songs about truth, righteousness and struggle sound like they were created by a natural born Rasta. It was a great night for a book that could not have been written and released at a better time! Awearness features 86 essays on a number of topics including homelessness, human rights, and the environment written by 90 contributors such as Rosario, Ludacris, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Don Cheadle. Check it out and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The first time I ever heard about Res was from my girl Santi. She was telling me she was writing songs and producing an album for an old family friend, Shareese, from her hometown of Philly. I was excited because I knew Sant had the chops to deliver some badass songs and could finally get her name out there in a big, if not meaningful way. Months passed, and even though I kept on pronouncing her name ‘Rez’ as in ‘high res’, I anxiously awaited to hear this new sound that Sant said she would be creating– some Portishead meets Badu meets Massive Attack meets Alanis -ish. Finally, sometime in 2001, Res’ debut, How I Do, dropped and it was clear that these two friends found a way to make music just as beautiful and just as complicated as themselves. “Golden Boys” and “Ice King” were released first and even though they had crazy catchy melodies and fiya lyrics, they didn’t really blaze. I loved the album especially “Sittin Back” and my absolute fave “Tsunami,” but not until “They Say Vision” was released did Res have a certified hit that came a year later. Due to horrible marketing and promotions (it was categorized as an R&B album), How I Do failed to be the success it should have been.

How I Do, however, fared better for Santi who finally turned her exhaustive executive producer role into a full time gig in-front of the action as Santogold all the while Res’ star dimmed. After about four years off of music’s radar, she reappeared donning some wild and crazy gear as a back-up vocalist for Gnarls Barkley on their “Crazy” tour. Talk about your role reversals. Beyond a couple of new songs she had posted on her Myspace page, the Mark Ecko model and poster grrrl for BlackRockCool had all but disappeared. So this past Halloween when all I wanted to do was continue drinking wine and sharing philosophies with a certain someone, I instead, and in defiance of at least 15 text messages warning me to stay inside, took my booty downtown to The Blue Note to see Res and hear what she had brewing.

Compared to many of the images proffered from her videos, Res was dressed somewhat conservatively in a simple flowey top and jeans. She was quite subdued, somber even. The rock chick that’s dancing and jumping and swaying in the video for They Say Vision was now laid back and mellow.

Her 10:30pm set could have easily been called How I Do – Unplugged. Her performance of “Ice King” was totally stripped down and as she encouraged her band– a guitarist and a drummer, to just flow you could feel the room slip into this thick Steel Pulse groove. I could swear I saw ganja smoke swirl and encircle the stage, humph, then again maybe it was just the steam off of my calamari. She shared that “Ice King” was the first song she recorded after scrapping the entire first half of an album that she really wasn’t feeling. I’m gathering this was pre-Santi cause “Ice King” is one her hot creations. She also talked about her experience singing background for Gnarls Barkley and how she struggled with realizing herself in the music industry and then outside of it as an independent artist. “Sometimes you just gotta say fuck it and put it all out on the table. I’m still going to sing,” she declared matter-of-factly right before launching into a new song, “Risk It All.” “Don’t go too fast. Don’t go too far,” she sang the hook of this upbeat rocker like Buddhists chant Om– for redemption and redress. Her time on the road with Cee-Lo seems to have made her more self-assured, if not totally defiant.

I have to admit her new songs were just okay. They weren’t bad but they didn’t move me like “Tsunami” and “Golden Boys,” which she performed effortlessly turning all of us within earshot into limp strands of linguini. But Res showed us that she’s over her past fame and that she ain’t out the game yet unleashing some new material that she is currently recording with Talib Kweli and Graph Nobel under the name Idle Warship. “Steady” was a smoldering uptempo tune with a crazy “Sunglasses At Night” sample and 80’s sway. In this outfit Res reminded me so much of Blondie especially when she started rapping. On “Laser Beams” anotha IW joint Res was giving us The Go Go’s ala “We Got The Beat” and mixing it with this cool No Woman No Cry vibe. I liked it a lot. About Idle Warship Res blurted out, “I’m an idle warship that’s waiting to fight a war that will never be fought.” This may be true, but from her Blue Note show I feel like Res has been fighting an internal battle between pop and pride and permanence and has somehow found a cool spot in the middle to lean and get her guns a smoking once again.

Make sure to catch Idle Warship live in NYC on December 22nd at BB Kings @9pm!!!

I awoke on Tuesday earlier than usual. I was anxious, overjoyed and excited. It was like Christmas morning, but better. It was Election Day and Barack Obama was running. Christmas Eve, as it would’ve been, wasn’t the night I thought it would be. I had volunteered, my first time for a political candidate, at Gustavino’s– one of Obama’s makeshift phonebanks. My task: call Floridians and make sure they vote for Obama. I dialed the first number with the joy one has when wrapping a present for a loved one. I was proud, happy and relaxed. Shoot, Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary was playing “Blowing in The Wind,” and like the hundred or so other folk there, I was feeling mad confident.

“Hi, this is Nicole and I’m volunteering with Barack…” Before I could get another word out Jeremy is screaming at me. “You’ve got to be kidding me! You’ve got to be kidding me!” In shock I lower my voice so as to not interrupt the other callers.

“I’m sorry is there a problem?” I ask.

“This is the third call I’ve gotten for Barack in the last two hours. You need to lose my f*king number cause we are for McCain. We are all for McCain down here so stop calling us.” Click. He hangs up. With tears in my eyes I’m stunned. My blue balloon has just popped and an 8-wheeler just smashed my beautifully wrapped gift. Honestly I was about to leave at that point. After working 9 hours, the last thing I felt like getting was screamed on, but after a very inspiring, insightful convo with the other phoners I was determined to do more. I got screamed on a few more times after that, but an hour later I also had some very heartfelt, unforgettable moments with Obama supporters—young and old; early voters and first time voters. So needless to say on Tuesday morn I was ready to cast my vote. The lines were long in Harlem, discouragingly long, but thanks to a free cup of Pike’s something or ‘nother from Starbucks and the camaraderie of my neighbors and friends, my 3 and a half hour wait to pull the lever went by pretty quickly. When I pulled the lever I whispered my daddy’s name cause no doubt I was pulling the lever for him. When my dad fought in WWII he was saying ‘yes we can.’ When he worked as a therapist at the Veterans Hospital in the Bronx he was saying ‘yes we can.’ My dad supported Barack before there even was a Barack.

So on Tuesday night at 10:45pm when the CNN announcer said that our next President—the 44^th, would be Barack Obama, I shouted and did my infamous African cat call out the window only to be answered back by what seemed like 100 other calls and shouts. My godmother cried while I popped champagne. I three-wayed my mom in the Bronx who was elated and my sister in Baltimore who was totally in shock. A Black President. Barack won because he’s educated, inclusive, and creative. He’s an ingenious campaigner and provocative debater. Despite a war that doesn’t seem like it will ever end, despite a recession that is taking it’s toll on all of us everyday, despite a decline in morale, Barack Obama made it feel like Christmas again for the majority of us Americans (and for sure so many non-Americans too). We said ‘yes we can’ because we believed and now because we kept on despite the Jeremy’s in our lives we say, ‘yes we did.’

No matter place, time or context, A Tribe Called Quest frontman, Kamaal Ibn John Fareed better known to hip-hop heads as Q-Tip, the Abstract Poetic, always makes my Top 5 list of Best Rappers. He easily rounds out my quint of supreme microphone controllers– tangling cords with Rakim, Biggie, Jay-Z, and Eminem. And so last Thursday when I found out I was on the list to attend a taping for VH1’s Soul Stage featuring Q-Tip performing some cuts from his upcoming album, The Renaissance, I was stoked. Even though I’ve seen Tribe perform so many times, it’s been a good 10 years since the last time and I have never seen Tip perform solo so my excitement was also mixed with curiosity and hesitation. Curiosity because in these past 10 years I have had the privilege of seeing firsthand Kamaal, this young vivrant thang grow into a man with a master plan and fierce determination that has recently been pinched and prodded by industry politicking. I used to work at Zomba (the parent company for ATCQ’s label– Jive Records) and can remember Tip getting all giddy and totally blissed out when introduced to D’Angelo in Battery Studios where he was recording “Brown Sugar” back in ‘94. In those days we were all giddy and I guess, a bit naive about the role we would play in making music– Black music– the end all, be all for the music industry and for the world. Yeah, you could say we were all on that Pinky & the Brain ish. The last real convo I had with The Abstract was about a year ago at Tillmans where he was spinning. At the time he had a petition circulating the Web that had like a gazillion signatures demanding that Motown release his record. He’d already released one other solo joint, Amplified, that had some success and another that was never released and so my fellow Aries brother had endured some ups and downs and needless to say wasn’t so green anymore. I was curious to see how these experiences would play out in his new material and live show and hesitant cause as much I love Tip, I’ll be the first to admit that ATCQ was very inconsistent live. They would sometimes bring it and they would sometimes wing it.

In addition to rhyming and producing, Q-Tip has become a masterful deejay that can not only hold his own on the ones to get a party crunk, but he has also, I’m sure, eked out a more than reasonable wage by doing so. On occasion and in between his breaks from the booth, I have gotten to know this wonderful conversationalist who knows music (of course), but also is well versed in politics, spirituality and is a bit of a sommelier except instead of wines his handle is tequila and vodka. So yeah I was excited to see him perform cause in a way I feel like one of my comrades is coming back into his own.

I walked into Cedar Lake Studios just as taping was about to begin. It was a small, intimate soundstage surrounded by about 100 or so folk. The band, which consisted of a keyboardist, drummer, bassist, and guitarist with DJ Scratch on the turntables was already warming up. Not even three minutes later Tip comes out on stage wearing a black leather jacket with a nice Alife Lyrics To Go tee underneath. With ego (still) intact he says, “if you’ve been on Valium for the past 20 years my name is Q-Tip.” Stylin and profiling he began slowly, almost methodically with one of his solo joints from back in the day– Higher. Without skipping a beat he swerves right and decides to go head and do something new. Warming up the crowd to The Renaissance, which incidentally drops on Election Day, he shares that the album title is “basically (him) saying we need to put hip hop back to where it used to be when it said something and then move it forward from there.” DJ Scratch then drops the track for Move and like that it’s on. There’s a tambourine shaking, horns blaring and the most head bobbinest sample of The Jackson Five’s Dancing Machine. QTip zipped through the lyrics with eyes closed and head down. He was in a zone. Next up was Vivrant Thing, Breathe & Stop and somewhere in between was another new joint Fever, which was about Obama. He did this one with eyes closed too. Maybe he has to concentrate harder to remember the lyrics to the new joints.

Bubbling over with stories, jokes and commentary Tip was intent on showing us his comedic side. In the middle of talking about social networking and his own website, Tip inadvertently let out a belch. “Oops that was lunch,” he admits and without skipping a beat he was on to the next. A political joke. His drummer falls out. It went over well. “So many people have asked me to collaborate with them and it’s because I’m good,” he brags while running off a veritable list of who’s who in music– Mariah, Nas, Missy... “Okay that was my Kanye moment,” he blurts out laughing and then segues into this song “Charlene asked him to rhyme on.” He blazes Got Til It’s Gone. It was good times. I have never seen Tip on stage so personable, so relaxed, and so giddy. Folks are on their feet. He grips the mic and without pause rips through Bonita Applebum, Electric Relaxation, Scenario, Check The Rhime and Award Tour. He does everyone’s verses changing his flow here and his timing there. The Ab has come into his own and personally I can’t think of a better time for this change.

OneLove to Raymond, Diane, Gary and Len!

VH1 SoulStage featuring Q-Tip airs on November 4th!

After a long, exhausting day of emailing, editing, conference calling, proposal writing, a lil’ Googling in between meetings and more meetings, there’s nothing like having a great place to go after work where you can relax with your Facebook friends in person over cool cocktails. Living in NYC you would think having that spot would be a no-brainer, but actually it’s not that simple. The drinks have to be on point (after getting that deal you want your drink to pop on your tongue as hard as you pop your collar and if you didn’t get that deal, well the libations gots to be strong), the décor needs to be relaxing and fly and most importantly the crowd has to be one in which you feel comfortable networking, but not to the point where it feels like a symposium. You want to be able to lay back in the cut without getting lost in the crowd. I tell you there’s a science and synergy to creating a special social hang.

In August I got turned on to this Wednesday night after work soiree called “Cocktails with Jessica” hosted by the same Jessica/ Stressica who promoted the hot like buttered grits Tunnel nightclub and more recently, the unforgettable late Wednesday night parties at Dorsia. It’s funny because now that I think about it, the first time I went, it was bloody awful. The bartender charged me $17 for a vodka-cranberry (yep she ganked me cause I have not paid more than $11 for the same drink on subsequent visits), the guy who agreed to meet me there to discuss business spent the entire 25 minutes I was there chatting and schmoozing with others, and there was only like 20 people in the entire spot (of course the week before D-Nice had deejayed, way over one hundred people were in the house getting their swerve on and Puff showed up and shut it down– poppin bottles and the whole nine). To make matters worse, as I walked out of Taj the heavens proceeded to open and it just poured rain. I was sopping wet and my feelings about the spot were drenched with disappointment and frustration. But in the weeks that followed I kept hearing about the Hotness at Taj on Wednesdays and how Jessica is really being grown and sexy with her very age-appropriate 7pm jump-off time (some of us have families now and some of us have major professional obligations and can’t be at da club at 4am and honestly some us are just too dang grown [read tired] and prefer to be back home by midnight on a Wednesday). So I decided to give “Cocktails…” another shot and I’m happy to report it’s been so fresh ever since. Went to hear Sky Nellor deejay, Uptown Mag Co-CEOs Len and Brett hosted drinks one night, there was Raphael Saadiq’s listening party (a particularly good night), and both Jameel Spencer and Shawn “Pecas” Costner had birthday celebrations there. It’s like a family reunion in a sense where music, film, publishing and other creative industry heads that have struggled through an evolving entertainment market gather to showoff our reinvented selves… our more mature and savvy selves. We still love Biggie and like our Patron straight up, but we just don’t need to pay a cover charge or need to be on the dance floor til dawn to prove that we still have it going on.

So this is my new spot, what’s yours? What else is poppin in New York? What about Chicago, Atlanta or Miami? Holla back and post your comments.

While most folks in NYC were wrapping up their Fashion Week shows and soirees, I was getting my swerve on at the Urbanworld Film Festival. Maybe because this was the 12th year and finally things were beginning to gel or maybe because of major backing from presenting sponsor BET, this year Urbanworld finally felt like it had matured not only in its offerings, but also in its appeal and approach. It was a grown folks Festival that remained rooted in film—not music soundtracks or fashion, just Film. I made it to the Black Women in Hollywood film panel with Suzanne de Passe, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Sophie Okonedo, Zola Mashariki and Essence Entertainment Editor Cori Murray. Although I was late and missed most of the panel I was able to catch some tidbits on how some of the panelists climbed the ladder of success and broke their respective glass ceilings. Unfortunately I had heard it all before (how it’s about hard work, education, dedication, etc.) so I can’t say it was ‘amazing’ or ‘awe-inspiring’. It was nice. I’m sure someone in the audience was moved and inspired. It was though so very cool to be in the company of some very powerful sistren and plus I just love Sophie whose performance in Hotel Rwanda was AMAZING! I was disappointed though that they didn’t mention Hollywood’s current trend of casting white women in roles about Black women (Angelina Jolie & Mena Suvari specifically). That’s what I wanted to discuss. Can we be artists and activists, ugghh! And the other thing that I found troubling was that my milk chocolate behind was way darker than anyone on the panel. How is it that there were no dark skinned Black women on this panel when the subject is Black Women in Hollywood and it’s a Essence/BET sponsored panel? Just as we are adamant in our calls for diversity with non-Black outlets, I have to be just as adamant about representation from our African-American outlets. They should have/ could have hollered at Regina King, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Hudson, Alfre Woodard, Keke Palmer. Sometimes to aspire we need to see possibility in people who look just like us– all of us. I’ll say no more about this… for now.

On Saturday afternoon I went to a taping for a new show that BET is rolling out that they brilliantly showcased at the Festival. Clearly their version of Inside The Actors Studio, BET is bringing back Ananda Lewis to be their James Lipton (she couldn’t even say Sophie Okonedo’s name like three times so that’s what’s up with that). Queen Latifah was in the guest chair and she was a great subject—funny, poignant, insightful, real. She talked about how much she enjoyed acting and also how she is still about her music (she is going back to her rap roots and will work with Dr. Dre on her upcoming eighth studio album tentatively titled “The L Word”).

That night I went to the premiere screening of The Secret Life of Bees, which I absolutely loved. I will talk more about this film closer to its release in October.

Like I said Urbanworld had a nice mix of screenings and, from what I heard, were some very intellectual panels moderated by my neighbor George Alexander. It’s refreshing to see that ‘urban film’ can be more than Tyler Perry and comedy bootlegs. And if you still have your doubts check out Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna this weekend. I hear it is amazing and awe-inspiring.

I really was trying not to write about the Democratic National Convention just because I know everybody and their mama is blogging about it and really what more can I say? But after Senator Barack Obama’s acceptance of his historic nomination last night I cannot resist. I must write. The power, the intrigue (what will Bill and Hillary say), the intellectual stealth (Michelle and Biden’s speeches) combined with the fact that Barack’s speech took place exactly 45 years later to the day of King’s I Have A Dream speech. I mean really, this could not have been better orchestrated.

Last night in Harlem I was in the salon getting my hair did and when I say folks were breaking out in a hurry to get home, you have no idea. Like I was hearing “you don’t even need to put me under the dryer just blow me out.” Now when a sister says this she means business. After I was done, me and some of my homies walked around uptown and dropped by Tribal Spears Gallery around 9pm. The place was abuzzin’ with camera crews, tons of folk and lots of excitement. They were serving African food downstairs and poppin bottles of Merlot. It was too much of a scene for me, but it was just so wonderful to see the community in all of its diversity get together to celebrate and discuss such a momentous occasion.

When I got home not one person was sitting in the courtyard. By the time I set foot in my apartment I had received one text from Obama’s Campaign and six others from friends and family living all across the country. It was only then that I realized that I have never in my lifetime experienced, on such a universal level, the inextricable connection and simultaneous excitement of so many people from so many various stations and platforms of my life. There’s my boss in my very white corporate office, my sister in Baltimore, the African women on 116th who make my favorite ginger beer, my friend Miles in Paris, my aunt in Cheraw, South Carolina– it’s amazing, heart-pounding, awe-inspiring. When Barack said “Eight Is Enough” referring to Bush’s presidency, I heard my upstairs neighbors jump up and down and shout “Oh yeah!” I was teary eyed; proud. Now you see, I just had to write. I had to tell it!

Last week as I walked around the hood I started noticing something a tad bit disturbing– the closing of many new businesses. In spite of Harlem’s much hyped real estate boom and talk of new money breezing through America’s self-proclaimed Black Mecca, many new Black owned businesses like Nubian Heritage, The Harlem Tea Room and Ginger can’t seem to keep their doors open. But why? I emailed a friend to see if there was something more scandalous at the root of these closings like the Mafia or The NY Board of Health, but she simply responded, “I guess that the businesses closed because they weren’t making enough money to pay the bills.”

No kidding. I’m sure it’s because of money. I guess my question should have been how are these businesses NOT making money in this here gentrified Harlem? People certainly buy Nubian Heritage’s products. I know I do. Maybe too many folk were buying them from the many street vendors on 125th and not enough in the store. Never mind that The Body Shop on that same corner just expanded and now they are twice the size. I guess they are getting a lion’s share of the beauty product revenue in Harlem along with Carol’s Daughter. Too bad! They had an absolutely beautiful spot– huge windows, two floors (the 2nd floor was supposed to be a spa that never materialized). Now I hear this location is going to become an Applebees. So wack!!!

The news of Harlem Tea Room’s closing on September 28 is astonishing. Every time I went there the food and service was always good. I especially loved the Mulligatawny soup and because the Tea Room is not that close to where I live (my apt. is on the Westside), I would make special, albeit rare, trips just to get a bowl.

On the other hand, the news I would hear about Ginger was not so good. I knew someone who went and they were out of chicken wings or another friend who ordered the ribs, which I heard were delicious, but it took them an hour to get them and they were eating in the restaurant. The stories about their delivery service were worse. I’ve mentioned Ginger before and only ordered takeout once, which was cold when I got it and so that was it for me. I always thought it was going to be more like China Grill, but it just ended up being really fancy Chicken & Broccoli. I say why pay $12 for that dish when I can get the same thing on the corner—hot– for $6. But even still Ginger like the Tea Room shouldn’t have closed. These restaurants had prime locations– the Tea Room is smack dab in the middle of two new residential bldgs and Ginger was located on the ground level of a major condo. If a restaurant opened on the main floor of my building, it would be damn near impossible for it to go out of business. Like me, most of my neighbors are tired of having to order out from restaurants located way west on Broadway.

I guess some folks are getting an eye-opener into the dynamics of building business and generating revenue in Harlem. Maybe it’s not all about location, location, location? It seems like folks are flocking to Talay and Covo and they are, for all geographical purposes, located behind God’s back. Maybe new Harlem isn’t all that new. Just a lil’ new money with a lot of old pleasures and pursuits still in tow. Like I bet that damn Applebees is going to make more money than the Tea Room and Ginger combined. Ugghh! No offense but can I get a decent, simple, affordable sushi joint somewhere on Lenox or Seventh in mid-Harlem before we get a Red Lobster or an Olive Garden?