WHERE I LIVE: Cicero Oca has no regrets living in East Harlem
A popular bicycle repair shop on 110th Street.
It wasn’t the best of times when Cicero Oca moved into a rent-stabilized building in East Harlem in 2003. Gangs were feared, and drug dealing was a common street activity. Back then, many locals did not speak much English, and his recollection was of a neighborhood that was “like living in a foreign country but you’re in Manhattan.”
It’s been 11 years since, and this talent agent said he never regretted his daring decision. Today, this neighborhood, spanning 96th to 125th streets and technically not a part of Harlem, has seen a dramatic change owing to a steadily gentrifying Upper Manhattan.
Reports say black- and Latino-owned businesses are getting eviction notices as East Harlem paves the way for the rise of a media conglomerate. With the entry of new bars, niche eateries and high-rise buildings came more police visibility. Gang activity has declined, and yuppies and young couples with children in strollers have taken over the streets. “Very Wiliamsburg and more LGBT,” he noted.
“Before, it was scary, I wouldn’t walk to First at midnight,” he shared with The FilAm. “Not anymore. Now they built luxury condos on First Avenue after 97th street, perhaps anticipating the opening of the Second Avenue subway line. My friends who were scared of my hood then are now living here.”
Cicero now feels a lot safer walking around Central Park’s Conservatory Garden on 104th and 105thstreets. Mount Sinai, where he runs into a stream of Filipina nurses, is close by at 98th to 102nd streets. He loves his neighborhood where he feasts on an array of reasonably priced Latino tapas, Cuban sandwiches and Dominican empanadas. There is a New York Public Library on 125th Street, a Costco on 117th, several Christian schools, and the Coco Le Vu candy store popular for children’s parties.
“It’s New York but I’m not in the middle of everything, it’s Manhattan but not busy enough,” he said.
Cicero’s road to East Harlem took so many detours and dead ends. From Florida, he decided he wanted to live in the New York area where jobs were easier to find. “I’ve always dreamed of living in the best city of the world.”
Initially, he lived with a cousin in Jersey City for a couple of months, then Queens for another two months until the deal fell through when a friend backed out of the sharing arrangement.
One day, while on a 6 Train, after visiting Filipino nurses friends on East 110th Street, a Filipino woman overheard Cicero grousing about his difficult housing situation. She offered her friend’s apartment with a vacant room, and that was how he found his way into East Harlem, also known as El Barrio or Spanish Harlem. He has since moved into a bigger unit with three rooms, which he shares with his mother and niece. The $1,000 monthly rental of five years ago is now slightly under $2K, which is not all that bad considering Manhattan rentals are typically upwards of $3,500.
His neighbors are mostly Latino and he’s gotten used to salsa music blaring in the building lobby and the street. It feels like a fiesta atmosphere. He’s had a succession of ‘supers’ from Latino to Vietnamese to Russian and he’s gotten along well with all of them.
“I’m very sociable,” said this amiable entertainment manager, who is probably the only Asian in his building.
Cicero and husband Damon Anthony (right) entertain their good friend, make-up artist Victor Palmos, at his East Harlem home.
A newly installed ceramic mural on 105th between Lexington and Third avenues
Picking up his shirts from El Barrio Cleaners. ‘Friendly and great service.’
‘Where I Live’ is a new section in The FilAm where Filipinos provide a snapshot of their neighborhoods while giving us a glimpse into their borough or suburban lives. WIL pries open the sprawling maze that is the New York metropolitan area – from NYC to New Jersey, Connecticut and Northern Pennsylvania — where Filipinos find their homes, raise their families and live their ideal of the American Dream.
Hello, Cicero! Way to go in New York City. I am glad you like the neighborhood of upper Manhattan.
You are neighbor to Lorli Villanueva who lives on 105th st. Nice place. Good luck and enjoy .
Major thanks for the article.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.