From new ethnicities to higher property values, Harlem has experienced a steady cultural and economic makeover in the past decade. Some of the most significant changes have come in the area’s shopping scene.

In the past two years, over a thousand new businesses have sprouted in East Harlem alone, according to ReferenceUSA. The neighborhood’s higher cost of living, fueled by spiking property values in response to higher-income new residents, has brought chain stores like Best Buy, Old Navy and Starbucks to the area.

The Famous Famiglia on 125th Street and Lexington Avenue is one of over a thousand new businesses in East Harlem over the past two years. (Photo: Sarah M. Kazadi)

Some of these new business owners cite the neighborhood’s activity and people as motives for the move. “This is like the Times Square of Upper Manhattan,” said Frank Grecco, who opened Family Famiglia on the corner of 125th Street and Lexington Avenue nearly two years ago, expanding the pizzeria chain to 124 locations worldwide.

Some longtime East Harlemites, like Tony Garcia, question whether the new stores and cultural diversity is really financially benefitting the area, saying that Harlem’s newest residents don’t use the new stores in the neighborhood. “I don’t see them shopping here, they might rent here, but you don’t see them hanging out or going to the local places,” he said.

So, where exactly are Harlem residents, both new and old, shopping? Is Garcia right? If new residents aren’t shopping in the area and older residents are worried about the higher prices in the neighborhood, where is everyone shopping? This survey will help answer these questions. If you live in Harlem, click here to take it now.