“Now no one is living here…people still come around because of the Center and some of the little shops…if they want a meal from home they would go to Africa Kine or Keur Sokhna,” Sow said.
The approximately 50 apartments were once completely occupied by Senegalese. McDonalds is coming…It’s still called Little Senegal, but it’s no longer Little Senegal,” Sow says. “After three or four years, Bank of America is coming. Sow says that the building owners are able to raise rent so drastically because they have nothing to lose. “When they want you out, they want you out,” Lusambwa said while packing away hand-made jewelry into boxes. He says he received a notice in June that his monthly rent was raised from $2,000 to $15,000.
Lusambwa Qtanga is the owner of Little Africa Lusambwa, a shop offering woodcarvings, antiques and heritage African art on 123rd and 7th Avenue. As leases end, it is not uncommon for rent to increase five or ten times the original amount. He states that rent increase is the only way building owners are able to push out the African community.īusinesses in the area obtain leases for five to ten years. Kaaw Sow is the general manager of the Senegalese Association of America. What was once the Masjid Aqsa Mosque, a significant gathering place for the Senegalese Muslims, is now an abandoned building.Īlong the same street, one also finds a Subway and an upscale, candle-lit Jado Sushi. In walking along 8th Avenue and 116th Street, one comes across dozens of emptied storefronts with their awnings still hanging. Alan Niang, who has worked at Africa Kine for four years, says the exact date is yet to be determined.Īfrica Kine, which has remained at the heart of Le Petit Senegal for over 18 years, is the latest in a long list of African-owned businesses that have succumbed to rising rent prices. It is set to reopen farther uptown between 133rd and 134th Street on 7th Avenue. The restaurant, whose dishes of tender lamb and garlicky fish offered immigrants a taste of home, was described as offering “the peak dining experience in Little Senegal” by New York Magazine. The first line reads: “THIS LOCATION IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED.” Africa Kine is gentrification’s latest victim.
The area is known for its high concentration of West Africans. Gentrification’s Latest Victim: Africa KineĪ large, lime green sign hangs behind the metal shutters of what once was a bustling restaurant in Harlem’s Le Petit Senegal, a neighborhood stretching for two blocks along 116th Street.
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