Harlem to Clinton: We Want You Out!

Dozens of angry Black demonstrators say that Clinton's decision to put his office in Manhattan's storied neighborhood, as a gesture of unity with Blacks, has led to high-priced upgrades and astronomical home prices, the Associated Press reported.

Several dozen mostly elderly, Black residents, protesting outside Clinton's 125th Street office building, say rents have nearly doubled in Harlem since 2000, when Clinton left the White House for the 'hood.

A one-bedroom apartment, which used to go for $800 a month, now rents for $1,400, the AP reported.  And if you're thinking about buying, some Harlem residents say, you better think again.

The price of a fully renovated townhouse now cost a minimum of $4 million, compared to 2001, when a brownstone terrace house in Harlem was $400,000, The Washington Post reported.

The Harlem Tenants Council that organized the protest says that not only have home costs sky-rocketed since Clinton moved in, but Black folks have been driven out of a community that is seen as the "Black Capital of America," AP reported.

From the end of World War II until the early 1990s, high poverty and low rents overtook Harlem. Now, more pressure is being put on older, poorer tenants in low-rent properties to pay more.

http://www.bet.com/News/harlembillclinton.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic