The History of East Harlem is a culturally diverse one with the progression from farmland and suburb to a welcoming destination for the burgeoning communities of African, Dutch, French, German, English, Irish, Italian and Puerto Rican settlers. More recent arrivals include the Mexican, Dominican and South American residents who have added to the flavor and diversity of East Harlem.

The Wecksquaesgek Indians first settled in the East Harlem area attracted by the flat terrain, expansive meadows and abundant supply of game. They later moved north as European settlers began to arrive. An excellent water and fish supply attracted the Dutch and French Huguenots during the 1600s while the British invasion of 1664 brought the English settlers who maintained the area as a suburban village. In the early 1800s as immigrants began their steady flow into New York, the community began to take on an expanded population that included black farmers relocating into the northern portion of the area. German and Irish settlers came to the area in an effort to escape the overcrowded conditions in other parts of the city. The anticipated number of settlers and immigrants prompted the construction of the railway along Forth Avenue (Park Avenue) and a horse-drawn railway on Third Avenue. However, a much-anticipated boom did not materialize leaving many post Civil-War land speculators without recourse and the need for alternate land uses.

The rail resources provided very inexpensive transportation that outperformed the rest of the region. This was vital to the area's markets and businesses. A new wave of immigrants came in the late 1880s as Italians and Eastern Europeans migrated from the Lower Eastside and immigrated Europe. These residents later displaced the Germans and Irish who had settled in East Harlem and who often moved to areas of the Bronx and Queens.

The burgeoning Italian community grew to large numbers and with it came a record number of housing starts with upwards of 65,000 apartments being built between 1870 and 1910. In fact, in the early 1900s East Harlem was home to the largest number of Italians in the country. The growing population cultivated the need for many markets and small businesses that took advantage of low cost transportation, immigrant labor and resourcefulness.

World War I and II saw many East Harlem residents off to war and later returning to an ever-changing area that offered refuge to another group of migrants of Puerto Rican and African American descent. Many veterans took advantage of GI programs and started businesses or furthered their education. The departure of many Italians to the suburbs and other parts of the city such as Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx continued a series of succession and dispersal patterns still prevalent today.

East Harlem soon became the first stop for Puerto Ricans who came to New York in search of the American Dream. Returning Puerto Rican veterans remained in East Harlem while many new arrivals came after World War II. The increasing Latino presence was most evident on 116th Street where La Marqueta was modeled after earlier markets dating back to the early twenties and small shops catering to the Puerto Rican community proliferated. Puerto Ricans later coined the term "El Barrio." Still others used the more generic term of East Harlem used to describe its geographic location rather than ethnicity. African Americans and Puerto Ricans went on to become the primary residents of East Harlem. The mid 1900s brought a thriving community to East Harlem but the large number of people placed a serious burden on housing resources creating a political movement that resulted in the destruction of many low rise buildings in an effort to build large public housing complexes. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Congressman Vito Marcantonio spearheaded the effort to provide large housing tracts that would house the burgeoning community. However, the wholesale demolition of large tracts of property coupled with the reality that many existing residents were not eligible for public housing led to a political whirlwind that highlighted the displacement of lifelong residents. In a slow but progressive political fight Italians, Puerto Ricans and African Americans fought to maintain their quality of life. This sustained political effort put a serious strain on community relations with the city and between the ethnic groups.

However, the fight for equity soon translated into a full scale battle for local control of resources and decision making entities resulting in groups such as the East Harlem Schools Committee that advocated for new schools and a better education. Social ills strengthened that unity in the 1960s as East Harlem struggled to gain a voice and a sense of local power. The riots of East Harlem in 1967 and the takeover of a local church by the Young Lords in an effort to provide a breakfast program, shed new light on the problems that East Harlem residents faced on a daily basis.

Later that year, Mayor John Lindsay recognized the need for local input in the political process and initiated the Community Board Districts program giving local residents an advisory role in the city's government structure. East Harlem residents continued to struggle throughout the 1980s and 1990s as community leaders fought to bring resources into the neighborhood to build housing, social and cultural centers and other much needed infrastructure.

Today, East Harlem is rebuilding and focusing on maintaining its cultural identity in the face of a new wave of arrivals. New immigrants continue to come into the community from Mexico and other parts of South America adding to the flavor of the neighborhood and its complexities. Many former residents are returning to East Harlem as new housing and home ownership opportunities expand and the community strives to stabilize its economy. New and returning residents are purchasing small properties and restoring them from converted apartment buildings into family homes. Small businesses continue to be the backbone of East Harlem's economy while several undeveloped areas are developed to provide modern day commercial spaces and much-needed jobs. Artists, musicians and other professionals are making East Harlem their home or base of works. Organizations such as the Taller Boricua, the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Palo Monte and Los Pleneros de la 21 are building networks designed to strengthen East Harlem's cultural ties to the past and present. Institutions like the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, El Museo del Barrio and the Museum of the City of New York maintain a presence as anchors for cultural activities and limited tourism. East Harlem or El Barrio as it is affectionately known among Latinos brethren continues to be an epicenter of immigrant life and vitality. East Harlem holds many promises to the past and to the present and continues in its forward progression toward social and political empowerment.