What the TCS New York City Marathon Means for East Harlem
On Sunday, East Harlem wasn’t simply watching the TCS New York City Marathon.
East Harlem was part of it.
From First Avenue, residents, visitors, businesses, volunteers and spectators watched thousands of runners move through one of the world’s most famous sporting events.
And if you were standing on the avenue long enough, you could feel something bigger happening.
The marathon wasn’t just a race.
It was an economic event.
It was a tourism event.
It was a community event.
And it was a reminder that East Harlem has a much bigger role in New York City’s visitor economy than the rest of the city sometimes gives us credit for.
The World Came to First Avenue
One of the greatest advantages of being a New Yorker is that you don’t always have to travel to experience something extraordinary.
Sometimes the world comes to you.
The TCS New York City Marathon is one of those occasions.
Runners and supporters from around the world travel to New York for the event, creating an enormous ecosystem of hotels, restaurants, transportation, retail, entertainment, hospitality, media and neighborhood activity.
And when that race moves through East Harlem, our neighborhood becomes part of the visitor experience.
That is tourism.
Not someday.
Not hypothetically.
Right here.
East Harlem Is More Than a Place People Pass Through
For too long, conversations about Harlem tourism have too often centered on Central Harlem as though everything north of 110th Street has to compete for relevance.
But East Harlem doesn’t need to borrow anybody else’s identity.
We have our own.
We have our own restaurants.
Our own businesses.
Our own cultural institutions.
Our own artists.
Our own history.
Our own entrepreneurs.
Our own neighborhood stories.
Our own events.
And, increasingly, our own opportunities to participate in the economic activity generated by New York City’s enormous tourism industry.
The marathon makes that particularly visible because you can literally watch the visitor economy moving down First Avenue.
Tourism Is an Economic Engine
This is where tourism becomes more than pretty pictures and destination marketing.
A major event brings people into a neighborhood.
Those people eat.
They drink.
They shop.
They stay in hotels.
They take taxis.
They use public transportation.
They buy souvenirs.
They discover restaurants.
They find businesses they may return to later.
They take photographs.
They tell friends about their experience.
And some of those visitors become repeat visitors.
That is the economic ripple effect of tourism.
The marathon is one example.
But it is only one example.
East Harlem has countless opportunities to build an economy around the experiences already happening here.
We Have the Events
The important question isn’t whether East Harlem has something to offer.
We do.
The question is whether we are organized enough to make sure visitors know about it.
The marathon should not be viewed as an isolated Sunday when thousands of people happen to pass through the neighborhood.
It should be viewed as one entry point into a much larger destination strategy.
If someone comes to East Harlem for the marathon, what else can they discover?
Where can they eat?
What cultural institution can they visit?
What neighborhood business can they support?
What event can they attend?
What historic story can they learn?
Where can they come back tomorrow?
That is the work of destination marketing.
East Harlem Is Ready for Its Close-Up
Standing along First Avenue on Sunday, I couldn’t help thinking about how powerful East Harlem looks when the world is paying attention.
The energy was undeniable.
People were outside.
The streets were alive.
Visitors were everywhere.
And the neighborhood was participating in an event recognized around the globe.
That is an important image.
Because sometimes communities become so accustomed to their own greatness that they forget other people need to be introduced to it.
East Harlem deserves that introduction.
Not as an afterthought.
Not as the place visitors pass through on their way somewhere else.
But as a destination.
The Opportunity Is Bigger Than One Marathon
The TCS New York City Marathon is enormous.
But East Harlem’s tourism opportunity is much bigger than one race.
We have the opportunity to connect major events with local businesses.
We can create itineraries around cultural experiences.
We can promote restaurants and neighborhood attractions.
We can encourage visitors to stay longer.
We can connect hospitality with entertainment.
We can tell the stories of the people who make East Harlem what it is.
And most importantly, we can build a tourism economy that allows more of the money generated by visitors to stay in the community.
That is the difference between simply having tourists and having a tourism strategy.
This Is Our Moment
East Harlem doesn’t need to become Central Harlem.
We don’t need to imitate anybody.
We need to understand what we have, package it, promote it and invite the world to experience it.
Because if the marathon taught us anything, it is that people will show up when there is something worth showing up for.
On Sunday, thousands of people showed up.
They ran through our streets.
They cheered.
They celebrated.
They spent money.
They created memories.
And they became part of our neighborhood story.
Now the opportunity is to make sure the next time they come to East Harlem, they don’t just come for the race.
They come for us.
Question of the Day
If a visitor came to East Harlem for one major event, what is the one restaurant, business, cultural experience or neighborhood destination you would want them to discover while they’re here?
Stay in the Mood
East Harlem has never needed permission to be great.
We need strategy.
We need visibility.
We need to connect the incredible things already happening here to the people looking for them.
The marathon gave us a beautiful reminder of what happens when the world comes into our neighborhood.
Now imagine what happens when we intentionally invite the world back.
East Harlem isn’t just on the map.
East Harlem is a destination.
