From Spanish Harlem

Down three flights of stairs, across the road, and down the block, at 104th and 2nd, is La Isla. It is open twentyfourseven and was the spot for late night rellenos de papas and rolitos picantes. At 75c they served up a mean little coffee, too.
Just past this was the 103rd St/Lexington Ave stop on the 6 line. Inexplicably, but suggestively, this station always had an NYPD officer in or near it. For a stop that predominantly saw families, or more precisely, young mothers with young children, the sight of jacked-up fuzz seemed almost provocative.
The projects sit between 102nd and 103rd. Across the road is a mural remembering Big Pun. On the opposite side of the street is a liquor store that is completely glassed in. There are always two guys working it and you can see a gun behind the counter. They don't sell 40's, but they do sell Hennessy.
Dotted along 2nd Ave around 110th, there is a collection of various branches of various churches. Although each one is only a small, cheaply carpeted room at ground level, filled with white plastic outdoor chairs, at 5:30pm on Sunday the local population filters along the street towards them dressed in their best, regardless of the weather conditions.
The store advertises itself as a grocery. True to the title, there are fresh fruits and vegetables outside. Inside, men sit at two fold-up tables drinking Pacifico, Bud, and Modelo. American football is on a small screen mounted above the window. A fridge is stocked with beers: some are purchased and opened by people wanting to watch the game, some are purchased and taken away. It is not quite a bar, not quite a bottleshop, and not quite a grocery. Yet, it makes perfect sense.