3 Neighborhoods In Harlem And Uptown Rank In Top 10 NYC Places For Marijuana Arrests

Patch reports that East Harlem has been one of the Manhattan neighborhoods hit the hardest by the city’s drug enforcement policies in the past decade, according to a study published this week by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Since 2010, 6,540 marijuana-related arrests were made in the uptown neighborhoods for a rate of 670 arrests per 100,000 residents, Stringer’s study found. The arrest rate was the fifth highest citywide, behind just the Brownsville, East New York, Grand Concourse and Highbridge and Uptown Manhattan neighborhoods.

Stringer’s report also found that a majority of people arrested this decade for marijuana are people of color. About 51 percent of people arrested for marijuana since 2010 are black and 35 percent are Latinx, according to the report.

Stringer’s report also found that a majority of people arrested this decade for marijuana are people of color. About 51 percent of people arrested for marijuana since 2010 are black and 35 percent are Latinx, according to the report.

East Harlem’s arrests numbers are even more glaring when considering the neighborhood borders an area with one of the lowest arrest rates. With just 892 marijuana-related arrests in the past decade, the more affluent and whiter Upper East Side has the third lowest arrest rate in the city.

The comptroller conducted the study to analyze which communities in New York City should benefit if and when marijuana is legalized for recreational use.

“As New York joins neighboring jurisdictions in moving closer to legalizing cannabis for adult use, the State and the City must take action to ensure that the communities who have been most harmed by policies of the past are able to access the revenue, jobs, and opportunities that a regulated adult-use marijuana program would inevitably generate,” Stringer’s report reads.

Out of the 10 neighborhoods, the 4, 5 and 9 Highest places for arrest in Harlem and Uptown. None of the lowest marijuana arrest rates were uptown or in Harlem.

Harlem World Magazine looked at the numbers and out of the 10 neighborhoods, the 4, 5 and 9 Highest places for arrest in Harlem and Uptown. None of the lowest marijuana arrest rates were uptown or in Harlem.