Living in Spanish Harlem is always fresh. Perhaps, not the air, but definitely the energy. Come spring, this neighborhood comes alive the second the faintest hint of sweet, warm springness touches El Barrio. It’s a good time to reflect on how cool this neighborhood is. We here at 106th Street know personally or know in passing many El Barrio neighbors who make or have made this neighborhood distinctive and livley. In appreciation of our neighbors, the 106thstreeters are going to let all of you know just what you’re missing by not living here or at least not swinging by to say hola.

Art for Change is a bedrock of coolness in Spanish Harlem and NYC. One of the ahead-of-the-curve badass organizations, Art for Change does it all–from organizing Hacia Afuera: Taking Back Our Streets Through the Arts, to hands-on children’s art workshops (Social Justice and the Art of the Piñata) for the lovely wee ones, to what they do more effectively than any organization I know of–supporting, promoting, sponsoring, and making available art that makes you think, feel, live, care, and want to…be a part of the world and change the world.

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, once again Art for Change, being the kind of amazing neighbor that everyone would love to have next door, is hosting (in collaboration with the non-profit organization Tenants & Neighbors and artist Heather M. O’Brien) a forum focusing on an issue that is immediate and urgent for many people in New York City. On June 15, 2011 (three months from now), the New York rent laws that currently keep many of us in the city able to afford the roofs over our heads are in danger of expiring . RENEW: A conversation about gentrification, displacement, and rent regulation will provide us all with the opportunity to learn, discuss, and take action to ensure that our homes and neighborhoods will remain just that. Come one, come all, and come say hey to one of the best art organizations in the city. Refreshments will be served after, along to the beats of DJ Sabine Blazin…the 106thstreeters will be there, no doubt.

Go here: (if not a neighbor, take the 6 train to 110th Street…and check out the cool tile art in the station!)

ART for Change Gallery: 1699 Lexington Ave. (between 106th and 107th Streets, on the East side of Lex, Basement level.)