Editing Harlem (section)

===SoHa controversy===
In the 2010s some [[real estate]] professionals started [[Neighborhood rebranding in New York City|rebranding]] south Harlem as "SoHa" (a name standing for "South Harlem" in the style of [[SoHo, Manhattan|SoHo]] or [[NoHo]]) in an attempt to accelerate [[gentrification]] of the neighborhoods. "SoHa", applied to the area between West 110th and 125th Streets, has become a controversial name.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/nyregion/soha-in-harlem-the-misguided-madness-of-neighborhood-rebranding.html |work=The New York Times |title=SoHa in Harlem? The Misguided Madness of Neighborhood Rebranding|first=Ginia |last=Bellafante |date=July 6, 2017 |access-date=April 30, 2018 |archive-date=June 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618053042/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/nyregion/soha-in-harlem-the-misguided-madness-of-neighborhood-rebranding.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='SoHa' Is a Renaissance Few in Harlem Want|first=Melanie Grayce |last=West |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 1, 2017 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/soha-is-a-renaissance-few-in-harlem-want-1498914001 |access-date=April 30, 2018 |archive-date=May 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501093054/https://www.wsj.com/articles/soha-is-a-renaissance-few-in-harlem-want-1498914001 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='SoHa' Rebranding Effort In South Harlem Stirs Outrage |work=CBS New York |url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/06/26/south-harlem-soha/ |date=June 26, 2017 |access-date=April 30, 2018 |archive-date=May 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501004822/http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/06/26/south-harlem-soha/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Residents and other critics seeking to prevent this renaming of the area have labelled the SoHa brand as "insulting and another sign of gentrification run amok"<ref>{{cite news |title=Attempt to Rebrand Harlem as 'SoHa' Leaves Residents Fuming |work=U.S. News & World Report |agency=AP |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york/articles/2017-05-25/attempt-to-rebrand-harlem-as-soha-leaves-residents-fuming |date=May 25, 2017 |location=New York |access-date=April 30, 2018 |archive-date=May 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501005015/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york/articles/2017-05-25/attempt-to-rebrand-harlem-as-soha-leaves-residents-fuming |url-status=live }}</ref> and have said that "the rebranding not only places their neighborhood's rich history under erasure but also appears to be intent on attracting new tenants, including students from nearby Columbia University".<ref name="auto">{{cite web |website=6sqft.com |url=https://www.6sqft.com/from-soha-to-nolita-the-practice-and-controversy-of-rebranding-nyc-neighborhoods/ |date=July 10, 2017 |title=From NoLiTa to SoHa: The practice and controversy of rebranding NYC neighborhoods |last=Etherington |first=Cait |access-date=April 30, 2018 |archive-date=May 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501004804/https://www.6sqft.com/from-soha-to-nolita-the-practice-and-controversy-of-rebranding-nyc-neighborhoods/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Multiple New York City politicians have initiated legislative efforts to curtail this practice of neighborhood rebranding, which when successfully introduced in other New York City neighborhoods, have led to increases in rents and real estate values, as well as "shifting demographics".<ref name="auto"/> In 2011, U.S. Representative [[Hakeem Jeffries]] attempted but failed to implement legislation "that would punish real estate agents for inventing false neighborhoods and redrawing neighborhood boundaries without city approval."<ref name="auto"/> By 2017, New York State Senator [[Brian Benjamin]] also worked to render the practice of rebranding historically recognized neighborhoods  illegal.<ref name="auto"/>