Harlem Rallies ‘Round Ex-President, Even if He’s Often MIA

Like birders tracking a rare and exotic species, Bill Clinton watchers in Harlem rarely see their quarry--but they talk about him an awful lot.

“I heard he was in there watching the Super Bowl,” says Muhammad Spencer, an outdoor incense vendor. “I saw a lot of trips from the pizza place.”

Spencer, who has a prime observation post from his table across from the 14-story building that houses Clinton’s office, is not bothered that he hasn’t actually seen Clinton.

“It seems like everybody appreciates him being in the neighborhood,” he says. “There’s a reason he came down, a purpose. You know, they say he’s our first black president.”

Last July, when Clinton decided to move into his top floor 125th Street offices, he was not only looking for a place to spend his days as the second-youngest former U.S. president but also searching for a refuge from the river of criticism that flowed after him when he moved from Washington to New York.

His questionable pardons in the last days of the presidency were headline news. His choice of an office in a lavish midtown skyscraper was being viewed as scandalous, with its rent of more than $700,000 a year. The man was not at the height of his popularity.

So Clinton abandoned his midtown plans and moved 68 blocks and a world away, signing a 10-year lease for a $261,450-a-year office space (not including utilities, improvements or Secret Service space) in a building that also houses a Social Security office, a public housing authority and an adoption agency. Instead of five-star cuisine and sleek luxury goods, the surrounding businesses advertise hair braiding and soul food.

The move was greeted with a mixture of cynicism about his motives, joy at the positive message it sent about Harlem (safe enough for an ex-president!), and concern about the impact his presence might have on the neighborhood (there goes low rent!). Local politicians welcomed him with open arms, while some activists held a protest before he even moved in.

“There is great symbolism involved in the president choosing an office in the heart of black America,” says DeWayne Wickham, author of the newly published book “Bill Clinton and Black America.” “It was a second choice ... but he also wanted to find a safe harbor.”

Clinton’s been in Harlem more than seven months, and his name--with the exception of the past few days--has rarely made headlines. Lost among the tragedies and turmoil of the past year, Clinton’s transgressions and activities seem of little import.

But the former president is always news in Harlem, where he “is loved in this neighborhood,” says Michael Eberstadt, a Harlem restaurant owner. “He is a rock star.”

Observers received a small taste of that adulation when Clinton emerged one recent evening from the Studio Museum in Harlem. Local folks gathered around clamoring for autographs and photos.

Very much at ease and with scant security, the former president signed every scrap of paper handed to him. “He looked gorgeous,” one woman gushed as Clinton waved one last goodbye and climbed into his limo.

“It’s unbelievably cool that he’s here,” Eberstadt says. “This is where he chose to set up shop. That makes a statement that if he can be here as a former president of the United States, then theoretically, anyone else can set up here.”

Well, “here” is a somewhat loose term. Clinton’s office workers--10 staff and 15 interns and volunteers--do work out of the Harlem office. But the ex-prez himself? An eager Clinton watcher might wait many a day to see that famous gray plumage.

Julia Payne, Clinton’s spokeswoman, says his schedule is so fluid that it’s impossible to say how often he’s in town. She did offer one example--in February he traveled to Australia for two weeks, then was in the office for a week, then off traveling again.

Don Walker, president of the Harry Walker Agency, which serves as Clinton’s lecture agent, has more specific numbers: In 2001 Clinton gave 75 speeches--at $125,000-plus per speech--on every continent except Antarctica. And this year, says Walker, is shaping up to be “busier than ever.”

The office--no photos, please--is decorated with paintings from the Studio Museum and offers sweeping views of Manhattan. Most of Clinton’s staff followed him there from Washington, but the interns and volunteers are recruited from local colleges and universities. His spokespeople maintain that they don’t know if any of the interns are Harlem natives. And Clinton’s people, ever wary of loose lips, declare that interns and volunteers aren’t available to talk to the press.

But even if one can’t catch a glimpse of the man himself, photographs of the smiling president are as common as, well, pigeons.

In restaurants like the famous “Sylvia’s, Queen of Soul Food,” a photo of Clinton with Sylvia hangs in a place of prominence. As does one of Bill cut out of the New York Daily News in Dee’s Cards N Wedding Service. Clinton declined to be interviewed, but his staff insists that Bill Clinton in Harlem is much more than a symbol.

Yes, he has a heavy lecture schedule and is involved in such diverse projects as working with foundations that are helping to rebuild earthquake-devastated communities in India, developing service programs in South Africa and writing his own memoirs. But Harlem is very much front and center, says Clyde E. Williams Jr., Clinton’s domestic policy advisor, who moved from Washington to New York with Clinton and works and lives in Harlem.

Because one of the goals of his William J. Clinton Foundation is “economic empowerment of poor people,” he’s held several meetings with local community leaders to learn about the greatest needs in the area. The result is a focus on after-school programs and those that teach economic literacy (basic skills such as opening bank accounts) to children in schools. The foundation also plans to team with an as-yet-unnamed downtown company to provide technical assistance to local small businesses, and it hopes to help bring employment opportunities to Harlem.

There’s no money available yet--but Williams says the foundation is developing partnerships to raise funds for the programs.

When Clinton announced his uptown move, proponents optimistically predicted that much-needed business would follow while opponents foresaw a gentrification that would drive out the current residents.

At this point, most agree, neither has come true.

“It’s probably impossible to evaluate the Clinton effect,” says restaurant owner Eberstadt. “There was a lot of stuff in the pipeline before he moved here.” And some was set in motion by the former president.

In 1993, Clinton declared part of Harlem a federal empowerment zone, which meant the area received millions of dollars in state and federal aid for economic development.

Over the past several years, Starbucks moved onto 125th Street. Harlem USA, a 275,000-square-foot complex containing shops and Magic Johnson theaters, opened nearby. It was a first step toward revitalizing a neighborhood that still has blocks of abandoned housing and boarded-up stores covered with graffiti.

“Him coming here validates the renaissance that has already been going on here,” says R. Kenyatta Punter, who owns an area real estate firm. “But by coming here, he shows other business leaders, who might have been on the fence, that maybe they should move here.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton, leader of the Harlem-based National Action Network, says it’s too early to label Clinton’s residency a success or failure.

“I have not seen rent skyrocketing, nor have I seen the major influx some of his supporters said would happen,” Sharpton says. “The expectations, both negative and positive, were high and I think they’re leveling off now.”

Notes author Wickham: “Bill Clinton is a day tenant. What’s really changed is the [return] of the black middle class.”

For the time being, many local residents are not looking for concrete action from their most prominent day tenant, but simply enjoy knowing he’s in the neighborhood. Occasionally.

He has “uplifted us with his presence,” say Guy Willington, a Harlem native who is selling watches, games and cards on the sidewalk. Willington says he hopes Clinton and the changes he might bring will be enough to get him a job “so I can get off the street.”

“Right now it’s enough that he’s here,” he says. “Sooner or later, we’re going to say, ‘What has he done for the community?’”