Benj – I assure you that my recollection is clear. 110th to 120th was fine between the river and Morningside Drive/Amsterdam Ave. I lived in university housing, one year at 122nd St. & Amsterdam. I had occassion to walk to the PO in Harlem to pick up packages at 125th & 7th Ave. During the day, that was fine – mostly families out and about, or some guys thinking that I was looking to score some drugs (think Velvet Underground, ‘Waiting for My Man’). At night, not so nice. The neighbors weren’t so favorably disposed toward the privileged white Ivy Leaguers in their midst, perhaps a hangover from the university policies of prior years. Of course, I didn’t hang much with the outsiders you did, so our experiences were obviously different. I got a whiff of the world there – the thing I loved about Manhattan and still do. You’re a subway ride away from a microcosm of Seoul, Hong Kong, Cairo, Delhi, if you know where to wander. Today, it is totally gentrified. I know women who bike from Morningside Heights to Washington Heights (168th) to work – not such a good idea 25 years ago.