New York Times' journalist David Gonzalez portrays Harlem's famous Sugar Hill neighborhood, and expains why African American celebrities lived there in the past, while today's Black artists cherish it as a fount of creativity.

"New York is a city of blocks, each with its own history, customs and characters. Yet from these small stages spring large talents. Anyone who doubts that need look no further than a stretch of Edgecombe Avenue perched on a bluff near 155th Street.

"It was part of Sugar Hill, the neighborhood of choice for elegant black musicians, dapper actors, successful professionals - and those who aspired to be like them."