HARLEM — The people behind Taylor Swift’s Welcome to New York tourism campaign are now promoting the neighborhood.
NYC & Company, the city’s tourism and marketing arm, is trying to encourage out-of-towners to spend their time and money uptown.
The campaign features local restaurants like Sylvia’s, Lido, Vinateria and The Cecil, which Esquire named best new eatery in America last October.
It also highlights some of the neighborhood’s cultural institutions like the Studio Museum and the Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture, where George Clinton shared stories about his life in funk when talking about his memoir.
“Harlem is bursting with culture, history and amazing cuisine,” said Marty Markowitz, NYC & Company’s VP of borough promotion and engagement.
The campaign also includes a short video that will be shown all over the world and features local ambassadors talking about the neighborhood.
“If you’re coming to Harlem you must come up on the A train,” Patricia Cruz, executive director of Harlem Stage says in the video. “Duke Ellington recommended it over 50 years ago with the song and it is a fast wonderful ride.”
NYC & Company are hoping the campaign stimulates the local economy and generates interest in Harlem in January so that it carries over to Black History month in February, a spokeswoman said.
