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Gregory Porter says he got into songwriting because his mother was a minister. "Melodies, lyrics, thoughts come to me in the most average of places ... when I'm birdwatching, which I like to do," he said on Soundcheck. Watch a video of Porter singing "On My Way To Harlem."

Manhattan's Community Board 10 is mulling whether to ask bars, nightclubs and restaurants to stop serving liquor two hours before last call. This week, the board tabled a recommendation that would require establishments to stop serving liquor after 2 a.m. in order to get more information from its economic development committee, which proposed the rule.

As the sun was setting over Central Harlem on a recent evening, 33-year-old Dedric Hammond, better known as Beloved, was getting ready to start his work day.

Director of the Transportation Nation project and senior correspondent for WNYC, Andrea Bernstein talks about Harlem's bike lanes.

A tribute to Romare Bearden, "portable" murals by Diego Rivera, an artist who reproduces the work of other artists, and the roots of documentary photography in New York. Plus: enough performance art to gag an ox. Here's what's cooking this weekend in the big bad city.

At long last, a decades-old arts education group has a permanent home uptown. On Tuesday night, the National Dance Institute will inaugurate its first-ever headquarters in central Harlem, complete with studios and a 175-seat performance space.

A woman is caught in the rain at 127th Street and 7th Avenue in Harlem on Thursday

The Richard Hambleton retrospective at Phillips de Pury & Company is only on view through Tuesday. But there's still plenty of historic graffiti around town to cast your eye over. With the help of graffiti aficionada Katherine Lorimer (who snaps shots of street art as Luna Park), WNYC has created a tour of five of the coolest and oldest pieces of graffiti around town.

Farah Griffin, William B. Ransford Professor of English and Comparative Literature and African American Studies at Columbia University, discusses Ann Petry's 1946 novel, The Street, for our final Underappreciated segment of the summer. The Street is about a young single black mother who is trying to save money in order to move her son away from the influence of 116th Street. When it was initially published, it made Petry one of the first female African-American authors to receive significant critical and popular acclaim. Lately, the novel been getting more critical attention for its representation of gender politics within Harlem. It also provides a rich portrait of Harlem at that time—its neighborhoods, business districts, bars, and music clubs, making it more than simply a protest novel.

The simple pleasures of a home-cooked meal and hot shower have been out of reach for more than 800 Harlem residents whose gas was never restored following a water main break nearly two weeks ago.

Thirty-six tenement style buildings in Central Harlem will soon become a mix of public housing and privately owned apartments for low and moderate income families.

Next month, Cyndi Lauper's 1986 hit "True Colors" takes on new meaning when the True Colors Residence for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (L.G.B.T.) youth opens in Harlem on September 1. The shelter will be the first permanent housing facility in New York for homeless L.G.B.T. youth.

Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, winner of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer's Award, contributor to Transition Magazine and author of Harlem is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America, talks about the history and future of Harlem as the center of Black America.

A group of 30 teenage artists from Harlem is telling the story of the neighborhood with a colorful mural dubbed "Magic with Logic."

The always irrepressible Charlie Rangel is holding a fundraiser and birthday bash tonight, headlined by Aretha Franklin. It's A Free Country caught up with the Congressman for a few words in a coffee shop at Rockefeller Center, where he had just finished an appearance on MSNBC.

Does a fundraiser mean ...

Harlem Day was started 37 years ago to pay tribute to the rich economic, political, and cultural history of Harlem. The one-day event morphed into Harlem Week, which has now attracted so many participants that it is more than a month of 100 events that promotes Harlem's proud culture.

The city, the teachers union and the NAACP will square off in court Tuesday over plans to let 19 charter schools take space in the same buildings as regular schools. And, like most things in New York City, the feud is largely about real estate.

Trophies made of tire, a can of pickles spinning on a turntable, two gigantic pop-up books and walls covered in graffiti. These are some of the pieces featured in "El Museo's Bienal: The (S) File 2011," an exhibit that opened on Tuesday at El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem.

Pianist Jason Moran talks about the upcoming tribute concert to Fats Waller, “The Fats Waller Dance Party.” Moran and Meshell Ndegeocello, along with a full band, re-envision Waller’s historic music into a contemporary dance event, which is part of the Harlem Stride and Uptown Nights at Harlem Stage series. “The Fats Waller Dance Party” takes place May 13-14 at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse.

On Monday night, a new festival hopes to draw attention to old-school venues like Minton’s Playhouse and the Lennox Lounge by bringing modern-day luminaries to Harlem for a week of concerts. The Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival will feature performances by Jason Moran, Wycliffe Gordon, Geri Allen, and Meshell Ndegeocello, among others.