Le Petit Sénégal, orLittle Senegal, is a neighborhood in theNew York City borough ofManhattan. It has been called Le Petit Sénégal by theWest African immigrant community and Little Senegal by some people from outside the neighborhood.
Le Petit Sénégal is a smaller section of the much larger, and older, neighborhood ofHarlem. The neighborhood's exact borders are difficult to define as it is still new, growing from nonexistent in 1985 to 6,500 by 2005.[1][2] Le Petit Sénégal is generally defined as located in Central Harlem. The neighborhood's main streets are the blocks surrounding West116th Street betweenLenox Avenue / Malcolm X Boulevard on the east andFrederick Douglass Boulevard to the west.[3]
Le Petit Sénégal is the main shopping and social area for many of Harlem's West African immigrants. The majority of these recent immigrants hail from French-speakingSenegal, reflecting the French local name of Little Senegal. However, West African languages, such asWolof, are also spoken. There are also immigrants from other West African countries, includingCôte d'Ivoire,Guinea,Mali,Gambia, andBurkina Faso.
West African shops, restaurants,bistros,bakeries,cafes, and otherproprietorships can be found in the neighborhood.
116th Street in Harlem, New York is aptly named Le Petit Sénégal. It abounds in aromas of stewing mafe and yassa wafting out of restaurants, sidewalks turned into mosques and businesses stocked with merchandise right out of Dakar.
40°48′14.22″N73°57′15.15″W / 40.8039500°N 73.9542083°W /40.8039500; -73.9542083
