Harlem's Got A Whole Foods | Harlem Year In Review

HARLEM, NY — The year is coming to an end in Harlem, and 2017 can certainly be described as eventful. There was no shortage of big news stories this year that are worth looking back at as we head into 2018.

Here's some of the year's best stories from the Harlem Patch:

Whole Foods Opens In Harlem, Draws Large Crowds

Add Harlem to the ever-growing list of New York City neighborhoods with a Whole Foods Market. The health-conscious grocery store opened its newest location Friday morning — a massive 40,000-square-foot store on the corner of West 125th Street and Lenox Avenue.

East Harlem Rezoning Approved By City Council

A long-debated proposal to rezone East Harlem was approved with minimal fireworks by the New York City Council.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, NY Judge, Washes Up Dead On Hudson River Shore

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, a 65-year-old judge for the New York Court of Appeals who made history in 2013 when she became the first black woman — and the first Muslim — appointed to the state's highest court, was discovered dead Wednesday afternoon in the Hudson River off the Harlem coastline, according to the NYPD.

12-Year-Old Boy Points Gun At Classmate's Head For Chicken McNugget

Chicken McNuggets are tasty, but are they worth risking your life for? For one East Harlem 12-year-old girl, the answer to that question was yes

Harlem African Burial Ground Development Approved By City Council

The New York City Council approved zoning applications for a massive development on an East Harlem site home to the former 126th Street bus depot and a 17th century African burial ground, the city Economic Development Corporation announced Wednesday.

Hamilton Heights Fire Engulfs Apartment Building

Firefighters battled a large rooftop blaze in the Hamilton Heights section of West Harlem, fire officials said. Four firefighters and one civilian suffered non life-threatening injuries while operating at the scene of the fire, officials said.

16 Indicted For Narcotics Trafficking At Jefferson Houses, DA Says

Sixteen members of a trafficking ring operating in and around East Harlem's Jefferson Houses — a multi-block public housing development covering East 112th to 115th streets between First and Third avenues — are facing charges, prosecutors told Patch.

If your favorite story from 2017 didn't make the list, let us know what it was in the comments.

Graphics by Patch