Eyesore of the Week (11/30/10)

As if the street stairs at 187th Street weren't bad enough, we have to look at the ugly backside of 620 Fort Washington Avenue covered with graffiti.  It doesn't have to be this way.  State Senator Eric Schneiderman runs a free graffiti removal program.  Just call  (212) 544-0173 and ask about the program.  

Photo of the Week (11/30/10)

Ok, we admit, we can't get enough of these river shots.  But this one really captures the beauty of the last few weeks of fall.  This weekend's wind and rain eliminated the leaves and now we're left with...winter. Ugh.  (Photo:  P. Smith)

Photo of the Week (11/23/10)

Its never too early for Christmas, at least for this homeowner on 181st and Wadsworth Avenue.  (Photo:  P. Moschitto)

Safety Patrols on Bennett Avenue

Residents of Inwood Heights have recently re-formed local, volunteer safety patrols to address an uptick in street crime.  Residents of Bennett Avenue are talking about beginning their own patrols.  These efforts are commendable.  But I have doubts about residents' ability to sustain voluntary programs like this on a long-term basis.  Inevietably, life becomes too busy, core members move away and the burdens fall on just a few select residents.  Voluntary patrols are certainly not a substitute for the City's adding more officers to the 34th Precinct.

My suggestion for folks on Bennett Avenue is a "Bennett Avenue Neighborhood Watch Association."  The Neighborhood Watch program was founded in the 1970s by the National Sheriffs' Association.  Neighborhoods, typically in suburban areas, formed voluntary associations where members pledged to watch over streets more carefully and report potential crimes to police.  There's no magic here, of course, but the programs empower and organize residents to watch the streets and report suspicious activities.  And then there's the best part of the program--being able to post the "neighborhood watch" signs all over the block (see above).

I have never formed one of these associations.  But, as an attorney, I'd be happy to provide pro-bono assistance to groups on Bennett in exploring this option.

Long term, however, the best solution to safety concerns on Bennett Avenue will be adding private security.  Building owners on Bennett Avenue, particularly cooperative buildings, should add more security lights, security cameras and private security guards.  If the cost of hiring private security is too much, why not form an association to share the costs among multiple buildings?  The guards can visit multiple buildings and, while making their rounds, keep an eye on the street.  I suspect the costs per resident would be minimal.

Pumpkin House for Sale (aka 16 Chittenden)

16 Chittenden Avenue, referred to as the "Pumpkin House," went on the market this week for $3,900,000. The broker is Gumley, Haft & Kleier, which this author has never heard of before.  This house is unique in many ways.  For starters, its one of only a few single-family homes in Hudson Heights.  It also cantilevers over the forest that flanks the Henry Hudson Parkway.  The views of the bridge, river and Palisades must be spectacular.

The current owner purchased the home in 2000.  Strangely, the New York City property records do not list an acquisition price.  I used some information, like the City's mortgage recording tax from that 2000 transfer, to speculate on the purchase price.  I suspect it was substantially lower than $3,900,000.  But I won't share my numbers online.

For those of you that want to try your own searches on the property, the block and lot are 2179 and 242, respectively.

Northern Manhattan Parks

For updates on events for both adults and kids in neighborhood parks, sign up for the New York City Parks Department's "northern Manhattan parks newsletter."  Go to www.nyc.gov/parks and look for "e-mail updates" or follow this link:  http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/newsletters/.  


Events in Fort Tryon Park, Inwood Hill Park and other locations include wildlife discussions, tours of historic sites and locations, stargazing, nature walks for kids, etc.

Muggings, the Numbers

Here's some information from the NYPD.  There were 11 muggings in the 34th Precinct in the last week of October and 36 muggings during the entire month.  This represents increases of 83% and 125%, respectively, over similar periods in 2009.  This increase is very significant and explains the NYPD's decision to dramatically and temporarily increase the number of police officers in the precinct.

Note that this is NOT part of a similar surge citywide, where muggings are up only about 9% over last year's figures.  The increase in this precinct probably reflects two trends in the neighborhoods that comprise the precinct:  a dramatic increase in the number of middle class residents in Upper Manhattan combined with a dramatic reduction in the number of jobs available to teenagers and unskilled twenty-somethings (affluence next to economic desperation equals crime).  These trends have coincided with a reduction in the number of police officers assigned to the precinct full-time. 

More to come on this topic in the future.

UPDATE:  The Manhattan Times is reporting that the NYPD has caught the suspect who officers think is responsible for many or most of the recent muggings in Hudson Heights. 

Keeping it Local During the Holidays-Updated 12/11/10

UPDATE:  The Cornerstone Center on Bennett Avenue is having its annual pottery sale on December 4, 5, 11 and 12.  And Inwood's "Off the Map" holiday market is occurring on December 4, 11 (at Bread and Yoga on 207 and Broadway) and December 18 (at Audobon Partnership at 513 West 207th).

***

We'd like to make a suggestion to our neighbors in Hudson Heights--buy (i.e., spend) locally during the holidays.

Everyone in this community wants to see more vibrant retail and restaurants in Hudson Heights and Washington Heights.  The easiest way for most of us to contribute to that effort is to eat, drink and shop locally.  And the holidays are the best time to start, particularly since most of us open our wallets a little wider at this time of year.  Here are some suggestions for holiday giving and spending:

Restaurants and Bars.  If your friends and family live uptown, this goal is easy.  Take them out to eat in the neighborhood as your "gift" or give them a gift certificate to a local restaurant.   My personal favorites are 181 Cabrini, the New Leaf Cafe and Bleu. 

Clothing/Jewelry.  Nostylgia at 251 Dyckman has a (limited) array of hip clothing and shoes.  Visit the blog at www.nostylgia.wordpress.com.  Odalis Salon on Cabrini Boulevard, just north of 181st Street, has cool jewelry on display.  The craft fair at Hudson View Gardens usually includes a local jewelry artisan too (too late for 2010, but look for 2011).  Local clothiers "Brazen Lingerie" make baby carriers and some more discrete ladies' items, www.theartofbabywearing.com.

Donations.  Another option for local giving is a donation to a local organization that you think might be special to the recipient.  Consider Fort Tryon Park Trust, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance or New Yorkers for Parks.  The Fort Tryon Park Trust also sells gift cards with wonderful images from the park.  (Make sure to call to ensure delivery in time for the holidays).

Wine.  The easiest gift is a bottle of wine from Cabrini Wines on 181st Street or Vines on Pine on Pinehurst.  (If wine doesn't feel personal enough, how about giving the bottle with a card attached explaining that it was purchased locally or pairing it with one of the gifts below?)

Pets.  Friends with pets?  Critter on Pinehurst sells all sorts of pet toys.  Or there's our particular favorite, the dog leash with the bag holder for cleaning up after the dog (which will be subject to its own future blog entry).

Bikers.  "Treads" on Dyckman Street is a great bike shop and full of smaller items for gift giving like flashing lights for evening bikers.

Local artisans.   The best place to pick up a gift locally is at the Hudson View Gardens Arts and Crafts Fair each autumn (the 2010 fair ends on November 20).    (Note December craft and art fairs referenced above.)

Museums.  Try the gift shops at the Cloisters (in Fort Tryon Park), the Morris Jumel Mansion (George Washington's summer home) or the Hispanic Society of America (on 155th and Broadway).  You can also purchase memberships to these institutions.

Art.  You might also try scouting out some local artists.  You can visit the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance gallery on Bennett Avenue from 11 to 5 p.m. on weekdays.  You can visit the restaurant "181 Cabrini" and check out its rotating exhibits.  Or you can check out some of our favorite local artists:  www.kloew.com; www.VickiFremont.com; www.navahjo.com.  If the prices for originals are too high, consider asking the artists about prints.

Religion.  The gift shop at Mother Cabrini Shrine on Fort Washington Avenue is full of worthwhile religious gifts especially for your devout Irish, Italian or Latin grandmother.

Food.  Franks Market on 187th Street and La Rosa on Broadway and 178th sell various specialty food products.  What's more useful than food!  Ask them about making gift baskets for you or make your own.  Indian Road Cafe at 218th and Indian Road is a trek from Hudson Heights, but the coffee is excellent.  They sell Counter Culture Coffee by the cup or by the bag.  Add one of these to your gift basket!

Children's Toys and Other Gifts.  Hilltop Pharmacy at 187th Street and Fort Washington Avenue has an oddball collection of toys, sports balls, picture frames, vases and other giftable items.  Wiggles and Giggles (yes, that's the name) at the western end of 181st Street sells higher-end children's toys.  (I still haven't figured out exactly what W&G does.  But it seems to host children's birthday parties, play dates for kids and other kid-focused events).

K&R Florist.  Hudson Heights lost its only florist several years ago to the new Stein Perry real estate shop on 187th Street.  I like the selection of holiday items at K&R Florist in Inwood, located at Broadway and 207th.

We'll continue to update this during the holiday season.  Please forward any suggestions too!











Note:  This is the first blog's entry in the category of "opinion."

Art and Craft Fair at Hudson View Gardens

Hudson View Gardens is hosting a great art and craft fair in its "lounge" on Sunday, November 14, 2010.  The "art" component will return on the 20th.  This is an annual pre-Thanksgiving event and it features many if not all local artisans.  Tip:  the art is rather expensive; but the crafts (jewelry, ceramics, etc.) are not and would make great gifts.

P.S. 187 PTA

The word on the street is that P.S. 187, aka Hudson Cliffs School, has become one of the better neighborhood public schools in New York City.   It houses kindergarten through 8th Grade, a huge benefit to the community.

A fair amount of the credit goes to the PTA, which helps keep this side garden in tip-top shape.  The school earned a "B" in the latest City-administered progress report, which is pretty good given the testing turmoil in many other top neighborhood schools around the City.

Co-ops Stuck in Transition

Ever notice the buildings in Hudson Heights with signs that say "co-op apartments for sale"?   These are usually cooperative apartment buildings that have not fully made the transition from rental to owner-occupied buildings.  Sometimes the remaining rental units are in the undesirable parts of the building.  Here are two photographs of one such building at 225 Bennett Avenue.  The tenants clearly take great pride in their entrance, which is flanked by gardened planters.  Too bad the owner can't clean the graffiti off the wall that houses the "sale" sign--not a great way to sell units.

Lackluster Sales at 212 Bennett Avenue

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After a year on the market, most apartments at the new condominium building at 212 Bennett remain unsold.  The word on the street is that the apartments are too narrow.  This author suspects that the uninspired views of Broadway aren't helping.  This blog will begin focusing more frequently on Bennett Avenue in future posts.  With a few changes, the street has tremendous potential to become a haven for middle class buyers and renters.  But its not quite there yet.

Regardless, these apartments are potentially a very good bargain.  Two bedroom, two bath units that were once listed at $630,000 are now listed at $525,000.  These units are in mint condition and have washers/dryers.

Feast Day of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

Parishioners at Mother Cabrini Church celebrated her feast day on November 13 with a parade through the neighborhood.

Photo of the Week (11/16/10)

The Cornerstone Center on Bennett Avenue is a true neighborhood asset.  It houses two Lutheran churches (one of which is gay-friendly), an "Orthodox-Catholic" church (whatever that is), yoga, occasional concerts, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance and a compost  for neighbors.  Bravo!

Eyesore of the Week (11/16/10)

The street stairs at 187th Street that connect Overlook Terrace and Fort Washington Avenue will now be honorary "eyesore of the week" on a weekly basis.  Who's to blame?  The New York City Department of Transportation gets most of the blame as the owner and operator of this "street."  The owner of the commercial building that houses Chase Manhattan Bank and Associated gets a share of the blame.  More to come on this mess in future articles.  (Photo, P. Smith)

34th Precinct's Tips on Preventing Car Break-Ins

The following tips were recently provided to me by the Community Affairs officer of the 34th Precinct.  (Unfortunately in Hudson Heights, we don't have much control over where we park.  When you see a spot, you need to grab it!)

34TH PRECINCT, Tips on Preventing Car Break-Ins

1. Park in well lit areas.  Parking in a well lit area where your vehicle is highly visible will deter thieves, especially if there is constant traffic and other people walking by.  Parking your vehicle in a dimly lit, remote area of the street makes your vehicle an easy target

2. Remove valuables from sight left in plain sight. Leaving an expensive GPS unit on the dashboard or a laptop computer on the back seat invites a vehicle to be broken into. Gifts are another easy target at holiday time when left in plain sight.  Ipods, MP3 players, PDA's, cell phones and cash left on the front seat are another very easy target. These items are small and easy grabbed by thieves. Secure your valuables in the trunk, or cover them up and keep them out of view. Doing so before you reach your destination is also a good idea, in the event that a thief is watching the parking lot.

3. Eliminate tell tale signs.  Car break ins are usually not random. Thieves are looking for valuables and will break into those cars that they think have valuables in them. Don't leave an empty GPS mount on the dash or windshield. Even the rings that the suction cup from some GPS mounts leave tell thieves that you have a GPS unit. Power cables and charges are another tell tale sign that you have expensive electronics and most likely, the items are still in your car. Unplug your chargers, and remove the suction cup rings from the windshield.  Many companies make bean bag type mounts for your GPS unit, which leave no tell tale signs, and can be quickly removed from sight.

4. Lock your doors and close your windows.  ALWAYS LOCK YOUR DOORS NO MATTER WHERE YOU PARK. Even if you are leaving the car for "only a second" lock all your doors. Make sure all your windows are up as well.

Launderiffic!

Mr. Kim has finally sold Launderiffic on 187th Street.  This is great news because the new owner will continue to operate it as a laundry facility!  The facility will be closed for a week in November for the installation of new machines. 

Photo of the Week (11/9/10)

The NYC DOT has finished its work on the medians on Haven Avenue, just south of 181st Street.  They have included beautifully planted medians in the final design.  My suggestion to the "Lafayette" co-op building across the street, take care of these medians rather than relying on the DOT!

Eyesore of the Week (11/9/10)

No photo here.  I couldn't take one because (a) it was dark and (b) I might have gotten myself beaten up.  So use your imagination.

This evening I was walking home from the 190th Street exit of the A train, heading south on Bennett Avenue.  Near the corner of 187th and Bennett, two unpleasant looking characters exchanged some words (both between 25 and 35 years old, thug attire, smoking cigarettes).  After their brief exchange,  one headed north on Bennett and one headed south.  At that moment I stopped at 187th and Bennett to take a phone call.

The southbound character then stopped on the sidewalk on Bennett, just south of 187th Street, pulled down his pants and urinated against a tree, in full view of people headed home from the subway and the religiously observant headed to or from the synagogue on 187th and Bennett.

In the Heights

Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" may be two years old now (and closing in January 2011), but the show remains fresh, witty, original and insightful.  This Broadway musical follows a few days in the lives of a dozen residents of Washington Heights, particularly a young bodega owner named Usnavi, in the days before and after a major blackout leaves the neighborhood dark.    More significantly for residents of Hudson Heights, the setting is the vicinity of the A Train Stop at 181st Street.  I give Miranda and the set designers great credit for capturing the essence of our neighborhood, with appropriate references to its Latin American majority, creeping gentrification, and Irish and Jewish history.

Unlike most Broadway shows these days, this one generates true emotion, feeling and attachment to the plight of the characters who are struggling with money and longing for homes left behind in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.   The story is santitized, of course, for Broadway audiences.  But it still feels real when Usnavi pines for a neighorhood girl, the winning lottery ticket is sold in the local bodega and the smartest girl in the barrio drops out of college.  The singing, acting and dancing are top notch.  And for the American Idol fans out there, the show now features Jordan Sparks in the role of Nina, the college dropout. (Someone had to tell me who she is.  Her singing is great but her dancing is stiff).

So consider this a recommendation from a guy who generally rolls his eyes when someone recommends musicals.

C. Rizzo

Skunks

Anyone living in Hudson Heights this summer, particularly along Cabrini Boulevard, noticed the invasion of skunks.   Walking home in the evening past piles of garbage bags became an adventure.  Its unsettling to see a white stripe peak out from a pile of garbage bags or the bushes a few feet away from you!  Peter Smith reported a den in the woods just at the corner of 190th and Cabrini.  A whole family, babies included, lived there.  And while the sight of a skunk in your path home is unsettling, I have never heard of a person being sprayed in our neighborhood.  (I am aware of one dog victim.)

Just after Labor Day, however, the skunks disappeared.  This seemed extremely odd and one had to wonder if a well-intentioned building superintendent didn't "off" them.

But I'm happy to report, second-hand, that at least one skunk was spotted this week on Cabrini.

"Impact" Officers' Presence Felt

The 34th Precinct is hosting 60 additional officers for the next few months.  Apparently they are "impact officers" that the NYPD moves to precincts where crime has recently flared.  The good news is they're here.  The bad news is that they'll move on shortly.

Anyone walking around Hudson Heights has probably noticed them, walking in pairs.  I've seen them on the subway platform, on Pinehurst Avenue, on Cabrini Boulevard and, most of all, on Bennett Avenue.   I stopped to speak to two officers on Cabrini at 9:30 p.m. on Friday.  I expressed my gratitude to them and the other 58 new officers in the precinct (not that I feel particularly unsafe in the area).

One officer said thanks.  The other remarked, "its still not enough."  I asked why, and he recounted a stabbing on Dyckman and Broadway that evening.  This apparently resulted from a fight among teenagers--not a random attack.

Still its good to have them.  And hopefully we can keep a few.

Photograph of the Week (November 2, 2010)

This is a spectacular autumn sunrise in the Heights.  (Photo P. Smith)

Removal of the Station Agent at the 181st Street Station of the A Train

Here is some information on making your voice heard regarding the New York City Transit Administration's decision to remove the 24-hour station agent from the 181st Street station of the A Train (in order of importance).

Carmen Bianco

Senior Vice President (Subways), NYCTA

2 Broadway

New York, New York  10004

(646) 252-5860

Jay H. Walder
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MTA

347 Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10017

(212) 878-7274

Hon. Robert Jackson (New York City Council)

Washington Heights
751 West 183rd Street
New York, NY 10033

212-928-1322

Hon. Adriano Espaillat (State-Senator Elect)

210 Sherman Avenue
Suite A
New York, NY 10034

212-544-2278

Hon. Herman D. Farrell, Jr. (State Assemblyman)

751 West 183rd Street
New York, NY 10033

212-568-2828

Eyesore of the Week (November 2, 2010)

The MTA's removal of the station agent at 181st Street is a disaster, plain and simple.

(Photographs P. Moschitto)