Category Archives: Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded

Day Seventy-Eight: Walking the streets of Spanish Harlem from 110th to 96th Streets from Fifth to First Avenue and the Third Anniversary of “MywalkinManhattan.com” June 17th-21st, 2017 (again on February 4th, and June 21st, 2025)

July 14, 2017Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring East Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring SoHA (South of Harlem), Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring The Upper East Side of Manhattan, Gourmet restaurants for the budget minded, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Hot Dog, Hamburger & Fries for the budget minded., My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), My walk in Manhattan on Father's Day, MywalkinManhattan at the Halloween Holidays, Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Sandwich and Deli's for the budget minded, Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver, Blue Sky Deli, Central Park Conservatory Park, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring East Harlem, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring SoHA, Exploring Spanish Harlem, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper East Side, Haiji's, Harlem Taste Deli, Hope Community Inc., Humaniano Community Garden, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Maggie's Magic Garden, Make & Bake Pizza, Martha Stewart Garden Manhattan, MywalkinManhattan.com, Neighbors of Vega Baja Garden, Spanish Harlem, Street Art in East Harlem 108th St, Vega Baja Garden, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I started walking the streets of East Harlem after a long day in the Soup Kitchen. They keep me very busy there and I had to work the busy bread station. It can very harried if there are any sweets such as pastries and doughnuts to give out. I was worn out but still carried on.

I took the number six subway uptown to 110th Street and started my day with lunch at the Blue Sky Deli (Haiji’s) at 2135 First Avenue again for another chopped cheese sandwich. I am beginning to love these things. For five dollars and my budget on the project, it just makes sense. Plus, it is nice to sit in Jefferson Park and just relax and watch the kids play soccer while I am eating. I don’t know if it was the sandwich or all the walking but I had stomach cramps for the rest of the day. It was a long day of walking.

Blue Sky Deli is now known as Chopped Cheese Delicious Deli at 2135 First Avenue (this is what is looks like now

https://www.instagram.com/hajjis110/?hl=en

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12328617-Reviews-Blue_Sky_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

Chopped Cheese Delicious-Blue Sky Deli (Haiji’s)-2135 1st Avenue &110th Street NYC, NY 10029

There is nothing like one of their Chopped Cheese’s and I try to visit every time I am in the area.

The Chopped Cheese with a Welsh’s Grape Soda makes the best meal

Yum!

I started the day by retracing my steps on 110th and looking over all the housing projects that line this part of First Avenue. I looked along the long line that is First Avenue and made sure to walk this part of the street as quick as possible. It does not start to get sketchy until about 105th Street but still you want to get through as fast as possible. Walking eight blocks across and back is impossible to do in one day even walking fast so I broke it up into two and a half separate days.

East River Projects at 105th and First Avenue

Click to access East%20River.pdf

Along most of these blocks I was retracing what I saw along the Avenues and there is a lot of new construction and renovating along the way. A lot of buildings are being sandblasted to their original beauty and along the way there are little surprises along the way to discover. I just wanted to let readers know that since I had already walked First Avenue and the side streets on both sides, when I reached First Avenue when walking the streets, I did not cross the street and stayed on the west side of the avenue.

Most of the side streets I had walked already in some form along the way of walking the Avenues and took time out revisit many of the parks and restaurants that I had traveled previously. There are still many gems in this neighborhood that you should take time to visit. In some parts of the neighborhood, I would suggest going during the day when many other people are around. Even as safe as Manhattan has gotten over the years, I still look over my shoulder all the time and watch everyone no matter what neighborhood I am in.

I made several walks through the housing projects all over the neighborhood. You can really understand the complexity of the projects by walking through them as many as times as I did. It really is a different life. Sometimes I get the impression that being piled up in one complex is not good for anyone. The yards are not properly taken care of and playgrounds that are not kept in great shape.

Yet there are signs that residents have made it their own though. I walked through the Dewitt Clinton, Franklin, Lehman and Washington Carver Housing complexes and here and there are raised beds for fruits, vegetables and flowers. Some residents have taken it upon themselves to clean up the garbage in the playgrounds and paint the equipment and benches. Some make their own repairs in the play areas and then stand guard, watching what the kids are doing. I discovered this as I walked through the Washington Houses three times to complete 108th, 107th and 106th by crisscrossing the open-air park in between the complex. People kept looking at me walking through park.

Dewitt-Clinton Houses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Houses

Along the way, I discovered many small community gardens tucked between buildings such as the Neighbors of Vega Baja Garden at 109th between First and Second Avenues and the Humaniano Community Garden at 108th between First and Second Avenues. These small patches of green make the block. Hidden behind fences, I can see that the neighborhood puts a lot of pride into landscaping them and planting them. Sometimes they are open to the public but I just walk by because no one is there.

Humaniano Community Garden in East Harlem

https://www.facebook.com/VegaBajaGardenClub/

Street art along a wooden fence at East 109th Street just off Second Avenue. I thought this was brilliant and very original. There is a real message in this.

Street art on the fence of East 109th Street just off Second Avenue

The sun up close

The writing on the wall

I was back at Make & Bake Pizza at 1976 Third Avenue at 108th Street (now 109 Pizza as of March 2025 for lunch again (See my review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). For a dollar this is great pizza, and they give you a nice size slice. The restaurants in this are around the three local schools offer menus with reasonable prices catering to the kids and their families so take time to explore them. Mr. Moe’s is right down the road, and I can still taste that chopped cheese sandwich.

Now the pizzeria is called 109th Pizzeria and offers the same great prices as before

Make & Bake Pizza at 1976 Third Avenue (now 109th Street Pizzeria in 2025)

https://www.restaurantji.com/ny/new-york/make-and-bake-pizza-/

The cheese pizza here was wonderful

I also saw some of my favorite ‘street art’ murals on these blocks. Between 109th and 107th there are several that I saw. This ‘Spiritual Art’ work has almost an Aztec/Mayan look to it and its use of color and motion are so detailed. Take time to look at these works of art.

Some are ‘tags’ while others the artist was trying to tell a story. Look to the side of the buildings and the sides of schools. You might see some on the sliding doors of businesses. There is a lot of talent here. If there was only a gallery for these kids.

Street Art at 162 East 104th Street

The doorway of the building at the entrance of 162 East 104th Street

There was some new street art along East 104th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. I had never noticed it before it might be brand new but I thought it was brilliant.

The work on East 104th Street

The painting on the opposite side of the doorway

A mosaic on the side a wall near Lexington Avenue

As you travel to the corner of Lexington and 107th, the neighborhood starts to change again once you pass the Franklin Housing Project. The buildings around this area are being fixed up and sandblasted back to their original beauty and new restaurants and shops are opening bringing a little life back to the area. By Hope Community Inc., there are interesting portraits of Latino Cultural leaders. The detailed portrait of Pedro Pietri by James de la Vega is interesting and take time to admire the work.

Pedro Pietri by Artist James de la Vega (now hidden by an outdoor restaurant)

Artist James De La Vega

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_De_La_Vega

https://www.instagram.com/delavegaprophet/?hl=en

Mr. De La Vega is an American artist of Puerto Rican decent who lives in New York City. He is known for his street and muralist art. He is a graduate of Cornell University with a BFA in Fine Arts.

My first day walking the streets, I made it to the corner of 105th and First Avenue by the beginning of nightfall and decided to stop there. I was passing the East River Houses again and there were some shady characters walking around so I decided to finish 105th and rounded 104th Street for my next stop in the neighborhood and relaxed in the Central Park Conservatory at 1233 Fifth on the corner of East 104th and Fifth Avenue for the rest of the evening. My feet were killing me at that point.

Central Park Conservatory gates at 1233 Fifth Avenue

https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/conservatory-garden

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d272517-Reviews-Conservatory_Garden-New_York_City_New_York.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://visitingamuseum.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=831&action=edit

My next trip up to the neighborhood was June 21st, the third Anniversary of ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’. I can’t believe it has been three years since I started walking the island of Manhattan.

The Central Park Conservatory in the Summer of 2025

I still remember my first day walking in Marble Hill on Father’s Day 2015. I honestly thought I would finish in one summer and here I am at 96th Street on the East Side with the rest of the island ahead of me.

The French Garden Fountain at the Central Park Conservatory Garden

The newly renovated French Gardens at the Central Park Conservatory Gardens

Street art along East 105th Street that really impressed me between Lexington and Madison Avenues. This had not been there on my last trip. These works were touching and very creative. The artist presented work that comes from the heart.

On the wall along East 105th Street

Painting along East 105th Street

I started at 96th Street and walked the length of it again from the park to the river. It was sad that the tulips along the river had died by the time I got back. They had been a colorful display by the path entering the river. Even the flowers at the Park Avenue Mall at Park and 97th Street started to change. Spring was giving way to the summer months and you could see the difference in the plants and trees. Between the plantings on the streets and second stage of flowers in Central Park, June was here.

Park Avenue around East 100th Street

You begin to notice distinctions in the grid pattern of the neighborhood block by block. By East 97th Street, you will see a real change. The Metropolitan Hospital, the Department of Sanitation and the Washington Housing projects set almost a border between the Upper East Side and Spanish Harlem once you pass Third Avenue.

Along the border of 97th Street on the grounds of the projects, the residents have set up a series of vegetable and fruit gardens and have done some landscaping that have some character to the lawns of the housing complex. I give the residents credit for their creativity, and I will have to revisit the site over the summer months to see how it turns out. Also along the street is the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Catholic Church, which is the only one of its kind in NYC. Stop and look at the detail of the church.

By 99th Street, the Washington Carver Houses start to dominate the middle of the neighborhood and Mt. Sinai cuts the neighborhood between the Upper East Side from Spanish Harlem to the east to Park Avenue. I tried once again to visit the Martha Stewart Garden in the Washington Carver complex at Madison Avenue and East 99th Street but again the gate was locked. At this point, it looked like it could have used a gardener to touch it up.

Martha Stewart Garden at Madison Avenue and East 99th Street

I continued the zigzag through the streets having crisscrossed again through the projects that I had walked a couple of times before. Between Park and Lexington Avenues as you round 101st Street, you can find some beautifully maintained brownstones and landscaped stairs with potted plants. It looks like something you would see in the village downtown.

The Park Avenue Mall at East 96th Street at night

This small break in the grid pattern shows what the neighborhood once was before the city leveled it for public housing. People are really moving back in this pocket of the neighborhood and fixing up the buildings. Here is where you will find the street art on the walls and fences. I saw a lot of the yarn art I saw uptown but am not sure if this was the same artist.

I had a funny incident with a young police officer at the 23rd Precinct on the corner of 102nd and Third Avenue. He was making a phone call and had just finished and really must have wondered what I was doing in the neighborhood. He took the time to yell a ‘hello’ to me and I just looked at him for a minute and said ‘hello’ back and waited for him to say something.

I guess my progressive glasses must have given me a professional look and he did not say anything else. He watched me walk through the Washington complex and strangely enough waited for me to come back and then watched me walk back up 102nd on my way back up to Fifth Avenue. I saw him staring at me again and I just nodded and smiled and kept walking. I didn’t know that me walking around was so interesting.

Between Park Avenue and Third Avenue up to where the projects start again by 109th Avenue and Madison and Fifth Avenue is where you are seeing where the neighborhood is starting to gentrify and people are starting to fix up the buildings and the new restaurants and shops are starting to pop up. There is a pizzeria on Lexington Avenue, Lexington Pizza, that I have on my bucket list (that closed in 2025).

Thank God I did not have to venture past 105th Street as it was getting darker. Between Second Avenue and First Avenue after 101st Street, I always felt that the people in the housing complexes were watching me. More like staring at me yet I could not catch them actually doing it. I guess I really stood out.

The street mural at West 104th Street by the Museum of the City of New York just popped up and I could not see the artist. I think it was created by Mount Sinai hospital around the corner

As I rounded 104th onto 105th Streets on First Avenue, I must have made quite the impression walking down the street. A group of guys, I swear to God, looked like they jumped when they saw me round the corner. When I had to walk back up the opposite side of the southern part of 105th Street and First Avenue to complete this part of the neighborhood, they completely disappeared. I swear I thought that they were going to gang up on me and jump me. They also gave me the strangest looks. It reminded me of walking on 155th Street by the river and what I saw up by the Dyckman Houses. I just don’t blend in.

I walked past the parks along 103rd and 105th Streets and brought a quick snack into the White Playground on 105th Street and relaxed for a bit just watching the parents watch the kids playing on the park equipment. I really like this park. They keep it in good shape and the parents in the neighborhood really seem to enjoy coming here.

When I was passing the subway station near 103rd Street right by the Washington Carver Houses, I had not noticed a street art portrait of Celia Cruz. The artist did a good job.

The Celia Cruz painting on 103rd Street

The work was done by artist James De La Vega in 2003

I walked past Maggie’s Garden at 1576 Lexington Avenue again on 101st Street and Lexington Avenue but the gate was locked on this day.

Maggie’s Garden at 1576 Lexington Avenue

https://www.facebook.com/maggiesmagicgarden/

https://www.nyrp.org/en/gardens-and-parks/maggies-garden

I ended the afternoon walking through Central Park and walking around the length of the reservoir and watch the joggers pass me by. If they only knew how much I had already walked that afternoon.

This sun was outside Maggie’s Garden the last time I visited.

It really made me think, looking at the crowd of joggers in the park and the people walking around the Central Park Conservatory that early part of the evening, how many of the people I passed that day venture past their part of neighborhood. These blocks have really been an eye-opener in urban planning gone wrong and how a neighborhood can be affected by the wrong decisions in building efforts. I saw a lot of people in the neighborhood trying to improve things on their own terms and take matters in their own hands.

The Harlem Meer at twilight in the Summer of 2025

I just don’t think that this part of Manhattan has to worry about getting too ‘hipster’ or ‘Yuppie’ unless the city sells off the projects and knocks them down. Even if they did, the neighborhood has its own character and I credit the people living there for making it that way.

The Harlem Meer in the Fall of 2024

There is no real way to explain it without you, the reader walking these streets yourself and soaking up the culture that is East Spanish Harlem. Do yourself a favor though, don’t dress like me

Happy Third Anniversary and a very Happy Father’s Day to my Dad!

Halloween 2024 on the Harlem Meer:

I had never seen the Harlem Meer so crowded before especially with lots of little kids. Families were enjoying the Halloween activities of pumpkin carving and painting, games and little treats that the kids got (I never saw anything as it was gone quickly). The festivities were just ending as I raced from class to get into the City before the Pumpkin Flotilla started at dusk. It was still light outside so I got to enjoy the exhibition inside the Dana Discovery Center, “The Gates”, on the history of the various gates people use to enter Central Park.

The Gates Exhibition at the Dana Exploratory Center

https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/charles-a-dana-discovery-center

https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/harlem-meer/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d4563063-Reviews-Charles_A_Dana_Discovery_Center-New_York_City_New_York.html

The Gates Exhibition

The Gates Exhibition

The start of the Pumpkin Flotilla

Then the fun began when the sun went down and the Halloween music started to play on the load speaker. Then two people canoeing started to paddle around the Harlem Meer Pond with lit Jack O’Lanterns following them. They started at dusk but when the sun finally went down, the real magic began.

Sunset at the Meer

Sunset at the Meer

Sunset on the Meer

The pumpkins of the Pumpkin Flotilla

Paddling around the Meer

Video:

IMG_2067 Download

For the next hour, one gentleman started paddling around the Meer then followed by another and they circled the pond for about an hour. Everyone was jockeying for space as we all tried to take the perfect pictures.

The paddling around the Meer

The Pumpkin Flotilla at darkness

Video of the paddling:

IMG_2064 Download

Harlem Meer at night:

I stayed in the park taking pictures as the guys finished paddling around. The park had a almost spooky and mysterious look to it at sunset. I just wanted to get out of Central Park when it got dark. Too many bad memories of things happening. I headed over to the East Side

Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:

Day Sixty-Eight: Walking the Borders of SoHA:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/3900

Day Seventy-One: Walking the Borders of SoHA:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/4303

Day Seventy-Three: Walking the Borders of SoHA/East Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/4798

Day Seventy-Five: Walking the Avenues of Spanish Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/5066

Day Seventy-Eight: Walking the Streets of East Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/5529

Places to Eat:

Make & Bake Pizza (now East Harlem Pizza-2022)

1976 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(646) 490-8355

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-12:00am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12437257-Reviews-Make_Bake_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/661

Blue Sky Deli-Haiji’s/Chopped Cheese Delicious Deli

2135 First Avenue & 110th Street

New York, NY 10029

Open: 24 hours

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12328617-Reviews-Blue_Sky_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/74

Places to Visit:

Central Park Conservatory

1233 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 310-6600

Open: Sunday-Saturday 8:00am-8:00pm

http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/conservatory-garden.html

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d272517-Reviews-Conservatory_Garden-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/831

Maggie’s Garden

1576 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10029

https://www.facebook.com/maggiesmagicgarden/

For hours, please check the website.

For checking out the street art and the community gardens in the neighborhood please walk the area. Things are changing so fast that you never know when something can disappear. The Community Gardens have their own hours depending on the season.

Day Seventy-One: Walking the borders of SoHA in East Harlem (Upper Spanish Harlem) from 125th Street to 110th Street from Park Avenue to FDR Drive & the River April 7th-13th, 2017 (Again June 24th, 2024 and August 10th, 2025)

April 28, 2017Bakeries for the budget minded, Breakfast Restaurants for the Budget Minded in NJ, Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring East Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Morningside Heights in Manhattan, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring SoHA (South of Harlem), Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Bakeries, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Sandwich and Deli's for the budget minded, Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, The Great Saunter Walk-The Entire Manhattan, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Bermudez Bakery, Blue Sky Deli, Chopped Cheese Delicious Deli, Chopped Cheese Sandwich, Dancing of the Giglio, diningonashoestringinnyc, East Harlem, East Harlem Street Art, Exploring East Harlem, Exploring Harlem, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring SoHA, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Harlem Community Gardens, Jam Hut, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, MywalkinManhattan.com, NYC Parks, Patsy's Pizza, Pleasant Finest Deli, SoMA, Taste of Harlem Deli, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Manhattan, Walking in East Harlem, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I finished walking East Harlem and it was an interesting experience. It took two weeks to crisscross the whole neighborhood and I was lucky that I double-backed on several streets, so I got a more detailed experience. There was a lot of interesting architecture and some wonderful restaurants, bodegas and bakeries along the way to experience. I got to walk the parks at different times of the day, and I finished the walk when the schools were closed for Spring Break, so I got to see the neighborhood come to life with families out and about.

My first day of the walk, I could not have asked for beautiful weather. It was clear, sunny and in the 60’s. It was perfect outside weather. After a busy morning at the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (they had me working the hurried bread station and you would think that the homeless were at Starbucks with all of their requests), I took the number 6 subway to 110th Street to start the walk of East Harlem, now known as ‘Upper Spanish Harlem’. I have never seen so much renovation and building going on in one area which is changing the face of the neighborhood.

I started my walk up the Avenues and traveled on the north to south part of the neighborhood the first afternoon. I walked 3rd Avenue, 2nd Avenue and 1st Avenue and revisited Pleasant Avenue and the surrounding streets. It’s an interesting mix of commercial and housing space that houses a diversity of businesses.

Before the area was known as ‘El Barrio’, a Spanish neighborhood of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and Dominicans, it had the city’s first ‘Little Italy’ from the turn of the last century to about the late 1950’s to early 60’s when people moved out to the suburbs. There are still traces of the neighborhood left with some churches, businesses like Rao’s and Patsy’s still going strong and the streets named after famous Italians.

Pleasant Avenue off 120th Street in East Harlem

The area around Pleasant Avenue is going through a tremendous renovation as all the brownstones look like they are getting snatched up and being updated and a much younger crowd is beginning to move in. The biggest change that I saw that was attracting this crowd is the new Target Mall that was refitted into an old factory space between 118th-116th Streets. This mall has attracted everyone from the housing projects to the college students from the other side of the island. On a late Friday afternoon, the place was mobbed.

In 2019, the area gained designation as a National Historic Landmark district. The new district is centered between East 114th and East 120th Streets near First and Pleasant Avenues, covers roughly two dozen blocks. The area contains some of the oldest buildings in the district includes churches such as Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on East 115th Street. This district has some of the most important designs of tenement housing in New York City.

The area is concerned with the coming of the extension of the Q subway line to 125th Street of losing these sights. This area has seen its share of immigration from being an Italian to a Puerto Rican community and wanted to preserve this culture. This area has been designed as the “East Harlem Historic District and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places (The Spirit Westsider 2019).

The Historic district of East Harlem

I started the afternoon at the Blue Sky Deli (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) on the corner of 1st Avenue and 110th Street (2135 1st Avenue), home of the now cult-like ‘Chopped Cheese Sandwich’, which has become the rave of the internet as the hipsters enter Harlem. I have never seen such a debate over a sandwich, so I saved my appetite from my morning at the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (another busy day) and dove into the experience.

Blue Sky Deli (Haijj’s) at 110th Street and First Avenue; ‘Home of the Chopped Cheese’ is now called “Chopped Cheese Delicious” Deli.

https://www.restaurantji.com/ny/new-york/harlem-taste-hajji-s-/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12328617-Reviews-Blue_Sky_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

Chopped Cheese Delicious-Blue Sky Deli (Haiji’s)-2135 1st Avenue &110th Street NYC, NY 10029

The ‘Chopped Cheese Sandwich’ is basically a double cheeseburger that is chopped up. It is two hamburger patties cooked on a flat grill with two slices of American cheese on top, cooked with onions and peppers and topped with chopped lettuce and tomato.

The delicious Chopped Cheese Sandwich

Yum!

My video on this delicious sandwich

It is then tucked into a hoagie roll and then pressed. With ketchup and mayo to finish the sandwich, it is heaven on earth. I took my sandwich and a Coke into Jefferson Park on 111th Street and watched the neighborhood kids play soccer and do track.

The sandwich is a great blend of flavors and for $7.50 is a great deal. I know that comment gets a debate and rebuttal on the internet but when you are on a budget it is well worth it. Blue Sky Deli, also known in the neighborhood as ‘Hajji’s’, is known as the ‘home of the chopped cheese sandwich’ and is well worth the trip to this part of Harlem.

The mural outside of “Chopped Cheese Delicious” (not sure of artist)

The very touching mural outside the restaurant was dedicated to a long time resident of the area who has since passed.

On the first day in the neighborhood, kids were just getting out of school and the streets were mobbed with children and parents or grandparents picking up their kids. After a relaxing lunch, I walked through the commercial district of 1st Avenue ending up back at the Wagner Houses at the edge of the neighborhood between 120th and 124th Streets.

The one thing I can tell you about walking around the Wagner Houses is that there are police there all the time. In the courtyards, by the schools and in the commercial district. I don’t know who was watching me more, the guys that looked like gangbangers or the police trying to figure me out. Between them and the bodega owners with the wondering looks on their faces, it seemed to me that people were just trying to ‘figure me out’. I just keep quiet and smile a lot.

Wagner Houses at 120th Street

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Wagner_Houses

Click to access Wagner.pdf

Talking about commercial real estate, I have discovered that developers will build anywhere to make money. One developer is in the middle of construction of a luxury building on the corner of 1st Avenue and 120th Street right on the edge of Wagner House complex. It’s almost as if they are mocking the residents that live in the projects. That and who would want to buy these things. As I walked by the construction site, one senior resident said to me “They are not even that well-built.” I commented that living in the Wagner Complex was safer than these homes that are put up quickly and that it will last longer. She just smiled and gave me a funny look.

I even went back to visit the Pleasant Finest Deli (closed in 2022-now Al Bassam Deli Corp. in 2025) at the corner of Pleasant Avenue and 120th Street (see review on TripAdvisor) as the kids were getting out from school again across the street. I guess the tinted glasses through them off as they gave me strange looks as well like ‘what was I doing back?”. They were polite but in a formal way as I was buying a bag of chips. Maybe I was just picking up on it.

Al Bassam Deli Corporation at 375 Pleasant Avenue

https://www.bizprofile.net/ny/new-york/al-bassam-deli-corp

My review on TripAdvisor (When it was Pleasant Finest Deli):

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12379766-Reviews-Pleasant_Finest_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

Walking on 1st Avenue has its advantages as you start to pass the last of the Italian businesses in the neighborhood. Pasty’s Pizzeria at 2287 First Avenue (See Review on TripAdvisor) being the most famous. This is worth the stop. The pizza is excellent and at $1.75 a slice is a great deal. I haven’t tasted that fresh of a tomato sauce in a long time. There is a sit-down place but stop in for a slice and just walk with it. On sunny day there is nothing better. Everyone else must have thought the same thing as I saw slices walking down the street.

Patsy’s East Harlem at 2287 First Avenue

http://www.patsyspizzeria.us/

The Brick Oven Cheese Pizza here is excellent

The lunch that afternoon was excellent

I took a break and relaxed again in Thomas Jefferson Park on 114th Street and watched the soccer teams play. This is a nice park that I misjudged the first time I walked through it.

Thomas Jefferson Park at 2180 First Avenue in East Harlem

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/thomas-jefferson-park

The playground in the summer of 2025

Yes, the park does need some work, but it is used by the whole neighborhood. From the hoopsters to the hipsters, I saw all types in the park playing sports, working with team competitions and parents of all sorts just relaxing with their kids. Over the three-day period that I walked the neighborhood, residents just spread out, brought their lunches and snacks and relaxed.

The “El Arbol De Esperanza” sculpture in Jefferson Park

The plaque for “El Arbol De Esperanza” by artist Brower Hatcher

Artist Brower Hatcher

Brower Hatcher

Brower Hatcher is an American born artist. He attended Vanderbilt University School of Engineering in Nashville, TN and received his degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute in New York. He then studied sculpture at St. Martins School of Art in London, U.K. with Sir Anthony Caro and William Tucker. The artist is known for his life sized contemporary works (Artist bio).

Before I left Thomas Jefferson Park, I came across another piece of art that I had not noticed on my many visits to the park. The sculpture located in the middle of the park is entitled “Tomorrow’s Wind” by artist Melvin Edwards. The sculpture is made of welded steel and is tilted so that it reflects the sun. The piece was placed in the park in 1995 (NYCParks.org).

“Tomorrows Wind” in Thomas Jefferson Park

Artist Melvin Edwards

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Edwards

https://www.artsy.net/artist/melvin-edwards

Mr. Edwards is an American born artist from Texas. He is known for his known for his abstract steel sculptures. He graduated with a BFA from University of Southern California and studied at the Los Angeles Art Institute.

To save some time and the fact that the kids were out, I walked the length of 1st Avenue down to 96th Street to the new Q subway line and doubled back and walked 102nd, 105th, 106th and 110th again to the Harlem River. This is scary stuff and a word of advice to readers, please avoid this section of the city. All along 1st Avenue in this section by the river are all housing projects especially the very dangerous East River Projects.

Avoid walking around the East River Houses on First Avenue

Click to access RTR-East%20River.pdf

As I walked down both 105th and 106th Streets (the side streets on either side), I did notice that City bike was located on both sides as well as luxury condos were across the street and next door to the projects. That’s well and good but when you glance into the parking lots at 106th, you see what is happening and I swear that I may have stopped a drive-by shooting from a guy who was watching the basketball players a little too closely.

Either during the day or night, avoid these two side streets as they are considered two of the most dangerous blocks in the city (along with Lexington Avenue from 123rd to 124th Streets). Please stay away!

As I walked back up First Avenue, I noticed that surrounding these projects are many luxury condos and new stores. It is a strange mix in the same neighborhood as you can see that the neighborhood is transitioning. Still, it is not the safest part of the city.

Needing to walk off a sandwich, a slice of pizza and two bags of chips, I crossed 110th on the way to 2nd Avenue. As you walk up 2nd Avenue, you pass the rows of brownstones and prewar housing that in some cases is falling apart mixed in with sliver luxury homes and new restaurants. The lower part of 2nd Avenue is quirky until you hit 112th Street and then you are back in the Jefferson projects. To cover 113th Street, which is two small cul-de-sacs, you have to walk through the projects.

This is when I really discovered how short-changed people in the housing projects are by living here. Talk about being treated like caged animals. All the lawns are fenced in, the parks are sterile with little life due to the equipment in them, garbage that is piling up in dumpsters or in the grassy area flying around in the wind and sitting areas that are damaged.

The Martin Luther King Houses at 1 West 112th Street

Click to access King%20Towers.pdf

Because 114th Street stops at Lenox Avenue by the Martin Luther King Houses and does not start again until you exit from the Thomas Jefferson Houses by the Jefferson Park, you have to walk through the heart of the housing projects, and you begin to see a lot. Maybe it is home to a large portion of the population up here but by the designs, they are almost warehousing people in this section of the city.

Thomas Jefferson Projects in East Harlem

Click to access Jefferson.pdf

The Jefferson Houses

https://www.mapquest.com/us/new-york/nycha-jefferson-houses-661838886

About Us

There is some light to this with pocket parks off to the side of 112th Street and the Robert Wagner Playground at 120th Street. There was some life from the kids in the community as well as you see it in droves in Thomas Jefferson Park. There was some sunshine in that when you walk through the housing projects in that some residents have set up raised vegetable gardens and have planted flowers along the borders of some of the playgrounds. Kudos to these residents for bringing a personal touch to a sterile environment.

Walking both 2nd and 3rd Avenues you may have to really look but community pride does exist in these small gardens and in the community gardens on the side streets all over the area.

Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, as you walk to the 120’s, this area is also in a state of transition with a branch of the SUNY campus and housing, most of East 125th Street being knocked down and eco-friendly housing between 124th and 125th Streets across from the Wagner Houses. As you get closer to 125th Street, the whole area is being knocked down and rebuilt as is the whole shopping corridor of 125th Street. If it has not already been knocked down or renovated, it is about to be or planned to be. In about five years the whole block will look like Times Square.

The biggest renovation that I saw was the Taino Towers at 221 East 122nd Street. The whole place is being ripped apartment and renovated. It is considered Section 8 housing but after the renovation I can see it will go mixed-use and change the neighborhood again. It is a nice complex and will interesting to see one they renovate the theaters and add a health club.

The Taino Towers under renovation

https://lcnyc.com/taino-tower-housing/

I noticed interesting artwork on the side of the Taino Towers at 221 East 122nd Street. The towers had been going through a major renovation the last time I had visited the neighborhood and parts of the complex were still under scaffolding.

Artist Don Rimx painted a mural of Nuyorocan poet Jesus ‘Tato’ Laviera. The painting had been unveiled in 2017 (long after my visit to the neighborhood) and 123rd Street was renamed after the poet (Street Art NYC).

The mural of Jesus ‘Tato’ Laviera at Taito Towers at 122nd Street and Second Avenue

Artist Don Rimx

https://donrimx.com/

https://www.instagram.com/donrimx/?hl=en

Mr. Rimx was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in 2009 moved to Brooklyn and then in 2014 to Florida. He graduated from Central High School of Visual Arts and Escuela Des Arts Plasticas. He is known for his use of styles in art and culture and known for his murals (Artist Bio).

Like most of this section of the neighborhood above 120th Street, the area is mostly commercial and from previous walks in the neighborhood above 125th Street is where the bus stations are, dealerships are located, and more City buildings are rising.

My second and third day in the neighborhood, I walked the side streets. Since I had already covered 125th, 124th, 120th,116th, 114th and 110th at length, I walked the rest of the blocks in one afternoon. Who knew it was take six hours and all the interesting things I saw along the way? I started the afternoon rounding 110th Street and stopping once again at the El Chevere Cuchifrito at 2000 3rd Avenue this time visiting the bakery (See review on TripAdvisor).

El Chevere Cuchifrito at 2000 3rd Avenue

https://www.restaurantji.com/ny/new-york/el-chevere-bakery-/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12179355-Reviews-El_Chevere_Cuchifrito-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

Unlike some of their counterparts around the neighborhood, El Cheveres bakery is really good and very reasonable. I had a glazed filled doughnut for $1.00 and it really hit the spot. The glaze was so thick you could cut it with a knife and there was a large selection of baked goods. A definite spot to stop when visiting the neighborhood just for the pastilitos alone. The food here is really good and cheap. Just come knowing a little Spanish. They appreciate it even if its bad.

The bakery and savory assortment

I walked the side streets this afternoon to finish the neighborhood. There are a lot of interesting sites along the way in East Harlem. I started on 115th Street and I seemed to hit every bakery in the area. My first stop on the journey was the market under the Park Avenue underpass, La Marqueta, at Park Avenue and 115th Street to try Hot Bread Kitchen Bakery (See review on TripAdvisor-Now Closed for Business), which had been written up many times but was never open when I visited the market.

The La Marqueta Building at 1590 Park Avenue and 115th Street

https://publicmarkets.nyc/la-marqueta

The La Marqueta Market

Hot Bread Kitchen Bakery (Closed in 2018)

I tried two of their Mexican Chonco’s, which is a buttery-brioche type of muffin with either a vanilla or chocolate topping. Needing my carbs for the long walk I brought one of each ($2.00 each). Well worth it. The best part is your helping the bakery train people for a new profession and they do an excellent job.

I left the market to explore the rest of 115th Street and there are some interesting sites along the way. You have the Rodale Pleasant Community Garden at 437 114th Street that stretches to 115th by the church is an active community garden with flowers and vegetable beds. I could only see it from a distance at a distance as the gate was locked but great care I could tell went into maintaining it.

The Rodale Pleasant Park Community Garden in the Summer of 2023.

In the summer of 2023, the gates were open and I could explore it. Filled with flowering plants and trees, the garden was quite the site in the middle of August for the “Dancing of the Giglio”. People were walking in and out to relax and get away from the noise of the festival.

The Rodale Pleasant Community Garden at 437 114th Street in the Summer months

https://www.nyrp.org/gardens-and-parks/rodale-pleasant-park-community-garden

The gardens were a quiet oasis from all the noise of the festival

The unique tile designs in the gardens.

The beautiful sunflowers grace the garden in the middle of the summer.

Across the street, the famous Italian church, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is located. This church is noted for the famous dance each August when the Giglio Society does their famous “Dancing Giglio” dance carrying a giant statue of the Virgin Mary on their shoulders (along with a band). That is enough for another trip up to the neighborhood in the summer.

Dancing of the “Giglio” in East Harlem every August

The video of the lift in 2025

Read my blog on watching the Dance of the Giglio: Day Eighty-Four-The Feast of My Lady of Carmel and the Dancing of the Giglio:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/5980

The “Giglio” at the feast.

Video on the Dancing of the Giglio:

IMG_7479 (2)Download

I had also wanted to visit the National Museum for Catholic Art History which was on 115th Street in part of the church complex but it had closed a few years earlier for lack of attendance and funding. So I crisscrossed back to Park Avenue making various stops to look at churches and note menu’s on restaurants I wanted to try in the future.

The Dancing of the Giglio in 2025

The video of the Giglio:

It is really interesting to watch

The street fair in the summer of 2025

I revisited 116th Street to look over restaurants I had seen on previous days. The street is the main shopping and restaurant drag for this part of SoHA and runs pretty much the whole length of the island. It has an interesting place to eat so if you have the time take the time to walk around.

I spent most of the afternoon snacking around the neighborhood wanting to try many of the bakeries and small restaurants I came across. There are loads of reasonable places to eat for under $10.00 and if you are visiting remember to have about $10-$20.00 in ones as most of these places do not take credit cards.

One of my stops lead me to Bermudez Bakery at 1875 Lexington Avenue right off 116th Street (See review on TripAdvisor). I don’t know what I do that freaks people out so much but one of the guys who was inside called his friend from around the counter who was speaking jovial Spanish to everyone else took one look at me and spoke in more formal English. He could not have been nicer but when I turned around, all the other men inside had left the bakery. I thought that was weird.

Bermudez Bakery at 1875 Lexington Avenue

https://restaurantguru.com/Bermudez-Bakery-New-York

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12331283-Reviews-Bermudez_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

Dining on a Shoe String in NYC

The baked goods are excellent though. I had a flaky pastry with a mango jelly, but the best was their apple turnovers. They are so good, and they melt in your mouth. This bakery is a must go to. It may look dumpy on the outside, but the product speaks for itself.

The pastries here are really good!

I crossed over to 117th Street and walked from Park Avenue to the river. Outside St. Paul’s Roman Church at 113 East 117th Avenue just off Park Avenue you will find an Altar to the Virgin Mary that is very interesting. Take some time to read the plaque and look over the building. It is such a beautiful church.

St. Paul’s Church at 113 East 117th Street in East Harlem

https://stpaulchurchive.org/

Walking further down the street at the corner of 117th Street and the corner of 3rd Avenue there is an interesting mural on the side wall of a Payless Shoes store dedicated to the Island of Puerto Rico. This colorful artwork shows the strong roots of the neighborhood in the island as well as the pride these residents feel. Really look at the detail work.

Look for the Street art in the neighborhood (to the left of Chopped Cheese Delicious-since painted over 2025)

The neighborhood around Pleasant Avenue, which was the former Italian enclave is changing again as all the brownstones and apartment buildings are being sandblasted and renovated back into shape. Home to Rao’s Italian restaurant and Patsy’s original pizzeria, these blocks are still visited by tourists and residents looking for authentic Italian food. Pretty much outside these two businesses and the relationship to the churches most of the Italian heritage of the neighborhood is gone.

Between 118th and 119th Streets along Pleasant Avenue the neighborhood has created the Pleasant Village Community Garden at 342 Pleasant Avenue with a large flower garden and raised vegetable gardens in this full block garden. Many people were out that afternoon working in the garden and waved over when I was looking for it over. The residents take immense pride in the garden, and it will be interesting to see what it looks like in the middle of the summer.

Pleasant Valley Community Garden sign at 342 Pleasant Avenue

https://www.facebook.com/pleasantvillagecommunitygarden/

The inside of the garden

The inside of the gardens in the summer of 2025

The inside of the gardens in the summer of 2025

The vegetable plantings in the gardens

The plantings outside the gardens on the sidewalks

As you turn the corner on 119th Street, on the wall of River East Elementary School, the kids have painted the most interesting mural that lines the wall of the back of the school. Look over the colorful interpretation of robots. The kids painted a very whimsical mural as only kids can do.

The kids were out in full force that afternoon playing games and doing sports as they off for the spring break and I guess the parents needed to keep them occupied. All sorts of activities were keeping the kids busy, and I noticed a large police presence in the neighborhood while all of this was going on. I made another pit stop for a Coke at the Pleasant Finest Deli on the corner of Pleasant Avenue. I swear those owners are always giving me funny looks when I walked in like I am going to bust them or something.

The last part of the walk I covered 121st to 123rd Streets which is lined mostly with businesses, schools and many new apartment buildings that are going up around the new SUNY College. Most of 124th Street in this area has been rebuilt with a new eco-friendly apartment building across from the Wagner Houses, so new businesses are opening to cater to those residents as well as the whole area from 2nd Avenue to river is being ripped up and rebuilt with a renovation of he park and the extension of the esplanade along the river (the esplanade currently stops at 124th Street and is closed off with fencing). When this park is done, it should look spectacular with new lawns and the pool opened.

Word of advice if you are going to walk near Lexington Avenue between 123rd and 124th Streets, this is considered one of the two most dangerous blocks in Manhattan with two rehab clinics and a shelter on the same block.

There were three police officers hidden in a doorway in between the block and when I stopped for a Coke in a bodega on the corner of 123rd and Lexington Avenue, there were some pretty shady characters hanging out on the corner. This block is best avoided at any time of the day.

I double backed down 123rd Street and cut down 1st Avenue and 120th Street to the Wagner House Playground and saw the impressive statue of Robert Wagner Sr., who the houses were named after. Frankly, I don’t think anyone notices it or knows how important the man was in New York politics helping with housing and social security. That and being the future Mayor of New York’s father.

The statue was created by artist Georg John Lober and dedicated in 1959. Mr. Lober was originally from Chicago and studied Beaux-Arts sculpture at The Institute of Design and the National Academy of Design (Wiki).

Georg John Lober, the Executive Secretary of the New York City Municipal Arts Commission

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_J._Lober

He started working the New York City Municipal Arts Commission in 1942 until 1960 just before his death in 1961 (Wiki).

Robert Wagner Sr. Statue by the Wagner Houses by Georg John Lober

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Wagner

My last stop was for a snack at the Jamaican restaurant, Jam Hut at 2327 1st Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor-now closed) for a beef patty. These large beef patties are freshly made and rather large. Again the owners gave me a rather odd look when I ordered my food.

You think no one had ever seen a 6:3 white male in the neighborhood before. I have now spent over a month in East Harlem. I had walked every block, park and set of Housing Projects.

You think they would be used to seeing me walking around at this point.

Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:

Day Sixty-Eight: Walking the Borders of SoHA:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/3900

Day Seventy-One: Walking the Borders of SoHA:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/4303

Day Seventy-Three: Walking the Borders of SoHA/East Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/4798

Day Seventy-Five: Walking the Avenues of Spanish Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/5066

Day Seventy-Eight: Walking the Streets of East Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/5529

Places to Visit:

Thomas Jefferson Park

2180 First Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/thomas-jefferson-park

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-10:00pm

Rodale Pleasant Community Garden

437 East 114th Street

New York, NY 10029

https://www.nyrp.org/gardens-and-parks/rodale-pleasant-park-community-garden

https://greenthumb.nycgovparks.org/gardensearch.php

Pleasant Valley Community Garden

342 Pleasant Avenue

New York, NY 10035

https://livinglotsnyc.org/lot/1016220050/

Open: See website

Urban Garden Center

1640 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10035

(212) 872-3991

Open: Sunday-Saturday 7:00am-9:00pm

https://www.urbangardennyc.com/

https://www.facebook.com/urbangardennyc/

La Marqueta Marketplace

1590 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10035

(212) 534-4900

Open: Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm/Monday-Saturday 8:00am-5:00pm

https://edc.nyc/la-marqueta

https://www.facebook.com/lamarquetanyc/

Places to Eat:

The Taste of Harlem-Chopped Cheese Delicious (Haiji’s)

2135 1st Avenue & 110th Street

NYC, NY 10029

(646) 632-7488

Open 24 hours

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12328617-Reviews-Blue_Sky_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/74

El Chevere Cuchifrito

2000 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 427-9352

Open: Sunday-Saturday 8:00am-7:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12179355-Reviews-El_Chevere_Cuchifrito-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Hot Bread Kitchen Bakery (Now Closed)

1590 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10029

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4921122-Reviews-Hot_Bread_Kitchen-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Bermudez Bakery

1875 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10035

(212) 427-2877

Open: Sunday 5:00am-5:00pm/Monday-Friday 5:00am-6:00pm/Saturday 5:00am-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12331283-Reviews-Bermudez_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/1693

Pleasant Finest Deli

375 Pleasant Avenue

New York, NY 10035

(212) 348-6666

Open: Sunday-Saturday 24 hours

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12379766-Reviews-Pleasant_Finest_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Patsy’s East Harlem

2287 First Avenue

New York, NY 10035

(212) 534-9783

https://www.thepatsyspizza.com/

Open: Sunday 11:30am-12:00pm/Monday-Thursday 11:00am-11:00pm/Friday & Saturday 11:00am-12:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d457168-Reviews-Patsy_s_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Jam Hut (Closed 2018)

2327 First Avenue

New York, NY 10035

(212) 860-2253

Open: Sunday-Saturday 12:00pm-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12331273-Reviews-Jam_Hut-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The selection of baked goods in a restaurant in Spanish Harlem

Day Sixty-Seven: Exploring SoHA (South of Harlem: Morningside Heights, South Harlem & Spanish Harlem) from 125th Street to 110th Street from river to river February 22, 2017 (again June 21st, 2025)

March 1, 2017Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Chinese Restaurants for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring East Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring Morningside Heights in Manhattan, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring SoHA (South of Harlem), Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Gourmet restaurants for the budget minded, Historic New York City neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, The Great Saunter Walk-The Entire Manhattan, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver, diningonashoestringinnyc, El Chevere Cuchifrios, Exploring East Harlem, Exploring Harlem, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Morningside Heights, Exploring NoHA, Exploring SoHA, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Harlem, Hunan Chen's Kitchen, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Lehman Houses NYC, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Morningside Heights, Mount Morris Park, MywalkinManhattan.com, Professor Justin Watral, Professor Justin Watrel, Professor Warren Watrel, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Manhattan, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I started the day walking 125th Street again on a beautiful sunny February day. It must have been 62 degrees out, sunny and glorious. The kids in the city like in the suburbs were off from school for the winter break, so everyone was outside in the parks enjoying the warm weather. The streets were crowded with people walking their dogs, students from Colombia walking around between classes and neighborhood children playing football and baseball in the parks.

With all the area above 125th finally complete, I have started to walk the neighborhoods below traditional Harlem and above the Upper East and West sides. Morningside Heights is the area bordered by Morningside Avenue to 110th to 125th to Riverside Square Park, South Harlem is from Fredrick Douglas Boulevard, South Harlem is bordered again from Fredrick Douglas Boulevard to Fifth Avenue from 110th to 125th Streets and Spanish Harlem from 5th Avenue to FDR Drive from 110th to 125th Streets. So this time to make it easier I have broken it up into three sections to do the walk.

I started the walk today at 125th Street at Morningside Avenue walking shoppers and tourists milling around the shopping district at 125th Street. The whole shopping district is going through a transformation from old cut-rate stores and family businesses to a series of chain restaurants, stores and gyms. Every business you find in a suburban strip mall are coming to Harlem from TJMax and Rainbow to Red Lobster and Olive Garden. It is pretty shocking how fast it has changed but even more how the flavor of the area is being adjusted to tourism.

The famous Apollo Theater is surrounded by Red Lobster and Whole Foods now

https://www.apollotheaters.org/

Another surprising aspect of the neighborhood is how nice it has gotten. Gone are the days that Colombia University had to practically erect walls to keep the neighborhood out. Colombia students like their fellow SUNY students thirty blocks up are starting to move in and take over this neighborhood. The South Harlem area is awash with scaffolding of people renovating the buildings and new restaurants and shops.

Morningside Park, which pretty much is the traditional border between the university and Harlem has been renovated over the past twenty years and is no longer the dismal overgrown park that you would get mugged in if you entered. My dad went to Colombia in the 60’s and my cousin in the 80’s and in those years, you would never enter the park. In 1993-95, the park was renovated and had new plantings and equipment installed in the park, giving it the same cheerful appearance of any other park in the city. Does it have it’s share of problems still? Like any park in New York City after dusk, you have to watch yourself.

Morningside Park near Columbia University

Because of the weather being so warm at this time, the park was being spruced up with park employees raking and cleaning up the beds and lawns. The garbage was being picked up as well and the park looked clean and well planted. With it being February, not much is in bloom but you can see where tulips and daffodils are starting to pop up in the soil. Lots of people were jogging in the park, walking with baby carriages or playing sports. A far cry from the needle and crack cocaine days in the 80’s. You can see the new landscaping and water features that have been created in the park and at dusk the lights actually work.

Morningside Park in bloom in the late Winter.

I traveled down the road planning on visiting the park again in more detail. I turned at 110th Street and walked the entire length of 110th from west side to east side and talk about a street of extremes. As you walk towards Riverside Park, you have Colombia to the north and the very top of the Upper West Side to the south. The buildings on this side of West 110th have been sandblasted back to their original elegance and from what I can see of the residents had never really gone down hill with the rest of the neighborhood.

Riverside Park by 110th Street

Amsterdam Avenue north of 110th Street has some interesting restaurants that I will need to try and I am discovering the holes in the wall that must cater to the students. Many have reasonable lunch specials and some have creative menus. I stopped in Riverside Park for a bit to relax before the long walk and the park was busy with nannies and mother’s with their kids in the 110th Street Tot Playground. The place was teaming with toddlers having a good time. The park still has not had the hint of Spring but having traveled this area last summer, it is a beautiful park when in bloom.

I walked down to Columbus Avenue and walked around the newly planted park area and discovered Hunan Chen’s Kitchen, a tiny hole in the wall restaurant at 1003 A Columbus Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor and on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). This little restaurant has only one table and is so small you can barely turn around. What is lacks in atmosphere, it makes up in food and service.

Hunan Chen Kitchen off 110th Street at 1003A Columbus Avenue (Closed 2020)

The restaurant is now Dragon 109 but the prices are much higher than before

https://www.facebook.com/dragon109ny

The lady who works the counter could not have been friendlier and accommodating. The prices were so cheap that you can order a nice meal for under $10.00 that could feed two people and for $5.00 you can buy a nice snack in their appetizer and soup section. I ordered an eggroll and a pint of Roast Pork Lo Mein. I must have gotten a pound of Lo Mein that was steaming hot and loaded with roast pork. It was delicious and well seasoned. The eggroll could have had more roast pork in it but was still plump and well-cooked.

I was able to eat in on the benches in Morningside Park at the entrance at 110th Street. It was nice to people watch on a warm day and fun to see the students finally utilizing the park for pleasure.

Their Roast Pork Lo Mein with egg roll is the best!

After lunch, it was a the long walk to the northern stretches of Central Park and the Harlem Meer. This section of the park was packed with people. Seniors were fishing in the Meer (lake) and the kids were playing in the playground by the Lenox Avenue entrance. This area had been replanted and fixed in the late 90’s and again in the early 2000’s by the city with the help of the Central Park Conservatory. People were taking pictures of the ducks or chasing the pigeons around the park.

The Charles A. Dana Discover Center and the Harlem Meer

https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/charles-a-dana-discovery-center

I had an interesting afternoon at the Charles A. Dana Discover Center located on the Meer and reading how the area was so influential in the Revolutionary War. Much of the battles had taken place in this area and the forts were located right in the park boundaries. The Battle of Harlem was not far from this spot and it was amazing how the area went back to nature once the war was over.

The Harlem Meer with the Dana Center in the background

https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/harlem-meer

https://www.nycgovparks.org/park-features/central-park/the-davis-center

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d291434-Reviews-Harlem_Meer-New_York_City_New_York.html

The Harlem Meer in the late afternoon

The panels tell the story of the area and you should take about an hour and really read about the areas part in the war. On such a beautiful day the park really sparkled and it looked like a lot of adults were playing hooky on such a nice day.

The Harlem Meer and Fifth Avenue

Crossing Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue is the start of the extremes of 110th Street. You will pass what was once public housing but looks like it is going ‘market rate’ with renovations and once you pass the border of Madison Avenue, you will enter Spanish Harlem and a series of public housing projects. Again this area was alive with people but the mood of the area is completely different.

The Lehman Village Houses

The Spanish influence was all over the place. On the walls of the stores and in the restaurants and signs as well as the music. There must be at least four or five housing projects in this area in various degrees of maintenance. Some were well maintained like by the Lehman Houses. By the Houses, it got a little scary. I would not venture in that area at night. At the end of 110th Street, you have the East River Houses, that look like a more pleasant middle-class looking development.

Lehman Houses (be careful walking around them)

Click to access Lehman.pdf

I walked around Thomas Jefferson Park, a space of green that needs a serious renovation. The park could use a little sprucing up from what I could see. I did not want to enter the basketball grounds due to a scary looking group of teens and walked around the edges of the park. Just south of the park on New Street, Zip Car seems to have their headquarters and the whole lot is lined with cars.

Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem

The funny part about 110th street in this area is that it is dotted with new housing, bars and restaurants. The 20 year old set is starting to move into this area. On a rather seedy stretch of 110th, I was always looking over my shoulder until I saw some 20 year old ‘hipster’ with shorts on and an expensive iPhone playing that I felt like a jerk. Either I was the one worrying or he was putting himself at risk.

I stopped for a snack at El Chevere Cuchifritos, a Spanish restaurant, take-out place and bakery at 2000 Third Avenue for some pastilitoes. I ordered them with my broken Spanish which seemed to pass fine as the woman waiting on me understood what I said. I ordered a chicken and beef but got a cheese and they were good but not as good as some I have had in Washington Heights. They are reasonable at $1.50 each and very fresh. They have a nice selection of reasonable hot foods to take out and I just munched on them on the trip back up 110th to Fifth Avenue.

El Chevere Cuchifrito Bakery at 2000 Third Avenue

Fifth Avenue from 110th to 125th Streets was where I was lining my walk to concentrate in this area. I walked up and down Fifth Avenue to Marcus Garvey Park and walked around the park which was packed with people walking their dogs by the dog park and kids playing in the playground. Even though the avenue is lined with public housing, the area is dotted with new developments especially on the north and west parts of the park.

Marcus Garvey Park (Mount Morris Park)

The west side of Marcus Garvey Park is the Mount Morris Historical Area. This stretches from about 124th Street to 118th Street and has the most beautiful and graceful brownstones the line the side streets by the park. This area like the rest of Harlem is being sandblasted and renovated back to an earlier era and people are snatching up these homes.

Mount Morris Historical District

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Morris_Park_Historic_District

Expanding Historic District Boundaries- Mount Morris Park

I finished this park of the walk by walking down Fifth Avenue through the Taft Homes that line the streets and back down 110th and back up Morningside Avenue and then down Manhattan Avenue to finish off the walk for this part of the visit to the area.

This is a huge area to cover so I will be breaking the visit down into three sections to really see what the neighborhood has to see and offer. I have already walked the boarders of 125th Street and 110th Street and will continue on to do the avenues first and then the side streets. So join me as we explore the newest in ‘hip’ areas, SoHA.

Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:

Day Sixty-Eight: Walking the Borders of SoHA:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/3900

Day Seventy-One: Walking the Borders of SoHA:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/4303

Day Seventy-Three: Walking the Borders of SoHA/East Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/4798

Day Seventy-Five: Walking the Avenues of Spanish Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/5066

Day Seventy-Eight: Walking the Streets of East Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/5529

Places to Visit:

Mount Morris Park (Marcus Garvey Park)/Historic District

120th to 124th Street by Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 639-9675

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-10:00pm

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/marcus-garvey-park

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Morris_Park_Historic_District

Thomas Jefferson Park

2180 First Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 639-9675

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-10:00pm

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/thomas-jefferson-park

Harlem Meer/Charles A Dana Discovery Center

Central Park North

New York, NY 10029

(212) 860-1370

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm

http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/harlem-meer.html

https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/harlem-meer/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d291434-Reviews-Harlem_Meer-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d4563063-Reviews-Charles_A_Dana_Discovery_Center-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Eat:

Hunan Chen’s (Closed 2020)

1003 Columbus Avenue Store A

New York, NY 10025

(212) 222-1118

Open: Sunday 12:00pm-10:30pm/Monday-Thursday 11:00am-10:30pm/Friday & Saturday 11:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4980909-Reviews-Hunan_Chen_s_Kitchen-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/24

El Chevere Cuchifritos

2000 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 427-3952

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12179355-Reviews-El_Chevere_Cuchifrito-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Day Fifty-Four: Walking ‘NoHA’ North of Harlem, Manhattanville and Hamilton Heights from West 141st to West 125th Street West of St. Nicolas Park and the length of West 127th, 126th and 125th Streets. September 6th-10th, 2016 (Revisited June 9th and 27th, 2024).

October 3, 2016Bakeries for the budget minded, Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring Morningside Heights in Manhattan, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NoHA (North of Harlem), Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights in Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Hamilton Heights, Exploring Harlem, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattanvile, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NoHA, Exploring SoHA, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, Manhattanville, MywalkinManhattan.com, NoHA, Visiting Harlem, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

It has taken several days to walk NoHA (North of Harlem), whatever that means. The realtors in New York get a great joy out of naming areas of the city so that real estate prices can go up. NoHA is pretty much everything from 155th Street to 125th Street from river to river (that being broken into Hamilton Heights from 145th Street to 125th Street west of St. Nicolas Park and then below 125th until 110th Street is Morningside Heights) and SoHA is everything from 125th Street to 110th Street.

Then on the West Side it is known as the Upper Upper West Side until you hit 96th Street and on the East Side it is Spanish Harlem (that is slowly changing as well) until you hit 96th Street then you’re in Yorkville. The Upper East Side starts traditionally on 86th Street. Don’t forget Manhattanville right above Morningside Heights and below Hamilton Heights. I still think the arty crowd calls it NoHA

Most of my days were spent on the on the west side of CUNY campus, which stretches from 141st Street to 130th Street. St. Nicholas Park sits next to the campus and stretches from 141st Street to 127th Street and pretty much cuts the West Side from the East Side of Harlem. Again like the rest of my walk, this area is in heavy transition because of the college and the investment both the college and the city have made in this area.

The gentrifying neighborhoods around CUNY on Covent Avenue.

When I started the walk in this neighborhood, CUNY was out for the summer but as school started, the areas parks, restaurants and streets bustled with student activity. Many of the streets, especially Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, were beginning to be lined with new bars, restaurants and shops catering to the students and new locals. There is a big difference between the bodega customer and the bar customer as I found out everyone time, I entered one.

The Entrance to the CUNY Campus in Hamilton Heights

https://www.ccny.cuny.edu

My first day walking around was extremely humid and not exactly the best day to walk but I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. The biggest issue with this area is that the side streets on the west side of St. Nicholas Park are very hilly, a reminder again that Manhattan was not flat to begin with when they were laying out the grid. Walking up and down those hills especially by Riverside Park can take a lot out of you. I was a pool of sweat as I finished walking up and down this part of the neighborhood. The nice part of being so close to campus are the numerous numbers of bodegas in the area. There is a cool drink and a quick snack always close by.

Over a period of four days, I covered a lot of territory in the neighborhood. My walk took me from elegant brownstones to some pretty shady areas that I would avoid like the plague. There are just some parts of these neighborhoods that I am sure that the residents avoid.

The Morris-Jumel Historical District

Most of the streets west of the CUNY campus are very beautiful especially close to the campus, the streets that line Riverside Park and many of the homes that surround Convent Avenue just north of campus. You will find some of the gorgeous townhouses and apartment buildings line the streets of Convert and Nicholas Place with their sandblasted fronts with potted plants and decorations for the upcoming Halloween season. This once exclusive area is becoming exclusive once again.

The Brownstone neighborhoods are so beautiful at Halloween

There are even faces staring back at you from the buildings.

The nice part about the CUNY campus in the summer is that there are not many students on campus during the summer break. I was able to relax on the campus lawn and the security guards left me alone. They probably thought I was a returning student or a professor on an afternoon break. I was so sweaty and tired from walking all around the campus, I fell asleep for while in one of the chairs that was out on the patio in the middle of campus. During the quiet summer, it is a nice place to relax.

St. Nicolas Park just below the CUNY campus

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/st-nicholas-park

The entrance to St. Nicholas Park

One of the nicest surprises in the area was the Hamilton Grange, the home of Alexander Hamilton and his family during the summer months. Back then, Harlem was the countryside for people living and working in lower Manhattan and many wealthy patrons-built country homes in this area. He lived here in the summer months with his wife, Elizabeth (nee Schuyler) and their eight children. After his time in the military, he worked as a lawyer in New York City and working for the federal government.

The Hamilton Grange by the CUNY Campus

https://www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm

After his death in 1804 when dueling with Aaron Burr, Elizabeth and her children stayed in the house. Elizabeth had helped start an orphanage among other interests and stayed in the house well into her 80’s. At age 91, she went to live with one of her daughters in Washington DC and died in 1854 at the age of 97. The house had sat neglected into recent times and it was bought by one of the local churches as part of their property. The house has since been moved three times and is still going through a restoration (Wiki and Hamilton Grange History). The grounds were being worked on my volunteers during the time of my visit.

Elizabeth Schuyler, the widow of Alexander Hamilton

https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/elizabeth-schuyler-hamilton

I went in on a weekend where the house was open for tours to the public and I got to tour the first floor at my own pace. The bottom level is a history timeline of Hamilton’s life and accomplishments plus information on the house. There is a short movie to see and if you do not know much about Alexander Hamilton’s life, you will learn it here.

The entrance area of the Hamilton Grange

The Information Room on the lower level of the Hamilton Grange.

The Entrance Hall

The portrait of Alexander Hamilton

The Alexander Hamilton bust

The upstairs is the only place you can tour and there are only a few rooms to see. The parlor room, dining room and living room are all done in period furnishings and the hallway has been renovated in period look.

The Hamilton Grange office area

The whole tour will take about a half hour. Since the musical ‘Hamilton’ came out, the tours have been fourfold at the house so take that into consideration when visiting the Grange. It is located at 414 West 141st Street.

Hamilton Grange Living Room

The Living Room in the early afternoon

The Dining Room

The Dining Room

The Dining Room Table

The house is located at the very tip of St. Nichols Park right next to the CUNY campus. Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of the students sunning themselves in the park while you are there. Be sure to take your time touring the homes along Hamilton Terrace and Convent Avenue. There are some beautiful brownstones to look at around the Grange.

St. Nicholas Park right behind the Hamilton Grange

Touring in St. Nichols Park is interesting. The summer students used the hills on the side of campus to sun themselves, read, do homework and converse with their friends and classmates while the neighborhood kids played basketball and hung out. It was a real hodgepodge of people in the park the many afternoons that I was there. Between Jackie Robinson Park and St. Nichols Park, I don’t see the local college students too intimidated by the surrounding neighborhood.

The St. Nicholas Park hill where students like to hang out

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/st-nicholas-park

They seem to be spreading out into it. One thing not to miss is the old Croton Aqueduct which has been turned into the Harlem Stage at the Gate House at 150 Convent Avenue at 135th Street. This beautiful building was built between 1884-1890 and is now a theater. This used to regulate the amount of water flowing underground. The little park surrounding it is nice for a break as well.

The Croton Aqueduct building at 135th Street

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croton_Aqueduct

The historical plaques of the Croton Aqueduct

The lower sections of the park and the college give way to a fast-gentrifying neighborhood where many seniors hang out on benches outside the park and talk while the summer students entertain their family and friends in many of the new restaurants lining Amsterdam Avenue. On a warm summer night, there are a lot of people conversing in the outdoor cafes. This area is extremely hilly so take plenty of time to walk up and down the hills. Most of this section between Broadway and the river, you will be walking up and down the roads and will get a big work out.

The Morris-Jumel Community Garden at 457 West 162 Street

https://www.grownyc.org/openspace/gardens/man/jumel

https://www.facebook.com/MorrisJumelGarden/

https://morrisjumelcommunitygarden.wordpress.com/

The Morris-Jumel Community Garden in the Spring of 2024.

The Morris-Jumel Community Garden.

As you west of the campus toward the river, most of the blocks west of Broadway are lined with elegant pre-war apartment buildings whose residents are a cross section of Hispanic families, young Yuppie couples and depending on the block, older couples who like to walk their dogs. These buildings lining Riverside Park like everything else in this part of the city are under scaffolding and some in the process of sandblasting. The closer you get to Riverside Park and to Columbia University, the nicer it gets.

The brownstones lining Covent Avenue

One great stop for a snack is Las Americas Bakery on the corner of 136th Street and Broadway right by the subway station (See review on TripAdvisor). The guava flips, apple turnovers and doughnuts are really good and are only $2.00. Load up on carbs here for your walk and remember the bottled water.

Las Americas Bakery was at 3362 Broadway (closed 2019)

When you reach 125th Street on this side of Manhattan, it really becomes the tale of two cities as Columbia University starts to dominate this side of the island. The new extension of the campus is being built between 125th Street and 133rd Street, west of Broadway to the river. This is all across from a major housing project. These glossy new buildings give an entirely new look to the area and the irony is that the famous Cotton Club which sits on a island between 125th and 129th on the break in the street grid, sits isolated now with the campus being built around it. There is a Dinosaur Barbecue restaurant next door and a Fairway supermarket up the road. 12th Avenue is lined with new restaurants and bars and the city has renovated this part of the park.

The Cotton Club is in a obscure spot under the subway

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Dance—Night-Club/Cotton-Club-153672974700821

West Harlem Pier Park offers the most spectacular views of New Jersey and the extension of Riverside Park that lies ahead. On a sunny warm day, it is a great place to relax and enjoy the view. Many residents and students alike are biking, sunning themselves, fishing or just sitting enjoying the amazing view on a sunny day. The park has been replanted with paths and places to sit and look at the river. It will be even more utilized once the new college buildings open up.

West Harlem Piers Park is at the end of 125th Street next to the new Columbia campus extension

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/west-harlem-piers

The park in early May.

The area across Broadway is one of the larger housing complexes and seems to be going though its own renovations. The Manhattanville Houses dominate around from 133rd Street to the 126th and 127th grid that changes above 125th Street. The streets do get a little choppy in this area and skip around due to the projects that dominate in this area. Just do yourself a favor and avoid Old Broadway between 133rd and 131st Street at night. It is a little shady after twilight with too many places to hid.

The Manhattanville Houses sit in a quickly changing area

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NYCHA-Manhattanville-Houses/155849952023323

Click to access Manhattanville.pdf

This side of Amsterdam Avenue is going through its own type of renovation as warehouses are becoming loft and studios and many of the old-time businesses along this stretch of 125th, 126th and 127th are starting to change hands and many chain stores are moving in. It so weird to see an IHOP right next to the projects but it is a reasonable restaurant and the neighborhood deserves to have the same comforts as the rest of the city.

The longest part of this part of the walk was the walk back and forth on 125th, 126th and 127th Streets. Going back and forth from one side of the island to another takes a lot of time and be prepared for not just a walk but a big transition in neighborhood in just a few blocks.

CUNY and Columbia Universities are having their presence known in the blocks between Amsterdam to Fredrick Douglas Boulevard between 131st to 125th Streets. Most of the apartment buildings that I saw at afternoon time had anxious students running out the doors. 126th and 127th Streets between 7th Avenue and Park Avenue are mostly lined with old brownstones which are quickly getting scooped up and renovated. This was one of the nicest surprises as the brownstones are very elegant. This neighborhood I noticed is a very mixed neighborhood of white and black residents that seem to look out for one another.

As I walked these many blocks, I would see residents conversing with one another and stop to watch me walk by as if to say, ‘what are you doing here’? I see that a lot in this area of the city. Most of the homes have been sandblasted and were being decorated for the fall. In between many of the homes, new smaller apartment buildings are being tucked in between and look quite expensive. Here and there, there are brownstones that have not been fixed up yet but give them time as the middle-class residents in this part of the neighborhood don’t look like they would stand for it. They won’t stay that way long.

The scariest part of the neighborhood is the area from Lexington Avenue between 131st Street to 125th Street surrounded on all side by the Harlem River. This area is mostly commercial with two bus depots, a health orientated building going up and a dealership. The walking on sidewalks in this area is awkward with not much places to cross. Projects dominate between Park and Lexington Avenues and as I walked the short blocks by the parks, I really stood out with many residents looking me over as I walked up Lexington Avenue, walking over the 3rd Avenue Bridge and looking over the kid’s playing soccer and football.

Even though there are loads of kids in these parks after school and parents are all over place, I would give you a safe bet to avoid this small corner of the city at any other time of the day. I walked down 128th Street to 7th Avenue and then crossed over to 129th Street to walk through the Saint Nichols Houses to get back to Fredrick Douglas Boulevard.

St. Nicholas Houses

https://www.stnicholashouses.org

It was a very busy evening with people coming home from work and families yelling at one another. The saddest thing I saw was a small group of brownstones sitting across from a school on the project property, sitting empty and falling apart. The poor things looked sad as I don’t know how many people would want to buy a dilapidated brownstone across from a busy school. I rounded the small blocks of 129th, 128th and 127th Streets that lie between Fredrick Douglas Boulevard and the park.

The weird juxtapose of this area is that new hip restaurants are opening in this area right across from the projects and these homes again seem to be dominated by a mix of locals and college students. I cut through the park on a hilly path on 128th Street to finish walking 128th, 129th and 130th Streets below the campus. Be prepared to be long winded after this part of the walk as you are going up and down hills. This section was my best work out since the streets by Riverside Park.

This area gives you the perspective that Manhattan is definitely not flat. Also, when walking down the stairs on 129th Street by the warehouses, plan to do this during the day. Again not a great area to walk alone at twilight. As I said before, most people left me alone but kept looking me over.

My last stop of the evening was dinner at Sylvia’s Soul Food Restaurant at 328 Malcolm X Boulevard. This meant walking from the hills of 128th Street down to 126th Street and crossing over to 125th Street. That alone was a long walk.

Sylvia’s at 328 Malcolm X Boulevard

Home

I was not thrilled by the food as much as I was by Charles Southern Fried Chicken or Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread. Maybe it was the sheer exhaustion I felt from all the walking or when I was finally able to relax or the pitcher of the overly sweet, iced tea but by the time I got my food, I was feeling nauseous. I had ordered the Fried Chicken Dinner which was two pieces of white meat with mac & cheese and candied yams on the side. It just didn’t strike me as being as good as the other restaurants in the area. I remember on of my professors who took us on a tour here years ago saying it had gotten very commercial. I could see why.

The chicken dinners at Sylvia’s are over-rated or I just hit a bad night

Most of the clientele that night was white and mostly touristy looking people who could not get into the very busy Red Rooster down the road. The Fried chicken was crisp on the outside and chewy and dry on the inside. The candied yams and mac & cheese tasted like it had been made in batches and were warmed up. It’s not that it wasn’t good, but I expected more from it. The food was average.

What it lacked in the quality of food, it made up in service as the waitress handled the whole room by herself and could not have been more professional and friendly (see review on TripAdvisor). Needless to say, that the manager of Sylvia’s was not the happiest with my review. Oh well, it was an experience anyway. I had wanted to try the restaurant for years.

Overall, this area of the city will take you through a real difference in neighborhood sites, from projects to brownstones from historical through commercial. Sometimes right next to one another. Like any place else in the city, it is going through the ‘change’ and won’t stay the same for very long. You can see the transition going on around you.

Just be prepared to walk up and down hills.

Places to Visit:

St. Nicolas Park

St. Nicholas Avenue and St. Nicholas Terrace

New York, NY 10030

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/st-nicholas-park

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-10:00pm

West Harlem Piers Park

Marginal Street and East 132nd Street

New York, NY 10027

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/west-harlem-piers

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-1:00am

The Hamilton Grange

414 West 141st Street

New York, NY 10031

(646) 548-2310

http://www.nps.gov/hagr

Hours: Wednesday-Sunday-9:00am-5:00pm/Closed Monday-Tuesday

Fee: Donation

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d105813-Reviews-Hamilton_Grange_National_Memorial-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/20

Places to Eat:

Las Americas Bakery (now closed)

3362 Broadway

New York, NY 10031

(212) 234-7715

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4986794-Reviews-Las_Americas_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Sylvia’s Soul Food

328 Malcolm X Boulevard

New York, NY

212-996-0660

Home

Menu

Open: Sunday 11:00am-8:00pm/Monday & Tuesday 11:00am-10:30pm/Wednesday-Saturday 9:00am-10:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d426044-Reviews-Sylvia_s_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

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Day Fifty-One: Walking in Harlem on the East & West Side 155th Street to 145th Street between Broadway and Edgecombe Avenue August 8th, 10th and 11th, 2016 (again on June 27th, 2024)

August 12, 2016Bakeries for the budget minded, Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring East Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Morningside Heights in Manhattan, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NoHA (North of Harlem), Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights in Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Bakeries, Interesting Pizzerias in Manhattan, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Convent Garden, diningonashoestringinnyc, Estrella Bakery, Exploring Harlem, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Five Star Estrella Bakery, Harlem, Hispanic Society Museum & Library, Hope Stevens Garden, Jackie Robinson Park at 148th Street, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Maggie's Garden, MywalkinManhattan.com, New York City, NYC, Sugar Hill Neighborhood, Upper Manhattan, Victorio's Pizza, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I finally finished my two Brooklyn tours through school and was back up in Harlem today. It was a long day of walking as those city blocks across are long. I started at the subway stop at 168th Street and walked down to 155th Street (the subway was not running to 155th Street over the weekend).

As usual when I have to walk down Broadway, I stopped at my new favorite bakery, Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway (check out the numerous reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for chicken pastelitos and cubanitos.

The pastries at Five Star Estrella Bakery are wonderful

If you like hot snacks and sweet desserts, this will be your ‘go to’ place for a quick snack when walking up here. The food here is wonderful and the selection of baked items and snacks is extensive. It is still one of the reasons why I don’t complain about getting off at 168th Street when the C subway is not in service. I like to stop at one of the pocket parks on Broadway to relax and eat. It was a long afternoon of walking.

Don’t miss Five Star Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway

https://www.instagram.com/5_estrella_bakery/?hl=en

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4416394-Reviews-5_Estrellas_Bakery_Cafe-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My walk over these three days took me from 155th Street to 145th Street from Riverside Drive to Lenox Avenue (there are still some side streets on the other side of Jackie Robinson Park that I have not finished yet). Don’t let these maps fool you, these are long blocks being walked in humid weather.

I started my walk today at the Hispanic Society of America Museum at 613 West 155th Street which is on the Boricua College-Manhattan Campus. It shares the campus with the American Academy of Arts & Letters, which closed down in June for the rest of the summer. The Hispanic Society of America is a free museum that is small enough that you can enjoy the visit for about an hour without being overwhelmed like you would at one of the bigger museums.

The Hispanic Society of America at 613 West 155 Street

It was a small but no less impressive collection of Spanish Art from different periods. The Hispanic Society of America was founded as a free museum and research library in 1904 by the American scholar and philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington (1870-1955). Over the past century, the Hispanic Society had promoted the study of the rich artistic and cultural traditions of Spain and Portugal and their areas of influence in the Americas and throughout the world. The Museum and Library constitute the most extensive collection of Hispanic are and literature outside Spain and Latin America (Hispanic Society of America literature).

The front galleries

The museum had a nice crowd that afternoon, (how these people found it I will never know. I never knew it existed) and the galleries were small but the work was impressive. Some of the pieces that stood out were Jouquin Sorallo y Bastida’s ‘Vision of Spain’ created between 1911-1919, with many traditional views of parts of Spain and ‘After the Bath’ done in 1908, which looked more like a contemporary beach scene.

The portrait gallery

The one piece that stuck in my mind was a new piece to the collection, ‘The Four Fates of the Soul’, which showed Death, Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. The sculpture really proved it’s point and made me think that we really are being watched from above. Even the guard as I was leaving said it was a new piece to the collection but people really talked about it as they were leaving.

I thought this painting was a bit creepy

After the museum, I had about ten minutes to walk around Trinity Cemetery, which is a quiet but scenic place. On a nice sunny afternoon, it can be an interesting place to tour around in.

Trinity Church Cemetery George Washington plaque

https://trinitywallstreet.org/cemetery-mausoleum

The Broadway entrance to the cemeter

The graves on this side of Broadway overlook the Hudson River and are so peaceful with beautiful views, it makes you think of where you want your final resting place to be located. To live eternity here says something. Even the views of New Jersey are gorgeous. Be sure to get to the museum and the grave site early as they do close at 4:00pm.

Trinity Cemetery on 155th Street

I began my zig-zag trip of this part of Harlem at 154 Street and from there until 145th Street, the areas between Riverside Drive and Edgecombe Avenue house some of the most beautiful and elegant brownstones that I have seen in the city. So many of the them are under scaffolding as the new population moving up here is putting a lot of money into the renovations of these properties. The results are amazing with wooden doors, elegant metal work cleaned up and lively planters all around the stairs and the windows.

Sugar Hill Neighborhood

Fabulous Harlem, The Sweet History Of Sugar Hill

With the CUNY campus just south of this area, you can see that college population is spreading its wings all over the neighborhood as the students, even in the summer, are moving in or living in this neighborhood and invest in buying in the bodegas, restaurants and hanging around the parks. The more diverse population looks like it is really making an effort to work together for this neighborhood. The most beautiful of these blocks is concentrated between Amsterdam Avenue and Nicholas Street so take time to really look at these homes and see the love and care that is put into them.

Jackie Robinson Park where the students hang out.

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jackie-robinson-park_manhattan

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d21085366-Reviews-Jackie_Robinson_Park-New_York_City_New_York.html

The front of Jackie Robinson Park

Another stop I made was in the Hope Steven Garden at 153rd Street that runs through 152nd Street. This was an empty lot between all the buildings that has now been cleaned up and the neighborhood held their Annual Open House & Barbecue for the neighborhood. It was not much of a turnout at that point of the afternoon but all the neighborhood seniors looked at me like ‘oh oh, another one is moving in’. You begin to pick up on these things when you walk through neighborhoods that have not seen me before.

Hope Steven Garden at 505 West 142nd Street

Everyone was really nice though and some of the ladies were explaining how the neighborhood banded together to clean and landscape the garden. The garden now contains peach trees, berry bushes and a grape arbor while supporting a cat colony that lives in the garden. Some of the neighbors were grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and older residents were chatting amongst themselves. No one made a fuss about me eating and since I was not hungry, I did not partake in the barbecue but it looked pretty good.

Most of the residents sat around and chatted with their neighbors or busy working in the garden. As I sat down to rest, two of the women who volunteer here, looked like they wanted to recruit me to do the same as they told me the story of how the city’s water aqueduct runs underneath the garden so they can never build here and how bad the neighborhood had become and how it was coming back to life. It takes a big person to show the immense pride in a neighborhood.

I stopped back in Convent Garden again to visit Ms. Davis, who was chatting the afternoon away while getting her exercise working in their garden. She was telling me that they will be having a jazz concert with food on Labor Day Weekend and invited me to join in. This I don’t want to miss as it is my two favorite things, jazz music and food. The volunteers were really working away at making this garden the well maintained and colorful place that the garden is to the neighborhood. Everything is in full bloom right now.

Convent Garden in full bloom at Convent Street and St. Nicholas Avenue

The Sugar Hill neighborhood is really impressive and you could see that this was not one of the places that went downhill as the rest of Harlem decayed in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. It was and still is an grand group of homes that their owners take a lot of pride in. Now that the rest of the city has caught up with it, it will be interesting to see what comes out of it the next few years.

Maggie’s Garden is now part of the NYC Parks system

Another small oasis exists on 149th Street, which is Maggie’s Garden. It was locked at the time but also another garden taken from an empty lot and brought back to life. Maggie Burnett, are Harlem resident, turned what was once a ‘rickety old house’ when torn down into an urban oasis starting in 1974.

Fighting off drug dealers to build the garden, she got some help from New York Restoration Project and its founder, Bette Midler who assisted in 1999 helping clear the site and now it is a garden with trees, flowers, a full vegetable garden and a barbecue. You could not see all that from the locked gates. (Daily News article).

Maggie’s Garden at 564 West 149th Street

The artwork in front of Maggie’s Garden on a recent trip

I was able to start my walk on the other side of Bradhurst Avenue on the other side of Jackie Robinson Park. I will let you know that the college students from CUNY have discovered the park and were sunning themselves the afternoon I walked around the park. Bradhurst Avenue has a lot of new buildings on it and the businesses include a Starbucks so you know that neighborhood is going through a transition.

Jackie Robinson Park at 85 Bradhurst Avenue

To let you know though, this transition stops here and the further you get away from the park, the seedier the area gets. By the time you hit Lenox Avenue, gentrification has not hit this area of the neighborhood and you should watch yourself. The buildings are beautiful and there is a police station a block in but it still needs a lot of work on this side of West 145th Street.

The end of the walk that day was at 145th Street and lunch at Harlem Brothers Pizza & Wings at 346 West 145th Street (Closed in 2021) which is right next store to Victorio’s Pizza that is more of the rave. The pizza was just average and the sauce did not have much flavor to it. The funny part was to listen to Indian music while eating my pizza. That was strange.

Victorio’s Pizza at 348 West 145th Street

https://www.victoriospizzaplusharlem.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10539122-Reviews-Victorio_s_Pizza_Plus-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The inside of Victorio’s Pizza

The pizza at Victorio’s is excellent. Very crisp and the sauce is amazing

My recommendation is go to Victorio’s Pizza and get it to go and eat it in Jackie Robinson Park. The middle of the park has benches to sit on and the park is really pretty with its slopping walkways and rock work and it’s large trees to sit under.

The front of Jackie Robinson Park’s band stand facing Bradhurst Avenue

The entire walk between 155th Street and 145th Street with an extra afternoon walking down Convent Avenue took almost five hours. Again, don’t let these blocks fool you as they are long and you will want to stop in the parks and gardens and walk around.

Places to Visit:

Jackie Robinson Park

85 Bradhurst to Edgecombe Avenues at 145th Street to Manhattan Avenue

New York, NY 10039

(212) 234-9607

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-10:00pm

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jackie-robinson-park_manhattan

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jackie-robinson-park_brooklyn

Convent Garden

Convent Avenue & St. Nicholas Avenue

New York, NY 10031

(212) 639-9675

Open: Check website for hours

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/convent-garden/highlights/7737

Maggie’s Garden

564 West 169th Street

New York, NY 10031

https://www.facebook.com/maggiesmagicgarden/

Open: Check website for hours

Hope Steven Garden

505 West 142nd Street

New York, NY 10031

Open: Check website for hours

https://www.manhattanlandtrust.org/contact-us/hope-steven-garden/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hope-Steven-Garden/222694217809657

Sugar Hill Neighborhood

Between 135th Street to 162nd Street and Edgecombe Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue

http://www.sugarhillmap.com/about.asp

Hispanic Society of America

163 West 155th Street

New York, NY 10032

(212) 926-2234

https://hispanicsociety.org/museum/

Open: The museum is currently closed for renovations. Please check the website for the opening.

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d110237-Reviews-Hispanic_Society_of_America-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/160

Places to Eat:

Victorio’s Pizza

346 West 145th Street

New York, NY 10039

(212) 283-2100

Open: Sunday 11:00am-9:00pm/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-8:45pm

https://www.victoriospizzaplusmenu.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10539122-Reviews-Victorio_s_Pizza_Plus-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

5 Star Estrella Bakery

3861 Broadway

New York, NY 10032

(212) 795-5000

Open: Sunday-Saturday 5:00am-9:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4416394-Reviews-5_Estrella_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/407

Harlem Brothers Pizza & Wings (Closed in 2021)

346 West 145th Street

New York, NY 10039

(646) 455-0942

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10715273-Reviews-Harlem_Brothers_Pizza_Wings-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Day Forty-Six: Walking through Harlem on Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, Hamilton Place and St. Nicolas Avenue from 155th to 135th Streets July 1st, 2016 (Again on July 6th, 2025)

July 15, 2016Bakeries for the budget minded, Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Pizzerias in Manhattan, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, Exploring Hamilton Heights, Exploring Harlem, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Hamilton Grange National Memorial, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, MywalkinManhattan.com, Professor Justin Watral, Professor Justin Watrel, Professor Warren Watrel, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking Harlem, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I continued walking the Harlem neighborhood this afternoon after a very exhausting morning working in the Soup Kitchen. I am beginning to discover that I should not combine the two together as it gets to be too much to do in one day. I was a food runner by myself and we served 660 meals that morning. When you serve mac & cheese to the homeless, you had better wear comfortable shoes.

The entrance to the Trinity Cemetery

After I left, I took the Number One subway to 155th Street and ended up back at 168th Street again. I never win. I walked down to 155th Street to start the walk at my starting point at the cemetery. I walked around the local arts campus and around the cemetery again. It is a beautiful to just sit and think with a gorgeous view of the Hudson River. I walked through Audubon Place reminding myself to leave time for their museums in the future.

The Trinity Church cemetery at 770 Riverside Drive

https://trinitywallstreet.org/cemetery-mausoleum

My walk today took me down Broadway and St. Nicolas Avenue and back. Like every other part of Manhattan that I walk, everything is in a state of flux. I have noticed one thing in the area, the closer you get to the CUNY campus, the more gentrified it becomes. It seems that the old students who may have in the past avoided the area that surrounded the college, the new students seem to embrace it and rather enjoy it.

The CUNY Campus on Amsterdam Avenue and 140th Street

https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/

Let’s be fair in that the area is so much safer and cleaner than it was even ten years ago. I remember taking a walking tour with a professor from FIT and the area has changed so much since then. I remember her saying how fast the brownstones were changing hands and how the shell of a building was going for over a million dollars and us smirking at her. That same property is probably worth six times that now.

Most of Broadway is filled with interesting shops and restaurants catering to both students and residents or both. My first part of the walk started at 5 Star Estrella Bakery, on the corner of Broadway and 161st Street at 3861 Broadway. This amazing little bakery is so reasonable and the food is great. To add to the mac & cheese I indulged in at Soup Kitchen, I had the most delicious cinnamon Danish and a ‘papa’ a type of Dominican croquette that is filled with meat tucked into mashed potatoes and then deep-fried. (See my review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) Everything I try there is good and fun to munch on while walking.

5 Star Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway

5 Star Estrella Bakery Corporation 3861 Broadway New York, NY 10032

You start to see Broadway’s transition from a Dominican neighborhood to college town between 145th Street to about 138th. The commercial area is filled with bike shops, trendy little restaurants and clothing stores. Bars seem to be opening up all over the commercial area. Between 155th and 145th and further down, there are many a hole in the wall and good sit down Spanish restaurants offering reasonable prices on traditional meals.

On the trip back up Broadway, I walked the length back and forth of Hamilton Place, which is lined with some of the most beautiful brownstones and apartment buildings that I have seen in Harlem. So many of the stairs to these homes are lined with flowering potted plants and the whole area looks like ‘Old New York’, with their washed fronts and vine lining the home. This stretch of the neighborhood I predict will be the next ‘hot neighborhood’ with the college being so close by and two very popular subway lines.

The Hamilton Place and Terrace areas are amazing

The beauty of the Hamilton Terrace neighborhood near the CUNY campus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Heights,_Manhattan

The Hamilton Terrace Brownstones

Very clever decorations

There were some unusual and trendy little shops in the area that seemed out-of-place at this point in a neighborhood in transition. I just don’t think too many students or residents in the area is going to go for a $12.00 pie at Sweet Southern Style Bakery at 122 Hamilton Place but that’s just me. Everything at the shop looks so good from the window. Next door is the trendy Hogshead restaurant with a delicious sounding pulled pork sandwich and sliders. I see more of these restaurants opening up in the small spaces that line the brownstones.

Sweet Chef Southern Style Bakery at 122 Hamilton Place (Closed in April 2024)

https://www.facebook.com/SweetChefNyc/

Hamilton Place also has its share of pocket parks. At the top of the street is Johnny Hartman Plaza originally known as Hamilton Park after the founding fathers whose home located here. Hartman was a musician who lived in the neighborhood back in the 1960’s. Johnny Hartman was known for his love ballads and was nominated for a Grammy in 1981 (NYCParks.org).If this park is honoring someone it should be better weeded and taken care of by the community.

Johnny Hartman Plaza at Amsterdam Avenue and 143rd Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/johnny-hartman-square/history

Singer Johnny Hartman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Hartman

Further down the road is a very nice family park in the Alexander Hamilton Playground at West 140th Street, a popular spot for young families trying to cool down in the hot weather. It is funny that some people say that they would never raise a child in the city but these kids looked pretty happy to me.

Alexander Hamilton Playground at West 140th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/alexander-hamilton-playground

This popular park was named after Patriot Alexander Hamilton whose home is in St. Nichols Park right behind the CUNY campus.

Alexander Hamilton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton

At the end of the block that leads to Broadway is Montefiore Park at West 138th Street, where it seems that the whole neighborhood meets. The park was named after Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, a British banker and philanthropist.

Sir Moses Haim Montefiore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Montefiore

There are several food vendors here to check out, especially the lady who sells the flavored ices for a dollar. At night there is a vendor that sells Mexican sandwiches, tacos and empanadas. Everything here is very reasonable.

Montefiore Square Park at West 138th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/montefiore-square

By the number of people playing dominoes and cards, it is popular meeting place for the retirees in the neighborhood. There is a lot of yelling and laughing going on most of the day. Walking back up to Amsterdam Avenue, you can walk the side streets to see the beautiful restoration of the brownstones in the area. There is so much care to this area.

The inside of the park since the renovation

The park’s wall painting in the back of the park

The Mural in the park and the artists

The artists on the mural in the park

My video on the mural:

At 113th Street, look down the road to see the amazing view of the Hudson River and then up the road to see the CUNY campus and you will now know why I think this is going to be a hot neighborhood. It offers parks, stunning housing close to a college campus, great views of the river and some great restaurants that cater to the whole community.

I was able to walk around the CUNY campus without the campus police bothering me and I have to say that it might be a small campus but it is a pretty one that is an oasis in a busy neighborhood. I was surprised that the neighborhood was not more tailored to the students but I could tell for a long time that the students must have felt very isolated being so far uptown.

St. Nicholas Park behind CUNY

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/st-nicholas-park

The entrance to St. Nicholas Park

To the west of the campus is St. Nicholas Park, a very well used but overgrown park. The paths, basketball courts and bathrooms really need some capital improvement and the park needs a good weeding. The views of the neighborhood and beyond are quite spectacular. I could see why Alexander Hamilton had his home here. The Hamilton Grange as its called was closed for the day but in its day, it must have been an amazing estate. Hamilton was married into the Schuyler family and at that time they were the Gates and Buffets of their day.

The Hamilton Grange, the home of Alexander Hamilton and his family

https://www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d105813-Reviews-Hamilton_Grange_National_Memorial-New_York_City_New_York.html

The Hamilton Grange in the summer of 2024

After the walk up and own the commercial strip of Broadway, I walked across 155th Street again and walked down St. Nicholas Avenue. This part of the city has some of the most beautiful architecture in Upper Manhattan. This part of the walk took me down St. Nicholas Avenue from 155th to 125th and then back up. All along the way there are beautiful restored mansions, elegant brownstones, small well-landscaped pocket parks and delicious restaurants to try.

The shopping area at West 145 Street

Some of the most beautiful restored mansions I saw line 150th Street off the avenue. The breathtaking mansion on the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and 150th Street was once owned by the Bailey family of Barnum & Bailey fame at 10 St. Nicholas Place. The mansion and the surrounding four mansions have been beautifully restored to their true glory. The owners have taken a lot of pride in the exterior and the landscaping of these homes. There are about four or five mansions to walk around in the area to view their unique beauty.

The Bailey Mansion in the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem at 10 St. Nicholas Place

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bailey_House

This area is known as ‘Sugar Hill’ for the sweet life that it gave its residents. The area is bounded by West 155 Street to the north, West 145th Street to the south and Edgecombe Avenue to the east and Amsterdam Avenue to the west. Sugar Hill got its name in the 1920’s when the neighborhood became a popular place for wealthy African-Americans to live during the Harlem Renaissance and people like Clayton Powell Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway resided here. (Wikipedia)

“Sugar Hill” in Harlem on the western side of Harlem from West 155 to West 145th from Edgecombe to Amsterdam Avenues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Hill,_Manhattan

The whole area is going through a massive gentrification with scaffolding all over the place. People are snatching up these buildings and revitalizing them. I call it the ‘new windows’ effect. When you see new windows in the building, it means that it has already changed hands. There are three historic districts in the area but view the row houses between 718-730 St. Nicholas Avenue and you will respect the true beauty of the area.

The area also has a series of pocket parks. One gathering place is the Donnellan Square Park named after Timothy Donnellan, Private First Class during WWI. This attractive little park is a place for some serious sports conversation as I found out when some guy asked me about all my Michigan State gear. The way he approached me I thought he was ready to say ‘Hi Officer’. This well landscaped little park is a nice to place to just to sit and relax.

Donnellan Square at 150th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/donnellan-square/history

Further up on 151st Street is the Convent Garden, which is a small pocket park Community Garden off West 151 Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. The park has a unique history.

In 1985, a gas station occupying the site was demolished and the remaining empty lot was an eyesore to the community until local activist Luana Robinson and a small group of female volunteers from the Coalition of Hamilton Heights Tenants Associations established the Convent Garden to Women. In 1989, Convent Garden was the pilot location for the new Greenstreets program, which was launched by the Parks and the Department of Transportation to transform traffic triangles and other paved areas into green spaces.

Convent Garden Park at 150th Street

After the site was heavily disturbed by the removal of underground gas tanks in 1998, Juliette Davis and other local residents began to rebuild the garden. The gazebo, donated by the Marriott Corporation, was installed in November 1998 and in the spring of 1999, the Convent Garden Community Association added three wooden benches and a new lawn. (New York Park System online)

Juliette Davis at the entrance of her pride at Convent Garden in Harlem

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/M284/highlights

While I was walking by this time, the park was open and I was able to walk around. I was introduced to Ms. Davis, who was working in the park with her grandchild. She said she keeps healthy by doing some of the work around the garden with her neighbors and family helping with the hard stuff. “It did not even have grass when we first started. We had to dig the whole thing out,” she said with a lot of pride. When she won a grant from the city for all of her hard work, she put the lawn in.

The park is such a tranquil place with several flower beds, benches to sit, a lush lawn and flowers all over the place. The volunteers do such a nice job keeping the park up and I had just missed on of the local choir groups perform in the park that day. Maybe next time. It was just fun watching Ms. Davis’s grandchildren run around the park ‘trying to help’ as most kids do. Her pride in the park I think is what makes it so special. It’s that care in the community.

On my way back to 155th Street, I stopped at Victorio’s Pizza at 348 West 145th, right across the street from Jackie Robinson Park. OMG. This is some of the best pizza that you can get for a dollar a slice. I was completely blown away by the quality of the fresh mozzarella and the sauce had so much flavor. The service was very friendly and the woman behind the counter seemed surprised when I walked back in and said how much I enjoyed the slice. (See TripAdvisor for the full review).

Victorio’s Pizza at 348 West 145th Street

https://www.victoriospizzaplusharlem.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10539122-Reviews-Victorio_s_Pizza_Plus-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The pizza at Victorio’s Pizza is excellent

I took the train back down to Times Square from 155th Street and then it would be off and running for another day. I covered the whole area from 155th Street to 125th Street both Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue’s. It was a long day but there was so much to see.

Please read my other Blogs on walking Harlem/Hamilton Heights/NoHA:

Day Forty-Four-Walking Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue 155th-125th Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/2018

Day Forty-Six-Walking Broadway, Hamilton Place and St. Nicholas Place 155th-145th Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/2273

Day Forty-Nine: Walking Riverside Drive from 155th-86th Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/2272

Day Fifty-One-Walking Harlem East & West from east and west between 155th to 145th Streets between Broadway and Edgecombe Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/2778

Day Fifty-Three: Walking Upper Harlem from 155th to 145th Street between Bradhurst and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/2886

Places to Visit:

Trinity Church Cemetery

770 Riverside Drive

New York, NY 10032

(212) 368-1600

Open: Sunday-Saturday 9:00am-4:00pm

Johnny Hartman Plaza

Amsterdam Avenue, 143rd Street and Hamilton Place

New York, NY 10013

(212) 639-9675

Open: 24 Hours

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/johnny-hartman-square

Alexander Hamilton Playground

Hamilton Place and 140th Street

New York, NY 10031

(212) 639-9675

Open: Sunday-Saturday 7:00am-6:00pm

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/alexander-hamilton-playground

Montefiore Park

Hamilton Place and West 138th Street

New York, NY 10031

(212) 639-9675

Open: 24 Hours

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/montefiore-square

St. Nichols Park

St. Nichols Avenue and St. Nicholas Terrace

New York, NY 10030

(212) 639-9675

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-10:00pm

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/st-nicholas-park

Donnellan Square

397 West 150th Street

New York, NY 10031

Open: 24 Hours

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/donnellan-square/history

Convent Garden Park

Convent and St. Nichols Avenue

New York, NY 10031

(212) 639-9675

Open: Check Website

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/convent-garden/highlights/7737

The Hamilton Grange National Memorial, a National Park

414 West 141st Street

New York, NY 10031

(646) 548-2310

Hours: Sunday 9:00am-5:00pm/Monday & Tuesday Closed/Wednesday-Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm

Fee: Free for Admission

https://www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d105813-Reviews-Hamilton_Grange_National_Memorial-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/20

Places to Eat:

5 Star Estrella Bakery Corporation

3861 Broadway

New York, NY 10032

(212) 795-5000

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4416394-Reviews-5_Estrella_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/407

Victorio’s Pizza Plus

348 West 145th Street

New York, NY 10039

(212) 283-2100

https://www.victoriospizzaplusmenu.com/

Open: Sunday 11:00am-9:00pm/Monday-Friday 11:00am-8:45pm/Saturday 3:00pm-8:45pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10539122-Reviews-Victorio_s_Pizza_Plus-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Sweet Chef Southern Style Bakery

122 Hamilton Place

New York, NY 10031

(212) 862-6818

Open: Sunday 12:00pm-7:00pm/Monday-Friday 12:00pm-9:00pm/Saturday 10:00am-9:30pm

https://www.facebook.com/SweetChefNyc/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d13322655-Reviews-Sweet_Chef_Southern_Styles_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Day Forty-Four: Walking the borders of Harlem from Amsterdam Avenue to Broadway from 155th to 125th Streets June 9th, 2016 (Again July 6th, 2025)

June 15, 2016Bakeries for the budget minded, Chinese Restaurants for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring Morningside Heights in Manhattan, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights in Manhattan, Gourmet restaurants for the budget minded, Historic New York City neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Apollo Theater, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Harlem, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Grullon Bakery, Grullon II Bakery, Handpulled Noodles, Harlem, Hope Stevens Garden, Hotel Teresa, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, MywalkinManhattan.com, One Stop Patty Shop, Studio Museum of Harlem, Trinity Church Cemetery, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I finally crossed the border of Washington Heights into Harlem and I can tell you that border does make a difference in the neighborhoods. Not in a bad way it just seemed to me that there is a different personality to the neighborhood.

I started my walk at the 168th Street subway station and walked down to Amsterdam and 155th Street. In a period of barely a year (six months for that matter), I have seen a whole bunch of businesses close their doors, scaffolding all over buildings both in Washington Heights and Harlem and a rebirth to the area around the CUNY campus. I had even taken walking tours of Harlem as little as eight years ago and have seen a huge change in the area since Mayor Bloomberg rezoned the city. 125th Street is going through a big makeover as the chain stores seem to be taking over the street.

The entrance to the cemetery at 145th Street

Trinity Church cemetery in the summer of 2025

I started my walk in the Trinity Church Cemetery with a visit to my favorite New York Mayor, Ed Koch. He brought so much positive change to New York and was New York in the late 70’s and 80’s. Mayor Koch was still mayor when I came back to work in the city in the 80’s. New York was going through its first wave of gentrification at the time. I had even sent him a copy of my book, ‘Firehouse 101’ of which his office sent a nice not too generic form letter to me thanking me for the book. As far as I know I do not know if he ever read the copy I sent him.

Trinity Cemetery at 770 Riverside Drive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Church_Cemetery

Still there I was sitting on a bench on a small hill over-looking Amsterdam Avenue paying my respects. It was a quiet moment until school let and then there were kids yelling and screaming all over the place. I then decided to start the rest of the walk. I said my goodbyes to the Mayor, placed a rock on the tombstone and started out of the cemetery and down Amsterdam Avenue.

Ed Koch grave site at Trinity Cemetery

https://trinitywallstreet.org/stories-news/trinity-cemetery-final-resting-place-mayor-koch

Mayor Ed Koch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Koch

My travels today took me down Amsterdam Avenue from 155th Street to 125th Street as my border and then I walked the entire length of 125th Street from the Hudson River to the East River. Then it was back up Amsterdam Avenue to 155th Street and then the walk down Broadway. Needless to say, the journey was long but full of surprises.

Amsterdam Avenue is a street in major transition. It also depends on what part you walk. As you get closer to the CUNY campus around 138th Street the are starts to get even better with small, trendy restaurants and pre-war buildings with sandblasted fronts and new windows. The crowd is certainly getting younger with a lot of students and their parents milling around the street.

One little gem to walk around if it is open is the Hope Stevens Garden at 505 West 142nd Street. The garden was in full bloom but unfortunately the gates were locked at the time.

In 1986, the Hope Steven Community Garden (then known as the West Harlem Group Assistance Garden) was selected to participate in Artists in the Gardens, a project of Green Thumb, the community gardening program sponsored by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. From a roster of artists chosen by a panel of art professionals, the gardeners selected Eva Cockcroft to paint a mural on the building facing their garden. In 1998, the garden was sold by the City of New York to the Trust for Public Land for eventual transfer to the newly formed Manhattan Land Trust, thus ensuring its preservation. (Harlem One Stop)

Hope Stevens Garden at 505 West 142nd Street near Amsterdam Avenue

https://www.harlemonestop.com/organization/1037/hope-stevens-garden

If you get a chance to walk into the garden when it is open it looks like a real treat. The flowers are all in bloom and the bed showcases a colorful assortment of plants.

I stopped a little snack shop, The One Stop Patty Shop at 1708 Amsterdam Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor). This delightful little shop has the best Jamaican meat patties. The spicy beef patty that I munched on as I walked down the road had just come out of the oven. It was flaky, filled with a generous portion of spicy beef and was a nice size patty. It more than filled me up for a quick lunch. The service was really friendly and the staff there takes a lot of pride in their food. The guy was encouraging me to buy more for my trip home. (see my review on TripAdvisor)

One Stop Patty Shop at 1708 Amsterdam Avenue

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Restaurant/One-Stop-Patty-Shop-101263304608098/

My review on TripAdvisor:

The patties were delicious and filled with a lot of ground beef and spices

I really enjoyed my lunch here

My trip took me past of the campus of CUNY where a very active student body was milling around the campus, in the park across the street and eating in the new outdoor cafes that are now dotting Amsterdam Avenue by the campus at 138th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The campus was a buzz with students socializing and just enjoying a sunny day. There are some interesting restaurants to investigate in the future.

Before I continued down the street, I took a turn on 145th Street to Broadway to try my dining destination for the evening, Handpulled Noodles. It was further up the street but I discovered Grullon II Bakery at 3522 Broadway (see review on TripAdvisor). A nice selection of baked goods and traditional Dominican snacks like Pastelitos and croquets. Most of the items had been sitting most of the day. The vanilla iced doughnut I had looked really good but was hard and the hot snacks looked dried out. It was obvious that the store had not seen too much action that day. It warrants another try though as the service was attentive and friendly and the selection of baked goods looks good.

Grullon II at 3522 Broadway

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=117320478294099

The lower part of Amsterdam Avenue was a collection of public housing and a warehouse district that was transformed into lofts, studios and a few art galleries. What was interesting was that in the middle of a housing project was that a developer was building a mixed use building with luxury apartments. That is going to be an interesting mix of people.

From Amsterdam Avenue, I walked the entire length of 125th Street, considered the heart of Harlem, that since the Bloomberg zoning changes is under the biggest transformation since Times Square was completely knocked down. By the time the transformation is complete, it will more chain stores, hotels, office buildings and the northern branch of Columbia University.

When I walked to the right down 125th Street, most of the former cheaper stores were in the process of closing down and being replaced by new businesses.

The mural at the edge of 125th and Broadway by Artist Angel Toren is amazing a array of color and brightness. It adds something to this corner.

The artist’s name at the edge of the mural

Artist Angel Toren

https://angeltoren.es/en/about/?v=b708f9315e67

Ángel Toren is a contemporary urban artist and muralist who combines influences from graphic design, typography, and brutalist architecture to create visually striking compositions. Toren’s compositions intertwine with the lines and volumes of brutalism, reinterpreting its monolithic forms through vibrant color palettes and optical effects that evoke both the digital and the painterly (Artist’s Bio website).

The controversial new section of Columbia University is being built, replacing some old buildings with sleek new towers. Once done it will be a very impressive campus of glass, steel and new gardens. It will bring a whole new resident to this part of Harlem.

Walking down the border of 125th Street

What I thought was progressive was that the campus was surrounding the famous Cotton Club nightclub that sat there in the middle of all this change. It looked totally out of place with a modern campus being built around it and a Dinosaur Barbecue restaurant catering to the college students a block down.

Surreal was not the word for it as if anyone from the 20’s walked down this block now would not know where there were in Manhattan. The club was preparing for a show and I saw the performers passing by groups of college students on their way to Riverside Park and the surrounding restaurants.

The Cotton Club has a very interesting past as this is the third Cotton Club in the history of the club. It open in 1920 by Jack Jones, the heavyweight boxing champion as the Club Deluxe. In 1923, bootlegger, Owney Madden bought the club and renamed it the Cotton Club, with a ‘whites only’ policy that lasted until the club closed in 1936. The club has had two other locations and the current club in the present location opened in 1977 (Wiki).

Cotton Club at 656 West 125th Street in Harlem

Home

I passed the projects on the way back down 125th Street where a woman passed me and made a comment under her breathe with a few four-letter words enough where she knew I could hear her on her thoughts about policemen. I guess more and more I am realizing that everyone in this part of Manhattan thinks I am a cop or DEA. I remember how fast the drug dealers in the Dykeman House projects ran when they saw me coming.

I had taken a recent walking tour of Harlem with the Cornell Club and we covered the areas from 125th Street to 124th Street from 5th Avenue to 7th Avenue and how some of the residents did not appreciate being treated like a curiosity by tourists. Now there are so many white residents in the area and visiting tourists eating in the restaurants that you blend right in.

Be prepared thought more culture shocks as there are a Red Lobster and a Banana Republic on either side of the Apollo Theater and there is a mall like environment between Fredrick Douglas Boulevard and 5th Avenue that will one day be a suburban strip mall environment. It reminds me of the changes going on in downtown Brooklyn as everything is being replaced by chain stores. The local businesses that give it the character of the neighborhood are being pushed out.

The Apollo Theater was built in 1913-14 by architect George Keister in a neo-classical style and opened as Hurtig & Seamon’s New Burlesque Theater with a ‘white’s only’ policy which existed until the 1930’s when it reopened in 1934. It was then open to black patrons as well with a mixture of entertainment.

Apollo Theater 253 West 125th Street

Homepage

I passed the famous Hotel Theresa which is now called Theresa Towers. When built in 1912-1913 by German-born stockbroker, Gustavus Sidenberg and it was ‘the’ hotel in Harlem and all the famous black celebrities stayed when they could not stay in the luxury hotels of midtown (Wiki).

Today it has been refitted as an office building with commercial businesses. The building has seen better days but is still impressive and maybe one day someone will get the good idea to convert it back into a hotel like the renovation and reopening of the Hotel Knickerbocker in Times Square. It is an ideal place for a good hotel in the midst of all this change. The building itself has seen better days but like the rest of Harlem it will be catching up to the rest of the city soon.

Hotel Theresa in Harlem 2600-2700 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Theresa

As I walked towards the East River, most of 125th Street is in the process of being either knocked down and renovated. In not even two years, the whole makeup of this area will change as more chain stores and apartment buildings are added to the area. I still can’t believe how run-down parts of this area are in comparison to the rest of the city.

The worst is that it is tough to find a public bathroom anywhere in the area. I stopped by a library on 125th Street and there was no public bathroom anywhere in the building. Even the libraries in Washington Heights had bathrooms. I had to hold it in until I found a McDonald’s closer to the Washington Heights border.

My last part of the walk took me back down 125th Street to the Studio Museum 127 at 144 West 125th Street (see review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) in Harlem where my next walk in the area will include a tour of some of the exhibitions and tours of some of the smaller museums in the area. I passed so many galleries that I wanted to stop in as well.

The Studio Museum 127 of Harlem opened in 1968 to showcase Black artists. The museum is currently closed for construction.

Studio Museum 127 of Harlem at 144 West 125th Street

https://studiomuseum.org/visit

The CUNY campus had quieted down for the day as I walked back up and the students and their friends filled the parks and restaurants in the area enjoying the warm Spring night.

CUNY Campus at 160 Convent Avenue

https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/

I got back up to 155th Street, turned the corner and proceeded down Broadway to my dinner destination Handpulled Noodles at 3600 Broadway (see review on TripAdvisor), which bills itself as Northwestern Chinese Soul Food which attracts not only the locals but students and tourists as well. It is considered by many in the Asian community as one of the best Chinese restaurants in New York City.

Handpulled Noodle at 3600 Broadway

https://thehandpullednoodle.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d8054569-Reviews-The_Handpulled_Noodle_Harlem-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

It is a small hole in the wall restaurant with limited seating in a very energetic environment. The place was loaded with CUNY students who knew the menu by hard. I had the Spicy Cumin Lamb with Lagman noodles (traditional thick cut noodles that are native to Northern China) and their jumbo pork and chive dumplings that melt in your mouth and are out of this world.

The inside of the restaurant

The lamb was very spicy and you could taste the cumin in every bite. This is not the traditional Cantonese restaurant so do not look for fried rice and egg rolls. It is more of a cross between Indian and Mongolian cooking. There menu is very unusual with more stew like dishes like the cumin lamb, ginger chicken and herbal beef. The service is friendly and very fast paced to keep up with the large dinner crowds in such a small space (See my review on TripAdvisor).

The Dumplings here are amazing

I had a interesting talk with someone from the neighborhood who worked renovating brownstones in the area and talked about the local real estate market. He told me that if you had bought even five years ago, you could have made your money back quickly after a renovation. The whole area above 125th Street is in a major state of transformation that happens even month by month as I have seen in a six-month period in Washington Heights as old family businesses and small restaurants give way to coffee bars and fancy shops and galleries. Even he said it is not the Harlem it was last year.

My walk concluded with a subway ride back down to 42nd Street with a game plan to cover the rest of the area above 125th Street as my border for this part of the project. There are so many pocket museums and parks to cover and explore.

Places to Visit:

Trinity Church Cemetery

770 Riverside Drive

New York, NY 10032

(212) 368-1600

https://www.trinitywallstreet.org/cemetery-mausoleum

Open: See website for hours

Hope Stevens Garden

505 West 142nd Street between Amsterdam and Hamilton Place

New York, NY 10031

https://www.harlemonestop.com/organization/1037/hope-stevens-garden

Open: See Website for hours

Studio Museum of Harlem

144 West 125th Street

New York, NY 10027

(212) 864-4500

https://www.studiomuseum.org/

Open: See website for hours

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d116230-Reviews-The_Studio_Museum_in_Harlem-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/1405

Apollo Theater

253 West 125th Street

New York, NY 10027

(212) 531-5305

Homepage

Open: See website for hours

Hotel Theresa

2070-2080 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard

New York, NY 10024

Click to access Hotel-Theresa–now-Theresa-Towers-.pdf

Cotton Club

656 West 125th Street

New York, NY 10027

(212) 623-7980

Home

Open: See website for hours

Places to eat:

The One Stop Patty Shop

1708 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10031

(212) 491-7466

https://www.facebook.com/pages/1-Stop-Patty-Shop/421985874602159

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:30am-9:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4519234-Reviews-One_Stop-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Handpulled Noodles

3600 Broadway

New York, NY 10031

(917) 262-0213

Open: Sunday-Thursday 11:30am-11:00pm/Friday-Saturday 11:30am-12:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d8054569-Reviews-The_Handpulled_Noodle_Harlem-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Grullon II Bakery

3522 Broadway

New York, NY 10031

(646) 329-5495

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=117320478294099

Open: Check the website for hours

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10424741-Reviews-Grullon_1_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Day Thirty-Six: Visiting both the Morris-Jumel Mansion/Little Red Lighthouse in Riverside Park Washington Heights January 16th, 2016 (revisited June 9th, 2024)

January 20, 2016Bakeries for the budget minded, Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Marble Hill in Manhattan, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights in Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, The Great Saunter Walk-The Entire Manhattan, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York CityAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, diningonashoestringinnyc, Esmeraldo Bakery, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights, Jumel Terrace Historic District, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Little Red Lighthouse, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, Morris-Jumel Historic District, Morris-Jumel Mansion, MywalkinManhattan.com, Professor Justin Watral, Professor Justin Watrel, Professor Warren Watrel, Riverside Park, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

Before I could finish my walk of Washington Heights, there were a few sights I wanted to see before it got too cold. So on a mild but brisk afternoon after a long morning in the Soup Kitchen, I visited the Little Red Lighthouse and the Morris-Jumel Mansion. I missed seeing these spots during the summer.

My first part of the trip lead me to 181st Street and the long walk down the street to Riverside Park. I was amazed of how beautiful 181st Street is at all seasons. It is still breathtaking in the winter as it is during the summer except you can see more. You could view more of the formations on the riverside cliffs at this time of the year.

The shoreline by the Little Red Schoolhouse.

Even in the short time since the summer ended, there have been many changes in the neighborhood. More buildings are under scaffolding and being sandblasted. A lot of storefronts are empty and the mom-and-pop businesses that I passed over the summer have closed their doors showing that the neighborhood is in transition. Slowly more expensive restaurants and shops are opening east of Broadway.

The view of lower Manhattan from Fort Washington Park in 2023

View of the George Washington Bridge from the park

The park view in the early Spring

The walk down the path through Fort Washington Park is quite steep so make sure that you have comfortable shoes on and do your best to avoid the bike riders who speed by. At the end of the path, turn the corner and you will see the small lighthouse hidden behind a leg of the bridge.

The Pollinator Garden at the Little Red Schoolhouse.

It is rather unusual spot for a lighthouse, but it has a rather colorful past. Located underneath the George Washington Bridge along this treacherous section of the Hudson River once known as Jeffrey’s Hook, this is one of the few surviving lighthouses in New York City.

The Little Red Lighthouse in Fort Washington Park

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-washington-park/highlights/11044

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Lighthouse

As traffic increased along the Hudson River, so did the number of shipwrecks at Jeffery’s Hook. In an attempt to reduce accidents, a red pole was placed at Jeffery’s Hook jutting out over the river to warn travelers of danger. In 1889, two 10-candlepower lanterns were placed on the pole to aid navigation. Much of the land surrounding the lighthouse, including the riverbanks of Jeffery’s Hook, was acquired by the City in 1896 and became known as Fort Washington Park.

The park in the late Summer

The Little Red Lighthouse had been erected on Sandy Hook, New Jersey in 1880, where it used a 1000-pound fog signal and flashing red light to guide ships through the night. It became obsolete and was dismantled in 1917. In 1921, the U.S. Coast Guard reconstructed this lighthouse on Jeffery’s Hook in an attempt to improve navigational aids on the Hudson River. Run by a part-time keeper and furnished with a battery-powered lamp and a fog bell, the lighthouse was an important guide to river travelers for ten years. The George Washington Bridge opened in 1931 and the brighter lights of the bridge again made the lighthouse obsolete.

The Little Red Lighthouse below the George Washington Bridge

The Coast Guide planned to auction off the lighthouse but an outpouring of support for the beacon helped save it. The outcry from the public was prompted by the children’s book, ‘The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge’, written by Hildegarde Swift and Lynd Ward in 1942. In the popular book, the Little Red Lighthouse is happy and content until the great bridge is built over it. In the end, the lighthouse learns that it still has an important job to do and that there is still a place in the world for an old lighthouse. People then sent money to save the icon from the auction block.

The book “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Lighthouse

In 1951, the Coast Guard gave the property to the parks and in 1979 it was added to the National Register of Historical Places.

(New York City Department of Parks & Recreation)

The path leading up from the park.

It is a neat little park under the bridge and should not be missed when visiting this part of Riverside Park.

Instead of climbing back up the long path, I took a stroll down the paths of Fort Washinton Park and walked by the river that was so close that you could put your hand into it (don’t!). It was a beautiful walk to be so close to the river and see the vistas of the cliffs of New Jersey and view the river both up and down stream. On this cool winter day, the park had a few joggers but not too many other people.

Riverside Park in the Spring

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-washington-park

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/riverside-park/

My walk took me back to 160th Street and the cross bridge that took me back to the neighborhood that I had visited earlier this summer. This extension of Riverside Drive leads back to Broadway and I crossed back up to 161st Street to my destination of the Morris-Jumel Mansion located in Jumel Terrace right off High Bridge Park.

I made a pit stop for a snack at Esmeraldo Bakery on Broadway at 538 West 181st Street (see review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for their Cubanitos, a sweet meat pie and Rellenas, a mashed potato meat pie that are deep-fried. They are so good and at 2 small Cubanitos for $1.00 and the Rellena for $1.25, it is quite a steal. Their doughnuts are really good as well. They are also $1.00. The staff always tolerates my broken Spanish.

Esmeraldo Bakery 538 181st Street

https://mywalkinmanhattan.com/tag/esmeraldo-bakery/

Jumel Terrace which is located between 162nd Street and 160th Streets located on a bluff overlooking the Harlem River on its own park like setting with great views of both the Bronx and other parts of Manhattan. It is surrounded by a neighborhood of beautiful, renovated brownstones, some still having their lights and decorations up from the holiday. It must have been beautifully decorated for Christmas.

The Jumel Terrace Historic District in the Summer

The Morris-Jumel Historic District in the Spring of 2024

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumel_Terrace_Historic_District

The historic district sign

The Morris-Jumel Mansion, located at 65 Jumel Terrace, is the long surviving Colonial residence left in Manhattan. The mansion was built as a summer ‘villa’ in 1795 by the British Colonel Roger Morris and his American wife Mary Philipse, it originally commanded extensive views in all directions. It viewed New York harbor and Staten Island to the south; of the Hudson and Harlem rivers to the west and east and of Westchester County to the north.

Morris-Jumel Mansion at 65 Jumel Terrace

The grounds of the Morris-Jumel Mansion at the back of the mansion

https://www.morrisjumel.org/

Colonel Morris was the son of the famous architect Roger Morris, a fact which may explain the extremely innovative features of the mansion such as the gigantic portico and the rear wing which was the first octagon built in the colonies.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion Gardens in early Spring

The house’s situation and large size made it ideal as military headquarters during the Revolution and it was occupied successively by Washington, General Sir Henry Clinton and the Hessian General Baron von Knyphausen. As the Morris’s were loyal to Britain during the Revolution, their property was seized and sold after its conclusion. In 1790, Washington returned for a cabinet dinner at which he entertained Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton and Colonel Knox among others.

The Morris-Jumel Gardens with crocuses peeking out

The later history of the house centers on the Jumel’s. Stephen Jumel was a wealthy French émigré who married in 1804 his beautiful and brilliant mistress, Eliza Brown. They bought the mansion in 1810. In 1815, they sailed to France and offered Napoleon safe passage to New York after Waterloo. Although he eventually declined the offer, they did acquire from his family many important Napoleonic relics, some of which can be seen in the Blue Room on the second floor. Stephen died in 1832 and Eliza married the ex-Vice-President Aaron Burr in the front parlor one year later. They were in the process of a divorce a few years later when he died on the day the divorce was finalized. On Eliza death in 1865, she was considered one of the wealthiest women in America.

Spring flowers peeking out in the gardens

The History of the Mansion:

(Morris-Jumel Mansion welcome Guide)

The house tour is self-guided and you are able to walk all around the first and second floors as well as the kitchen in the basement. The mansion had just finished having all the holiday decorations packed up for the season, so the mansion was in a little disarray. The kitchen is really interesting with all the period cooking tools in which we take the electronic ones so much for granted today. The antique waffle iron is really interesting.

The kitchen at the Morris-Jumel Mansion

The kitchen was set for the summer harvest

The upstairs bedrooms have been restored and you get to see where Aaron Burr slept. Eliza had adopted her niece and she became Eliza’s daughter and her children her grandchildren, which by the painting in the house she must have been very fond of growing up.

The historical account of Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr’s Bedroom

The historic description of Eliza Jumel’s bedroom

Eliza Jumel’s Bedroom

William Chase, Mrs. Jumel’s grandson’s room

William Chase’s bedroom

In the summer months, the gardens are really nice to walk around in and are nicely landscaped. On a cool winter afternoon, it was nice to sit outside but there was not much to see. The mansion is definitely best either during the holidays or in the warmer months.

Madame Jumel and family

https://gothamist.com/news/the-incredible-story-of-eliza-jumel-once-americas-richest-woman-now-a-ghost-in-washington-heights

The entrance hall with the portrait of King George’s brother

The French Parlor historic sign

The French Parlor on the first floor of the home.

The Dining Room historical sign

The Dining Room off the main hallway

George Washington’s War Room on the second floor when he stayed at the house.

George Washington’s War Room and Office during the Battle of Harlem

The second floor hallway

It was nice to visit these sites as I missed them most of the summer and both are worth checking out. If you need to have dinner before leaving the neighborhood, Broadway is lined with many interesting Dominican restaurants that are reasonable and have nice menus.

When I revisited the mansion in June of 2024, the mansion was open for touring and walks on the grounds. They were also getting ready for a concert later that afternoon so I was able to tour the whole house in about an hour.

The Morris-Jumel Gardens in the Spring of 2024

The mansion and the grounds need a lot of work but you can see where the restoration has been coming along. There is still work to be done on the house to bring it back to its former glory.

Places to Visit:

Morris-Jumel Mansion

65 Jumel Terrace

New York, NY 10032

(212) 923-8008

http://www.morrisjumel.org/

Open: Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-4:00pm/Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d103500-Reviews-Morris_Jumel_Mansion-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com”:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/252

Little Red Lighthouse

Fort Washington Park

Hudson River Greenway

New York, NY 10032

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-washington-park/highlights/11044

Open: Walk around when the park is open

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d2368581-Reviews-Little_Red_Lighthouse-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com”:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/300

Places to Eat:

Esmeraldo Bakery

538 West 18st Street

New York, NY 10033

(212) 543-2250

Open: Sunday 7:00am-8:00pm/Monday-Friday 5:45am-10:00pm/Saturday 7:00am-8:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d5098947-Reviews-Esmeraldo_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/1364

Day Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six: Crisscrossing Washington Heights’s Streets East and West of Broadway from 181st to 155th Streets November 15th and 16th, 2015

November 19, 2015Bakeries for the budget minded, Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights in Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Bakeries, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Manhattan5 Estrella Bakery, Addthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Brownstones, diningonashoestringinnyc, El Manantial Bakery, Estrella Bakery, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Washington Heights, High Bridge Park, High Bridge Water Tower, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, Morris Jumel Mansion, MywalkinManhattan.com, NYC, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, Washington Heightsjwatrel

Well, I finally finished my tour of Washington Heights. I had spent so much time in the neighborhood that I felt like I lived there. This part of Manhattan took a long time to tour as there is so many interesting things to see and places to visit. It has also been tough with the time change and the days getting shorter. It is now getting dark at 5:00pm.

This part of Washington Heights I started on Sunday afternoon walking from 181st Street from Broadway to Amsterdam Avenue to 167th Street just at dusk. I was also able to tour some parts of High Bridge Park.

I started the long journey at Quisqueya Playground at 180th Street. It’s a nice little part of the park for small children with a pleasant playground and a nice view of the bridge. It is also a good place for a pit stop for the bathroom, which finding a public bathroom can be a chore off the beaten track.

The Quisqueya Park at 180th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highbridge-park/highlights/12751

Quisqueya means “cradle of life” and it was named after one of the two aboriginal names for the island of Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic). This was named by Christopher Columbus for the “la Isla Espanola”. The park was created in 1934 and was renovated in 1998. The park is very popular with local children (NYCParks.com).

The park in the middle of the summer

The park in the middle of the summer

I crisscrossed the streets back and forth looking at classic pre-war apartments with brownstones tucked in here and there. In some parts of the neighborhood, you might even find a lone wooden home, a through back to a time when this was a more rural area as late as the 1930’s. In the six months that I have been doing this walking project, I am amazed by the number of changes I keep seeing in such a short period of time.

So many merchants along the 180th Street and St. Nichols Avenue shopping districts have either closed or in the process of changing hands. Many of merchants along St. Nichols Avenue have been upgrading their businesses improving the look of their interiors and their selection of products. It is reflected in the way the neighborhood is changing.

The West 181st Shopping district in the summer

All over the streets and avenues, scaffolding is going up around apartment buildings and brownstones. Much work is being done between 187th Street to 183rd Street around Yeshiva University as the school keeps expanding and more students are moving into the surrounding buildings.

The area around Columbia Medical Center is going through a major change as the facility expands around Broadway to Audubon Avenue. Not just in the buildings themselves but the surrounding apartment buildings and brownstones as more people working at the hospital move in as well as the businesses that cater to them. Don’t be fooled though the area still has a rich Dominican flair with lively music being played and great restaurants and bakeries that cater to everyone.

I continued my walk to the corner of St. Nichols and 178th Street where a very busy street vendor was making fresh pastilitos, which were some of the best I had eaten so far. Her chicken pastilitos were filled with a generous portion of well-spiced chicken and beef and were still steaming hot from the fryer. She seemed surprised that I was so enthusiastic about eating them. Her version was really good!

As I munched my way down the various streets, I peeked in stores and restaurants and looked over many of the wares being sold on the street. There is such a great selection of items to buy at very reasonable prices. One woman on St. Nichols Avenue was selling dolls and doll carriages at half the price of the stores. It was the Dominican version of the Lower East Side.

Water Tower in High Bridge Park at West 173rd Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highbridge-park/pressrelease/21910

It was one of those unusually warm days where the temperature went up to 68 degrees making it a perfect day to walk around High Bridge Park. The park was so beautiful and relaxing on a warm day. The leaves were still on the trees with a warm yellow and gold hue to them and I walked past the empty pools by the Water Tower, which was closed off to touring. The tower was built in 1842 and used to transport over 47,000 gallons of water to Midtown from the Croton Aqueduct (NYCParks.com). The tower is currently closed off for renovation by the Parks service.

You could see the High Bridge from the top of the buff. These cliffs really prove that Manhattan is not flat. It still has its rustic look from the Ice Age. The view of the river is just spectacular.

High Point Bridge and Tower in Highbridge Park

https://www.nycgovparks.org/park-features/highbridge-park/planyc

The best part was there were a lot of people out enjoying the day, so you could see how much the population up here uses and appreciates the park. There were a few heated soccer and baseball games going on Sunday and the playgrounds were in full swing both on the weekend and after school. Where the kids are the food vendors are as well. I had my selection of ice creams, meat pies, croquettes and soups to choose from. I made a second trip to El Manantial Bakery at 1220 St. Nichols Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor) for Guava pastries and sugary doughnuts.

El Manantial Bakery at 1220 St. Nichols Avenue

https://www.menupix.com/nyc/restaurants/380326059/El-Manantial-Bakery-New-York-NY

I ended my Sunday tour at 167th Street touring around the Mirabel Sister’s School, which is home to a whole new school complex and apartment dwelling. This is where IS 90 is located, which was quiet on Sunday but bustling the next day after school. There are four schools in this complex, which is right next to the police station, which means security is very good in this area. The kids had the playground and the park to stretch out in.

On Monday afternoon after a long day in the Soup Kitchen working on prep for the upcoming week, I started my walk on the border of Washington Heights and Harlem at 155th Street. This area is bustling with traffic that is coming in and out of the Macombs Dam Bridge.

I crisscrossed the streets between 155th to 170th Streets. The most impressive housing outside the Upper West Side is located between 157th and 163rd Streets. I have never seen such beautiful apartment buildings and brownstones that have had so much care put into them. So many of them were still decorated for Halloween and upcoming Thanksgiving. There is so much impressive stonework on the buildings you must remember to look up and really see these buildings from both sides of the street.

Halloween in Uptown

Still one of the most beautiful sections of this part of the neighborhood is around the Morris-Jumel Mansion and Jumel Terrace with its well-tended brownstones with potted plants and decorations around the doors of these two impressive blocks surrounding the mansion. White lights adorn some of the trees and there is even a Community Garden at 162nd Street that must be nice to plant and sit in on a Spring or Summer Day.

The grounds of the Morris Jumel Mansion 65 Jumel Place

https://morrisjumel.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d103500-Reviews-Morris_Jumel_Mansion-New_York_City_New_York.html

The gardens of the Morris-Jumel Mansion

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/252

The grounds of the mansion were closed that day for a private function, but I had been on them before, and it is a nice place to just sit and relax and enjoy the view of the river.

Jumel Terrace Historic District

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumel_Terrace_Historic_District

The historic district around the mansion

Faces starting back at you from the buildings.

I walked around the Sugar Hill Luminary Park which needs a good mow and some new landscaping but must have been something in its day when the Harlem elite lived in this area. Pretty much all the brownstones in this area have been snatched up and renovated.

For lunch, I had a slice of pizza at Slice Pizza of Amsterdam at around 180th Street and Amsterdam (Closed in 2018). The pizza is terrible, warmed over from the morning and no flavor in the sauce. There was no taste to it. It’s a pretty restaurant catering to the changes going on in upper Amsterdam Avenue but everything in the cases looked like it had been sitting since the early morning, so they obviously are not getting that much business in the early morning or afternoon until school lets out.

Walk by the schools when they let out and eat at one of the street vendors. At least you will know the food is fresh (Yelp reviewers have said that the pizzeria has now closed down for business February 2019).

I walked the entire length of Edgecombe Avenue which lines High Bridge Park and talk about an area in transition. All the apartment buildings that line the park are going through what I call the ‘new window complex’. It’s when a building is being renovated for new residents and high rents. The entire area by the park is being refinished and sandblasted. This little gem of a neighborhood has the most spectacular view of the park and the river.

Walking down Edgecombe Avenue in the summer

On my way back to the subway I stopped Estrella Bakery Corp. at 3861 Broadway (see reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) and had the most amazing snack. A potato croquette called a ‘Renelito’, which is mashed potatoes filled with a spicy beef and then breaded and fried. These melt in your mouth, and they are so flavorful. I could not believe how fresh and delicious they were to eat.

I also had one of their Cinnamon roll pastry called a ‘Quesito’ which is a puff pastry rolled with lots of cinnamon sugar and then baked. Both were a bit of heaven and great way to end today’s walk. This is a bakery you should not bypass when in the neighborhood.

5 Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway

https://www.menupix.com/nyc/restaurants/380305968/5-Estrella-Bakery-Corp-New-York-NY

https://mywalkinmanhattan.com/tag/five-star-estrella-bakery/

There are all sorts of great bakeries and restaurants that line Broadway and the 181st Street shopping corridor. Don’t miss walking around this area at Christmas time when 181st Street is decorated for the holidays.

Please read my other blogs on walking Washington Heights. It was a big area to cover:

Day Twelve: Walking West of Broadway to West 170th Street:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/98

Day Thirteen: Walking Broadway west of 193rd to 165th Streets

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/113

Day Fourteen: Walking south down Broadway west of 174th to 164th Streets

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/122

Day Fifteen: Walking west of Broadway from Washington Heights to Harlem:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/139

Day Seventeen: Walking the border of Riverside Drive in Washington Heights from 181st to 153rd Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/163

Day Eighteen: Walking down Broadway from Wadsworth Terrace to Wadsworth Drive:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/184

Day Nineteen: Walking the East side of Broadway from 193rd to 155th Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/192

Day Twenty-One: Walking Washington Heights from Amsterdam Avenue to Highbridge Park:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/210

Days Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six: Crisscrossing Broadway from 181st to 155th Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/225

Day Thirty-Six: Visiting the Little Red Lighthouse and the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/850

Day Forty-One: Walking Dyckman Street from 207th Street to 155th Street and the Polo Grounds Apartments:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/1376

Places to visit:

Highbridge Park

West 190th and Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10040

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highbridge-park

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d8403376-Reviews-Highbridge_Park-New_York_City_New_York.html

Water Tower at Highbridge Park at 173rd Street

Washington Heights, NYC 10022

https://www.nycgovparks.org/park-features/highbridge-park/planyc

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/4467

The Morris-Jumel Mansion

65 Jumel Terrance

New York, NY 10032

(212) 923-8008

http://www.morrisjumel.org/

Fee: Adults: $10/Seniors/Students: $8/Children under 12: Free/Members: Free

Open: Monday: Closed to general public; visitation by advanced appointment only/Tuesday-Friday: 10:00am to 4:00pm/Saturday-Sunday: 10:00am to 5:00pm

The museum is closed on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d103500-Reviews-Morris_Jumel_Mansion-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Eat:

5 Estrella Bakery

3861 Broadway

New York, NY 10032

(212) 795-5000

https://www.menupix.com/nyc/restaurants/380305968/5-Estrella-Bakery-Corp-New-York-NY

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-9:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4416394-Reviews-5_Estrella_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/407

El Manantial Bakery

1220 St. Nichols Avenue

New York, NY 10032

(212) 795-0045

https://www.menupix.com/nyc/restaurants/380326059/El-Manantial-Bakery-New-York-NY

Open: Sunday 7:00am-8:45pm/Monday-Saturday 6:00am-9:45pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4987781-Reviews-El_Manantial_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Day Twenty-One: Walking on Amsterdam Avenue to High Bridge Park in Washington Heights October 30th, 2015

November 6, 2015Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville, Exploring Inwood in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights in Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, diningonashoestringinnyc, Dominican Neighborhoods, Dominican Restaurants, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights, High Bridge Park, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, McNally Plaza Park, MywalkinManhattan.com, Rincocito Ice Cream, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, Washington Heightsjwatrel

On a beautiful sunny day in Washington Heights, I finally finished my travels up Amsterdam Avenue from 181st Street to the corner of Fort George Avenue. My first stop was McNally Plaza as I crossed the street to start the walk-up Amsterdam Avenue. The park and its fall foliage were beckoning. McNally is a small park right by the Washington Bridge leading to the Bronx.

McNally Plaza Park is named after World War I Corporal Richard J. McNally, who lived in the neighborhood and was killed at the end of the war in September of 1918 (NYCParks.com).

Corporal Richard J. McNally

https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=148607

McNally Plaza Park

https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/historical-signs/listings?id=8263

I don’t recommend taking a walk on this busy bridge but for a short distance it offers the most amazing views of the East River and of the foliage in High Bridge Park below. You can see the few joggers and bicyclists below that had finished their day at work. The rolling hills remind me of my travels in Inwood.

As I walked up Amsterdam Avenue, I passed by the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (Wheels), that was letting out for the day. There is the most amazing street vendor just outside the school who makes freshly fried pastilitos and croquets filled with beef, cheese or chicken. She is located just outside the door to the school at 182nd Street and try to catch her before she leaves the school area. You can pick up a nice lunch for about $3.00 and her beef pastilitos are the best.

As the kids were leaving for the day, there was a superhero performance that some outside vendor was putting on for the kids and they were truly engaged by the performance. They had the kids singing and dancing right on the street to the amusement of all the parents who looked happy for the distraction. I forgot what it was like to be in elementary school and have time to just relax and have fun. It may not have been the best performance, but the actors knew how to relate to the kids, and it was fun to watch.

The George Washington School at the tip of Amsterdam Avenue was letting out for the day, so when I reached the top of the avenue there was a swirl of activity. The students swarmed all the local businesses to socialize with their friends and have snacks. When school let out for the day, this is a very busy area. There are about five public and three private schools in the area and after school the kids keep themselves occupied with hanging out at the local parks or outside popular businesses in the neighborhood.

My first stop in the neighborhood was an ice cream parlor that is a popular hangout Rincocito Ice Cream at 1650 St. Nicolas Avenue that I had passed many times in this part of the neighborhood. It is located by the convergence of all the avenues starting points to the north. I had a delicious ice cream named ‘Perry’s Birthday’ which you have to try when you visit this neat little shop. I had it in a fresh waffle cone, and it is a combination of birthday cake and cotton candy ice creams. For $2.50 for two large scoops, it was quite the deal and hit the spot on this unusually hot day.

After my snack started my long day of walking down the streets, starting at 193rd Street, one of the shortest streets in the walk to all the way down to 181st Street. It was walking on both sides of the streets crisscrossing the avenues. There was quite a view of High Bridge Park from Laurel Hill Terrance that abuts Yeshiva University. The fall foliage is in full glory in the park at this time and try to get into the park before the array colors is gone. Many of the students from Yeshiva and the local schools were using the park and the playgrounds in droves, enjoying the last warm days of the summer that crept into fall. Lauren Hill Terrace gives you such a nice view of the park.

Highbridge Park at 190th Street and Amsterdam Avenue

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highbridge-park

As I crisscrossed most of the streets, they are lined with beautiful pre-war buildings with less activity then in the past. As the weather has cooled, I don’t see as many people on the street either playing dominoes or conversing in fold-up chairs. Still there were lots of kids milling around talking to their friends.

On 182nd Street, there was a small grouping of brownstones that were out of place with the rest of the block. The residents had them beautifully decorated for Halloween with all sorts of spider webs, skeletons and hay/corn stalk displays. They did a good job putting me into the Halloween spirit. They were entertaining a group of people who were dressed like they were getting ready for a party.

Halloween in Washington Heights

By the time I reached my goal of 181st Street, it was nightfall with the bustle of a street teaming with activity. Since this is a major shopping block, the stores were bustling with activity. There are loads of interesting street vendors to choose from selling all sorts of hot snacks, from roasted pork, hot soup, pastilitos, croquettes, ices and soft tacos there is a never-ending choice of freshly cooked food that is made right in front of you. These vendors line 181st Street between Amsterdam and Broadway.

181st Street in Washington Heights is the shopping street of the neighborhood closer to Riverside Drive

West 181 Street shopping district closer to Amsterdam Avenue on the other side of Broadway

The West 181st Street shopping district

I liked the logos on Engine 93/ Ladder 45/Battalion 4

https://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/manhattan/e93.htm

I thought the logos on the firehouse were pretty unique. The company always seems to be busy or out on a call. This is a very active firehouse.

This truck was traveling down the street and I thought the street art on it was very unique

My day ended at the Morgan Library at 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street for a screening of ‘Nosferatu’, the silent German version of ‘Dracula’ made back in 1922. The screening was packed on this pre-Halloween night with patrons who enjoyed the musical performance during the film. Between the foliage in the park, the decorations around the city and the movie, it put me into the spirit of Halloween.