Thanksgiving was an interesting experience as I celebrated for my second time in New York City. My best friend came in from Michigan to spend time with me while her son’s former high school band performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I don’t know the whole status of global warming but it was an unusually warm Thanksgiving week. It was a four day treat to be in New York City with a place to sleep.
I know I skipped from Upper Manhattan to Lower Manhattan but it was nice to play tourist when given the opportunity. Spending a week in New York City with a bunch of tourists from Michigan is interesting. They traveled as a pack and did not want to leave the group. I had to drag my best friend away from these people so I could really show her the city. We had a great time.
The skyline around East 40th Street
For the record, my best friend, Kris, I have know since my first week as a freshman at Michigan State University and has been one of my best friends since I was 17 years old. Since that time, this was only the second time she came out to visit me. We saw the city through a series of tours and our own travelling around.
Our first night in Manhattan was watching the musical “Aladdin” with a bunch of high school students and their parents. It was bad enough to be on the top tier of the theater but we were also squeezed into seats that were made for people who are about 5.5. We were packed in like sardines. I could see that most of the kids enjoyed the show as well as the parents. Frankly I preferred the movie.
Aladdin the Musical on West 42nd Street
Our place of residence for the week was the Holiday Inn Express on West 36th Street see review on TripAdvisor) and I highly recommend the hotel when visiting New York. It is centrally located near Macy’s and the 34th Street shopping district and by the subway route that can take you anywhere you want to go in Manhattan.
The rooms are small but well-appointed with a large bathroom and shower area which was relaxing itself and the beds were so soft and firm that I got the best night’s sleep for the whole trip. Their breakfast buffet in the morning was excellent. Some of the best eggs and sweet rolls that I had in a free buffet and there was plenty of food each morning.
The hotel had the best breakfast buffet
Our day of touring started on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when we took a group tour with parents of the high school band group Kris was touring with during that week. Most of these people had never been to New York before and it showed in the way they behaved. You would think some of these people had never been to a city before even though Detroit is not far from their homes. Everyone acted so wide-eyed.
Our first stop was in lower Manhattan on the Circle Line out to Liberty Island. My word of advice when visiting Liberty Island is to climb the statue if you have the time. This is the main reason to visit the island. Walking around and taking pictures and then visiting a gift shop is not getting the whole feel of the island.
Circle Line along the East River.
Our next stop was Ellis Island (see review on TripAdvisor). Plan at least three hours plus lunch if you are visiting the island. There is so much to see and do in the main building.
First off, do not miss the Wall of Immigration names outside the main building. I showed Kris many of my family members whose names were on the wall. The Wall was a major fundraising effort by the Ellis Island Foundation and it proved so popular with people wanting to put their ancestors name on the wall that they had to build a second wall.
After a 45 minutes lunch and seeing the orientation movie (which I had seen before on my many visits to the island), we did not have much time for anything else and we took the boat ride back to Manhattan.
Ellis Island
Our next stop was the 9/11 Museum and Memorial (see review on TripAdvisor). I had been to the museum before and if you really want to have your emotions tugged at you, visit the 9/11 Museum. It is run by the same woman who had run the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC and has the same emotional power. It would be too long to describe how you might feel when visiting the museum but it is something you should not miss.
World Trade Center site
The pools where the footprint of the old buildings are just as emotional in the 9/11 Memorial garden. Really take time here to reflect on what happened that day and say a prayer for these victims. They have made a very somber event rather cheerful and the park reflects that.
Our last part of the all day tour was going to the top of the of One World Trade to see a view of the city. One World Trade is the tallest building in the Northern Hemisphere and the view from the top proves it. Since we did not get there until 7:30pm, it was dark and the building was quiet. We had the most amazing view of New York and the surrounding area.
When I say it was the most spectacular view is an understatement. You could see all the way into New Jersey and clear out to Coney Island. If the amusements were up and running this time of the year I am sure I could have seen them. It was nice to walk around and see all the views from every angle but avoid the over-priced gift shops. They will really rip you off in this building.
The view from One World Trade Center
We concluded the evening with a drink at One Mix Bar (see review on TripAdvisor), the bar restaurant at the top of the One World Trade. It has the most breathtaking views, a creative cocktail menu and a very standard dining menu. Have a drink here but don’t bother eating dinner here as the menu is not that creative and very expensive.
We got back to the hotel around nine and just relaxed. It had been a long day of touring and we both wanted to get to bed early to watch the parade the next day.
Parade morning
The parade start on Sixth Avenue
There is nothing like seeing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live. It was quite a site. This is the second time I have been in New York City to see the parade in person. This is after seven years of participating in the parade as a Macy’s employee from 1988-1994, first as a balloon handler then as a celebrity escort.
Macy’s Parade in 2025
It was a beautiful day for the parade, warm, sunny and clear and I could see perfectly the view from where I was standing to the parade route, which was a half block from the hotel. The hotel was right around the corner from Macy’s Herald Square.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 2025
It’s nice to be on the other side of the parade by watching it. The floats have not changed much over the years and the balloons seem like old friends to me especially seeing Ronald McDonald, which I held in 1989.
Snoopy in the parade in 2025
The one thing I felt bad about is that the Walled Lake Marching Band just walked by us and probably only performed for a few minutes by the store before having to march on by.
The candy bear greeted us
The worst part of the parade is that either I am getting old or not with it but did not recognize any of the celebrities on the float with the exception of Pat Benitar and Mariah Carey. Either I am not watching enough TV or these kids are just blending into the social fabric.
SpongeBob SquarePants in the parade
It was the same in 2025. I knew Darlene Love, Debbie Gibson, Busta Rhymes and Cool & the Gang, who must be in their 80’s now.
Cool & the Gang in 2025
Darlene Love in the parade in 2025
The person I waited for was Santa and he made his entrance at the end of the parade. Everyone was waiting for him to pass by and all of us at all ages could not wait until he passed.
Santa at the end of the parade in 2025
Santa greeting the crowd in 2025
After the parade was over, it gave Kris and I a chance to walk around the city and see Central Park. We did get a chance to see the zoo the previous day but also to enjoy the wonderful weather.
That night was a Thanksgiving buffet cruise around the lower part of Manhattan with the most spectacular views of the skyline and a ride around Liberty Island at night with the statue lit up in all its glory. Now that alone was some site. The lower Manhattan skyline is just spectacular at night with its sweeping views.
I was impressed that for being on a tourist cruise that the Thanksgiving dinner was that good. The only problem was that the staff did not replenish the food that quickly and the families looked like they were ready to riot. That was a real problem as people wanted seconds.
When we got back from the dinner cruise and before we went to bed, Kris and I made the fatal mistake of going to Macy’s at 11:45pm at night. The place was a mob scene even this late at night. Everything was 60% off and people were buying like merchandise had just been invented. Everyone had bags in their hands and you could not even walk down the aisles it was so mobbed.
Greeley Square in the afternoon
After seven years with the company and working in the buying offices for four of them, I never thought the Union would allow the store to open on Thanksgiving but here is was and it looked successful. We had to fight the crowds back and this was after midnight.
Our last day in the city, we went to Central Park to hear the band play. The impression I got was that the New York Philharmonic had invited the band to play with them in the Band Shell in Central Park.
In reality, the band played four songs including their fight song to a crowd of proud parents and groups of New Yorkers passing by who rolled their eyes every time they asked a parent of the band what was going on. The look said it all, “Isn’t that quaint that a Midwestern band is playing in our park”. I have been coming into the city since I was three and could pick up on that.
We spent the rest of the afternoon touring Central Park, seeing the zoo again, visiting the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ statue. seeing Cleopatra’s Needle and then touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the rest of the day. I just wanted to show Kris the best the city has to offer.
‘Alice in Wonderland’ statue
I had to check out early to help with Christmas Tree sales for the Men’s Association on Saturday morning, so it was a quick breakfast and then the bus ride home. It was nice to experience a Thanksgiving in New York City and will have to visit everything again in more detail but it was a nice overview of the parade and all the tourist attractions in Lower Manhattan.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here’s the parade from 2015:
The entire Macy’s Parade with the Walled Lake Band performing.
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.
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
Walking down the other side of Broadway, West 181st Street offers the most spectacular views of the Hudson River and of the Castle Village Apartment complex with the lush gardens and the interesting arched architecture.
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.
Walking down the St. Nicolas Avenue shopping district
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
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.
I got to walk around the tower on my trip back to the neighborhood in the Spring of 2026 and really got to see the detail work to the structure.
The tower
The tower
The doorway entrance
The windows
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.
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. Their Apple Turnovers are really good too.
Carla Torres is an Ecuadorian born artist now living in New York City. She is a visual artist, who works across several media including drawing, painting, illustration, animation, and murals. She is l expanding her horizons and vision as an artist. Since then her work has been exhibited in several galleries locally and internationally including the Queens Museum and the Noguchi Museum. (Artist bio).
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
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.
In June of 2026, the house was closed for touring because it is under a massive renovation until 2027 but I was able to walk the grounds. It was so quiet and very relaxing and cool under the shade trees.
Morris Jumel grounds
Morris Jumel estate grounds
The Morris Jumel estate grounds
Walking through the paths of the Morris Jumel estate
Walking some the paths at the Morris Jumel estate
After that, I took my time to walk around the Morris Jumel Historic district, which surrounds the house.
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.
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. In the Spring and Summer months, try to cool off in the parks under the large shade trees. After a long day of walking you will need it.
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:
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).
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.
The tip of the Washington Heights neighborhood at the intersection of Amsterdam and Audubon Avenues in the Spring of 2026
My first stop in the neighborhood was an ice cream parlor that is a popular hangout, Rincocito Ice Cream at 1650 St. Nicolas Avenue (Closed in 2019), 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. The Avenues in the neighborhood are far longer.
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.
In the Summer of 2026, the park was lush and in full bloom after a series of much needed rainstorms. It was nice to see the flowers in full bloom.
Walking through the park
The garden in bloom in Highbridge Park
Walking through Highbridge Park at 190th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
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.
Brownstones at Halloween in Manhattan
By the time I reached my goal of 181st Street in 2015, it was just about twilight with the bustle of a street teaming with activity. When I returned in the Spring of 2026, the Solstice was just about to happen and it bright, sunny and blue outside.
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
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
Walking up and down Fort George Avenue can be exhausting
I finishing walking this section of Washington Heights again in 2026. Just to let everyone know, ‘the Heights’ really is up on a hill and be prepared to do some walking up and down small hills in this neighborhood.
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.
Don’t miss ‘Nosferatu’ from 1922, the German Count Dracula
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:
I never realized that walking around Washington Heights would take so long but there is a little secret to the neighborhood. It isn’t flat! I have never walked up and down so many hills. This part of the island reminds you that hills and rock formations still exist on the island of Manhattan. You just don’t see them that much in Midtown.
I started my day just getting into New York City. The buses run so funny in the morning. Then it was a grueling day at the Soup Kitchen that I volunteer at some mornings when I am in the city. Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen was buzzing away today with a chicken curry entrée that had people coming back for thirds and fourths and we did not close until almost 12:40pm. Then it was the trip uptown. It does take a while to get to that part of Manhattan and as usual there were a lot of surprises that awaited.
When you get out of the A Train at 190th Street, the tunnel leading to the street on both sides has the most colorful street art on all the walls. Really take your time to look at the ‘tag’ work. This is now considered an art form in the city (as long as it does not disrupt or damage property) and you really have to look at the fringe neighborhoods, like Red Hook and Bushwick, for the inspirations. This tunnel shows a colorful display of street art that is actually allowed in the station and look to both walls and ceiling for the creative juices of many of these artists. The work is just amazing with colorful symbols and letter adorning the entire tunnel on the way out.
191st Subway Station is ever changing.
My walk today consisted of the entire lengths of the avenues in eastern Washington Heights. I walked the entire lengths of both Audubon Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue and covered almost all of Amsterdam Avenue having to finally stop at 181 Street because it was getting dark, and my feet were killing me. I walked both sides of the avenues from the tip of the neighborhood at 192nd Street to the border of the neighborhood at 155th Street. Needless to say, it was a long trip.
190th Street and Bennet Avenue Subway Station
Looking down Bennett Avenue on a Fall day
The beautiful rock formations by the subway stop
The formations were just as beautiful in the Spring of 2026 when all the trees were in bloom and you could really see the formations through the trees. I think that the views during the Summer were nicer than the ones in the Fall.
West 193rd Street
West 193rd Street
The entrance to the 190th Street subway
The rock formations on Bennett Avenue
Audubon Avenue is more residential with many pre-war buildings that are in the middle of renovations or have already been renovation. St. Nicolas Avenue is more commercial with small businesses and street vendors filling up most of the storefronts along the avenue. Both of these Avenues run the tip of the neighborhood, where when you walk up the hill of Fort George Avenue, you are really entering the heights.
The start of Audubon Avenue at the bend with Amsterdam Avenue
My first stop was Esmeraldo Bakery at 538 West 181st Street (See review on TripAdvisor.com and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com), a small hole in the wall bakery that offers an array of sweets and hot snacks. I enjoyed a beef and rice croquet, which are well-known in many of the Dominican bakeries I have visited in Washington Heights and a large, twisted cinnamon sugar doughnut, which was a messy, sugary delight.
For the price of $2.00, this gem of a bakery is a reasonable place to fill up on carbs for the long walk around the neighborhood. The service is super friendly, and they speak both English and Spanish. Their selection is really good and take a few extras along the way.
The pastries at Esmeraldo Bakery are delicious and reasonable
The sugar donuts at the bakery are excellent
Audubon Avenue offers some beautiful pre-war apartment buildings, many of which like the rest of the neighborhood are in the process of renovation. A lot of this neighborhood is under scaffolding. There are unique brownstones and townhouses to view on the way down the street in between the buildings.
Walking down Audubon Avenue in Washington Heights
Yeshiva University sits in the low 180’s and this area during the day is dominated by college students and professors, who are milling around between classes and a lot of the businesses in the area cater to this population with many nice restaurants and stores. When classes let out in the evening, you are on a very business campus and would not know that you are still in Washington Heights.
While I was walking down Audubon Avenue, I was passing a small bodega at 175 Audubon Avenue and noticed this interesting mural outside on the sides of the building. This colorful painting shows a depiction of life in Washington Heights. I thought it was fun and whimsical.
I visited the Audubon Avenue playground in the afternoon to cool down. What a great playground that was very active that afternoon. Kids were playing all over the place, splashing in the fountains and running around all the swings and slides. The best was that they had GREAT public bathrooms and they were clean. This is a rarity when you have to go in Manhattan.
The best is the woman who sells the Dominican ices outside the park. When it is in the 80’s, there is nothing like a Cherry Mango ice to cool you down.
Another way of cooling down is the delicious Dominican ices available for sale. I love the Cherry Mango.
Audubon Avenue stops at 165th Street to merge into St. Nicholas Avenue and a very busy shopping area. At the merger of St. Nicholas and Amsterdam Avenues, you walk past the C-Town grocery store to find the Sylvan Terrace, which is 20 identical homes that were once part of the entrance to the Morris-Jumel Mansion (See review on TripAdvisor.com and VisitingaMuseum.com), once home to Aaron Burr’s second wife, Eliza Jumel.
The house was closed again in Spring of 2026 but you could walk around the grounds and it was a beautiful sunny day when I walked around.
Morris Jumel grounds
Morris Jumel estate grounds
The Morris Jumel estate grounds
Walking through the paths of the Morris Jumel estate
Walking some the paths at the Morris Jumel estate
Sylvan Terrace was built in 1882 and was once part of the original Old Post Road from New York to Boston. The homes that now surround the street were built by James E. Ray between 1890 and 1902. The architect was influenced by the Queen Anne, Romanesque and Renaissance Revival influences and the homes are built with the Queen Ann style in mind (IloveWashingtonHeights.com).
These homes have been painfully restored back to their true glory and rumored to be going for about a million each. Their uniform painting and beautiful cobblestone streets leading to the mansion seem totally out-of-place with the rest of the neighborhood. So, climb the stairs and enjoy the walk down the street. This pathway was once part of the East Post Road that led to Boston.
At the end of the block is the Morris-Jumel Mansion (see review on TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.com), which was unfortunately closed the day I was there, but I got to walk the ground and sit in the mansion’s colorful garden that had yet to give way to the fall season. There was still a bit of summer left in that afternoon and it was nice to enjoy it walking the flowery paths and stone benches.
It has a great view of the river and the neighborhood below as this area was once the summer and weekend homes of the wealthy downtown when upper Manhattan was still considered the ‘wilderness’. Another version of this you can see at the Gracie Mansion in the 90’s which I will also see in the future.
Morris-Jumel Mansion gardens in the summer months
Take some time to stroll these paths and then walk around the Jumel Terrace Historical District, which is lined with turn of the last century apartment buildings and classic brownstones that are starting to be decorated for Halloween. They have a classic Edith Wharton look to them. This neighborhood is an oasis for the rest of the area and is tucked into this small three block radius. I took some time to really see how everyone had renovated their homes.
As you walk out of the Historical district, at 157th Street, you end up in a dead-end street with the picturesque Bushman Steps, a staircase that leads to Edgecombe Avenue and the very edge of High Bridge Park. On a sunny afternoon, this little park offers much refuge to the warm afternoon and a beautiful view to boot. This pocket park really makes the street pop and gives it a feel of ‘Old New York’, lined with trees and flowers.
Reaching the intersection of Audubon and Amsterdam Avenues in Washington Heights
Looking up Audubon Avenue from the intersection
Looking up Amsterdam Avenue from the intersection
At the end of 155th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, there is a series of unique brownstones at various stages of renovation. This row of brownstones is in various stages of renovation but like the rest of the area will be highly desirable in the future. These homes really stick out amongst the more modern buildings. My goal to 155th Street was complete as another more modern building is on the other side of 155th Street showing that many changes are happening in this area.
On the way back up St. Nicholas Avenue to the other side of Audubon Avenue, the schools were letting out and students and parents alike to converging to the bakeries and fast-food restaurants that line the area.
My next stop was at El Manantial Bakery at 325 St. Nicholas Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor) for pastilitos and a guava empanada. The pastilitos were filled with both chicken and beef and the guava empanada was filled with a guava jelly that all were really good. They also have terrific Apple Turnovers.
The pastilitos had just been fried and they had that juicy greasiness that something gets right out of the fryer. Make sure to order the beef ones. You will need a snack by this point. I only spend about $3.25 for two pastilitos, one pastry and a coke. Quite a steal!
On the side of the building was this interesting mural that had been painted here since the last time I visited entitled “Migration is an Earth Right” by Artist Carla Torres.
Artist Carla Torres is an Ecuadorian born but she relocated to New York City in 2006, looking to expand her horizons and vision as an artist. She works across several media including drawing, painting, illustration, animation, and murals. Since then her work has been exhibited in several galleries locally and internationally including the Queens Museum and the Noguchi Museum. Her work has also been awarded by the most prestigious illustration awards in the US, Canada, and Europe (CarlosTorres.com).
As I walked up Amsterdam Avenue, I came across more works by the artist Snoeman on the outsides of various bodegas. These works are a lot of fun and take time to really look at the detail work all along the walls.
The mural outside of 164 Amsterdam Avenue
The mural up close
The snowman at 166th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
Across Amsterdam Avenue there were two interesting murals by Artist TotemGraffx.
The artist Misael Rivas (also known as TOTEM) is a NYC born artist native to Washington Heights and is a graduate of the High School of Art & Design. The artist is known for his bold murals and Graffiti art (Artist bio).
The mural on Amsterdam Avenue and 170th Street
(I could not find the artist on this work)
I walked through Highbridge Park that was packed with people trying to stay cool. The pool was packed with people and the park had residents cooling under shade trees.
The entrance to Highbridge Park on Amsterdam Avenue
The first thing I did was visit the Highbridge Water Tower, which I always enjoy admiring. This class stone building was part of a system that used to bring fresh water from Upstate New York to the City.
The stairs leading to the lower level of the park from the water tower
Then I walked around the park at Amsterdam Avenue. This part of the park by the pool was very active and their were loads of people in the pool keeping cool.
Walking through the park
I then walked through the Sunken Playground inside the park looking for a bathroom (none are open and all under renovation)
The Sunken Playground in Highbridge Park at 167th Street and Edgecombe Avenue
Joel Bergner is an artist, educator and organizer of community art initiatives with youth in conflict-affected and marginalized communities around the world, from Syrian refugee camps to American prisons; the favelas of Brazil to an orphanage in South Africa.
Artist Angela Zirbes (AKA ‘Angfzir’)
Angfzir is the artist handle for Angela Zirbes ( Angela F.Z. ), a New York-based muralist, illustrator, and painter. She is highly recognized for her involvement in collaborative public art, community murals, and gallery group exhibitions.
Joel Bermudez
(Could not find a bio on the artist)
I came across this video on the artist Joel Bergner.
Joel is the CEO and Co-Founder of the non-profit organization Artolution. In this role, he mentors and supports local artists in vulnerable communities to lead their own youth art programs, affecting the lives of thousands of children who participate in hundreds of locally-led projects each year.
This little cat was hiding in the park
This little cat peeked out at me as I left the park. He had a very inquisitive look towards me.
The walk up and down St. Nicholas you will see one of the most active shopping districts that will compare to 207th and 181st Streets. So many things can be bought and sold on this avenue. Some of the most interesting street vendors are located between 180th to 187th Streets selling ices, pastilitos, fried pork, fried pastries, dolls, books, household appliances and even Christmas ornaments.
The shopping district on St. Nicholas Avenue in the Spring of 2026
On the side of the St. Elizabeth School at 162 West 187th Street, I saw this fascinating painting on the side of the school. I could not get close enough to get near it but I thought it was interesting. It was not there the last time I had visited the neighborhood.
Xmental (often stylized as XMental or Xmental Inc.) is a prominent NYC-based graffiti and street art collective and non-profit organization, founded by Ralph “Ralphy” Perez. XMental provides alternative, creative pathways for at-risk youth and individuals on probation. By partnering with NYC’s NeON Arts and the Department of Probation, they help young people channel their graffiti talents into legal, recognized public art (BK Reader.com/Brooklyn Arts Alliance).
While most of the buildings in the neighborhood are simple brink apartment buildings, here and there are embellishments that stand out. I saw this lion staring back at me around 182nd Street. It was one of the only embellishments to stand out to me.
Lion stating back at me on St. Nicholas Avenue building
Street art on St. Nicholas Avenue
Street art St. Nicholas Avenue
People were out in droves when school let out and many children were begging their parents for a snack. This can be a very active Avenue with many interesting restaurants to try in the future. St. Nicholas Avenue buzzed with activity from one end of the avenue to the other, especially as you arrived back at the hospital point by 168th Street. Columbia Presbyterian is taking over all the blocks at this location, changing the demographics and buildings.
I revisited the area again during the Christmas holiday season and this neighborhood is very lively with all the restaurants and stores in full swing. The area is also nicely decorated with light displays and music. There are a lot of nice restaurant and shops to choose from along the 181st Street corridor from Broadway to Amsterdam Avenue. Their merchant’s association did a nice job decorating the shopping corridor.
Washington Heights at 181st Street Shopping district at night during Christmas
The 181st Street Shopping district at Christmas time
My last part of the walk took me up and down the Amsterdam Avenue, which as it gets dark can get quite gloomy with its industrial feel to it. Parts of the it by High Bridge Park both by Fort George Avenue and between 181st and 170th Streets can be pretty, for the most part gentrification has left this part of the neighborhood alone. This was the part of the park near Yeshiva University.
The artwork celebrating the Knicks recent win (I do not know the artist)
By the time I rounded 155th Street and arrived at 181st, it was starting to get dark, and my feet and legs were ready to give out. Even the snacks did not help as I started to get hungry and with the dark started to come the fall cold nights. I have a lot more to walk in this neighborhood but just as much to explore.
The rock formations along Amsterdam Avenue near 191st Street
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:
I’m back in Washington Heights again traveling on the East side of Broadway and exploring all the side streets. I started my day walking along the length of 187th Street. I swear I find some great bakeries and restaurants in the neighborhood.
I started with a snack at the Grullon Bakery II at 575 West 187th Street. This local bakery has a wonderful selection of Dominican pastries and meat pies. The pastelitos here are really good. The chicken filling is spiced well and fried crisp. Their Cubanos’ stuffed pastries are wonderful as well. They are similar to the pastelitos but a different dough and a sweeten outside. They also had delicious Apple Turnovers.
Grullon Bakery II at 575 West 187th Street (Closed 2021)
All of their meat pastries run around $1.00 so it makes a nice travelling snack. Also check out some of their sweetened pastries as well. I have to say one thing, the staff seemed very amused by me eating there. I figured they don’t see too many customers who are not Dominican.
The Apple Turnovers were so good here
I was able to walk the whole distance of Wadsworth Avenue before nightfall. Now that the days are getting shorter, it’s harder to walk the distance before it gets too dark. Wadsworth is lined with many beautiful pre-war apartments but one section that is really nice is by Fairview Avenue with buildings that are shaped by the curvature of the road. Take a good look up and really look at this building. Its design is really unique, and the look of the apartments inside must be interesting.
Looking down Fairview Avenue from Wadsworth Avenue
Walking down Wadsworth Avenue in the Spring of 2026
Walking up Wadsworth Terrace in the Spring of 2026
Street art on Wadsworth Terrace
Walking down Fort George Avenue it seemed to me that everyone is obsessed with washing their cars. All up and down the street, everyone was power washing their cars and trucks so be on the lookout for streams of water. This is quite a walk up and down the hill passing the upper part of High Bridge Park which is loaded with trash in this part of the park. Even though this part of the park is loaded with interesting rock formation, it isn’t well taken care of and loaded with weeds.
Walking up Fort George Avenue in the Spring of 2026
I walked through Amelia Gorman Park off Wadsworth Avenue, which is unusual as the park starts on Broadway and you walk up the steps to the sitting area up above. It offers a nice view the surrounding area and the parks on the other side of the island. When you walk up the many flights of stairs, you will notice this park is also filled with weeds. The sitting area at the top of the park offers many benches and just as many nice views.
The park is dedicated to Gertie Amelia Gorman, a real estate investor at the request of her family. It is a nice place to relax after a long day of walking. Her daughter, Gertie Emily Webb gave the City Parks system $25,000 for the establishment of the park and a $50,000 trust to maintain it (NYCParks.com). The park finally opened up again in the Spring of 2026 and was beautiful with all the shade trees.
I walked the whole length of Wadsworth Avenue and back and then I started the length of St. Nicholas Avenue when night fell. I just walked one side of the road on the way back to the subway station. There is a lot of hustle on the avenue with street vendors hawking their wares and small food vendors selling ices, juices, pastelitos and fresh fruit. The stores that line this section of the block are loaded with life as everyone is rushing around either looking or buying.
There is nothing like a freshly fried pastilito
Walking back to Broadway down Fairview Avenue and all the new construction in 2026
For dinner that evening, I stopped at El Malecon Restaurant at 4141 Broadway. I passed the restaurant many times on the walk up and down Broadway and it offers a very interesting menu of Dominican, Caribbean and Spanish dishes. I had their chicken quesadilla there was served with fresh guacamole, which were freshly fried and bursting with flavor and then had the Shrimp with Garlic Sauce with a mound of rice and a side of beans.
The portion sizes are very big so come prepared with a big appetite. The service can be a little rough if you don’t speak Spanish that well, but they will try to help you with the menu. The place should not be missed when travelling up this way.
Their Shrimp with Garlic Sauce was excellent
On the way back to the subway, I noticed that people are still outside in the cool night air playing dominoes and cards. Even in the cool weather, the island way of life still rings true in this neighborhood, and it feels a whole lot safer.
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:
I took a walk on Riverside Drive today, completing the west side of Broadway from 181st Street to 153rd Streets, on a beautiful sunny day. Being a little humid did not help but as the day wore on it got cooler and nicer to walk. Riverside Drive breaks into breaks into two sections around 161st Street with one section ending at Broadway and another part aligning the park. I decided to take the long route first and walk down to about 143rd Street, enjoying the views of the park and stopping to look at the views of the palisades in New Jersey There are lots of scenic spots to view from.
Riverside Drive if full of interesting architecture
I stopped for lunch at George’s Pizza at 726 West 181st Street, a well-known pizzeria that has been around since 1960. They have a great lunch special of two giant slices and a can of soda for $5.00 and the pizza here is really good. The pizza maker makes a nice sauce, and it has a rich flavor to it. It was a nice lunch.
The pizza was perfectly cooked and with the size of the slices, I did not need any dinner. It is a small hole in the wall place that is popular with the locals and was very busy that afternoon. You really need to check it out when in the neighborhood. The pizza cook is a really nice guy to boot.
The pizza is delicious!
The slices are so generous
The inside of George’s Pizza
I doubled back up Broadway to about 156th Street and started the walk-up Riverside Drive from here. What’s nice about this section is the stone wall along the pocket park that lines this section of the drive.
The Cemetery in the summer of 2025
They make a nice bench for conversing with people as many residents seem to take advantage of during the day. There were lots of people socializing on this sunny afternoon.
Audubon Park and the cemetery is the border of Washington Heights and Harlem
What’s nice about the little park between the streets is the rock formations similar to the one you will see around 190th Street harking back to a time that this area was dominated by rocky hills not paved smooth by roads and housing developments. There is a natural beauty to this park.
The West 181st Street shopping district
The brownstones that line this area are surrounding by potted plants and window boxes, showing a colorful display of seasonable flowers and plants. They accent the buildings very well. I was able also to finish all the side streets between Riverside and Broadway noticing that a lot of these buildings are now under renovation. I just crisscrossed the streets between Riverside Drive and Broadway going up and down hills.
The end of West 181st Street by the George Washington Bridge
Walking down 181st Street, you will see the most beautiful views of the George Washington Bridge and of the Hudson River. On a sunny clear day, it is spectacular.
The Castle Apartments
The Castle Apartments on 181st Street
The Castle Village Apartments on 181st Street
The view at the bottom of East 181st Street
The view of the George Washington Bridge
The Plaza Lafayette at the end of 181st Street
More and more of these buildings are going from rentals to condos and you can see the money that is going into upscaling them. You can see it from the lobbies that you can view from the street to the new windows and sandblasting that is going on in the front of many of these buildings. This part of the neighborhood is going through a major transition.
I doubled back down Broadway to look over the selection of restaurants that were closed the last time I walked this part of the street and took a long walk on 155th Street down to the bridge. It really is a funny thing about 155th Street, how much it changes from one side of Manhattan to another.
The Polo Grounds Apartments are on West 155th Street
For some reason, you really can feel the difference from one side of the street to the other. By Riverside Drive, it is all brownstones and pre-war housing that is being renovated. This housing stock had been built during the turn of the last century and is much different from tenement housing in the middle of the neighborhood.
By the other side by the bridge, it is a large public housing complex. The Polo Ground Housing Complex I found out later on is one of the most dangerous in the City and I had walked all over the complex to see what it was all about. I could not believe that because I did not see anyone around. It is not the most attractive place to live as it looks very generic.
I headed back to Audubon Terrace that afternoon, but the gates were then locked and both museums and the college located there were closed at the time I visited.
Audubon Terrace is on one side of East 155th Street at Boricua College
On a break it was back to the lady who sells the shaved ice for a rainbow ice cup. I really look forward to those two scoops of rainbow ice. It must be all the years that I lived in the islands myself. I still am trying to find the elusive Guamanian treat of a combination of soft serve, shaved ice and lining it with fruit syrups. Now that was heaven on a hot day.
Do not miss the Rainbow ices at these small vendors
The last part of the day was spent walking up the east side of Broadway. Not knowing when I started on this side of the street, I walked from 155th Street to 207th Street.
Walking down Broadway by Isham Park
It didn’t take as long as I thought but my feet reminded me it was a distance. It was interesting to see all the restaurants I tried, all the stores I entered and all the bakeries I had to stop in, all delicious and very reasonable. There are many great business owners up here. I made it to 207th Street when it got dark.
Walking along Broadway
The outdoor cafes of Dyckman Street were in full swing that evening with such a warm night and everyone was out eating dinner and just enjoying the first warms days of the Fall. New York really comes alive at night, especially in this area where people are still in Fort Tryon Park jogging, walking or just out playing dominoes. You see that side of people that enjoy living in this neighborhood. All the restaurants were packed on this warm evening.
The restaurant scene along Dyckman Street in Inwood just keeps growing.
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:
I decided to take a break from the usual route and again got into the city late again (all those errands) and didn’t start the journey until 1:15pm. I started the trip on the number One Subway and walked down 207th Street to the A Subway at 207th Street. I took the over hour ride from the beginning of the A line to the end of the A line at 116 B in the Rockaway Beach area. This was my first trip to the Rockaway Beach in all the time I have lived in the New York City area.
My goal was to go to Rippers at 8601 Shore Front Parkway, a beach side hamburger stand that had been heavily written up all over the internet and taste the perfect hamburger. I had to see what the raving was all about.
By 2023, having walked over half of Manhattan and the weather being glorious that afternoon, I wanted to head back to Ripper’s again before it closed for the season. I had been on a walking tour of Chelsea Market and the new Little Island with my classmates from NYU that morning and decided that I wanted to end the day with a Ripper’s hamburger and a walk on the Boardwalk before it got too cool to come out here.
It was a long trip by subway. I sat and read the paper as the various stops passed by with the inter-changing people getting on and off the subway. I have never seen so many guys under the age of 30 with scraggly beards with backpacks and untucked shirts. I swear I think I am seeing a clone of a person with no personality on their way to a 9:00am class. Guys tuck your shirts in already. It isn’t cool!
This will better explain what the Rockaways are all about now.
I finally got to Rockaway Beach stop 116 in about an hour and a half. I got out of the subway to stretch before getting back on the subway and took the line to the 90th Street stop and got off. It is a scary stop with all the projects surrounding the stop. By 2023, the area had vastly improved and much of what I had seen since Hurricane Sandy had been knocked down and rebuilt. The are looked so much nicer.
The area has vastly improved since my trip to Rockaway in 2015 and the whole neighborhood is going through a revitalization.
There is even a different mood at the beach.
Once you cross the street and get past the strip mall and closer to the beach, the area gets nicer. The Boardwalk and beach are really nice, but it was a very windy day and tough to sit on the beach for any length of time.
When I arrived on the last day of August in 2023, it was a wonderful sunny and warm day. The perfect day to visit the beach and have a hamburger. I am so glad that I came to the shore. I needed a good burger and Ripper’s was so good the last time.
Rippers 8601 Shore Front Parkway at Rockaway Beach
Rippers was worth the trip. The food and service were excellent. The staff could not have been nicer and friendlier. I had a cheeseburger and fries with a Coke and thoroughly enjoyed it. According to the Village Voice, the restaurant is a joint venture between Roberta’s, a pizzeria in Bushwick, Brooklyn and the Meat Hook, a butcher in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The burgers are perfectly cooked and flavorful.
After so many bad burgers on this walk, this one finally tasted like a freshly ground burger with the right seasonings. It had a rich beef flavor to it. The French Fries are freshly cut and have been dipped in flour and then flash fried seasoned with black pepper, paprika and salt. They have a salty richness to them as well. The portion sizes are very generous, and I did not need dinner that night.
Ripper’s inside
The best was the wonderful opera music that the staff was playing which I thought was a very nice touch and really made for a festive atmosphere even though the ladies at the next table made it clear that they did not appreciate opera music. They were playing ‘The Masked Ball’, which was very enjoyable. With the wonderful music, sounds of the waves in the background and the salt air on this sunny yet windy day made for the perfect lunch. The main reason I went today is that they close next week at the end of September and will not open again until next Summer.
In 2023, I had a very interesting conversation with a slightly drunk older patron and it was one of the most thought provoking and interesting conversations I had had in a long time. The guy made me really think about the last eight years of my life. Still I was here for the burgers and the shore and took a seat overlooking the beach.
Yes, the Ripper Burger was worth it!
The burgers and fries are amazing!
After a nice lunch on the picnic tables outside and a great conversation with staff, I walked over to the beach. It was not a day to lounge on the beach with all that wind and the waves were pretty rough.
In 2015, I saw a couple of brave souls swimming although the red flags were out. I was able to put my feet in the ocean one last time which was nice after such a long trip and the quick on the boardwalk was pleasant after being cooped up on a subway all afternoon. Then it was back to the subway for the trip back to Inwood.
The beaches were much more active my second time to Rockaway Beach.
When I returned in the summer of 2023, the surfer culture was alive and well on this beautiful late summer day. The surfers were out in full force and people were swimming and walking along the beach and the boardwalk area. I was watching them and surfing has become really popular out here.
Rockaway Beach in the summer of 2023
The surfer culture is alive and well out here.
Note to all subway riders, take a good look on each station after you leave the Broad Channel stop and get on the local S train. At each station stop from the 90th Stop to the 116th Stop, there is a stain glass display by each subway sign. Take a good look at the colorful and beautiful work by artist Michael Miller done in 2010.
Located at the Beach 90 Station in Rockaway Beach, the artist, who is a graduate of New Mexico State University and the School of the Art Institute Chicago, was given the commission by MTA Arts in Transit and created this piece using the inspiration of his paintings to make these glass creations. These were created between 2009-2012 and can be seen at all the stations. Try to see them on a sunny day when the sun reflects into the glass.
Subway Station 90 “Surf Station 90” artwork by Michael Miller
“Surf Station 90”
The brilliance of the work when the sun hits it.
I stopped in Broad Channel, a subway stops and small island beach community off the Rockaways’. Broad Channel has a nice homey feel about it with all the kids playing in the playground by the school and library, all the American flags up and down Cross Bay Boulevard and several people saying hello to me. I thought it had a down home feel to it.
I can still see the effects of Hurricane Sandy from three years ago as some homes have still not been rebuilt while others have redone their homes. Walking the boulevard was a nice way to walk off lunch, see the neighborhood and look at the shoreline and the very distant view of Manhattan.
When I came back in 2023, the whole area looked so different. There were many newer homes and the old ones had been renovated and the whole neighborhoods looked refreshed. It still looked homey with lots of neighborhood spots but it looked rejuvenated. I got there rather late so it was getting dark when I arrived. Still it was a nice trip and I got to walk the whole downtown area to Adrienne’s, a new contemporary Italian restaurant I had read about.
Then came the long trip back to Inwood, I dealt with the on again off again passengers and a large group that came on at the airport stop. For those of you who are flying into New York City and want the cheapest transportation into Manhattan, the A train can be beat. It is a little longer but still a great way to travel.
The beautiful late summer sunset over Rockaway Beach and Broad Channel.
I got back to 207th Street by 8:15pm, seven hours late and an interesting way to spend the afternoon in search of the perfect hamburger. 207th Street back to the Number One Subway was alive with people. Many of the outdoor cafes on Broadway and on the beginning stretch of 207th Street were in full swing on this nice but cool night.
207th Street ‘Restaurant Row’
While 207th Street was not the outdoor flea market like it is on the weekends, it was still lively with people shopping and eating out. I then took the long train ride on the One Train downtown. I got home by 9:30pm. It was a nice trip to the shore.
For those of you who are the adventurous sort, take one of the subway lines from beginning to end. This trip was an eye opener to a part of the city I hadn’t ever visited in all my years coming into New York.
From A to A starts at the 207th Street stop to Rockaway Beach.
My recent paper in my Data Analytics Class on Rockaway Beach:
Okay, I did not make my goal of walking the whole city by the end of the Summer but when work, book edits, fire and ambulance calls and life in general get in the way, there is not much you can do but keep on walking. I started my walk today at the 165th Street subway station. At least I am moving down the subway lines.
Exiting the subway, I took the long walk down Broadway towards 155th Street to 153rd Street the traditional border of Washington Heights and Harlem. For all the reputation that these neighborhoods have to the rest of the city, they are really nice especially west of Broadway by the Hudson River. I concentrated on the west side of Broadway today, making 153rd Street my border until I start the eastern part of Broadway. At 84 degrees, the Summer has not let go yet and it was a beautiful sunny day to venture into the city.
I started down the hill on 153rd Street at the Trinity Church Cemetery, which is advertised at the ‘only active mausoleum’ on the island of Manhattan. By the time I got into the city at 3:30pm, the cemetery was closed for the day, but people were still walking around the sides of it, jogging, walking, biking and just enjoying the day.
The entrance to the cemetery at West 145th Street
The cemetery in the summer of 2025
By the wall on Broadway, I read a plaque that said this was the line of defense for General Washington against the British during the Revolutionary War. Many people forget how much Manhattan played a role during the war. If General Washington were only to see the neighborhood now, he would be pretty shocked. That is just about the sticker price on an apartment in the area as this area is getting more costly.
As I walked this section of Broadway, I ventured into the Sweet Life Pastry Bakery at 3887 Broadway for something to munch on to keep the sugar high. I had one of their fresh Concha pastries that is a type of sugary sweet cake. For a dollar, it quite a bargain for this red topped sugary pastry.
Sweet Life Pastry at 3887 Broadway (Closed in June 2020)
Venture inside for many other delicious sweets. Munching on the cake and walking around the other side of the cemetery at 155th Street, at the end of the street there is a series of steps that takes you to a set of stairs that leads to a small patch of Riverside Park with the most breathtaking views of the river and Fort Lee, New Jersey.
It’s nice on a sunny day to take in the view and the way the sun shines off the water and the river rushing by creates a very inviting and relaxing place to take in the views of the park. I sat and watched the joggers, bikers and people just walking and talking pass by enjoying their afternoon. Then it was back up the steps to continue up Riverside Drive.
As I walked down the side streets between Riverside Drive and Broadway, there are many pockets of small sites to see and enjoy. At the end of the stretch of 158th Street, there is a row of townhouses with different designs, all sitting in various stages of renovation, with a few still boarded up.
There are not many places in the city where you are going to see much of this. I was pretty surprised that two or three were still in bad shape. I don’t give it that much time before someone passes these homes and snatches them up for a new home. Still, they look genuine. Like the people that live there have seen the good times and the bad times of the neighborhood.
At the start of corner of 157th Street and the beginning of Riverside Drive at 811 Riverside Drive, there is the most unique home sitting next to an apartment building with similar architecture, but it looks more like a Gothic house that was once someone’s mansion until it was turned into apartments. This now two-family house looks almost like a frat house but kept in the utmost care. It is worth the wait to stare at from the street.
The house was built in 1922 for clothing manufacturer, Nathan Berler and was supposed to be part of a bigger development of duplex homes. It was the only one that ended up being built. This unique home sits amongst the buildings known as the Audubon Terrace (Untapped Cities).
The Berler-Levy Houses at 809-811 Riverside Drive East at the corner of West 158th Street and Riverside Drive East
The two joined brick houses, designed by Moore & Landsiedel in a Spanish style, feature a tiled roof and a one-story conservatory at either end. Notice the arched windows with fanlights, the pairs of Doric columns flanking each door and a balustrade at each window (AudubonPark.com website).
The front of the house
In 1920, Nathan Berler, a wholesale clothing manufacturer, and lawyer Charles Levy, built the Berler-Levy duplex as a prototype for an alternative to apartment dwelling in Washington Heights (AudubonPark.org website).
Another is a pocket park on Riverside Drive West which mergers into Riverside Drive. What I have found is that when these communities ban together, they can create small, picturesque parks for all the neighbors to enjoy. Their form of community gardening has created a place for seniors and their caregivers to relax and kids to run around in without fears of cars. It is a nice place to sit on a bench and watch the world go by. The start of Riverside Drive off 158th Street and Edward Morgan Place offers another beautiful patch of hilly park space on two levels of stone wall with a staircase in between.
Many people were sitting on the wall chatting away enjoying the day, not noticing the trees still in full form and several brownstones with potted plants and window gardens decorating their fronts. These colorful displays accented the brownstones’ and almost brought the park to the front of their homes. A black cat followed me up the street, my first companion on this walk. After a block, it meowed and walked back down the street.
I walked all the side streets between 158th Street to 164th Street, admiring the pre-war buildings and watching the families outside setting up tables and chairs and talking to their friends and families or just playing dominoes or cards. These folks seriously pay attention to what is going on around them. My walk up and down Riverside Drive will complete this side of Broadway in Washington Heights.
The front of the Hispanic Society Museum at 613 West 155th Street
The main gallery of the museum
I stopped one day to visit the Hispanic Society Museum & Library at 613 West 155th Street (see my reviews on TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.com) on one of the rare days that it was open. It is a wonderful place to admire Spanish art from different eras. Take time to admire the murals towards the back of the museum and then some of the Medieval art in the middle of the museum.
Hispanic Society Museum & Library in the main gallery
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 has 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 art and literature outside of Spain and Latin America.
The main gallery of the Hispanic Society of America
Archer Huntington’s fascination with Spanish culture started at the age of twelve; by fourteen he had begun to study the Spanish language and by nineteen he revealed his aspiration to found a “Spanish Museum”. As Huntington’s enthusiasm grew he became increasingly committed to the creation of an institution that would encompass all facets of Hispanic culture. Working toward this goal, Huntington began his collection with Spanish rare books and manuscripts; then decorative arts; followed by paintings and sculpture-all of which now fill the galleries of The Hispanic Society of America.
The Catholic symbols and artifacts and artwork of the Hispanic Society of America
Today the Hispanic Society Museum and Library builds upon the legacy of Huntington through an active acquisitions program as well as public programs that reach out to new audiences through collaborative exhibitions, educations, and publications.
Portrait of the Dutchess of Alba by Goya
The Hispanic Society is especially rich in paintings, drawings and prints by Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), one of the most inventive artists of his time. Goya’s iconic 1797 Portrait of the Duchess of Alba dressed in black as a Spanish maja, is the most renowned painting in the collection (Hispanic Society website).
I ended my day with a soda and some freshly fried chicken Pastelitos at La Terraza at 3881 Broadway. This little restaurant displays their selection of entrees in the window. The pastelitos they in big demand as they disappeared quickly from the window display, and I lucked out with ones that just came out of the fryer. They were the best with spicy shredded chicken squirting out with every bite. That with a Coke is a nice way to end the day.
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:
I finally finished the area on the western side of Broadway from 178th Street to 164th Street. It was a long day of walking. I also covered the entire lengths of Haven Avenue and Fort Washington Avenue past Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, which pretty much dominates over this area. There is a pretty distinct line in the neighborhood once you cross over 180th Street and you get to 165th Street, which is the border of the ever-changing Dominican neighborhood and the Hospital neighborhood. Things become much more commercial and a little upscale below 165th Street as it caters to the hospital staff.
Even the housing stock changes. The area around the hospital you can tell caters to the staff and the guests and once over the 168th Street border, it goes back to Dominican neighborhood. Between Yeshiva University and the hospital, this area you can see is going through a rapid flux. The streets are full of such beautiful, classic housing stock and if it were in the lower 90’s on both sides would be snatched up for more than double the price.
The corner of West 181st Street and Broadway
The stonework along on some of the buildings with pillars and statuary brings almost a European feel to this area. I call the changes the ‘new window’ theory. Whenever you see new window frames in an older building, you know the area is changing. The gentrifying cliché of white people walking their dogs or jogging rings so true around here. I see the looks in the faces of the guys playing dominoes in the park and their eyes roll.
I got up today as classes were letting out at PS 173 across from J. Hood Wright Park. The streets were lined with well-dressed students yelling and screaming at one another all over the street. The school is very impressive looking almost like an Ivy League school with its beautiful stonework and pillared entrance. It complements the park very nicely.
J. Hood Wright Park, the former estate of banker and financier, J. Hood Wright is located between 176th Street to 173rd Street and has gone through an over two-million-dollar renovation. The park was full of action this afternoon.
People were walking their dogs, sunbathing by the rock formations and reading on the backside park with the most spectacular views of the George Washington Bridge. The park has a dog walk in the back, a baseball and basketball court and walking paths that wind the whole park.
The rock formations at Hood Park
The best was all the street vendors outside the school. You had your choice of soft serve ice cream, shaved flavored ices, freshly fried Pastelitos (meat pies) and fresh fruit. The shaved ice is the best on a humid day. I had a mango-strawberry ice that was so refreshing. You can also get three very sweet peaches for a dollar.
The Mango ice is so refreshing on a hot day
The park in the summer of 2025
It was nice to just sit in the park and relax, watching kids chase each other around the playground and eating their snacks while dog walkers compared notes.
The views of the George Washington Bridge from the park
The lawn by the rock formations
The gardens by the dog walk in the park
The gardens in Hood Park in the summer of 2025
When walking down Wadsworth and Fort Washington Avenue again in the Spring of 2026, I forgot how amazing the views were both of the bridge and of the streets when the trees where in full bloom. The area between 181st and 178th Street offers the most spectacular views of the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge.
The view at the bottom of East 181st Street
The view of the George Washington Bridge
The Plaza Lafayette at the end of 181st Street
Fort Washington Avenue
Looking up Fort Washington Avenue
I stopped by Mambi Steak House at 4181 Broadway at 177th Street, a Dominican restaurant that is very popular in the neighborhood. The fresh Pastelitos are great and there is a nice selection of other takeout items as well.
The Mambi Steakhouse at 4181 Broadway at 177th Street
On the hot line, there are all sorts of lunch specials such as beef, chicken and codfish stew, pepper steak, eggplant and lasagna. Wonderful smells wafted through the entire restaurant. With two Pastelitos and a coke in hand, I walked the lengths of Haven Avenue and Fort Washington Avenues and the side streets from 164th Street to 178th Street. The streets were lined with the most amazing pre-war apartment buildings and a lot of rebuilding and renovations especially around the hospital.
I concluded my walk at La Dinastia Restaurant at 4181 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and 171st Street, a Dominican-Chinese restaurant. This restaurant is wonderful and the pictures on the window of the place don’t do it justice.
I had a boneless chicken crackling with a special fried rice. The chicken cracklings had a breading that was a cross between a tempura and fried chicken with spices and the special fried rice was full an array of ingredients such as shrimp, ham, chicken, sausage and vegetables.
Chicken Cracklings with Fried Rice
My lunch of Chicken Cracklings with House Fried Rice and Salad
The Chicken Cracklings and Fried Rice is one of their specialties
The meal was huge. They gave me about eight large pieces of chicken with almost a pint of fried rice. It was a meal you cannot finish at one sitting, and it made almost three meals. The restaurant is well worth the trip with the combination of flavors and fusion of Spanish and Chinese cuisine. It will be worth a second trip.
The walk concluded the area from 164th Street to 178th Street west of Broadway. The next part will be the area east of Broadway from 193rd on down. I hope for good weather.
Street art off Broadway and 172nd Street
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:
I continued my walk in Washington Heights in the middle of the neighborhood west of Broadway when the heavens opened up. Thank God it did not last forever. The sun did come out later that afternoon and did cool down a lot. It was the perfect weather to walk around the neighborhood.
I took the subway back up to 181st Street and walked past the rock formation again that abuts the surrounding buildings. I can’t believe that someone would want to blast this away to build something but it looks like its under construction. This is such a focal point in a neighborhood filled with pre-war apartments.
My start point 181st Street Station in the Fall
The view of the side of the street
Looking down the street from the subway stop in the Fall of 2025
Bennett Avenue is just as beautiful in the summer months with all the trees in full form. You get a beautiful view of the rock formations while walking down the street.
West 193rd Street
West 193rd Street
The entrance to the 190th Street subway
The rock formations on Bennett Avenue
My first part of the walk took me down the 181st Street shopping area and maybe I missed it the first time but there is a Starbucks on the corner of 181st Street and Fort Washington Avenue. This is the tale tell sign that the neighborhood is changing again. This part of Washington Heights west of Broadway is really beautiful with its rolling hills, pocket parks and tree-lined streets and the most amazing view of the George Washington Bridge from the corner of 181st Street and Pinehurst Avenue.
West 181st Street by the George Washington Bridge
The West 181st Street shopping district is much quieter in the western side of Broadway than the eastern side
The street slopes down and you have a view of Riverside Park in the distance, a tree lined street and the pocket park next to the dead end of Pinehurst Avenue.
Walking up Pinehurst Avenue
This is a perfect place to take pictures and climb the stairs to relax on one of the many benches that line the walkway. Toward the top of the stairs, the fence is lined with modern art that is festive and unique. As I said on a previous day, this part of the neighborhood reminds me of the marina area in San Francisco.
The end of West 181st Street near Riverside Drive
Street sculpture in the West 181st Street shopping district
When you climb the stairs at Pinehurst Avenue, you are greeted by the Hudson View Gardens Apartments, a mixture of stone and Tutor apartments landscaped to match the adjoining parks. This offers the most amazing views and the buildings are so beautiful.
The Castle Apartments
The Castle Apartments on 181st Street
The Castle Apartment’s
The view at the bottom of East 181st Street
The view of the George Washington Bridge
The Plaza Lafayette at the end of 181st Street
This attractive apartment complex lines the streets of the west side on Pinehurst Avenue, across the street from James Gordon Bennett Park, a staple that attracts families from all over the neighborhood. The courtyards of the complex are colorfully planted and match the stonework of the buildings. The whole affect with the park across street is quite striking.
The Hudson View Gardens Apartments in lower Inwood
James Gordon was a newspaper publisher who launched the New York Herald in 1835. He donated this land which was part of his property. The land sat on the site of the original Fort Washington that had been part of the Revolutionary War battles. The park opened in 1929 and the unique aspect of the park is that is that the west side of the park site an outcropping of the ‘Manhattan Schist’, the layer of bedrock in which is the core of the island and how all the skyscraper’s are built on the island. This part of the schist is the highest point of Manhattan (Wiki).
James Gordon Bennett Sr. founder of the New York Herald Newspaper
I spent time in Bennett Park at West 183rd Street watching kids climb rocks, frolic around the playground and play with their parents, who were enjoying the park just as much as the kids. It gives me faith that raising children in New York City has changed over the last twenty years. I am seeing more and more young parents in the city staying put and bringing life back to New York establishing their roots here and not in the suburbs.
James Gordon Bennett Park at West 183rd and Fort Washington Avenue
Bennett Park offers a lot. There is lots of equipment in the playground to keep any child occupied. There is a area for soccer, kite flying, rock climbing and even a cannon to climb on. Kids were flying planes, throwing balls with their parents or chasing one another without a cellphone in sight. That gives me faith in the next generation.
Bennett Park in the Spring of 2026
This is noted to be the highest point in Manhattan in James Gordon Bennett Park
The sign for the highest natural point in Manhattan in Bennett Park
The highest point in Manhattan
When I walked out of the park entrance, I came across the memorial dedicated to Fort Washington which was once on the park’s location. I was surprised with the ‘250th Anniversary” of the country this year, this was not decorated.
Leaving Bennett Park and walking up the length of Pinehurst Avenue, I stopped at the little triangle park to rest and take a phone call.
Looking down Pinehurst Avenue
The Paterno Trivium, at the corner of Cabrini Boulevard, Pinehurst Avenue and West 187th Street is another small pocket park run by the NYC Park system.
The Paterno Trivium at Pinehurst Avenue is perfect for relaxing in the Fall of 2025
The Paterno Trivium sign
The Paterno Trivium in the Spring of 2026
It was a perfect place to converse with local seniors on the current status of New York City, happenings in the neighborhood and recommendations of restaurants on the small restaurant row on 187th Street. There is a little bit of everything in this area.
The park was named after Charles V. Paterno, a developer who was responsible for developing most of the Fort Washington section of Manhattan. He developed the Hudson View Garden Apartment complex, the Gothic apartment buildings near Fort Tryon Park in 1923-24. The park opened in 2000 and has become a Greenstreet site (NYCParks.org).
Castle Village Apartments around West 181st Street
I then walked around Chittenden Avenue off Cabrini Avenue to see the views of the Hudson River. This section of the City is like a hidden gem in one of the most picturesque sections of Manhattan. They really keep this area quiet.
Walking down Cabrini and Chitterden Avenues by the Hudson River
Looking down the Hudson River from Cabrini Chitterden Avenue
After walking both sides of Fort Washington Street and finished the upper western part of Washington Heights, I walked down 181st Street towards Broadway and made my way down Broadway to 165th Street following the western perimeter of the neighborhood.
The West 181st Street shopping district by Broadway
Make note of this shopping district around 181st Street on both sides of Broadway which is loaded with reasonable restaurants and stores all along the street and down Broadway, St. Nicolas Street and parts of Audubon Avenue. It was especially vibrant during the holiday season when all the overhead Christmas lights were up.
The West 181st Street shopping district at Christmas time
The shopping area again in the early Fall of 2025
I then walked around the Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital complex with dominates the 165th Street from Broadway to the Hudson River. All the housing surrounding the complex has been updated obviously for the staff of the hospital and in the later evening staff from the hospital was walking all over the neighborhood, conversing, walking their dogs and eating out.
Walking down Fort Washington Avenue on my way to the hospital
There is a distinct change in the neighborhood once you cross 169th Street on Broadway. It goes from a Dominican neighborhood to a more college oriented one, lined with chain stores, upscale restaurants and gourmet shops and businesses catering more to the college and hospital staff then to the neighbors slightly to the north. Honestly though, I see plenty of young Hispanic professionals in the restaurants.
Walking back up Fort Washington Avenue from Broadway
I had enough time to walk all the side streets between Broadway and Haven Avenue and the first three blocks up, the housing looks strictly for the hospital staff changing again around 172nd Street. I ended my walk for the evening walking the edges of J. Hood Wright Park, watching everyone walk their dogs through the park and the last playground stragglers leaving the park for the evening.
The entrance to J. Hood Wright Park in Washington Heights
J. Hood Wright was a wealthy banker and financier who owned a mansion on the site and donated heavily to the local Washington Heights branch of the library (NYCParks.org).
I stopped at La Nueva Empanadas Monumental at 3772 Broadway for some empanadas to munch on way back to the subway station. I had the chicken and cheese and the chicken. Not bad but a little doughy and be prepared to speak your broken Spanish if you unless you speak the language.
Most everyone is a Spanish speaker in the restaurant and some of the patrons seemed a little shocked that I walked in. To me, it’s a nice place for a quick, reasonably priced snack.
Their empanadas are really good!
I will be finishing the rest of this side of Broadway in the coming days.
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:
mywalkinmanhattan 