Tag Archives: Exploring Inwood

Sherman Creek Park 3725 Tenth Avenue New York, NY 10034

Swindler Cove in the Sherman Creek Park.

Park Terrace Deli 510 West 218th Street New York, NY 10034

Don’t miss the delicious wraps and sandwiches at Park Terrace Deli.

Park Terrace Deli at 510 West 218th Street

The Bacon, Egg and Cheese is wonderful here

The sandwich is delicious

Dining on a Shoestring in the New York City area and beyond.

Park Terrace Deli

510 West 218th Street

New York, NY 10034

(212) 569-5990

http://www.parkterracedeli218thst.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 5:00am-1:00am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d4636946-r848155957-Park_Terrace_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Park Terrace Deli has been one of my go to places to eat uptown for a few years. I came across the deli when I was walking “The Great Saunter”, the 32 mile walk around Manhattan and needed an additional breakfast for extra protein and carbs. They did not disappoint me.

Park Terrace Deli at 510 West 218th Street

I always order the same thing here, the Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a hero roll ($6.50) and it is one of the best in Manhattan. They scramble two fresh eggs and then tuck it into a soft chewy hero roll lined with American cheese. Then they top it with several pieces of crisp bacon. The combination of flavors is amazing, and the portion size is enough for breakfast…

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Day One Hundred and Thirty-Nine: Walking the entire length of Broadway from 242nd Street Van Cortlandt Park to the Bowling Green Park on the West side of the road June 14th and on the East side of the road, July 2nd, a third time August 10th, 2019 a forth time July 31st, 2020 and a fifth time June 15th, 2021.

Please check out my updates in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and see how Manhattan keeps on changing.

The Beginning of the Journey starts at Van Cortland Park on 242nd Street.

The Van Cortlandt Manor.

The 13 mile walk takes about eight hours to compete. It is a great walk on a cool but sunny day.

You will end the walk at Bowling Green Park! It’s a treat!

mywalkinmanhattan

When I finally finished walking Sutton and Beekman Places, I finally decided to take the long walk down Broadway that I had planned for two years. As you can see by the blog, I like to take one neighborhood or section of the City at a time and concentrate on getting to know it. What is the history of the neighborhood? What is there now? Who are the shop keepers and the restaurant owners? What is the neighborhood association doing to improve the area? I like to become part of the neighborhood when I walk around it.

But recently I have noticed people on the Internet have been posting that they walked the entire length of Broadway and bragged about it like they were ‘performing brain surgery’. So I put aside my next walk and decided to see what the fuss was about walking up and down Broadway. I am…

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I Love New York logo

Day One Hundred and Sixty-Two: “I Love New York” from the 1970’s, 80’s and Today! March 30th, 2020

I was just watching ’60 Minutes’ tonight and it has never been scarier to be in New York City. The hospitals are being over-whelmed by patients that are low on supplies and the medical staffs are tired, burnt out and still stepping up to the plate to help get people better. The streets are empty with people as the last of the tourists left two weeks ago and the crowded streets of Manhattan that only in December were packed with so many people that you could not walk seems like a distant memory.

NY Restaurant Show II

https://www.internationalrestaurantny.com/

What should have been a great night for everyone. Michigan State WON 80-69!

As you have read from my last two blog entries, I was in Manhattan from March 7th until March 10th walking the International Restaurant Show, watching the Michigan State-Ohio State Basketball game at Blondies Bar on the Upper West Side for who would be the Big Ten Champion (MSU won Go Green Go White) that Sunday night, at the Anthology Film Archives watching Sandra Bullock in “The Net” for a series the movie theater had on 1990’s Internet films on Monday night and then my last night in the City on Tuesday, March 10th for the Gerhard Richter Exhibition at the Met Breuer for a Private Members Night. All this while everything was going on around us.

Met Breuer

The Met Breuer at 945 Madison Avenue

https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/met-breuer

Anthology Film archives

The Anthology Film Archives at 32 Second Avenue

http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/

The night I went to the Anthology Film Archives, I stopped in Chinatown first to go to Wonton Noodle Garden on Mott Street (see review on TripAdvisor) for dinner. What shocked me was how empty the place was that evening. This is a restaurant that is packed all the time and it is open until 2:00am. The only people who were there were myself and two tables of NYU students.

Wonton Noodle Garden II

Wonton Noodle Garden at 56 Mott Street

http://www.wontonnoodlegarden.com/

When I asked the waiter where everyone was, he threw up his shoulders and said “Everything going on in the world”. I knew it did not look good that night as the rest of Chinatown was empty. The East Village was hopping with college students and the neighborhood around me was busy but you could feel the mood shifting.

Wonton Noodle Garden

Wonton Noodle Garden’s Cantonese Wonton Soup with Egg Noodles and Roast Pork can cure all ills.

‘The Net’ Trailer

Sandra Bullock can cheer anyone up!

I felt this at the Restaurant Show where you could walk down the aisles of the show and never bump into anyone. The Tuesday afternoon that I went in to see the show one last time by 3:30pm most people had packed up and gone. The show did not close until 4:30pm. They were ready to go by early that morning. So, my last five days in Manhattan I felt the mood changing as people were not sure what to do.

That last night at the Met Breuer as I walked the crowded floors of the museum enjoying the Gerard Richter Show before the opening to the public, I could hear in the corner’s members saying “I am really surprised they did not cancel this.” and “Could you believe this crowd with what’s going on?” It was like all of us knew this was the last night of “ballyhoo”.

Gerhard Ritcher artist

Artist Gerhard Richter in front of his works

https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/

All over the world people are banding together to contribute what they can and keep the human spirit alive by volunteering where they can and helping one another out. I know that between my work at the College and the Fire Department everyone has me running around and my spirit of volunteerism is never lacking.

So, to all my readers especially the ones who are displaced New Yorkers remember that New York City has seen it darker days in the past and has risen to overcome them. There is a real spirit in the City that is not replicated anywhere else in the world and we saw that in the 1970’s, 80’s 90’s and on 9/11 to current days.

That was until 1977 when we rediscovered that spirit and said “I LOVE New York!”

To cheer everyone up, I pulled the old campaign from YouTube from the dark days of the 1970’s and 80’s to show how the human spirit can overcome anything if we pull together. So, this special entry of “MywalkinManhattan” is dedicated to all of you who will never let that spirit die both here and where you live now. We will get through this!

I love New York III

After all “WE LOVE NEW YORK!”

The song that started it all:

The original campaign videos:

New York City after 9/11:

The Original Campaign videos from the 1980’s 1-5:

How the “I LOVE NEW YORK” campaign came about:

This excellent documentary was done by a New York High School student in 2006.

Songs that represent the true spirit of New York City:

Native New Yorker by Odyssey:

The Great Liza Minnelli singing the best version of “New York New York”

We will get through this everyone and God Speed!

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

In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am featuring wonderful reasonable restaurants in New York City. Don’t miss the delicious baked goods and empanadas at this bakery! It’s worth the trip uptown.

5 star estrella bakery

The selection of baked goods at 5 Star Estrella Bakery is extensive.

The renovated front of the bakery.

Dining on a Shoestring in the New York City area and beyond.

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

I have been to 5 Star Estrella Bakery Corporation about ten times since my project, “MywalkinManhattan” has taken me to this part of the city. Washington Heights has all sorts of bodega’s and deli’s on every corner of the neighborhood but this one stands out. Everything here is very reasonable and delicious (See my reviews on TripAdvisor).

I have to admit that the baked goods can be a little hard later in the afternoon but the taste is still wonderful. I have had their vanilla and chocolate doughnuts and they are big, puffy rings with a thick layer of icing ($1.25). In the early morning, they have a soft pillowy consistency and in the afternoon, they can be a little harder but still good.

They have wonderful Pastellitos (similar to empanadas) filled…

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G’s Coffee Shop 634 West 207th Street New York, NY 10034

In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am featuring wonderful reasonable restaurants in New York City.

 G’s Coffee Shop is a great little place for breakfast and lunch when you are touring the Dyckman Farmhouse and The Met Cloisters. The food is very reasonable and the service is very friendly.

The menu is very extensive and reasonable

The burgers here are amazing!

So are the breakfasts. This is the Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burrito

Dining on a Shoestring in the New York City area and beyond.

G’s Coffee Shop

634 West 207th Street

New York, NY  10034

(212) 942-0679

Free Delivery

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

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Breakfast—Brunch-Restaurant/Gs-Coffee-Shop-205601462950934/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d17445018-Reviews-G_s_Coffee_SHop-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

I came across G’s Coffee Shop (Steve & Gus Coffee Shop as the sign says) when I was taking a tour of the near by Cloisters Museum in Fort Tyron Park and then explored the park. After I finished at the museum and walking the park, I was starved and explored around the neighborhood to find a place to eat. Having walked the neighborhood for my blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com” a few years earlier, I had passed many restaurants on 207th Street that had opened and closed over the years and I came to G’s Coffee Shop which I had not noticed on my last few trips to the neighborhood.

Sitting down to eat at this small hole in the wall diner, I found that it was a…

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Trinity Park Cemetery

Day Seventeen: Walking the Washington Heights Border on Riverside Drive and West Side of Broadway 181st to 153rd Streets September 28th, 2015

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 (now closed). 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.

Georges Pizza

Georges Pizza at 726 West 181st Street (Closed in 2017)

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!

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. 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

http://www.audubonparkny.com/

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 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.

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

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

https://www.boricuacollege.edu/

The Boricua College at 3755 Broadway

The statuary guarding the campus.

On a break it was back to the lady who sells the shaved ice for a mango ice cup. I really look forward to those two scoops of mango 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.

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. 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.

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:

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 Eat:

Georges Pizza

726 West 181 Street

New York, NY 10033

http://georgespizzanewyork.net/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d478960-Reviews-George_s_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html

http://www.georgespizzadinner.com/

(Now Closed for Business)

Visit the shopping area of 207th Street with all its great Dominican Restaurants and stores

Day Fifteen: First Day of Fall walking Washington Heights to Harlem West of Broadway from 164th to 155th Streets September 23rd, 2015

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.

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.

Trinity Church Cemetery

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

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 Bakery

Sweet Life Pastry at 3887 Broadway

https://www.sweetlifepastry.nyc/

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).

811 Riverside Drive

811 Riverside Drive-The Nathan Berler House

https://streeteasy.com/building/811-riverside-drive-new_york

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.

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 of America

Hispanic Society Museum & Library

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:

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:

Trinity Church Cemetery

770 Riverside Drive

New York, NY 10032

(212) 368-1800

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

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

Hispanic Society Museum & Library

613 West 155 Street

New York, NY  10032

(212) 926-2234

Home

Open: Check the website

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d110237-Reviews-Hispanic_Society_of_America-New_York_City_New_York.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

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

Places to Eat:

La Terraza (Closed 2017)

3881 Broadway

New York, NY 10032

(212) 795-0615

Sweet Life Pastry (Closed 2020)

3887 Broadway

New York, NY  10032

(212) 304-0265

https://www.sweetlifepastry.nyc/

https://www.sweetlifepastryny.com/

Open: Hours vary so please call their number

J. Hood Wright Park

Day Fourteen: Walking in Southern Washington Heights from 174th to 164th Streets West of Broadway September 16th, 2015

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 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 II

J. Hood Wright Park

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/j-hood-wright-park

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.

James Hood Wright

James Hood Wright, banker and financier

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

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 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.

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. 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.

Mambi Steakhouse

The Mambi Steakhouse at 4181 Broadway at 177th Street

https://www.seamless.com/menu/el-mambi-steakhouse-4181-broadway-new-york/2121488

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.

La Dinastia Restaurant at 4181 Broadway

https://www.facebook.com/ladinastia72/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d534262-Reviews-La_Dinastia_II-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

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.

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.

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:

Don’t miss the view of 181st Street toward the George Washington Bridge. It is amazing!

J. Hood Wright Park

West 173rd Street at Haven Avenue

New York, NY  10033

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/j-hood-wright-park

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

Places to Eat:

La Dinastia Restaurant

4059 Broadway at 171st Street

New York, NY  10032

(212) 928-6605

http://www.ladinastiany.com

http://www.ladinastiany.com/

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

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d534262-Reviews-La_Dinastia_II-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Mambi Steak House

4181 Broadway

New York, NY  10033

(212) 928-9796

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mambi-Restaurant/120047598010998

Open: 24 hours a day

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d3605814-Reviews-Mambi_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Paterno Trivium

Day Thirteen: Lower Washington Heights Walking Broadway from 193rd Street to 165th Street West of Broadway September 13th, 2015

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.

181 Street Station

My start point 181st Street Station

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.

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. 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.

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 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.

HUdson View Gardens Apartments

The Hudson View Gardens Apartments in lower Inwood

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

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 Gorden Bennett

James Gordon Bennett Sr. founder of the New York Herald Newspaper

https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Gordon-Bennett-American-editor-1795-1872

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 Gorden Bennett Park II

James Gordon Bennett Park at West 183rd and Fort Washington Avenue

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

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.

James Gorden Bennett Park

This is noted to be the highest point in Manhattan in James Gordon Bennett Park

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. 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. 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.

Paterno Trivium

The Paterno Trivium at Pinehurst Avenue is perfect for relaxing

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/greenstreet-mz188/highlights/9757

Charles V. Paterno

Charles V. Paterno, Builder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V._Paterno

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

J. Hood Wright Park II

The entrance to J. Hood Wright Park in Washington Heights

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/j-hood-wright-park

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).

James Hood Wright

James Hood Wright, a banker and philanthropist

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

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.

La Nueva Empanadas

La Nueva Empanadas Monumental at 3772 Broadway

http://www.empanadasmonumental.net/

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.

La Nueva Empanadas II

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:

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:

James Gordon Bennett Park

West 183rd and Fort Washington Avenue

New York, NY  10033

(212) 639-9675

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

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/bennett-park/history

J. Hood Wright Park

West 173rd Avenue between Haven Avenue and Fort Washington Avenue

New York, NY  10033

(212) 639-9675

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

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/j-hood-wright-park

Paterno Trivium

At the corners of Cabrini Boulevard, Pinehurst Avenue and West 187th Street

New York, NY  10040

Open: Check the Website

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/MZ188/highlights/9757

Places to eat:

La Nueva Empanadas Monumental

3772 Broadway

New York, NY  10032

(646) 559-2502

https://empanadasmonumentalnewyork.com/

Open: Monday-Thursday-9:00am-11:00pm/Friday, Saturday and Sunday-9:00am-12:00am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d15166228-Reviews-Empanadas_Monumental-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905