I came across Cheesy Pizza when visiting Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale neighborhood (the very Upper Upper West Side) when walking down Broadway for my blog ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’. What attracted me to the restaurant was a big sign in the window, ’10 meals for $5.00 +tax’, so I had to investigate. I am glad I stopped in to check it out, the food is wonderful and flavorful and the service is always friendly.
I tried the Personal Cheese Pizza with a Coke one afternoon ($5.00) and was very pleased with the small fresh pizza that was made expressively for me. It was a nice size eight inch pizza with four nice slices, gooey high quality cheese and a very tasty tomato…
It took a couple of days to give the neighborhood a long walk, but I covered all the space in three days. This is such an interesting neighborhood and so many people took an interest in what I was doing over in the time I spent here.
It was hot and humid my first day in Manhattan Valley at 81 degrees. I got up to neighborhood in the later afternoon after a long day wrapping spoons at the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. It may not sound that exciting, but it is one of the most important stations at the kitchen. You need a constant supply of silverware to help feed everyone.
I started the walk at the E subway station on the edge of Central Park. On a hot day, the park was packed with people getting a tan, fishing in the Meer, walking their dogs or just hanging out. This part of the summer is nice because the tourists are walking around, and it is fun to watch them make a fuss at everything.
The foliage changing on the Harlem Meer in the Fall of 2024
The first couple of blocks along 109th and 108th Streets are filled with prewar apartment buildings, schools and small playgrounds and many small brownstones. A lot of the buildings in this area are being sandblasted back to their former glory. Closer to the parks, the buildings have an elegant feel with their carved marble fronts and small gardens and potted plants decorated them. The sign of a doorman says that this area is getting more expensive.
The Harlem Meer in the Summer of 2024
The brownstones along West 109th Street by Riverside Park
On 107th Street, I saw many beautiful buildings in various stages of renovation on all the blocks as this are is beginning to become part of the Upper West Side fabric. Many of the small brownstones along Manhattan Avenue had been swept in their fronts and their plants were in full bloom. Again, I love the block between 106th and 107th Streets. Tucked in between all those little mansions and brownstones is The Nicholas Roerich Museum at 319 West 107th Street
The tiny Nicholas Roerich Museum at 319 West 107th Street is packed with interesting art
The Museum was founded in 1949 to house a permanent collection of over two hundred paintings by the Russian-born artist, poet, philosopher and humanitarian, Nicholas Roerich. The museum also houses a library of books and maintains an archive and a collection of artifacts relating to the areas of Roerich’s interests (Museum guide).
This small museum in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattanville is easy to miss. It is in a small brownstone on West 107th Street right near Riverside Drive. You can see the plaque for the museum to the right of the building and there is a side door to get in. The admission is free but they do ask for a donation if you can do it.
The gallery on the second floor
The museum is a specialty collection of the works of artist Nicholas Roerich. They are mostly landscapes and religious themed that cover three floors of the museum.
The is a beauty to all his works especially the ones concentrated in the Himalayas with their colorful and spiritual themes.
The artist’s portrait of his mother on the third floor
It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to see all the floors. A nice touch they had in the afternoon that I was there was a piano player whom you could hear play throughout the brownstone. When you go, it will be a pleasant afternoon where you are not fighting the crowds of the larger museums.
When you reach Riverside Drive, there is a beautiful line of old marble mansions that line the drive from 106th to 105th Streets. These were built at a time when money was no object and living along the park was a sophisticated choice. These homes are all being renovated, and one wonders if they are going to become private homes again. When rounding 107th Street along Riverside Park, take time to look at these homes from the park side and you can imagine the view they have from the front of these homes.
The secret garden between brownstones on West 109th Street behind a gate
I walked all around Riverside Park in this part of the neighborhood, and it is just beautiful when the trees are in full form. The shade trees and paths offer refuge from the hot sun, and it is fun to watch the neighborhood kids play in the playgrounds with their parents and nannies. It is nice to see a group of kids enjoying nature and not glued to a cell phone. From the park, these are the most gorgeous views of the Hudson River with the cliffs in New Jersey in the background and a constant stream of boats in the river passing you by.
Riverside Park is just breathtaking
I made a lunch stop at SheShe Pizzeria at 961 Columbus Avenue at 107th Street (See my TripAdvisor review and my blog DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@ WordPress.com). This small pizzeria has delicious food with the most reasonable lunch specials. Their lunch menu has ten lunch specials for $5.00 including a personal pizza with pepperoni that I had with a Coke for lunch.
SheShe Pizza at 961 Columbus Avenue (closed January 2025)
This small ten-inch pizza was freshly cooked for me by the owner of the restaurant. It was loaded with pepperoni and cheese and when it came out of the oven was cut into four generous slices. The sauce is flavorful, and the slices are all stringy and gooey with the melted cheese. It is the perfect lunch/dinner if you have a good appetite. Their cheese pizza was delicious as well and was the perfect lunch and I liked their fair prices.
Their spaghetti and meatballs were terrific too that I had another day I was in the neighborhood for lunch. The service is very warm and welcoming, and he remembered me from a few days earlier.
The Spaghetti and Meatball special at SheShe Pizza was amazing! (Old owners)
To work off all this good food, stop back at the ‘Mobilization for Change’ Community Garden across the street at the corner of 107th Street and Columbus Avenue at 955 Columbus Avenue and stroll through the gardens again. The gardens are in full bloom, and it is a nice place to just walk around the paths and look at the progress of the individual vegetable gardens. The tomatoes are really coming in.
Mobilization for Change Community Garden at 955 Columbus Avenue
The Garden in early Fall of 2024
A full view of the garden in the Fall of 2024
I returned to the garden in the Spring in 2026. The gardens were being prepared for the warmer months. Many new plantings were on full display.
The Cloisters at 329 West 108th St. was constructed in 1899. Originally built as two separate townhouses, these grand mansions were combined in 1931 and converted to a coop in 1984 (Streeteasy.com). This building has the most beautiful details to it around the doorways and windows.
329 West 108th Street embellishments on the building
The elaborate embellishments at 329 West 108th Street
The townhouses along West 107th Street by Riverside Park
The townhouses along West 107th Street by Riverside Park
One the most beautiful buildings in the neighborhood along Central Park West and 106th Street is 455 Central Park West, the old New York Cancer Hospital. Years ago, when I was walking around the neighborhood, this was an abandoned building that was all boarded up and graffiti ladened. Now it is part of an exclusive apartment complex. The hospital part of the apartment building was built in 1887 with additions in 1889 and 1890. It was designed by architect Charles Coolidge Haight in the French Chateaux style with English Gothic trim (City Realty).
The old New York Cancer Hospital at 455 Central Park West
To live in the Victorian section of the building must cost now millions of dollars. The whole building was renovated back to life and is one of the most unusual pieces of architecture in the neighborhood with an incorporated tower behind it. It is also rumored to be haunted.
455 Central Park West the old New York Cancer Hospital is now luxury condos
I noticed this chair on the sidewalk when I walked down West 106th Street outside someone’s brownstone. I thought this was pretty unique.
This was outside one of the local smoke shops
The murals and street art really stood out on West 106th Street as I passed Broadway on my way back to Central Park.
This was on one of the trees just past Broadway
The row apartments that line West 105th Street are really beautiful in the fall
This face stared at me as I walked down West 105th Street towards Riverside Park
In between Columbus and Manhattan Avenues on 105th Street is the La Perla Community Garden at 76 West 105th Street. The garden was created around 1992 when a group of neighborhood citizens got together to clean out a garbage dump of a lot and turned it into a vibrant garden with paths leading through trees, flower and vegetable beds. There is even original graffiti art from one of the local artists all along the walls of the building that surround it.
I talked with one of the creators of the garden, Carmen Ortiz, talked with me that afternoon. “It took about ten years to clean the lot out and that was constantly throwing out the garbage to the curb just to get all the debris out. We have worked so hard to create and maintain the garden and now a piece of it is being sold off.” Currently the middle part of the garden was owned by two couples, but the taxes are getting too high, and the neighborhood is changing so fast, that it was cost effective to sell it. Now the left side of the garden will be a new townhouse while the rest of the garden will remain.
The gardens in the Fall of 2024 after Halloween
“It’s sad because we do so much for the community here,” Ms. Ortiz added. “We will be having a flea market this weekend and have Jazz Concerts here. During the holidays, we have events for the neighborhood children. You can see by the plantings; everyone has a plot here.” Several raised beds contain various vegetable plantings. I just hope that building this new townhouse does not affect the garden to the point where nothing can grow there. It’s a sad commentary to the city when something that New Yorkers spent their time on to make better improved the neighborhood to the point that it was its own demise in the end.
What is left of the painting by the Bloomingdale Park
Along West 104th Street between Central Park West and Manhattan Avenue, you will see another set of Community Gardens which is interesting because the plot has a prewar apartment building right smack in the middle of it. The centerpiece of this garden is the Jesus Crawford Rose Garden which was just losing the last of its blooms when I visited it. This was named after the creator of the garden.
Jesus Crawford Rose Community Garden at West 104th Street is now the West 104th Street Gardens
Just like ‘Le Perla’ and ‘Mobilization for Change’ gardens, this garden has added much needed green space to the neighborhood with trees and raised vegetable gardens that add that sense of neighborhood to the street. At the height of the summer, it is nice to see all of these gardens in full bloom and the fresh vegetables on their way.
Walking through the Douglass Houses and the projects in general are always amusing to me. I never know the reception I will get. For the most part, I crisscrossed through the walkways of the projects from 104th to 100th Street. I visited all the playgrounds and community areas to sit and people just ignored me but looked out of the corner of their eyes to see what I was doing.
I stopped by King Columbus Gourmet Deli 900 Columbus Avenue for a quick lunch when I was walking the neighborhood in 2025. This deli is right across from the Douglas Houses and I find that a lot of these deli’s near the project are the best. I was starved and got a Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a hero and it was excellent.
I took my sandwich down the street to a park and ate my breakfast sandwich. On a cool March afternoon hit the spot. With the price of eggs in 2025, this is the first time I had eaten an omelet in almost a month so it tasted good.
My Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich
This sandwich is delicious
On my way to the park to relax and eat I passed 119-121 West 104th Street and I had never noticed how interesting this brownstone across the street from the Projects.
The beauty of 119 West 104th Street is right across the street from the Douglas Houses
The brownstone was built in the early 20th Century and it is now a condo. I thought the stonework was very unusual. I saw this again on West 103th Street where I saw the same design.
At the corner of West 104th Street and Amsterdam Avenue was the Youth Hostel.
The HI New York Hostel is a different type of hotel stay for student travels. The building was built between 1881-1883 and was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Victorian Gothic style. The building was originally built as a nursing home and has since become a hostel (Wiki).
I watched some kids playing on the swings and some people attending the community gardens that they had planted but for the most part I saw a lot of socialization along Columbus Avenue. Many groups of men set up tables and while blasting Spanish music played cards and domino’s and watched the neighborhood go by. I am sure that for all the game playing these guys know perfectly well what is going on around them and the surrounding buildings. That struck me as watching everything.
The West 104th Street Garden in the Fall of 2024
This interesting mural was on the back of the local elementary school. I think this was done by the students
When I got back to Central Park West, you can see that Central Park was not always flat. The rock formations from the days of the Ice Age.
The rock formations by West 104th Street
Central Park rock formations at West 104th Street
I took a stroll through Central Park and the North Woods section of the park. The irony is that I have walked through Central Park since I was four and I never walked through the North Woods. It was a beautiful stroll through the woods.
Walking through Central Park by West 104th Street leading to the North Woods
Walking through the North Woods in Central Park
Walking through the North Woods in the Fall of 2024
I walked across the park to go the Met on the East Side and I stopped by the reservoir to watch the sunset. It was an amazing view of the sun setting over Manhattan and the crowds to watch it was really large.
The sun setting over the Central Park Reservoir
The amazing views of the sun setting over Central Park
I walked through the park just at dusk and was surprised at the crowds inside the park both on the West Side and the East Side. It was around 77 degrees and people were enjoying playing the parks and playgrounds. I thought this was interesting because most people stay out of the park at dusk. Watching little kids screaming in the playgrounds was encouraging that things are changing for the better in the City.
I walked the streets from West 103rd to West 100th Street and admired the architecture especially closer to Riverside Avenue near Riverside Park. Some of the brownstones and apartment buildings are so interesting.
At 315 West 103rd Street is a similar building to the one at West 104th Street. The building was built in 1881 and is now landmarked.
The brownstone was built in 1920 and the detail work on the building is unique.
At 246 West 103rd Street was the childhood home of Humphrey Bogart. I thought this was interesting to know that the actor grew up here. The building was built in 1917
It’s at 100th Street where Manhattan Valley joins the rest of the Upper West Side as new office and apartment buildings have been built along Columbus, Amsterdam and Broadway. This area is guarded by a police and fire station around the corner so there is action here all day long.
You can go to the bathroom either in Frederick Douglass Park near 104th Street or at the Whole Foods at 100th Street. Stick with Whole Foods as it is cleaner and cooler plus you can use the water fountain.
The Whole Foods at 808 Columbus Avenue and West 96th Street
When I was walking in between Riverside and West End Avenues, I came across a community bench designed by artist Linus Coraggio who lives on the block (website: LinusCoraggio@verison.net). It just so happened the artist was outside fixing his motorcycle and we got to talking about his work. He showed me the bench and all its detail work. He had lived in the area for many years and had watched it change from bad to better.
His current specialty is welded, crafted figurative and abstract sculpture and furniture. I even read online that Ringo Starr is one of his clients. He was showing the work he was doing on the brownstone he was living in, doing work around the railing and in the foyer of the building all the ceiling work. His attention to detail and to how the workflows is a sign that he takes his time with each piece. It is an interesting set of artworks with all sorts of bends and twists to the metal work.
Check out this YouTube Trailer on the artist
He even has a chair he created right in front of the building. It twists and turns and the metal work are extremely creative in that you can tell the detail and the amount of time to get the metal to work in this fashion. You almost don’t want to sit in it. He told me he currently has a show going on in the East Village and a studio up in Ellenville, NY. Just stop on this block alone to see his craftsmanship. It is beautiful.
The artwork of Linus Coraggio
The artwork of Linus Coraggio
The artwork of Linus Coraggio
On 99th Street just off Amsterdam Avenue, there is the Church St. Michael’s Parish at 225 West 99th Street, which has the nicest garden to sit in. It is a nice place to relax and just think. Tranquil is the word for it.
The Church of Saint Michael at 225 West 99th Street
It is beautifully planted, and everything was in full bloom. It was nice to just stop and take a break here. Take a look at their postings as they have a lot of activities going on.
The beauty of their stained glass windows
The landscaping and the gardens on 99th Street
The beautiful flowers in the Spring
The gardens around the corner
A couple of mornings later, I came back to finish the bottom part of the neighborhood and walked 96th Street again to see how the neighborhood transitions. The streets between 96th and 98th Streets are filled with smaller marble brownstones and many attractive prewar apartments.
There are a lot of businesses transitioning along these streets as I see many of the older businesses now sitting empty with ‘For Rent’ signs telling the rents are changing in this part of the neighborhood as well. Soon they will be filled with the next wave of chain stores and glitzy restaurants.
This part of the neighborhood was easy to walk because the Central Park West Apartments and their playground stop the side streets between 98th to 99th Streets and the rest of the complex is gated off. My suggestion is do not try to walk through the complex because the signs are very blatant that they are watching you. You can see from the streets though there is a large parking lot and several well landscaped paths surrounding the buildings. I was just surprised they built these and the projects right next to one another.
I stopped at Felo Deli at 23 West 100th Street for some of their homemade empanadas ($1.25). They were so good I had to go back a second time for another which made the man behind the counter pretty happy. Try the pizza and chicken ones. They are generously filled and cooked perfectly. It is a good place to stop for a reasonable snack.
The empanadas here are really good and make a great snack
My last part of the day before I walked across Central Park to start my trip to Coney Island for my ‘Q to Q subway trip’ from 96th Street on the East Side to Coney Island on Stillwell Avenue, I stopped back at SheShe Pizzeria at 961 Columbus Avenue, to try one more thing on the lunch special menu. This was one of the inspirations for my new blog “DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com’. For $5.00, these lunches are exceptional.
SheShe Pizza at 961 Columbus Avenue (Closed in January 2025)
I tried the side order of ziti with meatballs, and it was more than a side order. You got a very generous portion of perfectly cooked ziti with about three fresh meatballs that were sliced on top and then put under the broiler. I could just about finish it. The meatballs had a nice garlicky taste to them, and the sauce was well spiced. It looked like the owner was happy to see me again. I will be back again for another personal pizza.
The Baked Ziti at SheShe Pizza was really good
The last thing I saw at the edge of the neighborhood was the beautiful and whimsical mural outside PS 163-The Albert Smith School at 163 West 97th Street. The student artists did a wonderful job on this mural “Bee Rock Steady”.
The school mural outside PS 163-The Albert Smith School: ‘Bee Rock Steady’
The painting ‘Bee Rock Steady’ artists who created it
As I finished my walk of Manhattan Valley, I really felt that neighborhood aspect of this community. For a section of a major city, this had a small-town friendly feel about it. The people here, no matter where they live want this to be the best community it can be, and I was impressed by all the free time the residents donate to make it that way.
Whether it was Carmen Ortiz and her partner in the garden, Bob, spending their time weeding beds to Linus Coraggio donating his creativity to building a bench for people to relax into the guys playing dominoes watching what everyone was doing, I could feel the sense of neighborhood here. There is always something new popping up in this neighborhood.
The residents here really care.
Please read my other Blogs on the neighborhood:
Day Seventy-Nine: Walking the Borders of Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale:
I walked a tremendous number of miles today. I had wanted to see three cultural sites before I left the Harlem area. I wanted to visit the Museum of Arts & Letters, The Studio Art Museum of Harlem and Grant’s Tomb. So, my trip on this hot Sunday started at the 157th Street One Subway station. I had wanted to start at the Museum of Arts & Letters.
The whole campus that the museum shares with the Hispanic Society was closed for renovation, so I walked from 155th Street to 122nd Street to tour the Grants Tomb National Memorial. The tomb is open only at certain times, so I wanted to get to the park early.
It has only been three months since I left this part of Harlem, and a lot has changed. Even I can’t keep up with all the changes as I was walking down Broadway. Many of the businesses that I passed have since closed. Many of the storefronts as you get closer to the SUNY campus around 140th Street to about 132nd Street have converted to small trendy restaurants and clothing stores. Many of the older businesses that had catered to the neighborhood Hispanic customer now have ‘For Rent’ signs or are being updated for a more diverse customer. I had seen this happen in the short time I was walking Inwood in upper Manhattan.
When I got to General Grant National Memorial at 122nd Street (See TripAdvisor review and on VisitingaMuseum.com), there were already a couple parties going on around the park area. On a nice day, there are always birthday parties for kids in the park around the tomb. People in the neighborhood love to spend time with their families here and in the other parts that surround the area.
General Grant National Memorial (Grant’s Tomb) at West 122nd Street
There were not that many people touring the tomb and the building itself, so it was nice to take my time. Designed by architect John Hemenway Duncan in 1883 and the tomb was dedicated in April 1897 on the 75th Anniversary of President Grant’s birth. The President’s remains were placed here right before the dedication and his wife was buried here in 1902 (Wiki/NYC Parks).
The vaults are amazing with paintings on the ceiling of scenes of his life that were put up in recent years. The crypts of him and his wife, Julia, are on the bottom level of the tomb surrounded by the busts of generals that fought in the Civil War with him. It does not take that long to tour the tomb or the gift shop.
The Rotunda and tombs inside of Grant’s Tomb
I learned a lot about our 18th President Grant by watching a film on him. I never knew at the end that he died broke and what saved the family were his memoirs. Amazing the things that happen in people’s lives in the end.
President and Mrs. Grant’s tombs
After the tour of the tomb, I walked down to the Studio Art Museum of Harlem and toured several of the exhibitions. The museum is located at 144 West 125th Street (See review on TripAdvisor and on VisitingaMuseum.com) and is open for viewing for free on Sundays with the support of Target Stores. The museum is small and only take about an hour to two hours to see all the exhibitions which is nice. Some museums the exhibitions are endless, and it takes hours to see and absorb everything. The Studio Art Museum exhibitions are detailed but on a smaller scale.
I was able to see artist Rico Gatson’s exhibition on 70’s influenced art, Jamel Shabazz’s exhibition of photo’s around 125th Street, which I don’t know if you could do today without releases and the “Regard the Figure” exhibition, which is in the front of the gallery on figures that influenced the curator.
The Rico Gatson exhibits at the museum
All were very interesting and had their own unique perspective of the culture. I was able to get through all three exhibitions in less than two hours. After viewing the exhibits, I sat on their outside patio to relax for a while. It was a hot day and I just needed to cool off in the shade. There had been a nice crowd in the museum that afternoon.
Rico Gatson’s Work at The Studio Art Museum of Harlem
After the Art Studio of Harlem, I walked down to the business district of 116th Street and went for some lunch. Like the rest of Harlem, things are opening and closing so fast you can’t keep up with them. Half the customers on 116th Street are White and Asian with lot of customers from Columbia University and the Upper West Side who are starting to come to this area to eat. There are many innovative restaurants opening up on the 116th Street row.
I had lunch at Harlem Pizza Company at 135 West 116th Street, a restaurant that I had passed and had read online that was very good (See review on TripAdvisor). The pizza was wonderful, and the service was very friendly and welcoming. I sat in the outdoor seating area, and it had cooled down a bit since it was later in the afternoon.
The Harlem Pizza Company at 135 West 116th Street (Closed June 2024)
The restaurant is excellent, and I highly recommend it. I had a personal 12-inch pizza with sausage and soppressata that was perfectly cooked, the meats and sauce were highly spiced and was gooey and delicious. It was nice to just eat and watch the world walk by. It is a very relaxing that afternoon.
My next stage of the walk included walking Manhattan Valley, another name for the Upper Upper West Side. This area includes from West 110th Street from Riverside Drive to the West and Central Park North to the East and West 96th Street to the South. I was able to ring the neighborhood and work off breakfast and lunch at the same time.
I passed the Minerva Bernardino Greenstreet park on the way down West 110th Street. This tiny park is hard to miss as the flowers were blooming all over the place and tables were being set up around it by the restaurants. I thought it was a little cool of this.
The Minerva Bernardino Greenstreet Park at 110th Street
Her biography of her accomplishments was on the street sign.
The Greenstreet gardens in 2025
I started the later part of the afternoon walking from Morningside Park to Central Park West. God was the park busy. There must have been four birthday parties, two barbecues, five basketball games, a soccer game and a softball league playing in various areas of the park.
A lot has changed in this side of town in the last 25 years. It is a major change from the mid-80’s when most of this area was abandoned. I remember seeing pictures of this area in the late 80’s and all through the 90’s and it was not such a nice area. Most of the housing was run down, Riverside Park was over-grown and sensible people did not travel above 86th Street.
The Morningside Park Pond in the early Spring
I had dinner with a vendor my last year at Macy’s in 1995 on 92nd Street and the vendors and my boss at the time said to take the subway to 86th and walk up. I took it to 96th and walked down and even then, I could see what they were talking about. It was run down but didn’t seem dangerous. Two weekends later I got adventurous and walked up to Columbia University. Those were the years where fences were put on the entrances to Morningside Park.
The pond and the waterfall in Morningside Park in the Fall of 2024
A lot of the buildings were abandoned and boarded up by 100th and the further you got from Central Park the worse it got. I had even overheard two Columbia students talking about the fires in buildings across Morningside Park the evening before. You would not see any of that today. The mood in the Fall of 2024 was nothing but pleasant and the whole area has gentrified. Most of the people walking in the park the afternoon I had visited were a white, upper middle-class couples with strollers.
The wonderful items to buy and eat at the Morningside Park Farmers Market
I was not surprised on how nice it was to walk around now. This area has improved so much in the last thirty years and keeps getting nicer and more expensive. Pretty much everything until the 130’s on this side of the island is getting a facelift. The east side of the island over 100th is more juxtaposed. All along Fredrick Douglas Boulevard, Malcolm X Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard new restaurants, cafes and shops have opened catering to a diverse group of New Yorkers.
I started my walk down Central Park West, walking past the apartments on the other side of the park. Everything has changed so much up here. Almost all the apartments facing the Central Park now are luxury homes and apartment buildings sandblasted back to their original elegance. Each building has its own unique style. The best part of them is their view of the park must be amazing.
I passed some unusual historical sites and artwork along the way. At the entrance of the subway station at Broadway and 96th Street is a statue of a woman holding her child by the artist, Joy Brown.
Ms. Brown was born and raised in Japan and holds a BFA from Eckerd College in Florida and has done a lot of her personal training in the field. She is known for her work in pottery and bronze (Artist Bio)
This very whimsical statue is part of a collection of statues that line Broadway and a map is provided at each site to find them. Some of the people thought it might be the Madonna and child. I guess everyone has their interpretation of it. There were a lot of families taking pictures by it when I was there.
At the corner of 96th Street and West End Avenue is a plaque to Teresa Carreno, the famous Venezuelan pianist who lived at the Delha Robbins Apartments back at the turn of the last century. I had no clue how famous she was, but she had traveled over the world performing. She was a composer, conductor, soprano and pianist who composed over 75 original works. She also had interesting relationships that spread to four husbands.
She was quite the character at the turn of the last century. Here’s a sample of her work:
Pianist Teresa Carreno playing Chopin
When I made the turn around at 96th Street, there is no exit so be prepared to walk down to 95th Street and go under the tunnel by Riverside Park. Go under and around and take some time to walk through Riverside Park and take in the view. I had walked through this area last summer on my way up to 155th Street after some time at the American Museum of Natural History. It is nice to see the park in full bloom again.
I passed the Firemen’s Memorial at Riverside Drive at 100th Street and the Shinran Statue at 105th Street. I have never seen these before and the Firemen’s Memorial means a lot to me being a fireman. It’s nice to see the memorial being visited and flowers being left.
The memorial was designed by H. Van Buren Magonigle and the statues that flank it were designed by Attillo Pirccirilli. The two were well known for their design of memorials including the U.S.S. Maine statue on Columbus Circle (NYCParks).
The statues represent “Duty” and “Sacrifice” on both sides of the memorial. The idea for the memorial came about in 1908 at the funeral of Deputy Chief Charles A. Kruger by Reverend Henry C. Potter who questioned why there were no memorials to our private public servants (NYCParks.com).
The Shinran Statue was dedicated to Buddhism. The interesting part of the statue is that the statue came from Hiroshima from outside a temple in the city and when the atomic blast happened as the temple burned this statue stood guard. The statue was then shipped to New York in 1955 and has stood, radiation free in New York City since then. I now sit as a monument to world peace (Atlas Obscura).
The Shinran Statue on Riverside Drive
Along Riverside Drive between 107th and 108th Street, there is a majestic set of mansions that line Riverside Park. These are going under renovation but still the detail work on these homes is very elegant and must have been something when they were built at the turn of the last century. They stand out amongst all the apartment buildings that line the park.
As I turned around at 110th Street and walked back around the same route on the other side of the street. One of the most beautiful spots along Riverside Avenue is between 96th and 97th Streets with a line of shade trees that must be over 100 years old. It is just so graceful and humbling to see these huge trees and the way they shade and lead the path down this part of the sidewalk. Its nature at its best.
Riverside Park in the 110 Street area in the Fall of 2024
I passed Central Park on the park side of Central Park West and when you reach around 100th Street, you see the rock formations that line the avenue. This is a result of the last Ice Age and I had seen similar formations uptown. Again this is when you realize that Manhattan is not flat. Nature takes over when you see the trees and plants growing through the cracks. This picturesque part of the park with trees, bushes and flowers sticking out here and there through the formations. Its wall is what separates the park from the street.
The rock formations prove that Manhattan was moved by the ice age in Fall 2024
Rock formations in the Upper Part of Central Park in the Summer of 2024
This part of Central Park reminds us that Manhattan isn’t all flat.
When reaching 110th Street at the corner of that and Central Park West, several new buildings are built around the circle of the two streets. Modern architecture dominates this part of the street and ushers in a new beginning to this once destitute section of the neighborhood as a gateway to a new beginning for the neighborhood. The lines of the Upper West Side and Harlem on this side of the island are beginning to blur.
West 110th Street is changing with new construction and gentrification of the brownstones in the lower parts of Harlem
We’ll see more as we visit more of the neighborhood on a tour of the streets and avenues. I ended the day with a trip to McDonald’s just off 96th Street and Amsterdam Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor).
That McDouble and fries tasted so good as they were freshly cooked for me.
The McDonald’s Strawberry Lemonade is one of the unofficial drinks of “MywalkinManhattan.com.
The best is their frozen Strawberry Lemonade which cooled me down inside and out. It is one of the best things recently added to the McDonald’s menu and a perfect drink for a hot summer day.
Read my other Blogs on the Bloomingdale neighborhood:
Day Ninety-Three: Walking the Borders of the Upper Upper West Side:
I continued walking the Harlem neighborhood this afternoon after a very exhausting morning working in the Soup Kitchen. I am beginning to discover that I should not combine the two together as it gets to be too much to do in one day. I was a food runner by myself and we served 660 meals that morning. When you serve mac & cheese to the homeless, you had better wear comfortable shoes.
The entrance to the Trinity Cemetery on Broadway and West 155th Street
After I left, I took the Number One subway to 155th Street and ended up back at 168th Street again. I never win. I walked down to 155th Street to start the walk at my starting point at the cemetery. I walked around the local arts campus and around the cemetery again. It is a beautiful to just sit and think with a gorgeous view of the Hudson River. I walked through Audubon Place reminding myself to leave time for their museums in the future.
The Trinity Church cemetery at 770 Riverside Drive
My walk today took me down Broadway and St. Nicolas Avenue and back. Like every other part of Manhattan that I walk, everything is in a state of flux. I have noticed one thing in the area, the closer you get to the CUNY campus, the more gentrified it becomes. It seems that the old students who may have in the past avoided the area that surrounded the college, the new students seem to embrace it and rather enjoy it.
The CUNY Campus on Amsterdam Avenue and 140th Street
Let’s be fair in that the area is so much safer and cleaner than it was even ten years ago. I remember taking a walking tour with a professor from FIT and the area has changed so much since then. I remember her saying how fast the brownstones were changing hands and how the shell of a building was going for over a million dollars and us smirking at her. That same property is probably worth six times that now.
Most of Broadway is filled with interesting shops and restaurants catering to both students and residents or both. My first part of the walk started at 5 Star Estrella Bakery, on the corner of Broadway and 161st Street at 3861 Broadway. This amazing little bakery is so reasonable and the food is great. To add to the mac & cheese I indulged in at Soup Kitchen, I had the most delicious cinnamon Danish and a ‘papa’ a type of Dominican croquette that is filled with meat tucked into mashed potatoes and then deep-fried. (See my review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) Everything I try there is good and fun to munch on while walking.
You start to see Broadway’s transition from a Dominican neighborhood to college town between 145th Street to about 138th. The commercial area is filled with bike shops, trendy little restaurants and clothing stores. Bars seem to be opening up all over the commercial area. Between 155th and 145th and further down, there are many a hole in the wall and good sit down Spanish restaurants offering reasonable prices on traditional meals.
On the trip back up Broadway, I walked the length back and forth of Hamilton Place, which is lined with some of the most beautiful brownstones and apartment buildings that I have seen in Harlem. So many of the stairs to these homes are lined with flowering potted plants and the whole area looks like ‘Old New York’, with their washed fronts and vine lining the home. This stretch of the neighborhood I predict will be the next ‘hot neighborhood’ with the college being so close by and two very popular subway lines.
The Hamilton Place and Terrace areas are amazing
The beauty of the Hamilton Terrace neighborhood near the CUNY campus
There were some unusual and trendy little shops in the area that seemed out-of-place at this point in a neighborhood in transition. I just don’t think too many students or residents in the area is going to go for a $12.00 pie at Sweet Southern Style Bakery at 122 Hamilton Place but that’s just me (That’s why I one day found them out of business). Everything at the shop looks so good from the window. Next door is the trendy Hogshead restaurant with a delicious sounding pulled pork sandwich and sliders. I see more of these restaurants opening up in the small spaces that line the brownstones.
Sweet Chef Southern Style Bakery at 122 Hamilton Place (Closed in April 2024)
Hamilton Place also has its share of pocket parks. At the top of the street is Johnny Hartman Plaza originally known as Hamilton Park after the founding fathers whose home located here. Hartman was a musician who lived in the neighborhood back in the 1960’s.
Johnny Hartman was known for his love ballads and was nominated for a Grammy in 1981 (NYCParks.org).If this park is honoring someone it should be better weeded and taken care of by the community.
Johnny Hartman Square
The story of Johnny Hartman Square
Johnny Hartman Plaza at Amsterdam Avenue and 143rd Street garden in the summer of 2026
Further down the road is a very nice family park in the Alexander Hamilton Playground at West 140th Street, a popular spot for young families trying to cool down in the hot weather. It is funny that some people say that they would never raise a child in the city but these kids looked pretty happy to me.
Alexander Hamilton Playground at West 140th Street
At the end of the block that leads to Broadway is Montefiore Park at West 138th Street, where it seems that the whole neighborhood meets. The park was named after Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, a British banker and philanthropist.
There are several food vendors here to check out, especially the lady who sells the flavored ices for a dollar. At night there is a vendor that sells Mexican sandwiches, tacos and empanadas. Everything here is very reasonable.
By the number of people playing dominoes and cards, it is popular meeting place for the retirees in the neighborhood. There is a lot of yelling and laughing going on most of the day. Walking back up to Amsterdam Avenue, you can walk the side streets to see the beautiful restoration of the brownstones in the area. There is so much care to this area.
The inside of the park since the renovation
The park’s wall painting in the back of the park
The Mural in the park and the artists
The artists on the mural in the park
My video on the mural
In the Summer of 2026, I attended a Jazz Concert in the park as part of their “Jazz in the Park” concert series
At 113th Street, look down the road to see the amazing view of the Hudson River and then up the road to see the CUNY campus and you will now know why I think this is going to be a hot neighborhood. It offers parks, stunning housing close to a college campus, great views of the river and some great restaurants that cater to the whole community.
I was able to walk around the CUNY campus without the campus police bothering me and I have to say that it might be a small campus but it is a pretty one that is an oasis in a busy neighborhood. I was surprised that the neighborhood was not more tailored to the students but I could tell for a long time that the students must have felt very isolated being so far uptown.
To the west of the campus is St. Nicholas Park, a very well used but overgrown park. The paths, basketball courts and bathrooms really need some capital improvement and the park needs a good weeding. The views of the neighborhood and beyond are quite spectacular. I could see why Alexander Hamilton had his home here. The Hamilton Grange as its called was closed for the day but in its day, it must have been an amazing estate. Hamilton was married into the Schuyler family and at that time they were the Gates and Buffets of their day.
The Hamilton Grange, the home of Alexander Hamilton and his family
After the walk up and own the commercial strip of Broadway, I walked across 155th Street again and walked down St. Nicholas Avenue. This part of the city has some of the most beautiful architecture in Upper Manhattan. This part of the walk took me down St. Nicholas Avenue from 155th to 125th and then back up. All along the way there are beautiful restored mansions, elegant brownstones, small well-landscaped pocket parks and delicious restaurants to try.
The shopping area at West 145 Street
Some of the most beautiful restored mansions I saw line 150th Street off the avenue. The breathtaking mansion on the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and 150th Street was once owned by the Bailey family of Barnum & Bailey fame at 10 St. Nicholas Place. The mansion and the surrounding four mansions have been beautifully restored to their true glory. The owners have taken a lot of pride in the exterior and the landscaping of these homes. There are about four or five mansions to walk around in the area to view their unique beauty.
The Bailey Mansion in the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem at 10 St. Nicholas Place
This area is known as ‘Sugar Hill’ for the sweet life that it gave its residents. The area is bounded by West 155 Street to the north, West 145th Street to the south and Edgecombe Avenue to the east and Amsterdam Avenue to the west. Sugar Hill got its name in the 1920’s when the neighborhood became a popular place for wealthy African-Americans to live during the Harlem Renaissance and people like Clayton Powell Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway resided here. (Wikipedia)
“Sugar Hill” in Harlem on the western side of Harlem from West 155 to West 145th from Edgecombe to Amsterdam Avenues
The whole area is going through a massive gentrification with scaffolding all over the place. People are snatching up these buildings and revitalizing them. I call it the ‘new windows’ effect. When you see new windows in the building, it means that it has already changed hands. There are three historic districts in the area but view the row houses between 718-730 St. Nicholas Avenue and you will respect the true beauty of the area.
The area also has a series of pocket parks. One gathering place is the Donnellan Square Park named after Timothy Donnellan, Private First Class during WWI. This attractive little park is a place for some serious sports conversation as I found out when some guy asked me about all my Michigan State gear. The way he approached me I thought he was ready to say ‘Hi Officer’. This well landscaped little park is a nice to place to just to sit and relax.
Further up on 151st Street is the Convent Garden, which is a small pocket park Community Garden off West 151 Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. The park has a unique history.
In 1985, a gas station occupying the site was demolished and the remaining empty lot was an eyesore to the community until local activist Luana Robinson and a small group of female volunteers from the Coalition of Hamilton Heights Tenants Associations established the Convent Garden to Women. In 1989, Convent Garden was the pilot location for the new Greenstreets program, which was launched by the Parks and the Department of Transportation to transform traffic triangles and other paved areas into green spaces.
Convent Garden Park at 150th Street
After the site was heavily disturbed by the removal of underground gas tanks in 1998, Juliette Davis and other local residents began to rebuild the garden. The gazebo, donated by the Marriott Corporation, was installed in November 1998 and in the spring of 1999, the Convent Garden Community Association added three wooden benches and a new lawn. (New York Park System online)
Juliette Davis at the entrance of her pride at Convent Garden in Harlem
While I was walking by this time, the park was open and I was able to walk around. I was introduced to Ms. Davis, who was working in the park with her grandchild. She said she keeps healthy by doing some of the work around the garden with her neighbors and family helping with the hard stuff. “It did not even have grass when we first started. We had to dig the whole thing out,” she said with a lot of pride. When she won a grant from the city for all of her hard work, she put the lawn in.
The park is such a tranquil place with several flower beds, benches to sit, a lush lawn and flowers all over the place. The volunteers do such a nice job keeping the park up and I had just missed on of the local choir groups perform in the park that day. Maybe next time. It was just fun watching Ms. Davis’s grandchildren run around the park ‘trying to help’ as most kids do. Her pride in the park I think is what makes it so special. It’s that care in the community.
On my way back to 155th Street, I stopped at Victorio’s Pizza at 348 West 145th, right across the street from Jackie Robinson Park. OMG. This is some of the best pizza that you can get for a dollar a slice. I was completely blown away by the quality of the fresh mozzarella and the sauce had so much flavor. The service was very friendly and the woman behind the counter seemed surprised when I walked back in and said how much I enjoyed the slice. (See TripAdvisor for the full review).
Victorio’s Pizza at 348 West 145th Street (Closed 2026)
I took the train back down to Times Square from 155th Street and then it would be off and running for another day. I covered the whole area from 155th Street to 125th Street both Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue’s. It was a long day but there was so much to see.
Please read my other Blogs on walking Harlem/Hamilton Heights/NoHA:
Day Forty-Four-Walking Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue 155th-125th Streets:
I finally crossed the border of Washington Heights into Harlem and I can tell you that border does make a difference in the neighborhoods. Not in a bad way it just seemed to me that there is a different personality to the neighborhood.
I started my walk at the 168th Street subway station and walked down to Amsterdam and 155th Street. In a period of barely a year (six months for that matter), I have seen a whole bunch of businesses close their doors, scaffolding all over buildings both in Washington Heights and Harlem and a rebirth to the area around the CUNY campus. I had even taken walking tours of Harlem as little as eight years ago and have seen a huge change in the area since Mayor Bloomberg rezoned the city. 125th Street is going through a big makeover as the chain stores seem to be taking over the street.
The entrance to the cemetery at 145th Street
Trinity Church cemetery in the summer of 2025
I started my walk in the Trinity Church Cemetery with a visit to my favorite New York Mayor, Ed Koch. He brought so much positive change to New York and was New York in the late 70’s and 80’s. Mayor Koch was still mayor when I came back to work in the city in the 80’s. New York was going through its first wave of gentrification at the time. I had even sent him a copy of my book, ‘Firehouse 101’ of which his office sent a nice not too generic form letter to me thanking me for the book. As far as I know I do not know if he ever read the copy I sent him.
The entrance to Trinity Cemetery on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and West 154th Street
Still there I was sitting on a bench on a small hill over-looking Amsterdam Avenue paying my respects. It was a quiet moment until school let and then there were kids yelling and screaming all over the place. I then decided to start the rest of the walk. I said my goodbyes to the Mayor, placed a rock on the tombstone and started out of the cemetery and down Amsterdam Avenue.
My travels today took me up and down Amsterdam Avenue from 155th Street to 125th Street as my border and then I walked the entire length of 125th Street from the Hudson River to the East River. Then it was back up Amsterdam Avenue to 155th Street and then the walk down Broadway. Needless to say, the journey was long but full of surprises.
The street art skeleton on the top of one of the store grades
Amsterdam Avenue is a street in major transition. It also depends on what part you walk. As you get closer to the CUNY campus around 138th Street the are starts to get even better with small, trendy restaurants and pre-war buildings with sandblasted fronts and new windows. The crowd is certainly getting younger with a lot of students and their parents milling around the street.
When I passed the PS 153 The Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School at 1759 Amsterdam Avenue, I noticed a mural on the side of the building that had not been there on my initial walk of the neighborhood. It really symbolized friendship and getting along.
The mural on the side of PS 153 The Adam Clayton Powell School
One little gem to walk around if it is open is the Hope Stevens Garden at 505 West 142nd Street. The garden was in full bloom but unfortunately the gates were locked at the time.
Hope Steven Community Garden at 505 West 142nd Street
In 1986, the Hope Steven Community Garden (then known as the West Harlem Group Assistance Garden) was selected to participate in Artists in the Gardens, a project of Green Thumb, the community gardening program sponsored by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. From a roster of artists chosen by a panel of art professionals, the gardeners selected Eva Cockcroft to paint a mural on the building facing their garden. In 1998, the garden was sold by the City of New York to the Trust for Public Land for eventual transfer to the newly formed Manhattan Land Trust, thus ensuring its preservation. (Harlem One Stop)
Hope Stevens Garden at 505 West 142nd Street near Amsterdam Avenue
If you get a chance to walk into the garden when it is open it looks like a real treat. The flowers are all in bloom and the bed showcases a colorful assortment of plants.
The gardens looked like they were under renovation when I visited again in 2026
On the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and Hamilton Place has a series of pocket parks. At the top of the street is Johnny Hartman Plaza originally known as Hamilton Park after the founding fathers whose home located here. Hartman was a musician who lived in the neighborhood back in the 1960’s.
I stopped a little snack shop, The One Stop Patty Shop at 1708 Amsterdam Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor). This delightful little shop has the best Jamaican meat patties. The spicy beef patty that I munched on as I walked down the road had just come out of the oven. It was flaky, filled with a generous portion of spicy beef and was a nice size patty. It more than filled me up for a quick lunch. The service was really friendly and the staff there takes a lot of pride in their food. The guy was encouraging me to buy more for my trip home. (see my review on TripAdvisor)
The patties were delicious and filled with a lot of ground beef and spices
I really enjoyed my lunch here
My trip took me past of the campus of CUNY where a very active student body was milling around the campus, in the park across the street and eating in the new outdoor cafes that are now dotting Amsterdam Avenue by the campus at 138th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The campus was a buzz with students socializing and just enjoying a sunny day. There are some interesting restaurants to investigate in the future.
Before I continued down the street, I took a turn on 145th Street to Broadway to try my dining destination for the evening, Handpulled Noodles. It was further up the street but I discovered Grullon II Bakery at 3522 Broadway (Closed in 2026). A nice selection of baked goods and traditional Dominican snacks like Pastelitos and croquets.
Most of the items had been sitting most of the day. The vanilla iced doughnut I had looked really good but was hard and the hot snacks looked dried out. It was obvious that the store had not seen too much action that day. It warrants another try though as the service was attentive and friendly and the selection of baked goods looks good.
The lower part of Amsterdam Avenue was a collection of public housing and a warehouse district that was transformed into lofts, studios and a few art galleries. What was interesting was that in the middle of a housing project was that a developer was building a mixed use building with luxury apartments. That is going to be an interesting mix of people.
From Amsterdam Avenue, I walked the entire length of 125th Street, considered the heart of Harlem, that since the Bloomberg zoning changes is under the biggest transformation since Times Square was completely knocked down. By the time the transformation is complete, it will more chain stores, hotels, office buildings and the northern branch of Columbia University.
When I walked to the right down 125th Street, most of the former cheaper stores were in the process of closing down and being replaced by new businesses.
The mural at the edge of 125th and Broadway by Artist Angel Toren is amazing a array of color and brightness. It adds something to this corner.
Ángel Toren is a contemporary urban artist and muralist who combines influences from graphic design, typography, and brutalist architecture to create visually striking compositions. Toren’s compositions intertwine with the lines and volumes of brutalism, reinterpreting its monolithic forms through vibrant color palettes and optical effects that evoke both the digital and the painterly (Artist’s Bio website).
The controversial new section of Columbia University is being built, replacing some old buildings with sleek new towers. Once done it will be a very impressive campus of glass, steel and new gardens. It will bring a whole new resident to this part of Harlem. The area around Broadway and West 125th Street is being knocked down or renovated and being rebuilt.
Walking down the border of 125th Street by the Grant Public Housing Complex on the corner of Broadway and West 125th Street
What I thought was progressive was that the campus was surrounding the famous Cotton Club nightclub that sat there in the middle of all this change. It looked totally out of place with a modern campus being built around it and a Dinosaur Barbecue restaurant catering to the college students a block down.
Surreal was not the word for it as if anyone from the 20’s walked down this block now would not know where there were in Manhattan. The club was preparing for a show and I saw the performers passing by groups of college students on their way to Riverside Park and the surrounding restaurants.
The Cotton Club has a very interesting past as this is the third Cotton Club in the history of the club. It open in 1920 by Jack Jones, the heavyweight boxing champion as the Club Deluxe. In 1923, bootlegger, Owney Madden bought the club and renamed it the Cotton Club, with a ‘whites only’ policy that lasted until the club closed in 1936. The club has had two other locations and the current club in the present location opened in 1977 (Wiki).
In 2026, the club has permanently closed and was put up for sale. The area is currently under redevelopment by Columbia University and we will see what replaces it.
I passed the projects on the way back down 125th Street where a woman passed me and made a comment under her breathe with a few four-letter words enough where she knew I could hear her on her thoughts about policemen. I guess more and more I am realizing that everyone in this part of Manhattan thinks I am a cop or DEA. I remember how fast the drug dealers in the Dykeman House projects ran when they saw me coming.
I had taken a recent walking tour of Harlem with the Cornell Club and we covered the areas from 125th Street to 124th Street from 5th Avenue to 7th Avenue and how some of the residents did not appreciate being treated like a curiosity by tourists. Now there are so many white residents in the area and visiting tourists eating in the restaurants that you blend right in.
East 125th Street by Fifth Avenue
Be prepared thought more culture shocks as there are a Red Lobster and a Banana Republic on either side of the Apollo Theater and there is a mall like environment between Fredrick Douglas Boulevard and 5th Avenue that will one day be a suburban strip mall environment. It reminds me of the changes going on in downtown Brooklyn as everything is being replaced by chain stores. The local businesses that give it the character of the neighborhood are being pushed out.
The Apollo Theater was built in 1913-14 by architect George Keister in a neo-classical style and opened as Hurtig & Seamon’s New Burlesque Theater with a ‘white’s only’ policy which existed until the 1930’s when it reopened in 1934. It was then open to black patrons as well with a mixture of entertainment.
I passed the famous Hotel Theresa which is now called Theresa Towers. When built in 1912-1913 by German-born stockbroker, Gustavus Sidenberg and it was ‘the’ hotel in Harlem and all the famous black celebrities stayed when they could not stay in the luxury hotels of midtown (Wiki).
Today it has been refitted as an office building with commercial businesses. The building has seen better days but is still impressive and maybe one day someone will get the good idea to convert it back into a hotel like the renovation and reopening of the Hotel Knickerbocker in Times Square. It is an ideal place for a good hotel in the midst of all this change. The building itself has seen better days but like the rest of Harlem it will be catching up to the rest of the city soon.
Hotel Theresa in Harlem 2600-2700 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard
As I walked towards the East River, most of 125th Street is in the process of being either knocked down and renovated. In not even two years, the whole makeup of this area will change as more chain stores and apartment buildings are added to the area. I still can’t believe how run-down parts of this area are in comparison to the rest of the city.
The worst is that it is tough to find a public bathroom anywhere in the area. I stopped by a library on 125th Street and there was no public bathroom anywhere in the building. Even the libraries in Washington Heights had bathrooms. I had to hold it in until I found a McDonald’s closer to the Washington Heights border.
My last part of the walk took me back down 125th Street to the Studio Museum 127 at 144 West 125th Street (see review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) in Harlem where my next walk in the area will include a tour of some of the exhibitions and tours of some of the smaller museums in the area. I passed so many galleries that I wanted to stop in as well.
The Studio Museum 127 of Harlem opened in 1968 to showcase Black artists. The museum is currently closed for construction.
Studio Museum 127 of Harlem at 144 West 125th Street
The CUNY campus had quieted down for the day as I walked back up and the students and their friends filled the parks and restaurants in the area enjoying the warm Spring night.
I got back up to 155th Street, turned the corner and proceeded down Broadway to my dinner destination Handpulled Noodles at 3600 Broadway (see review on TripAdvisor), which bills itself as Northwestern Chinese Soul Food which attracts not only the locals but students and tourists as well. It is considered by many in the Asian community as one of the best Chinese restaurants in New York City.
It is a small hole in the wall restaurant with limited seating in a very energetic environment. The place was loaded with CUNY students who knew the menu by hard. I had the Spicy Cumin Lamb with Lagman noodles (traditional thick cut noodles that are native to Northern China) and their jumbo pork and chive dumplings that melt in your mouth and are out of this world.
The inside of the restaurant
The lamb was very spicy and you could taste the cumin in every bite. This is not the traditional Cantonese restaurant so do not look for fried rice and egg rolls. It is more of a cross between Indian and Mongolian cooking. There menu is very unusual with more stew like dishes like the cumin lamb, ginger chicken and herbal beef. The service is friendly and very fast paced to keep up with the large dinner crowds in such a small space (See my review on TripAdvisor).
The Dumplings here are amazing
I had a interesting talk with someone from the neighborhood who worked renovating brownstones in the area and talked about the local real estate market. He told me that if you had bought even five years ago, you could have made your money back quickly after a renovation. The whole area above 125th Street is in a major state of transformation that happens even month by month as I have seen in a six-month period in Washington Heights as old family businesses and small restaurants give way to coffee bars and fancy shops and galleries. Even he said it is not the Harlem it was last year.
My walk concluded with a subway ride back down to 42nd Street with a game plan to cover the rest of the area above 125th Street as my border for this part of the project. There are so many pocket museums and parks to cover and explore.
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