I dedicate this blog with much love to my father, Warren George Watrel, who inspired this blog, “MywalkinManhattan.com”. I wanted to wish him a very ‘Happy Father’s Day’!
My dad was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and still considered himself a ‘Brooklynite’, even though he was raised and lived in New Jersey for most of his life. He spent years visiting the City to see relatives and he worked on Park Avenue for several years after that.
Every Father’s Day after I moved back to New Jersey from Guam, we always spent the day roaming around the City visiting some park that I had read about, movie that I saw reviewed or exhibition at a museum that was being featured. We would cap the afternoon off at a restaurant that I would read about in the Village Voice.
Since his passing, I have my own routine on Father’s Day. I pay my respects to him in the morning and then I spend my afternoon doing something we would have done together. Adding to the museums and galleries that I have visited over the time in my project, “MywalkinManhattan”, I decided to visit the American Academy of Arts and Letters at West 155th Street on Broadway between 155th and 156th Streets. I wanted to see the new works by their member artists. Then I treated myself to lunch.
My morning was spent cutting flowers from our flower beds, which my dad had a lot of pride in and I made an amazing arrangement to take with me. While I was paying my respects, I ran into other families doing the same thing I was doing. The cemetery was as busy as a shopping mall with cars all over the place and flower arrangement and prayers being said. It is interesting to see how people respect their family members who have passed.
I was talking with a women whose grandparents were interned near my father and whose younger brother was interned in another part of the cemetery. Since the death of her brother, his family cut off relations with the rest of her family members. It is sad that I hear this story so many times. She seemed relieved to have someone to talk to about it. We had a nice chat about our families for about a half hour and it’s nice to talk to a stranger who understands.
After I paid my respects, my afternoon was spent at the American Academy of Arts & Letters for one of my other blogs, “VisitingaMuseum.com”. I had been wanting to visit the gallery for two years now and it was the last day of their exhibition ‘Ceremonial Exhibition: Work by New Members and Recipients of Awards”. It is hard to visit since they are only open four months out of the year.
I got into the City late so I got to spend the last hour and a half walking the exhibition. I had just walked the entire length of Broadway for my blog on Friday (Day One Hundred and Thirty Six Walking the length of Broadway) and saw that it would be open this Sunday. It was an interesting exhibition.
Some of the pieces in the gallery were a little political and one sided. I took it that the Academy was more liberal leaning. Even so, it was nice to see what the artist had to say and their thoughts on current events.
American Academy of Arts & Letters
One artist who stood out was artist Judith Bernstein whose works ‘Gold Quattro’, ‘Money Shot-Blue Balls’ and ‘Trump Genie’ wanted to portray what she thinks of the corruption and money grabbing currently in Washington DC. You have to really look at the work closely to see the sexual organs and their use in the paintings.
Artist Judith Bernstein’s work
Another set of works that stood out was ‘She-wolf’ by artist Francesca Dimattio, with it’s many components and color displays. The funny part was that she had a hand poking out of the butt. I was not sure how you would interpret that.
‘She-wolf’ by Francesa Diamattio
After the museum closed for the afternoon, I walked over to the Morris-Jumel Mansion which had closed for the afternoon (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). Still it was nice to walk the gardens and look at the views of the river and beyond. I had toured the mansion several times and it is an interesting home with a fascinating past. The home was owned by Aaron Burr’s second wife, Madame Jumel, who herself had an interesting life.
The Morris-Jumel Mansion
The formal gardens on the property are relaxing to visit in but could use a good weeding.
The Morris-Jumel Mansion gardens
After a visit around the neighborhood to see how gentrification is changing the neighborhood, I stopped to get something to eat. The Sugar Hill Cafe which I had wanted to try was closed for the afternoon so I went to Victorio’s Pizza at 348 West 145th Street (see review on Tripadvisor) by the SUNY campus. Their pizza is always wonderful. The sauce is so well spiced and tastes of fresh tomatoes and the cheese is really gooey.
Victorio’s Pizza at 348 West 145th Street
After lunch, I just walked around this part of Harlem to see the changes and developments in the neighborhood. I had not visited this section of the City in about two years and it just keeps morphing. I walked from 145th Street to 125th Street and took the subway from there.
Every time I visit another part of New York City after a period of time, I am amazed how fast everything is moving from restaurants and shops closing to buildings either being torn down or renovated. The City never stops changing.
I enjoyed spending my Father’s Day doing something we both loved to do, exploring New York City and all the things it has to offer. I will never forget all the things that my father did for me and the support he offered me. I look back and realize the things I have done in my life because love and support and lack of judging me on it. I think it is important to let your kids make mistakes in life as it makes them stronger and more independent.
I was proud of my own father’s accomplishments even after he got sick and his determination to get better. He had progressed so well that I was able to take him to his 60th high school reunion in Florida and that was one of my proudest accomplishments. I was able to get him there and give him that moment in his life to see his old friends. That was all him and his hard work.
My dad spending the afternoon with his old classmates.
My father conversing with his classmates
I dedicate this blog with much love and respect to my father, Warren, whose determination and hard work showed me that anything is possible. You just have to believe that things will get better.
In 2017, I started the day walking 125th Street again on a beautiful sunny February day. It must have been 62 degrees out, sunny and glorious. The kids in the city like in the suburbs were off from school for the winter break, so everyone was outside in the parks enjoying the warm weather. The streets were crowded with people walking their dogs, students from Colombia walking around between classes and neighborhood children playing football and baseball in the parks.
When I returned to walk the borders of the neighborhood in 2026, I started on West 110th Street and walked from the tip of Central Park up First Avenue and then up Pleasant Avenue and then turned around down 120th Street to West 125th Street to complete that part of the border of the neighborhood. There are parts of the neighborhood that have changed over the last decade and some parts I was surprised had changed very little.
The real estate people now call this “SoHA”, South of Harlem from 125th Street to 110th Street between Riverside Drive to the west and Pleasant and Paladino Avenues to the East. This covers three very distinct neighborhoods with one of the largest concentrations of public housing in the City. I made it a point to walk the neighborhood in the early morning and late afternoon. I never felt unsafe during my walks around Harlem.
The Pa’lante Community Garden on the corner of Madison Avenue and West 110th Street
I stated the walk up First Avenue with a stop at the Pa’lante Community Gardens at 1651 Madison Avenue. The gates were finally open and I was able to visit the inside of the gardens. What a nice garden that grows vegetables and flowers for both the members and the community. I got to talk with some of the volunteers there and see what their goals were for the gardens.
The inside of the gardens in the Summer of 2026
I passed the Dewitt-Clinton Houses that line West 110th Street along this part of the neighborhood until I continued the walk up First Avenue.
I walked past the complex and it was quiet during the day with a few kids playing in the playgrounds. Then I took the walk up First Avenue. First Avenue in this section of Manhattan is first the lined with small businesses giving way to public housing complexes as you walk up the Avenue.
Looking up First Avenue at 110th Street
As you cross up First Avenue, to the right is Jefferson Park and to the left is the Jefferson Houses. The park was really busy that afternoon with kids playing soccer and football and families outside enjoying the nice weather.
The outside of most of the housing complexes were filled with people going about their business and people heading in and out with delivers. I just continued the walk up the street. The border of the neighborhood is really on Pleasant Avenue so I walked up through the Wagner Houses complex to West 125th Street and then double backed and walked down West 120th Street to Pleasant Avenue and then walked down through the neighborhood back to Jefferson Park.
First Avenue and West 116th Street
The very edge of the neighborhood is dominated by the Wagner Houses, a public housing complex that stretches from First to Second Avenues from West 120th to West 125th Streets and Paladino Avenue, which surrounds the complex. The neighborhood is not bad to walk around during the day when the parks are busy but I would avoid this corner of Manhattan after twilight.
The Wagner Houses on First Avenue and West 121st Street
I walked all around the complex and could not believe the amount of garbage on the lawns and in the playgrounds. I wondered if they had anyone to clean this up.
I then walked down West 120th Street to Pleasant Avenue which used to be the heart of the Italian community up until the early 1960’s. The area has gone through some changes and now it is gentrifying again.
Walking down Pleasant Avenue during the Summer of 2026
The neighborhood recently hosted the “Dancing of the Giglio” event in early August that is always popular with former residents and their families from the surrounding boroughs and the suburbs.
The inside of the Los Amigos Community Gardens in the Summer of 2026
The inside of the gardens
I finished my walk of this side of the border of the neighborhood in the late afternoon. I have walked this neighborhood over the last decade and every year it continues to change. A younger crowd of residents have been moving in and changing the neighborhood. You see this in the parks and residents. After I finished, I relaxed in Jefferson Park before I walked back to West 110th Street for dinner and a walk to the West Side where I took the subway by the Columbia Campus.
In 2017, with all the area above 125th finally complete, I have started to walk the neighborhoods below traditional Harlem and above the Upper East and West sides. Morningside Heights is the area bordered by Morningside Avenue to 110th to 125th to Riverside Square Park, South Harlem is from Fredrick Douglas Boulevard, South Harlem is bordered again from Fredrick Douglas Boulevard to Fifth Avenue from 110th to 125th Streets and Spanish Harlem from 5th Avenue to FDR Drive from 110th to 125th Streets. So this time to make it easier I have broken it up into three sections to do the walk.
I started the walk today at 125th Street at Morningside Avenue walking shoppers and tourists milling around the shopping district at 125th Street. The whole shopping district is going through a transformation from old cut-rate stores and family businesses to a series of chain restaurants, stores and gyms. Every business you find in a suburban strip mall are coming to Harlem from TJMax and Rainbow to Red Lobster (now closed) and Olive Garden. It is pretty shocking how fast it has changed but even more how the flavor of the area is being adjusted to tourism.
When I walked 125th Street again on a return trip to the neighborhood in 2026, there is a new Renaissance Hotel next to the theater and the entrance of the hotel is another old theater that is now part of the building. The one thing about 125th Street along the entire length of the street is that it is one long set of chain stores.
Apollo Theater at 125th Street with the new Renaissance Hotel in the background
The historic plaque now sits at West 126th Street behind the theater
Another surprising aspect of the neighborhood is how nice it has gotten. Gone are the days that Colombia University had to practically erect walls to keep the neighborhood out. Colombia students like their fellow SUNY students thirty blocks up are starting to move in and take over this neighborhood. The South Harlem area is awash with scaffolding of people renovating the buildings and new restaurants and shops. Now this gentrification is all over the neighborhood with cafes, bars and restaurants dotting every street.
The street art along the walls is very interesting
A lot of 125th Street is being knocked down and redeveloped with new office and apartment buildings and new retailers moving into the neighborhood. It is amazing to see the changes in just nine years.
All along the walls of the sites are being cleared and new buildings are going up, local artists who are part of “The Grand Scale Mural Project” are showcasing their works.
The project brings the Uptown art community together with the intent of creating opportunities for emerging and established artists. The call is open every two years to any artist based in New York City, with preference given to artists with connections to Harlem, Upper Manhattan and the Bronx (GSMP.com).
The Mural Ptoject
During three weekends in late summer 2019, 50 artists came together to transform 1,500 feet of fencing across three blocks into a canvas for mural artwork. In 2021 and 2023, more than 100 artists each year united to transform more than half a mile of construction fencing into colorful, memorable blocks to walk (GSMP.com).
The Mural Project
In 2025, the Grandscale Mural Project is taking place all summer long, on the last Saturday of each month: June 28, July 26, and August 30. On each Saturday, artists will gather for a sidewalk painting party that will transform the visual landscape of East Harlem, turning dull green plywood into vibrant street art (GSMP.com).
The Mural Project
The Robot Mural, my favorite
The murals run the length of the fencing and try to see it before they take it down with the construction of the buildings. The murals cover about three blocks of 125th Street and contain some interesting street art.
The historic Mount Morris Bank Building also known as the ‘Corn Exchange’ building at 81 East 125th Street
I have admired this building for over thirty years as you pass it on the Metro North train to New Haven. After years of being abandoned, it has finally been restored as a office building.
The building was first known as the Mount Morris Bank Building and it sits on the corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue at 81-85 East 125th Street. It was built in 1883 by architectural firm Lamb & Rich in the Queen Anne and Richardson Romanesque styles. In 1913, the bank became part of the Corn Exchange Bank and then merged into Chemical Bank in the 1950’s (Wiki).
Walking down 125th Street by Lennox Avenue
Fifth Avenue at East 125th Street still holds some of the beautiful and elegant architecture from the turn of the last century that is now being renovated into housing and new office buildings as the neighborhood continues to genetrify.
Reaching the end of East 125th Street on one side of the street
As I reached the end of 125th Street, I passed the overhead bridges and underpasses that make up a big part of the transportation hub of this part of the island. You can’t walk very well on the other side of the street due to traffic and construction so I turned around and walked back down 125th Street.
The front of Sylvia’s Restaurant at 328 Malcolm X Boulevard as it opened for lunch
I was not hungry but I tried to go later in the evening. When I arrived there at 8:00pm thinking that the crowds would be gone, I could tell they were understaffed and there would be an hour wait. I will visit on another trip up to the neighborhood.
As I headed west on 125th Street, I passed the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Building at 163 West 125th Street and they were setting up for a concert that evening. I noticed the statue of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the front of the building and stopped to admire it.
Artist Branly Cadet is an American born New York City native. He was trained at Cornell University and New York Academy of Art in New York and in France at the Vaugel Sculpture Studio and L’Ecole Albert Defois. He is trained in the classical tradition of both figurative and portrait sculpture (Wiki/Artist bio).
While I was walking around the neighborhood, I was able to see a free Jazz concert at the Summer Stage in Harlem and the concert was great.
Taking a break to enjoy a Summer Jazz concert in front of the Adam Clayton Powell Building.
While I was walking back to towards the Columbia campus, I walked past the former Hotel Theresa, once ‘The Waldorf Hotel of Harlem’. This had once been one of the most important places in Harlem to visit.
Walking past the former Hotel Theresa at 2082-86 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard
The hotel was designed by architectural firm George & Edward Blum and built by a German-born stockbroker, Gustavas Sidenberg, whose wife the hotel was named for. In the heyday of Harlem, it was known as the “Waldorf of Harlem”, when many black stars of sports, entertainment and politics could not stay at the segregated hotels in other parts of the City, they would stay here making it the center of Black social life. It deteriated in the 1950’s and 60’s and was eventually turned into an office building (Wiki).
The logo outside the famous and very busy Harlem firehouse Engine 37/Ladder 40
I then passed the very busy Engine 37/Ladder 40 that had made several calls while I was walking around the neighborhood. They were just coming back from a call as I was walking around 125th Street. I really admired their logo.
Towards the end of the block and across from the new extension of the Columbia campus is the Grant Houses, which dominate this side of 125th Street. Years ago, walked through all the pathways around the complex startling some residents. I was never sure if it was my appearance or that I might have been trespassing on the grounds. I thought they were open paths to walk on.
The sign for the Grant Houses near Columbia University
The Grant Houses are a ten complex of housing units line 125th Street and around Broadway. As I passed the complex this time, I noticed a lot of seniors sitting outside the entrances talking amongst themselves.
The Grant Houses Housing Complex line 125th Street near the East River
Facing the Hudson River on the Western of Broadway is the new extension of the modern Columbia University campus. More buildings are planned but this futuristic campus is of glass and steel and faces the Hudson River.
The Columbia University extension above 125th Street
The Manhattanville campus is the newest part of Columbia University containing their Business and Arts Schools as well as classroom space and a new art museum. The new campus will encompass everything west of Broadway to the Hudson River from West 125th to West 133rd and will eventually surround the Manhattanville Houses across the street. I already have seen the changes on West 125th Street to about 7th Avenue and the side streets. The campus is changing the complexity of the neighborhood and gentrifying most of the area around the housing projects and 125th Street.
The street plan for the campus
Tour of the new campus
As you pass the campus on 12th Avenue, the overhead pass is its own piece of artwork and gives a modern approach to the Hudson River.
The overpass on 125th Street and 12th Avenue is picturesque
Lining the Hudson River is West Harlem Piers park, one of the nicest parks uptown with the best views of the Hudson River and gets some of the best breezes on a hot day.
West Harlem Piers Park at 125th Street and Marginal Street
The park has the most beautiful views and it is nice to just sit under the trees on the benches and just relax and enjoy the view. The park is also very big with people fishing on the pier and with bicyclists.
West Harlem Piers Park in the Summer of 2026
West Harlem Piers Park
Walking through West Harlem Piers Park offers the nicest views of the Hudson River
Walking up and down Riverside Drive from 110th Street to 125th Street and back along the Hudson River and Riverside Park offers many beautiful views, elegant architecture, an open air museum of statuary and cool shady paths to playgrounds and gardens.
Riverside Drive at 110th Street
The stonework on the building at 110th Street with beautiful windows
As I continued the walk up further, the monuments continued with the statue of Samuel Tilden, a former Governor of New York located at West 112th Street.
Tilden’s career was illustrious with fights against the Tweed stronghold in NYC and some saying that he had the Presidential election stolen from him with the Electoral College by Rutherford Hayes. His large estate and book collection helped found the New York Public Library (Wiki).
The statue was created by sculpturer William Ordway Partridge, an American born artist who had studied at both Columbia and Ecole de Beaux Arts. He had worked under many well known artists both here and abroad. He is known for his life like sculptures.
The Samuel Tilden statue in the Summer of 2026
(From the NYCParks.org website)
Tilden was active in city, state, and national politics. Elected to the state assembly in 1845, he also served in the Constitutional Convention of 1846 and ran on the Democratic ticket for Attorney General in 1855. He was a member of the Free Soil movement, which fought the extension of slavery into U.S. Territories. In 1863, Tilden moved into a home on Gramercy Park. He combined that house with an adjacent townhouse in 1874 to form a mansion where he lived for the remainder of his life. The mansion has been the home of the National Arts Club since 1905 (NYCParks.org).
By 1868, Tilden had assumed the leadership of the Democratic Party in New York State. In 1870, he launched a high-profile attack on the Tweed Ring, which had dominated New York City government from 1860 to 1871. Tilden helped to impeach several judges, exposed the plunder amassed by certain Tweed officials, prosecuted many of them on behalf of the state, and described the Ring’s illegal dealings in the pages of the New York Times (NYCParks.org).
Walking up Riverside Drive
As I made my way up Riverside Drive, I stopped at another bend on the street and came across the statue of Lajos Kossuth, the leader of the Hungarian uprising in 1848. The statue was created by Hungarian artist Janos Horway.
Kossuth was born to a family of noble heritage in Monok in northeastern Hungary. In the early 1830s, he emerged as a leader of the country’s radical reform movement. Trained as a lawyer, Kossuth edited several journals and newspapers that allowed him to broadcast his increasingly popular ideas. He issued fiery pleas for Hungary’s independence from Vienna’s Hapsburg Monarchy, for emancipation of the peasants, and for industrial development. Kossuth was elected to the Hungarian Diet (national assembly) in 1847, and a year later he led the revolution that created a new national government for Hungary (NYCParks.org).
The new government fell to invading Russian and Austrian armies in 1849, and Kossuth fled into exile. Rallying support for Hungarian independence, he dazzled European and American audiences with his eloquence. Sympathizers in the United States identified with the aims of overthrowing the foreign monarchy and establishing republican government for Hungary. Kossuth visited New York in December 1851 at the start of a seven-month tour of the United States. Upon arrival, he was given a tremendous welcome, described in the newly-founded New York Times as one of “the most magnificent and enthusiastic ever extended to any man in any part of the world.” A reception hosted by Mayor Ambrose C. Kingsland, banquets, and a parade up Fifth Avenue were held in his honor. Kossuth lived in exile in England and (after 1865) in Italy. After his death in Turin in March 1894, his body was brought to Budapest and buried in state (NYCParks.org).
The Kossuth statue was designed by artist Janos Horvay
Janos Horvay was a Hungarian born artist who studied under artist Edmund Hellmer. Known for his realistic sculpture work, he was also known for his funeral works of art (Wiki).
Walking through Riverside Drive in the Morningside Heights Historical District
When I crossed over 110th Street, I walked through the most western part of the Columbia Campus in Morningside Heights section of Harlem and admired the beauty of the architecture of the Morningside Heights Historical District.
The sign for Historical Morningside Heights District
The last sculpture I passed in Riverside Park before I got to Grant’s Tomb was the Woman’s Health Protective Association Fountain at West 116th Street created by artist Bruno Louis Zimm. The fountain is currently undergoing a renovation.
The Women’s Health Protective Association Fountain
Members of the WHPA were usually part of the city’s elite, and Charlotte Wilbour, one of the names inscribed along the Riverside Park benches, helped to found the first New York City Woman Suffrage Association in 1870. This more radical branch of the movement (in comparison with the relatively conservative chapter in Boston) lobbied against the passage of the 15th amendment, which proposed to give suffrage to African-American men. Leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton opposed the male focus of the bill and suggested a new, 16th amendment in its place, one that would offer “universal suffrage” to all races, genders, and religions (NYCParks.org).
The dream of the founding suffragettes finally actualized on August 16, 1920, eleven years after this fountain was commissioned. With the vote in hand, the National Woman Suffrage Association disbanded, but its surviving members went on to become the core of the League of Women Voters and to continue the focus on women’s health issues in New York City (NYCParks.org).
The fountain was under renovation and not working but was beautifully designed
Artist Bruno Zimm was a New York City born artist and studied under Artist Carl Bitter and at the Arts Student League of New York under Artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens. He was known for his freestanding memorials, fountains and architectural sculptures (Wiki).
In the afternoon, I finally made it to one of my goals for the day, Grant’s Tomb (see the reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com), the final resting place of our 18th President Ulysses Grant and his wife, Julia. This monument has had a love-hate relationship with the city.
The President died of throat cancer in 1885 and his wife recommended that his burial place be in New York City over West Point and Washington DC as President Grant and his wife made this their home for the last years of their life (Wiki).
The monument was designed by architect John H. Duncan and was finished in 1897 and the President’s remains were moved here before the dedication. His wife died in 1902 and was buried along side her husband.
In 1958, the National Park Service took the monument over and was given a small budget to oversee it. In the 70’s and 80’s as the city had declined, this part of the park was a mess and the monument was vandalized to the hilt.
The graves of President Grant and his wife
It had gotten so bad at one point where the descendants of the family threatened to pull the bodies out of the tomb because of neglect. Since the 90’s, the monument and the park have been restored and it is open to the public for limited times during the week.
The side view of the tomb facing the park
The park now is used for picnicking and parties as many were going on as I walked through the park. The tomb itself was closed for the day but I returned another day to tour the tomb, watch a video on the family and enjoy the park.
The park behind Grant’s Tomb
The park near the tomb
Off to the side of the monument, inside Riverside Park next to the path, is the Amiable Child Memorial (See review on VisitingaMuseum.com), the resting place to St. Clair Pollock. This touching little monument is dedicated to a child who died in 1797 in the fifth year of his life from a fall from the cliffs somewhere in the current park. It is one of the private graves located on public land. This small stone funeral urn is on a pedestal marking the grave. It is a very touching grave to a small child. I left a coin there as many have in the past.
I continued the walk up through the park until I hit Riverbank Park on 145th Street, one of the unique parks I have ever seen. The 28 acre park is built on the top of a water treatment plant that was inspired by parks built on roof tops in Japan. This park has everything. It has a pool, basketball courts, tennis courts, soccer field, baseball field, a cool off fountain and ice skating rink. It has it all and has the neighborhood embraced this park. The place was packed in all venues. It was a truly democratic park as all races play here.
I was most impressed by the number of families having parties and barbecues in the park. There must have been about a dozen birthday parties going on at once. The smells of barbecue meats and vegetables wafted in the air and the sounds of laughter and singing was all over the place. Even on a hot day, nothing stops people from having a good time.
I was most impressed by the Snack Bar located in the park’s main building. For $6.00, I got a cheeseburger, fries and a Coke and for a park snack bar they were really good. The portion size was generous and I can tell you for fact that the fries are excellent. Even if you don’t like sports make a special trip to snack bar and you won’t be disappointed. (See review on TripAdvisor)
Admiring the street art on the extension of 12th Avenue off Riverside Drive
When I made my way back down Riverside Drive to West 110th Street, I headed to Morningside Park at the edge of Morningside Heights, whose new border is Central Park North (Fredrick Douglass Boulevard).
West 110th Street by Morningside Avenue
Morningside Park, which pretty much is the traditional border between the university and Harlem has been renovated over the past twenty years and is no longer the dismal overgrown park that you would get mugged in if you entered. My dad went to Colombia in the 60’s and my cousin in the 80’s and in those years, you would never enter the park. In 1993-95, the park was renovated and had new plantings and equipment installed in the park, giving it the same cheerful appearance of any other park in the city. Does it have it’s share of problems still? Like any park in New York City after dusk, you have to watch yourself.
Morningside Park near Columbia University
Because of the weather being so warm at this time, the park was being spruced up with park employees raking and cleaning up the beds and lawns. The garbage was being picked up as well and the park looked clean and well planted. With it being February, not much is in bloom but you can see where tulips and daffodils are starting to pop up in the soil. Lots of people were jogging in the park, walking with baby carriages or playing sports. A far cry from the needle and crack cocaine days in the 80’s. You can see the new landscaping and water features that have been created in the park and at dusk the lights actually work.
Morningside Park in bloom in the late Winter.
I traveled down the road planning on visiting the park again in more detail. I turned at 110th Street and walked the entire length of 110th from west side to east side and talk about a street of extremes. As you walk towards Riverside Park, you have Colombia to the north and the very top of the Upper West Side to the south. The buildings on this side of West 110th have been sandblasted back to their original elegance and from what I can see of the residents had never really gone down hill with the rest of the neighborhood.
Amsterdam Avenue north of 110th Street has some interesting restaurants that I will need to try and I am discovering the holes in the wall that must cater to the students. Many have reasonable lunch specials and some have creative menus. I stopped in Riverside Park for a bit to relax before the long walk and the park was busy with nannies and mother’s with their kids in the 110th Street Tot Playground. The place was teaming with toddlers having a good time. The park still has not had the hint of Spring but having traveled this area last summer, it is a beautiful park when in bloom.
I walked down to Columbus Avenue and walked around the newly planted park area and discovered Hunan Chen’s Kitchen, a tiny hole in the wall restaurant at 1003 A Columbus Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor and on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). This little restaurant has only one table and is so small you can barely turn around. What is lacks in atmosphere, it makes up in food and service.
Hunan Chen Kitchen off 110th Street at 1003A Columbus Avenue (Closed 2020)
The restaurant is now Dragon 109 but the prices are much higher than before
The lady who works the counter could not have been friendlier and accommodating. The prices were so cheap that you can order a nice meal for under $10.00 that could feed two people and for $5.00 you can buy a nice snack in their appetizer and soup section. I ordered an eggroll and a pint of Roast Pork Lo Mein. I must have gotten a pound of Lo Mein that was steaming hot and loaded with roast pork. It was delicious and well seasoned. The eggroll could have had more roast pork in it but was still plump and well-cooked.
I was able to eat in on the benches in Morningside Park at the entrance at 110th Street. It was nice to people watch on a warm day and fun to see the students finally utilizing the park for pleasure.
Their Roast Pork Lo Mein with egg roll is the best!
When I returned to the neighborhood to walk the Streets and Avenues again in the Summer of 2026, I returned to the restaurant when it named Dragon 109.
The front of the new restaurant, Dragon 109
I ate at the restaurant as Dragon 109 for lunch and they had a very nice lunch special. I tried the Boneless Roast Pork with Fried Rice and a side of Wonton Soup.
The inside of the restaurant which has some seating
The lunch special of Boneless Roast Pork with Fried Rice and a side of Wonton Soup
The Wonton Soup was good and the wontons were very large
The Boneless Roast Pork with Fried Rice
The food and the service were very good. The portion for lunch was enough for both lunch and dinner. The service was very nice and the family who owns the restaurant could not have been nicer. Try to get there before 3:00pm to get the lunch special. It is a very fair deal for good food and service.
After lunch, it was a the long walk to the northern stretches of Central Park and the Harlem Meer. This section of the park was packed with people. Seniors were fishing in the Meer (lake) and the kids were playing in the playground by the Lenox Avenue entrance. This area had been replanted and fixed in the late 90’s and again in the early 2000’s by the city with the help of the Central Park Conservatory. People were taking pictures of the ducks or chasing the pigeons around the park.
The Charles A. Dana Discover Center and the Harlem Meer
I had an interesting afternoon at the Charles A. Dana Discover Center located on the Meer and reading how the area was so influential in the Revolutionary War. Much of the battles had taken place in this area and the forts were located right in the park boundaries. The Battle of Harlem was not far from this spot and it was amazing how the area went back to nature once the war was over.
The Harlem Meer with the Dana Center in the background
The panels tell the story of the area and you should take about an hour and really read about the areas part in the war. On such a beautiful day the park really sparkled and it looked like a lot of adults were playing hooky on such a nice day.
The Harlem Meer and Fifth Avenue
Crossing Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue is the start of the extremes of 110th Street. You will pass what was once public housing but looks like it is going ‘market rate’ with renovations and once you pass the border of Madison Avenue, you will enter Spanish Harlem and a series of public housing projects. Again this area was alive with people but the mood of the area is completely different.
The Lehman Village Houses
The Spanish influence was all over the place. On the walls of the stores and in the restaurants and signs as well as the music. There must be at least four or five housing projects in this area in various degrees of maintenance. Some were well maintained like by the Lehman Houses. By the Houses, it got a little scary. I would not venture in that area at night. At the end of 110th Street, you have the East River Houses, that look like a more pleasant middle-class looking development.
I walked around Thomas Jefferson Park, a space of green that needs a serious renovation. The park could use a little sprucing up from what I could see. I did not want to enter the basketball grounds due to a scary looking group of teens and walked around the edges of the park. Just south of the park on New Street, Zip Car seems to have their headquarters and the whole lot is lined with cars.
The funny part about 110th street in this area is that it is dotted with new housing, bars and restaurants. The 20 year old set is starting to move into this area. On a rather seedy stretch of 110th, I was always looking over my shoulder until I saw some 20 year old ‘hipster’ with shorts on and an expensive iPhone playing that I felt like a jerk. Either I was the one worrying or he was putting himself at risk.
I stopped for a snack at El Chevere Cuchifritos, a Spanish restaurant, take-out place and bakery at 2000 Third Avenue for some pastilitoes. I ordered them with my broken Spanish which seemed to pass fine as the woman waiting on me understood what I said.
I ordered a chicken and beef but got a cheese and they were good but not as good as some I have had in Washington Heights. They are reasonable at $1.50 each and very fresh. They have a nice selection of reasonable hot foods to take out and I just munched on them on the trip back up 110th to Fifth Avenue.
The bakery selection at El Chevere
Fifth Avenue from 110th to 125th Streets was where I was lining my walk to concentrate in this area. I walked up and down Fifth Avenue to Marcus Garvey Park and walked around the park which was packed with people walking their dogs by the dog park and kids playing in the playground. Even though the avenue is lined with public housing, the area is dotted with new developments especially on the north and west parts of the park.
Marcus Garvey Park (Mount Morris Park)
The west side of Marcus Garvey Park is the Mount Morris Historical Area. This stretches from about 124th Street to 118th Street and has the most beautiful and graceful brownstones the line the side streets by the park. This area like the rest of Harlem is being sandblasted and renovated back to an earlier era and people are snatching up these homes.
I finished this park of the walk by walking down Fifth Avenue through the Taft Homes that line the streets and back down 110th and back up Morningside Avenue and then down Manhattan Avenue to finish off the walk for this part of the visit to the area.
This is a huge area to cover so I will be breaking the visit down into three sections to really see what the neighborhood has to see and offer. I have already walked the boarders of 125th Street and 110th Street and will continue on to do the avenues first and then the side streets. So join me as we explore the newest in ‘hip’ areas, SoHA.
Still with all this progress, things are still shaky in the housing projects
Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:
I started walking Harlem again after the holidays and I saw the last vestiges of the holidays all over the neighborhood. Some of the brownstone owners still had their wreaths and garland decorating their homes and it was still quite striking to see a ‘Victorian Christmas’ in front of me. There were still some Santa’s up and trees with lights at twilight and it was nice to see that some people kept their decorations up for the Epiphany.
The Christmas trees in the City were kept up later than usual
I started my day by walking the avenues first and then I would do the side streets. It is very different to do this walk in the winter months than in the summer as the days get short and it gets dark very quickly. Some parts of this part of the neighborhood can be somewhat sketchy so try not to venture out too late. I would not say that some parts are dangerous but in any part of New York City even in daylight, you should watch yourself. Even parts of the Upper East Side can be daunting after dark.
The part of the neighborhood that I was covering on this part of the walk is from south of 145th Street east of Fredrick Douglas Boulevard and Edgecombe Avenue to FDR Drive, which is near impossible to walk as there is no outlet to get onto it with getting yourself killed.
I had covered most of First, Second, Third and Lexington Avenues over the summer but I walked them again to see if there were any changes. There were a few as new buildings are going up by 128th Street and some of the businesses in the area had splashed some new paint on the buildings. This area of the triangle bounded from Lexington Avenue from 131st Street to 125th Street is dominated by commercial buildings and the bus depots with a few small parks that have seen better days.
Walking through Harlem River Park, you will see all the murals along the walls of the park. The creativity of the murals was quite a site and they continue to grow everytime I walk through the park on The Great Saunter.
The murals of Harlem River Park
The murals of Harlem River Park
The murals of Harlem River Park
The murals of the park
The murals keep growing in the park
There is a very nice recreational area that I walked through on 128th Street, The Harlem River Park, that was very active in the Summer with loads of kids playing soccer and baseball but in the winter months, there were a few kids milling around and playing chase and soccer. Mostly groups of kids hanging out after school. As I walked up the ramp to the 3rd Avenue Bridge to the Bronx, I noticed a few pairs of eyes watching me as I was watching them. The same thing happened at Colonel Charles Young Playground on West 145th Street and Lenox Avenue.
The Colonel Charles Young Playground could use some work
In the summer, the Colonel Charles Young Playground was very active with a huge basketball tournament that had attracted a big crowd. In the winter, it had just a few kids playing basketball and a few mothers strolling with their kids. The site of a six-foot-tall white guy had people staring at me, but I have gotten used to it by this point.
Colonel Charles Young, the third Black graduate of West Point
Even Park Avenue in this part of Manhattan is not very glamorous. Much different from the blocks south of 96th Street. Up here, it is more commercial with a few schools in the area and a few new apartment houses. There are many small businesses, and the area is mostly geared towards transportation. It is not a place to be late at night if you are not from the neighborhood.
Around 132nd Street down to about 128th, the glamour continues with the Department of Sanitation having one of their uptown buildings. This area under the train underpass is where they keep all the garbage trucks, and the area is really busy during the days of pick up. It gets a little scary up here at night and it does smell but also too you get to see how the city works. I wonder how these effects the health of so many residents who are living in public housing that surround the area.
Once you pass Park Avenue, then the neighborhood becomes more residential, and you really see the beautiful brownstones and apartment buildings. From Madison Avenue to 7th Avenue, most of the streets are lined with the most graceful buildings from the turn of two centuries ago. Some of the doorways were still decorated for the holidays and it complimented the homes nicely.
This area of Harlem is dominated by many large public housing complexes, which is the reason why the Harlem section of the city will remain a diverse section of the city. This is unless the city decides to sell off their housing department to meet the demand for housing at market rates. This would really change the complexity of the city.
Walking the Avenues did not take as long as walking the streets. I was able to walk from 1st Avenue to Fredrick Douglas Boulevard in two days and get a real view on how the commercial districts are slowly changing. Since the summer, many businesses I have noticed have closed or have been replaced by chain businesses.
It is funny that for the number of years that the city moaned and groaned about chain businesses not wanting to enter the city it is now being dominated by these businesses often pushing out the mom & pop businesses that give each neighborhood its uniqueness.
The one thing about Harlem is that if you ever want a quick snack, there is no lack of bodegas and small restaurants that are reasonably priced. I stopped in at Food Company Deli at Madison and 130th Street (now closed) for pastilitos, those wonderful and reasonable meat pies I enjoyed so much in Washington Heights. They were $1.25 here but still delicious.
They were freshly cooked and full of chicken and beef respectively. They had a wonderful selection of hot snacks, probably for the after-school crowd from the two schools around the corner and the people playing in the park down the road. All I know is that the owner got very excited about me being there and jumped through hoops when I walked in and paid for my purchase in cash.
The Beef Empanadas at Food Company Deli were delicious
The Chicken Empanadas
The Beef Empanadas
When both walking the avenues and the streets, you will notice that there are a large number of public housing units that spread over several blocks. The Drew Hamilton Housing Complex dominates from 144th to 141st Streets from Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (7th Avenue) to Fredrick Douglas Boulevard (8th Avenue) and Fredrick Samuels Houses run from 141st to 139th Streets between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (7th Avenue).
The Drew Hamilton Houses from West 144th to 141st Streets
Saint Nicholas Houses at 127th to 131st Streets was my start off point since the summer months and where I completed the walk in February at 6:30pm while watching a group of kids play basketball (their park is still having a major makeover that has been going on since the summer months).
The Saint Nichols Houses from West 131st to West 127th were also just struck with fire
Between 142nd Street and 139th Streets, from Lenox to 5th Avenue, you have the mixed income and renovated Savoy Park Apartments. They are gated and you can see by the landscaping and the cars in the lots not public housing. It is much better taken care of then the surrounding housing but reading reviews on the internet, they still seem to have similar problems. Even though this series of former public housing still has older residents and am not sure if all the buildings are fully renovated yet.
I walked through most of these complexes around twilight and no one ever bothered me. Most people either ignored me or looked the other way. Sometimes groups of young men would be on their cell phones while I was walking on one side of the street and then would disappear by the time, I walked back down the other side of the street. Since I crisscrossed most of the neighborhood for a second time, I was able to judge how the neighborhood was changing just in the few months it took to walk this side of Harlem.
The street art of Harlem
The areas the surround the CUNY campus seem to have the most changes to it. Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and Fredrick Douglas Boulevard keep changing all the time in the areas between 140th Streets to about 132nd Street. Many of the buildings have the ‘new window’ syndrome, where you can tell the building is either been renovated or in the process of being renovated.
This is where your newer restaurants and shops are popping up. This is especially true at around St. Nichols Boulevard and Edgecombe Avenues where brownstones and pre-war apartments being sandblasted back to sparkling perfection with new plantings and artwork to accompany them.
Dorrance Brooks Square Park and the Historic District at Edgecombe Avenue and West 136th Street
The homes around Dorrance Brooks Square Park between 136th to 137th Streets have a real beauty to them with their unique designs and big windows over-looking the small park. The park was named in 1925 after Dorrance Brooks, a WWI veteran killed in action before the end of the war (his father was a Civil War veteran as well).
The area gets even nicer in the fast-gentrifying St. Nicholas Historic District, known as ‘Strivers Row,’ of brownstone homes between 137th and 139th Streets right off St. Nicholas Park between Fredrick Douglas and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevards. These majestic buildings were once ‘the’ area of Harlem and are fast taking their rightful place in the neighborhood again. So much of the block I have passed over the past two months has been under scaffolding (as much of the neighborhood has been).
These buildings built between 1891-1893 in the Colonial, Georgian and Italian Renaissance styles and have been home to many famous residents including musician Eubie Blake and congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Really take time to look at the architecture and the detail work. You can still see traces of the past century in the details.
‘Striver’s Row’ in the East 130’s
The commercial avenues are where you are seeing the most changes. The weird part is that it changes from block to block. Even the restaurants change. You can have a hip new barbecue place next to a Chinese restaurant with bullet proof glass and a small slot to get your food. The funny part is when the young white kids enter these Chinese restaurants and the looks on their faces when they are ordering.
It can such a juxtaposed array of businesses catering to both old and new residents. Even when I walk in the owners seemed perplexed with who I was and what I was doing there. This happens right across the street from the housing projects but even in the nicest restaurants in the area, it is a mixed crowd of residents enjoying themselves.
One note when walking this upper part of Harlem is that there are scarce public bathrooms around the area. Outside of the McDonald’s on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard the only other bathroom you can use in the neighborhood is in the much needed in renovation Fred Samuels Park. The park was named after Frederick E. Samuel, the three term Harlem Congressman who passed away in 1985 and had brought significant positive changes to the community.
Fred Samuel’s Playground at Lenox Avenue and West 140th has decent bathrooms
Their bathrooms are clean but still falling apart. The park is located between 139th and 140th Streets off Lenox Boulevard and is well used both days I passed it. You would think of the condition of the park and its bathrooms though that the park system could do more for the neighborhood.
Another part of the neighborhood is the very busy and very famous “Harlem Hilton”, Engine 69, Ladder 28 Battalion 16 located on 143rd Street, a block that I am sure has completely changed over the years. The years of the ‘burn baby burn’ days are long over but the company was out the whole time I was there making calls all over the neighborhood. This famous fire company had seen it share of fires over the years. With all the public housing in the area, it looks like the companies are kept busy.
The ‘Harlem Hilton’ Engine 69/Ladder 28 at 248 West 143rd Street is one of the busiest houses in the FDNY
Two unique blocks that I passed was the 132nd Street neighborhood and their garden, the West 132nd Street Community Garden that is tended and planted by the neighborhood association and compliments the well-taken care of brownstones on the street. The effect must look nice in the summer.
Another nice-looking garden is the Harlem Rose Garden at 6 East 129th Street. It was under a foot of snow the time I passed it, but it must be quite nice in June.
The West 132nd Street Block Association Garden at 108 West 132nd Street
There are also the ‘Harlem Grown’ gardens at West 127th Streets, which is an urban youth garden that caters to the children in the neighborhood by sponsoring programs and volunteer planting while working with schools to create school gardens.
This unique program gets kids involved with the whole process of urban farming. Again under a foot of snow when I passed it, you could see traces of activity in the small green houses on the property.
Some of the most beautiful buildings in the neighborhood was the Astor Row block on West 130th Street. These 28 single family brick houses were built by William Backhouse Astor Jr. between 1880 to 1883. These homes, mostly newly renovated have front and side yards and wooden porches that have been added again since their renovations.
Most have renovated but in the middle of the development there is one home that is bricked up with a huge sign that says ‘not abandoned and not for sale. Don’t inquire.’ on the door. This is how desperate people are to buy into the historical housing in this area.
After seven weeks of walking this part of North Harlem, I finally reached 128th Street, months after the summer months of walking from 125th to 128th Streets. It was so nice to see the park at the Saint Nicholas Houses where I had started so many months ago.
Much has changed since the summer months with Colombia University growing by the Hudson River side of the island and scaffolding all over the areas surrounding the areas between Madison Avenue to Fredrick Douglas Boulevard where brownstones and prewar apartments are being snatched up quickly.
More college students are moving in and venturing to further reaches of the area and the housing projects are even going through their own renovations. It won’t be so strange this time to see college students sunning themselves in St. Nicholas and Jackie Robinson Parks anymore. The whole area is changing and there is a lot of investment in the neighborhood not just in housing but in the parks as well. With community gardens and block associations cleaning up empty lots, the pride of Harlem is alive and well. You just have to look for it.
This part of the walk completes the whole neighborhood above 125th Street known by the realtors now as NoHA, North of Harlem.
It has taken several days to walk NoHA (North of Harlem), whatever that means. The realtors in New York get a great joy out of naming areas of the city so that real estate prices can go up. NoHA is pretty much everything from 155th Street to 125th Street from river to river (that being broken into Hamilton Heights from 145th Street to 125th Street west of St. Nicolas Park and then below 125th until 110th Street is Manhattanville) and SoHA is everything from 125th Street to 110th Street.
Then on the West Side it is known as the Upper Upper West Side until you hit 96th Street and on the East Side it is Spanish Harlem (that is slowly changing as well) until you hit 96th Street then you’re in Yorkville. The Upper East Side starts traditionally on 86th Street but truely stretches to East 98th Street depending on what side of the street you are on. Don’t forget Manhattanville right above Morningside Heights and below Hamilton Heights. I still think the arty crowd calls it NoHA
Most of my days were spent on the on the west side of CUNY campus, which stretches from 141st Street to 130th Street. St. Nicholas Park sits next to the campus and stretches from 141st Street to 127th Street and pretty much cuts the West Side from the East Side of Harlem. Again like the rest of my walk, this area is in heavy transition because of the college and the investment both the college and the city have made in this area.
The gentrifying neighborhoods around CUNY on Covent Avenue.
When I started the walk in this neighborhood, CUNY was out for the summer but as school started, the areas parks, restaurants and streets bustled with student activity. Many of the streets, especially Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, were beginning to be lined with new bars, restaurants and shops catering to the students and new locals. There is a big difference between the bodega customer and the bar customer as I found out everyone time, I entered one.
The Entrance to the CUNY Campus in Hamilton Heights
My first day walking around was extremely humid and not exactly the best day to walk but I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. The biggest issue with this area is that the side streets on the west side of St. Nicholas Park are very hilly, a reminder again that Manhattan was not flat to begin with when they were laying out the grid. Walking up and down those hills especially by Riverside Park can take a lot out of you. I was a pool of sweat as I finished walking up and down this part of the neighborhood. The nice part of being so close to campus are the numerous numbers of bodegas in the area. There is a cool drink and a quick snack always close by.
Over a period of four days, I covered a lot of territory in the neighborhood. My walk took me from elegant brownstones to some pretty shady areas that I would avoid like the plague. There are just some parts of these neighborhoods that I am sure that the residents avoid.
The Morris-Jumel Historical District
Most of the streets west of the CUNY campus are very beautiful especially close to the campus, the streets that line Riverside Park and many of the homes that surround Convent Avenue just north of campus. You will find some of the gorgeous townhouses and apartment buildings line the streets of Convert and Nicholas Place with their sandblasted fronts with potted plants and decorations for the upcoming Halloween season. This once exclusive area is becoming exclusive once again.
The Brownstone neighborhoods are so beautiful at Halloween
There are even faces staring back at you from the buildings.
The nice part about the CUNY campus in the summer is that there are not many students on campus during the summer break. I was able to relax on the campus lawn and the security guards left me alone. They probably thought I was a returning student or a professor on an afternoon break. I was so sweaty and tired from walking all around the campus, I fell asleep for while in one of the chairs that was out on the patio in the middle of campus. During the quiet summer, it is a nice place to relax.
One of the nicest surprises in the area was the Hamilton Grange, the home of Alexander Hamilton and his family during the summer months. Back then, Harlem was the countryside for people living and working in lower Manhattan and many wealthy patrons-built country homes in this area. He lived here in the summer months with his wife, Elizabeth (nee Schuyler) and their eight children. After his time in the military, he worked as a lawyer in New York City and working for the federal government.
After his death in 1804 when dueling with Aaron Burr, Elizabeth and her children stayed in the house. Elizabeth had helped start an orphanage among other interests and stayed in the house well into her 80’s. At age 91, she went to live with one of her daughters in Washington DC and died in 1854 at the age of 97. The house had sat neglected into recent times and it was bought by one of the local churches as part of their property. The house has since been moved three times and is still going through a restoration (Wiki and Hamilton Grange History). The grounds were being worked on my volunteers during the time of my visit.
Elizabeth Schuyler, the widow of Alexander Hamilton
I went in on a weekend where the house was open for tours to the public and I got to tour the first floor at my own pace. The bottom level is a history timeline of Hamilton’s life and accomplishments plus information on the house. There is a short movie to see and if you do not know much about Alexander Hamilton’s life, you will learn it here.
The entrance area of the Hamilton Grange
The Information Room on the lower level of the Hamilton Grange.
The Entrance Hall
The portrait of Alexander Hamilton
The Alexander Hamilton bust
The upstairs is the only place you can tour and there are only a few rooms to see. The parlor room, dining room and living room are all done in period furnishings and the hallway has been renovated in period look.
The Hamilton Grange office area
The whole tour will take about a half hour. Since the musical ‘Hamilton’ came out, the tours have been fourfold at the house so take that into consideration when visiting the Grange. It is located at 414 West 141st Street.
Hamilton Grange Living Room
The Living Room in the early afternoon
The Dining Room
The Dining Room
The Dining Room Table
The house is located at the very tip of St. Nichols Park right next to the CUNY campus. Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of the students sunning themselves in the park while you are there. Be sure to take your time touring the homes along Hamilton Terrace and Convent Avenue. There are some beautiful brownstones to look at around the Grange.
St. Nicholas Park right behind the Hamilton Grange
Touring in St. Nichols Park is interesting. The summer students used the hills on the side of campus to sun themselves, read, do homework and converse with their friends and classmates while the neighborhood kids played basketball and hung out. It was a real hodgepodge of people in the park the many afternoons that I was there. Between Jackie Robinson Park and St. Nichols Park, I don’t see the local college students too intimidated by the surrounding neighborhood.
The St. Nicholas Park hill where students like to hang out
They seem to be spreading out into it. One thing not to miss is the old Croton Aqueduct which has been turned into the Harlem Stage at the Gate House at 150 Convent Avenue at 135th Street. This beautiful building was built between 1884-1890 and is now a theater. This used to regulate the amount of water flowing underground. The little park surrounding it is nice for a break as well.
The lower sections of the park and the college give way to a fast-gentrifying neighborhood where many seniors hang out on benches outside the park and talk while the summer students entertain their family and friends in many of the new restaurants lining Amsterdam Avenue. On a warm summer night, there are a lot of people conversing in the outdoor cafes. This area is extremely hilly so take plenty of time to walk up and down the hills. Most of this section between Broadway and the river, you will be walking up and down the roads and will get a big work out.
The Morris-Jumel Community Garden at 457 West 162 Street
The Morris-Jumel Community Garden in the Spring of 2024.
The Morris-Jumel Community Garden.
As you west of the campus toward the river, most of the blocks west of Broadway are lined with elegant pre-war apartment buildings whose residents are a cross section of Hispanic families, young Yuppie couples and depending on the block, older couples who like to walk their dogs. These buildings lining Riverside Park like everything else in this part of the city are under scaffolding and some in the process of sandblasting. The closer you get to Riverside Park and to Columbia University, the nicer it gets.
The brownstones lining Covent Avenue
One great stop for a snack is Las Americas Bakery on the corner of 136th Street and Broadway right by the subway station (See review on TripAdvisor). The guava flips, apple turnovers and doughnuts are really good and are only $2.00. Load up on carbs here for your walk and remember the bottled water.
Las Americas Bakery was at 3362 Broadway (closed 2019)
When you reach 125th Street on this side of Manhattan, it really becomes the tale of two cities as Columbia University starts to dominate this side of the island. The new extension of the campus is being built between 125th Street and 133rd Street, west of Broadway to the river. This is all across from a major housing project. These glossy new buildings give an entirely new look to the area and the irony is that the famous Cotton Club which sits on a island between 125th and 129th on the break in the street grid, sits isolated now with the campus being built around it. There is a Dinosaur Barbecue restaurant next door and a Fairway supermarket up the road. 12th Avenue is lined with new restaurants and bars and the city has renovated this part of the park.
The Cotton Club is in a obscure spot under the subway
West Harlem Pier Park offers the most spectacular views of New Jersey and the extension of Riverside Park that lies ahead. On a sunny warm day, it is a great place to relax and enjoy the view. Many residents and students alike are biking, sunning themselves, fishing or just sitting enjoying the amazing view on a sunny day. The park has been replanted with paths and places to sit and look at the river. It will be even more utilized once the new college buildings open up.
West Harlem Piers Park is at the end of 125th Street next to the new Columbia campus extension
The area across Broadway is one of the larger housing complexes and seems to be going though its own renovations. The Manhattanville Houses dominate around from 133rd Street to the 126th and 127th grid that changes above 125th Street. The streets do get a little choppy in this area and skip around due to the projects that dominate in this area. Just do yourself a favor and avoid Old Broadway between 133rd and 131st Street at night. It is a little shady after twilight with too many places to hid.
The Manhattanville Houses sit in a quickly changing area
This side of Amsterdam Avenue is going through its own type of renovation as warehouses are becoming loft and studios and many of the old-time businesses along this stretch of 125th, 126th and 127th are starting to change hands and many chain stores are moving in. It so weird to see an IHOP right next to the projects but it is a reasonable restaurant and the neighborhood deserves to have the same comforts as the rest of the city.
The longest part of this part of the walk was the walk back and forth on 125th, 126th and 127th Streets. Going back and forth from one side of the island to another takes a lot of time and be prepared for not just a walk but a big transition in neighborhood in just a few blocks.
When I walked 125th Street again on a return trip to the neighborhood in 2026, there is a new Renaissance Hotel next to the theater and the entrance of the hotel is another old theater that is now part of the building. The one thing about 125th Street along the entire length of the street is that it is one long set of chain stores.
Apollo Theater at 125th Street with the new Renaissance Hotel in the background
The historic plaque now sits at West 126th Street behind the theater
Another surprising aspect of the neighborhood is how nice it has gotten. Gone are the days that Colombia University had to practically erect walls to keep the neighborhood out. Colombia students like their fellow SUNY students thirty blocks up are starting to move in and take over this neighborhood. The South Harlem area is awash with scaffolding of people renovating the buildings and new restaurants and shops. Now this gentrification is all over the neighborhood with cafes, bars and restaurants dotting every street.
The street art along the walls is very interesting
A lot of 125th Street is being knocked down and redeveloped with new office and apartment buildings and new retailers moving into the neighborhood. It is amazing to see the changes in just nine years.
All along the walls of the sites are being cleared and new buildings are going up, local artists who are part of “The Grand Scale Mural Project” are showcasing their works.
The project brings the Uptown art community together with the intent of creating opportunities for emerging and established artists. The call is open every two years to any artist based in New York City, with preference given to artists with connections to Harlem, Upper Manhattan and the Bronx (GSMP.com).
The Mural Ptoject
During three weekends in late summer 2019, 50 artists came together to transform 1,500 feet of fencing across three blocks into a canvas for mural artwork. In 2021 and 2023, more than 100 artists each year united to transform more than half a mile of construction fencing into colorful, memorable blocks to walk (GSMP.com).
The Mural Project
In 2025, the Grandscale Mural Project is taking place all summer long, on the last Saturday of each month: June 28, July 26, and August 30. On each Saturday, artists will gather for a sidewalk painting party that will transform the visual landscape of East Harlem, turning dull green plywood into vibrant street art (GSMP.com).
The Mural Project
The Robot Mural, my favorite
The murals run the length of the fencing and try to see it before they take it down with the construction of the buildings. The murals cover about three blocks of 125th Street and contain some interesting street art.
The historic Mount Morris Bank Building also known as the ‘Corn Exchange’ building at 81 East 125th Street
I have admired this building for over thirty years as you pass it on the Metro North train to New Haven. After years of being abandoned, it has finally been restored as a office building.
The building was first known as the Mount Morris Bank Building and it sits on the corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue at 81-85 East 125th Street. It was built in 1883 by architectural firm Lamb & Rich in the Queen Anne and Richardson Romanesque styles. In 1913, the bank became part of the Corn Exchange Bank and then merged into Chemical Bank in the 1950’s (Wiki).
Walking down 125th Street by Lennox Avenue
Fifth Avenue at East 125th Street still holds some of the beautiful and elegant architecture from the turn of the last century that is now being renovated into housing and new office buildings as the neighborhood continues to genetrify.
Reaching the end of East 125th Street on one side of the street
As I reached the end of 125th Street, I passed the overhead bridges and underpasses that make up a big part of the transportation hub of this part of the island. You can’t walk very well on the other side of the street due to traffic and construction so I turned around and walked back down 125th Street.
The front of Sylvia’s Restaurant at 328 Malcolm X Boulevard as it opened for lunch
I was not hungry but I tried to go later in the evening. When I arrived there at 8:00pm thinking that the crowds would be gone, I could tell they were understaffed and there would be an hour wait. I will visit on another trip up to the neighborhood.
As I headed west on 125th Street, I passed the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Building at 163 West 125th Street and they were setting up for a concert that evening. I noticed the statue of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in the front of the building and stopped to admire it.
Artist Branly Cadet is an American born New York City native. He was trained at Cornell University and New York Academy of Art in New York and in France at the Vaugel Sculpture Studio and L’Ecole Albert Defois. He is trained in the classical tradition of both figurative and portrait sculpture (Wiki/Artist bio).
While I was walking around the neighborhood, I was able to see a free Jazz concert at the Summer Stage in Harlem and the concert was great.
Taking a break to enjoy a Summer Jazz concert in front of the Adam Clayton Powell Building.
While I was walking back to towards the Columbia campus, I walked past the former Hotel Theresa, once ‘The Waldorf Hotel of Harlem’. This had once been one of the most important places in Harlem to visit.
Walking past the former Hotel Theresa at 2082-86 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard
The hotel was designed by architectural firm George & Edward Blum and built by a German-born stockbroker, Gustavas Sidenberg, whose wife the hotel was named for. In the heyday of Harlem, it was known as the “Waldorf of Harlem”, when many black stars of sports, entertainment and politics could not stay at the segregated hotels in other parts of the City, they would stay here making it the center of Black social life. It deteriated in the 1950’s and 60’s and was eventually turned into an office building (Wiki).
The logo outside the famous and very busy Harlem firehouse Engine 37/Ladder 40
I then passed the very busy Engine 37/Ladder 40 that had made several calls while I was walking around the neighborhood. They were just coming back from a call as I was walking around 125th Street. I really admired their logo.
Towards the end of the block and across from the new extension of the Columbia campus is the Grant Houses, which dominate this side of 125th Street. Years ago, walked through all the pathways around the complex startling some residents. I was never sure if it was my appearance or that I might have been trespassing on the grounds. I thought they were open paths to walk on.
The sign for the Grant Houses near Columbia University
The Grant Houses are a ten complex of housing units line 125th Street and around Broadway. As I passed the complex this time, I noticed a lot of seniors sitting outside the entrances talking amongst themselves.
The Grant Houses Housing Complex line 125th Street near the East River
Facing the Hudson River on the Western of Broadway is the new extension of the modern Columbia University campus. More buildings are planned but this futuristic campus is of glass and steel and faces the Hudson River.
The Columbia University extension above 125th Street
The Manhattanville campus is the newest part of Columbia University containing their Business and Arts Schools as well as classroom space and a new art museum. The new campus will encompass everything west of Broadway to the Hudson River from West 125th to West 133rd and will eventually surround the Manhattanville Houses across the street. I already have seen the changes on West 125th Street to about 7th Avenue and the side streets. The campus is changing the complexity of the neighborhood and gentrifying most of the area around the housing projects and 125th Street.
The street plan for the campus
Tour of the new campus
As you pass the campus on 12th Avenue, the overhead pass is its own piece of artwork and gives a modern approach to the Hudson River.
The overpass on 125th Street and 12th Avenue is picturesque
Lining the Hudson River is West Harlem Piers park, one of the nicest parks uptown with the best views of the Hudson River and gets some of the best breezes on a hot day.
West Harlem Piers Park at 125th Street and Marginal Street
The park has the most beautiful views and it is nice to just sit under the trees on the benches and just relax and enjoy the view. The park is also very big with people fishing on the pier and with bicyclists.
West Harlem Piers Park in the Summer of 2026
West Harlem Piers Park
Walking through West Harlem Piers Park offers the nicest views of the Hudson River
CUNY and Columbia Universities are having their presence known in the blocks between Amsterdam to Fredrick Douglas Boulevard between 131st to 125th Streets. Most of the apartment buildings that I saw at afternoon time had anxious students running out the doors. 126th and 127th Streets between 7th Avenue and Park Avenue are mostly lined with old brownstones which are quickly getting scooped up and renovated. This was one of the nicest surprises as the brownstones are very elegant. This neighborhood I noticed is a very mixed neighborhood of white and black residents that seem to look out for one another.
I then made my way up 126th Street
Walking down 126th Street, I passed the Manhattanville Houses at 545 West 126th Street. These modern Y shaped building were designed by architect William Lescaze (Wiki).
West 126th Street is like an open air museum of street art both professionally and by taggers.
This was by the Youth Justice Network building
The mural of this mythical bird was along the same building
The mural was painted by artists involved withy Project Attica, which is a 501(c)3 organization devoted to working with youth by providing them with art-centered education focused on social justice. The artists were Cesar Figueroa and Anthony Posada (Project Attica Facebook Page).
The Mink Buildings origins are from its days as a brewery building for several beers makers at a time when this area was non-developed. Designed by architect Louis Oberlien. After Prohibition closed most of the breweries in the 1930’s, the building became a fur storage facility in the 1940’s. Now it serves as a mixed use building of offices and studios (Wiki).
The area surrounding the Mink Building is now known as the “Factory District”, in between the CUNY and Columbia University campuses, becoming an incubator for new innovative businesses.
The beautiful stained glass above the door way
As I passed the New Design Middle School at 250 West 127th Street, I noticed this mural on the wall of the school. (I could not get close enough to see who the artist was for the mural).
Once you pass Fifth Avenue, the neighborhood gets more residential with beautiful, historic brownstones which are all going through a major renovation. These tree lined streets showcase the Upper Middle Class history of the neighborhood and its turn of the last century achitecture.
The brownstones around East 126th Street and Fifth Avenue
This brownstone stood out for the colorful potted flowers on the front of the home
This group of brownstones looked like they had just been renovated
Looking back at the neighborhood from Second Avenue looking at the Fredrick Douglas Houses in the distance
While I was walking along Second Avenue and West 126th Street, I saw the Uptop Jerk Plus Jamaican Food Stall busy grilling fresh chicken with spices and serving up sides. The lines were long that afternoon and the smell of the food was amazing. People stood in lines for the freshly barbecued chicken.
While passing 11 West 126th Street, the Dovecote, I admired this colorful artwork, along with a poem etched in marble on the wall. This new apartment is in the heart of the neighborhood.
The artwork at the Dovecote Apartment by artist Emmett Wigglesworth
Artist Emmett Wigglesworth is an American born artist who studied at the College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. He is a muralist, painter, sculptor, fabric designer, and poet. Wigglesworth is known for his abstract and colorful murals that he says are inspired by his own cultural heritage and life experience. (Wiki).
One of only five new Passive House condominium buildings in Manhattan, this six-residence home in the heart of Harlem was built to advanced environmental and engineering standards—meaning it breathes better, saves more, and keeps you comfortable year-round. Think triple-pane calm, filtered fresh air, and energy bills that make you smile (Streeteasy.com).
The poem by Rita Dove
The mural on the wall of the Corner Social Restaurant at 321 Malcolm X Boulevard
While I didn’t dine at the restaurant, I did admire the mural entitled “Planet Harlem” by artist Paul Deo. It really stood out and made a statement with its vibrant colors and subject matter.
Planet Harlem is a self-financed mixed media mural tribute to the Harlem community. It is strategically located on the northwest corner of Malcolm X Blvd and 126th street. The mural serves as a vehicle for narrating and sharing the stories of Harlem, acting as a potent and much-needed educational tool in the quest for empowerment (Planet Harlem website).
Artist Paul Deo is an American born artist based in both New York City and New Orleans. His works are of ancestral oral tradition and where modern myths meet, creating a world for viewers to tap into their childlike imaginative abilities, regenerating a sense of balance among contemporary obstacles (Artist bio).
More street art along 126th Street
The walk back to Broadway was like an open air museum of murals and street art along the walls. I passed a series of murals painted on the walls of local schools.
The Mural ‘Education’ on the wall of the New Design Middle School on the back wall facing West 126th Street by Artist Elle (Ellestreetart/com)
Elle is a New York based Street/Graffiti artist known for her bold statements. She started out as an illegal graffiti artist and over time has built a reputation as one of the top touring street artists which has led to commercial works seen all over the world (Artist bio).
Video on Elle’s works
As I walked down West 126th Street, I passed a series of community gardens I must have missed the last time I was in the neighborhood.
The Clayton Williams Garden at 303 West 126th Street
The William B. Washington Gardens were closed for the day but I could see the gardens in the distance. I could see the vegetable and flower gardens through the fencing. I will have to revisit the gardens on a weekend when they are open.
As I turned the corner to head back to Broadway, I had not noticed the large office complex built on the corner of West 126th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. This is part of the new hospital complex and part of the innovative incubator of the university’s in the neighborhood. This part of the neighborhood is quickly changing as the campuses continue to grow in the neighborhood.
The changing neighborhood by West 126th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
I then turned the corner on to West 127th Street to complete the walk of this side of the neighborhood. As you walk closer to the CUNY Campus along the main commercial Avenues, new housing and businesses are being built to cater to the students and faculty and many of the older buildings are being repurposed and renovated.
New construction is everywhere in the neighborhood especially as you get closer to the CUNY campus. This is looking up St. Nicolas Avenue
The Fredrick Douglas Houses dominate this section of the neighborhood between West 127th to West 131st Streets and bounded by Fredrick Douglass and Adam Powell Boulevards
On 127th Street, there were a few community gardens as well. The first on was the Harlem Grown 127th Street Learning Annex.
The Harlem Grown Learning Annex at 128 West 127th Street
The Harlem Grown Learning Annex has operated local urban farms, increased access to and knowledge of healthy food for Harlem residents, and provided farm-based development programs to Harlem youth. One of the many ways we fulfill our mission is by raising support for the physical renovation of abandoned lots in Harlem, transforming them into thriving urban farms. (Harlem Grown Learning Annex website).
The inside of the gardens
The gardens were in bloom when I passed by. The gardens were closed for the day but I could see above ground beds of vegetables and flowers that the kids were growing in the garden from a distance.
The beautiful brownstones on West 127th Street
As I passed Fifth Avenue again, the commercial street gave way to the brownstone neighborhood between Fifth and Park Avenues and I got to see all the potted plants and small gardens in front of their homes.
Crack is Wack Playground at Second Avenue and East 127th Street
As I crossed over Second Avenue and between Second and First Avenue, there is a small corner of green park next to the bus depot building. Crack is Wack Park is a small park with active basketball courts and lawns and gardens.
Artist Keith Haring was an American born artist and had studied at the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh. He was known as a Graffiti and Pop artist in the booming 1980’s art scene in New York City and known for his distinct art style (Wiki/Artist bio).
One of his most impressive video’s with singer Grace Jones
The Keith Haring Artwork in Crack is Wack Playground was a handball wall
Famed graffiti artist Keith Haring painted this fanciful mural, located at East 128th Street and the Harlem River Drive, in 1986. Painted on the northern face of the handball court wall, the mural is composed of Haring’s signature kinetic figures and abstract forms in bold outlines. Crack is a highly potent, addictive, and dangerous form of smokable cocaine whose use reached epidemic proportions in the mid- to late 1980s. Haring’s mural cautions youth against the drug’s use (NYCParks.org).
The street art along the walls of East 128th Street and Second Avenue were colorful and engaging. Each of these lined the walls of buildings facing the park.
Street Art of Second Avenue
Street Art on Second Avenue
Street Art on Second Avenue
As I walked back down East 127th Street, I came across another interesting mural on the side of PS 030, The Hernandez-Hughes School. I thought this was very clever (I could not find who the artist was for this mural).
Mural on the wall PS 030 The Hernandez-Hughes School at 144-172 East 128th Street. The school has many murals and artworks along the campus.
I continued to walk through the brownstone section of the neighborhood, admiring the renovations of many of the homes. This one really stood out at 17 East 127th Street.
This beautiful neighborhood brownstone was built in 1899.
The last community garden I passed was the “Our Neighborhood Place” Community Garden at 17 East 127th Street. Like most of the community gardens that day, the gates were locked and I could only see it from the fence.
The Our Neighborhood Place Community Garden at 77 West 127th Street
From the fence, I could see the raised beds of the vegetable gardens and what looked like fruit trees in the distance. The garden beds were neatly lined up and I could see the murals on the walls in the distance.
Artwork on the sidewalk on West 127th Street. It is amazing to see these things when you look down.
I arrived back at the corner of West 127th and 126th Streets in the later afternoon and noting a much changed neighborhood since 2017 when I walked this neighborhood initially. This whole area soon will be catering to the growing college campuses. I was surprised at this point that a lot of West 125th Street has not been knocked down yet and new office buildings have built to cater to the growing Columbia University campus. Time will tell as the neighborhood is being updated.
Walking back to the borders of West 127th and West 126th Street
On the wall of a building in the corner of West 126th Street, I came across this mural depicting garment industry workers. This was created by the Thrive Collective with local residents.
The mural ‘Create! Harlem’ on the corner of West 126th Street
Thrive Collective creates hope and opportunity through arts, sports, and mentoring in and around public schools. Our core programs – Murals; RHYME (Rhymes Help Young Minds Excel); Media; Mentors; Festivals, and Sports – connect artists, youth workers, and volunteers with local schools as teaching artists, art directors, coaches, and mentors (Thrive Collective website).
In 2017, as I walked these many blocks, I would see residents conversing with one another and stop to watch me walk by as if to say, ‘what are you doing here’? I see that a lot in this area of the city. Most of the homes have been sandblasted and were being decorated for the fall.
In 2026, I took my time and rediscovered a neighborhood that is constantly changing. Brownstones being renovated, new businesses opening up catering to college students and a new vibe to the area with the growth of both Columbia and CUNY University’s. The area between the two colleges will eventually merge together.
In between many of the homes, new smaller apartment buildings are being tucked in between and look quite expensive. Here and there, there are brownstones that have not been fixed up yet but give them time as the middle-class residents discover this part of the neighborhood and as real estate prices continue to rise. You can no longer get a brownstone in Harlem for a cheap price.
The scariest part of the neighborhood is the area from Lexington Avenue between 131st Street to 125th Street surrounded on all side by the Harlem River. This area is mostly commercial with two bus depots, a health orientated building going up and a dealership.
The Bus Depot between 125th-128th Streets just off 1st Avenue
The walking on sidewalks in this area is awkward with not much places to cross. Projects dominate between Park and Lexington Avenues and as I walked the short blocks by the parks, I really stood out with many residents looking me over as I walked up Lexington Avenue, walking over the 3rd Avenue Bridge and looking over the kid’s playing soccer and football.
The entrance to the Saint Nicolas Housing Projects by 127th Street and 7th Avenue
Even though there are loads of kids in these parks after school and parents are all over place, I would give you a safe bet to avoid this small corner of the city at any other time of the day. I walked down 128th Street to 7th Avenue and then crossed over to 129th Street to walk through the Saint Nichols Houses to get back to Fredrick Douglas Boulevard.
It was a very busy evening with people coming home from work and families yelling at one another. The saddest thing I saw was a small group of brownstones sitting across from a school on the project property, sitting empty and falling apart.
The Brownstones across from the Saint Nicolas Housing on 127th Street. They have been renovated since my first trip but still look a little worn in 2026
The poor things looked sad as I don’t know how many people would want to buy a dilapidated brownstone across from a busy school. In 2026, this was changing and the buildings were being renovated. I rounded the small blocks of 129th, 128th and 127th Streets that lie between Fredrick Douglas Boulevard and the park.
The weird juxtapose of this area is that new hip restaurants are opening in this area right across from the projects and these homes again seem to be dominated by a mix of locals and college students. I cut through the park on a hilly path on 128th Street to finish walking 128th, 129th and 130th Streets below the campus. Be prepared to be long winded after this part of the walk as you are going up and down hills. This section was my best work out since the streets by Riverside Park.
This area gives you the perspective that Manhattan is definitely not flat. Also, when walking down the stairs on 129th Street by the warehouses, plan to do this during the day. Again not a great area to walk alone at twilight. As I said before, most people left me alone but kept looking me over.
My last stop of the evening was dinner at Sylvia’s Soul Food Restaurant at 328 Malcolm X Boulevard. This meant walking from the hills of 128th Street down to 126th Street and crossing over to 125th Street. That alone was a long walk.
I was not thrilled by the food as much as I was by Charles Southern Fried Chicken or Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread. Maybe it was the sheer exhaustion I felt from all the walking or when I was finally able to relax or the pitcher of the overly sweet, iced tea but by the time I got my food, I was feeling nauseous.
I had ordered the Fried Chicken Dinner which was two pieces of white meat with mac & cheese and candied yams on the side. It just didn’t strike me as being as good as the other restaurants in the area. I remember on of my professors who took us on a tour here years ago saying it had gotten very commercial. I could see why.
The chicken dinners at Sylvia’s are over-rated or I just hit a bad night
Most of the clientele that night was white and mostly touristy looking people who could not get into the very busy Red Rooster down the road. The Fried chicken was crisp on the outside and chewy and dry on the inside. The candied yams and mac & cheese tasted like it had been made in batches and were warmed up. It’s not that it wasn’t good, but I expected more from it. The food was average.
What it lacked in the quality of food, it made up in service as the waitress handled the whole room by herself and could not have been more professional and friendly (see review on TripAdvisor). Needless to say, that the manager of Sylvia’s was not the happiest with my review. Oh well, it was an experience anyway. I had wanted to try the restaurant for years.
Overall, this area of the city will take you through a real difference in neighborhood sites, from projects to brownstones from historical through commercial. Sometimes right next to one another. Like any place else in the city, it is going through the ‘change’ and won’t stay the same for very long. You can see the transition going on around you.
I finally finished my two Brooklyn tours through school and was back up in Harlem today. It was a long day of walking as those city blocks across are long. I started at the subway stop at 168th Street and walked down to 155th Street (the subway was not running to 155th Street over the weekend).
As usual when I have to walk down Broadway, I stopped at my new favorite bakery, Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway (check out the numerous reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for chicken pastelitos and cubanitos.
The pastries at Five Star Estrella Bakery are wonderful
If you like hot snacks and sweet desserts, this will be your ‘go to’ place for a quick snack when walking up here. The food here is wonderful and the selection of baked items and snacks is extensive. It is still one of the reasons why I don’t complain about getting off at 168th Street when the C subway is not in service. I like to stop at one of the pocket parks on Broadway to relax and eat. It was a long afternoon of walking.
Don’t miss Five Star Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway
My walk over these three days took me from 155th Street to 145th Street from Riverside Drive to Lenox Avenue (there are still some side streets on the other side of Jackie Robinson Park that I have not finished yet). Don’t let these maps fool you, these are long blocks being walked in humid weather.
I started my walk today at the Hispanic Society of America Museum at 613 West 155th Street which is on the Boricua College-Manhattan Campus. It shares the campus with the American Academy of Arts & Letters, which closed down in June for the rest of the summer. The Hispanic Society of America is a free museum that is small enough that you can enjoy the visit for about an hour without being overwhelmed like you would at one of the bigger museums.
The Hispanic Society of America at 613 West 155 Street
It was a small but no less impressive collection of Spanish Art from different periods. The Hispanic Society of America was founded as a free museum and research library in 1904 by the American scholar and philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington (1870-1955). Over the past century, the Hispanic Society had promoted the study of the rich artistic and cultural traditions of Spain and Portugal and their areas of influence in the Americas and throughout the world. The Museum and Library constitute the most extensive collection of Hispanic are and literature outside Spain and Latin America (Hispanic Society of America literature).
The front galleries
The museum had a nice crowd that afternoon, (how these people found it I will never know. I never knew it existed) and the galleries were small but the work was impressive. Some of the pieces that stood out were Jouquin Sorallo y Bastida’s ‘Vision of Spain’ created between 1911-1919, with many traditional views of parts of Spain and ‘After the Bath’ done in 1908, which looked more like a contemporary beach scene.
The portrait gallery
The one piece that stuck in my mind was a new piece to the collection, ‘The Four Fates of the Soul’, which showed Death, Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. The sculpture really proved it’s point and made me think that we really are being watched from above. Even the guard as I was leaving said it was a new piece to the collection but people really talked about it as they were leaving.
I thought this painting was a bit creepy
After the museum, I had about ten minutes to walk around Trinity Cemetery, which is a quiet but scenic place. On a nice sunny afternoon, it can be an interesting place to tour around in.
The graves on this side of Broadway overlook the Hudson River and are so peaceful with beautiful views, it makes you think of where you want your final resting place to be located. To live eternity here says something. Even the views of New Jersey are gorgeous. Be sure to get to the museum and the grave site early as they do close at 4:00pm.
Trinity Cemetery on 155th Street
I began my zig-zag trip of this part of Harlem at 154 Street and from there until 145th Street, the areas between Riverside Drive and Edgecombe Avenue house some of the most beautiful and elegant brownstones that I have seen in the city. So many of the them are under scaffolding as the new population moving up here is putting a lot of money into the renovations of these properties. The results are amazing with wooden doors, elegant metal work cleaned up and lively planters all around the stairs and the windows.
With the CUNY campus just south of this area, you can see that college population is spreading its wings all over the neighborhood as the students, even in the summer, are moving in or living in this neighborhood and invest in buying in the bodegas, restaurants and hanging around the parks.
Walking down Edgecombe Avenue from East 155th Street to East 145th Street
The more diverse population looks like it is really making an effort to work together for this neighborhood. The most beautiful of these blocks is concentrated between Amsterdam Avenue and Nicholas Street so take time to really look at these homes and see the love and care that is put into them.
Another stop I made was in the Hope Steven Garden at 153rd Street that runs through 152nd Street. This was an empty lot between all the buildings that has now been cleaned up and the neighborhood held their Annual Open House & Barbecue for the neighborhood. It was not much of a turnout at that point of the afternoon but all the neighborhood seniors looked at me like ‘oh oh, another one is moving in’. You begin to pick up on these things when you walk through neighborhoods that have not seen me before.
Hope Steven Garden at 505 West 142nd Street
The inside of the gardens were going through a renovation in the Summer of 2026
Everyone was really nice though and some of the ladies were explaining how the neighborhood banded together to clean and landscape the garden. The garden now contains peach trees, berry bushes and a grape arbor while supporting a cat colony that lives in the garden. Some of the neighbors were grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and older residents were chatting amongst themselves. No one made a fuss about me eating and since I was not hungry, I did not partake in the barbecue but it looked pretty good.
Most of the residents sat around and chatted with their neighbors or busy working in the garden. As I sat down to rest, two of the women who volunteer here, looked like they wanted to recruit me to do the same as they told me the story of how the city’s water aqueduct runs underneath the garden so they can never build here and how bad the neighborhood had become and how it was coming back to life. It takes a big person to show the immense pride in a neighborhood.
I stopped back in Convent Garden again to visit Ms. Davis, who was chatting the afternoon away while getting her exercise working in their garden. She was telling me that they will be having a jazz concert with food on Labor Day Weekend and invited me to join in. This I don’t want to miss as it is my two favorite things, jazz music and food. The volunteers were really working away at making this garden the well maintained and colorful place that the garden is to the neighborhood. Everything is in full bloom right now.
Convent Garden in full bloom at Convent Street and St. Nicholas Avenue
The Sugar Hill neighborhood is really impressive and you could see that this was not one of the places that went downhill as the rest of Harlem decayed in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. It was and still is an grand group of homes that their owners take a lot of pride in. Now that the rest of the city has caught up with it, it will be interesting to see what comes out of it the next few years.
Maggie’s Garden is now part of the NYC Parks system
Another small oasis exists on 149th Street, which is Maggie’s Garden. It was locked at the time but also another garden taken from an empty lot and brought back to life. Maggie Burnett, are Harlem resident, turned what was once a ‘rickety old house’ when torn down into an urban oasis starting in 1974.
Fighting off drug dealers to build the garden, she got some help from New York Restoration Project and its founder, Bette Midler who assisted in 1999 helping clear the site and now it is a garden with trees, flowers, a full vegetable garden and a barbecue. You could not see all that from the locked gates. (Daily News article).
Maggie’s Garden at 564 West 149th Street
The artwork in front of Maggie’s Garden on a recent trip
I was able to start my walk on the other side of Bradhurst Avenue on the other side of Jackie Robinson Park. I will let you know that the college students from CUNY have discovered the park and were sunning themselves the afternoon I walked around the park. Bradhurst Avenue has a lot of new buildings on it and the businesses include a Starbucks so you know that neighborhood is going through a transition.
Jackie Robinson Park at 85 Bradhurst Avenue
To let you know though, this transition stops here and the further you get away from the park, the seedier the area gets. By the time you hit Lenox Avenue, gentrification has not hit this area of the neighborhood and you should watch yourself. The buildings are beautiful and there is a police station a block in but it still needs a lot of work on this side of West 145th Street.
The end of the walk that day was at 145th Street and lunch at Harlem Brothers Pizza & Wings at 346 West 145th Street (Closed in 2021) which is right next store to Victorio’s Pizza that is more of the rave. The pizza was just average and the sauce did not have much flavor to it. The funny part was to listen to Indian music while eating my pizza. That was strange.
The pizza at Victorio’s is excellent. Very crisp and the sauce is amazing
My recommendation is go to Victorio’s Pizza and get it to go and eat it in Jackie Robinson Park. The middle of the park has benches to sit on and the park is really pretty with its slopping walkways and rock work and it’s large trees to sit under.
The front of Jackie Robinson Park’s band stand facing Bradhurst Avenue
The entire walk between 155th Street and 145th Street with an extra afternoon walking down Convent Avenue took almost five hours. Again, don’t let these blocks fool you as they are long and you will want to stop in the parks and gardens and walk around.
Places to Visit:
Jackie Robinson Park
85 Bradhurst to Edgecombe Avenues at 145th Street to Manhattan Avenue
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.
I took a walk on Riverside Drive today, completing the west side of Broadway from 181st Street to 153rd Streets, on a beautiful sunny day. Being a little humid did not help but as the day wore on it got cooler and nicer to walk. Riverside Drive breaks into breaks into two sections around 161st Street with one section ending at Broadway and another part aligning the park. I decided to take the long route first and walk down to about 143rd Street, enjoying the views of the park and stopping to look at the views of the palisades in New Jersey There are lots of scenic spots to view from.
Riverside Drive if full of interesting architecture
I stopped for lunch at George’s Pizza at 726 West 181st Street, a well-known pizzeria that has been around since 1960. They have a great lunch special of two giant slices and a can of soda for $5.00 and the pizza here is really good. The pizza maker makes a nice sauce, and it has a rich flavor to it. It was a nice lunch.
The pizza was perfectly cooked and with the size of the slices, I did not need any dinner. It is a small hole in the wall place that is popular with the locals and was very busy that afternoon. You really need to check it out when in the neighborhood. The pizza cook is a really nice guy to boot.
The pizza is delicious!
The slices are so generous
The inside of George’s Pizza
I doubled back up Broadway to about 156th Street and started the walk-up Riverside Drive from here. What’s nice about this section is the stone wall along the pocket park that lines this section of the drive.
The Cemetery in the summer of 2025
They make a nice bench for conversing with people as many residents seem to take advantage of during the day. There were lots of people socializing on this sunny afternoon.
Audubon Park and the cemetery is the border of Washington Heights and Harlem
What’s nice about the little park between the streets is the rock formations similar to the one you will see around 190th Street harking back to a time that this area was dominated by rocky hills not paved smooth by roads and housing developments. There is a natural beauty to this park.
The West 181st Street shopping district
The brownstones that line this area are surrounding by potted plants and window boxes, showing a colorful display of seasonable flowers and plants. They accent the buildings very well. I was able also to finish all the side streets between Riverside and Broadway noticing that a lot of these buildings are now under renovation. I just crisscrossed the streets between Riverside Drive and Broadway going up and down hills.
The end of West 181st Street by the George Washington Bridge
Walking down 181st Street, you will see the most beautiful views of the George Washington Bridge and of the Hudson River. On a sunny clear day, it is spectacular.
The Castle Apartments
The Castle Apartments on 181st Street
The Castle Village Apartments on 181st Street
The view at the bottom of East 181st Street
The view of the George Washington Bridge
The Plaza Lafayette at the end of 181st Street
More and more of these buildings are going from rentals to condos and you can see the money that is going into upscaling them. You can see it from the lobbies that you can view from the street to the new windows and sandblasting that is going on in the front of many of these buildings. This part of the neighborhood is going through a major transition.
I doubled back down Broadway to look over the selection of restaurants that were closed the last time I walked this part of the street and took a long walk on 155th Street down to the bridge. It really is a funny thing about 155th Street, how much it changes from one side of Manhattan to another.
The Polo Grounds Apartments are on West 155th Street
For some reason, you really can feel the difference from one side of the street to the other. By Riverside Drive, it is all brownstones and pre-war housing that is being renovated. This housing stock had been built during the turn of the last century and is much different from tenement housing in the middle of the neighborhood.
By the other side by the bridge, it is a large public housing complex. The Polo Ground Housing Complex I found out later on is one of the most dangerous in the City and I had walked all over the complex to see what it was all about. I could not believe that because I did not see anyone around. It is not the most attractive place to live as it looks very generic.
I headed back to Audubon Terrace that afternoon, but the gates were then locked and both museums and the college located there were closed at the time I visited.
Audubon Terrace is on one side of East 155th Street at Boricua College
On a break it was back to the lady who sells the shaved ice for a rainbow ice cup. I really look forward to those two scoops of rainbow ice. It must be all the years that I lived in the islands myself. I still am trying to find the elusive Guamanian treat of a combination of soft serve, shaved ice and lining it with fruit syrups. Now that was heaven on a hot day.
Do not miss the Rainbow ices at these small vendors
The last part of the day was spent walking up the east side of Broadway. Not knowing when I started on this side of the street, I walked from 155th Street to 207th Street.
Walking down Broadway by Isham Park
It didn’t take as long as I thought but my feet reminded me it was a distance. It was interesting to see all the restaurants I tried, all the stores I entered and all the bakeries I had to stop in, all delicious and very reasonable. There are many great business owners up here. I made it to 207th Street when it got dark.
Walking along Broadway
The outdoor cafes of Dyckman Street were in full swing that evening with such a warm night and everyone was out eating dinner and just enjoying the first warms days of the Fall. New York really comes alive at night, especially in this area where people are still in Fort Tryon Park jogging, walking or just out playing dominoes. You see that side of people that enjoy living in this neighborhood. All the restaurants were packed on this warm evening.
The restaurant scene along Dyckman Street in Inwood just keeps growing.
Please read my other blogs on walking Washington Heights. It was a big area to cover:
Day Twelve: Walking West of Broadway to West 170th Street:
mywalkinmanhattan 