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Author Archives: wdiaz
Posts: 15 (archived below)
Comments: 4
Washington Heights Preliminary Backgrounder
Washington Heights is located in upper Manhattan, from around 157th street to 193rd street. It is located above Harlem and below Inwood, reaching across the borough from the Hudson River to the East River. According to the 2010 census, the total population is around 130 thousand people, spread out across 1.64 square miles of land. The area is very hilly (hence “heights”) and the rivers themselves are bridged by the George Washington to New Jersey and the Washington to the Bronx, hence the name of the neighborhood.
The neighborhood itself is very ethnically diverse, with Latinos (namely Puerto Ricans and Dominicans) taking up the majority of the population and the rest of it being a diverse mix of the rest of the races. The residents are predominantly Christian/catholic, with a few large Catholic churches being in the area. There are many Jewish residents as well, especially because Yeshiva University is located in the upper west end of the Heights. The median income for the majority of the Heights is below the $50k range, aside from the far eastern areas past Broadway, where the population is predominantly White and the median income is in the $80k range. Numerous public schools are located in the area, along with some catholic/private schools but not as many. My elementary school PS 189 is located on the street of the same number, along with the zone middle school a few blocks away and the high school similarly distanced.
Numerous small businesses are located throughout the neighborhood, with the majority of the businesses being small bodegas usually on at least one side of most of the blocks. These stores are at the bottom of the many apartment buildings located in the neighborhood, with more than 90% of the living spaces being occupied by renters rather than owners. Numerous clothing stores and barber shops are also located throughout Washington Heights, along with various fast food chains and small restaurants. The 1 and A/C trains are the subway connections into the area, along with various buses like the M3, M100/101, Bx3, Bx11 and so on. The population of the area at its fringes is shifting, with some stores closing down and people with higher incomes moving in.
Washington Heights Interview Questions: Mike
- How long have you been running the store, has it been since it first opened?
- Have you noticed any trends as time went on, concerning the customers or prices of rent for the space?
- Do you live in Washington Heights? If so, for how long?
- How do you feel about the neighborhood and the people in it?
- Have you noticed a shift in the people living in the area or customers?
- What was the reason that brought about the drastic shift in the business model for the store?
Posted in Neighborhoods
Tagged Willie Diaz
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Amanda Burden
The NYT piece on Amanda Burden painted a picture of a woman burdened with a tough and highly important job, but making good effort to keep it from getting the best of her. The profile goes over her accomplishments in the decade that she’s been head of City Planning, along with contrasting them with negative sentiments from her detractors. This back-and-forth presentation is prevalent throughout the text, keeping the piece somewhat balanced, if a bit on the positive side.
The writer mostly uses an encouraging light on Ms. Burden, presenting her attention to detail and sharp focus as beneficial facets applied to her career. Sections of the end of the story focus on the administrative aspects of rezoning and applying projects in the city, and on specific projects Burden hopes to get underway before the end of her term.
The point of view from the author seems to be revealed throughout the text, an optimistic sense that Ms. Burden will be able to get her projects underway and thus further leave her mark on the city.
Neighborhood Faces Query: Washington Heights
When taking the 1 train to the 191st street stop, after taking the long elevator ride (longest elevator shaft of all the MTA stations) to St. Nicholas Avenue and walking out of the subway entrance, one of the first things to be seen is the video game store sandwiched between the Chinese takeout spot and sneaker store. Subway Game & Phone has existed in its location for more than a decade now, and running the store is Mike, who has been there since its founding. Recently, he shifted his business model towards focusing on phone/device repairs, and liquidated all of his video games.
I intend on interviewing him about running a business in Washington heights, and try to find out his reasoning for shifting his business model away from something he had been selling for so long. Along with this, I plan on asking him if he sees his location as an advantage or disadvantage for his business. I also want to interview the proprietors of neighboring businesses, to see if the opinions proposed by Mike are similar for them as well.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Willie Diaz
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Washington Heights
Washington Heights is located in the northern area of Manhattan, ranging from around 157th street up to 193rd street. Its population is mostly comprised of Latinos, with many diverse businesses being run by people of Latin origin. As is the case with many other neighborhoods in New York City, it is currently going through a period of gentrification.
I chose Washington Heights because I know the area very well as a result of having grown up there, and I still have ties to the neighborhood that keep me informed of events occurring in the area. It would be interesting to focus on the effects of gentrification, as people that have been living in the area for a long time have to deal with rising rent prices despite some economic instability. Some small businesses also do not last very long in Washington Heights, or sometimes they have to shift their business model to stay afloat.
Crime has been somewhat of a problem in the neighborhood, with an emphasis on gang violence and youth related crimes possibly due to multiple public high schools being located in the area. Getting an opinion word from a police officer out of one of the multiple precincts based in the area would be beneficial to know if the area is progressing in terms of reducing its crime rate, as it fluctuates from year to year.
One thing is certain, people from Washington Heights love to talk about living there, as there is always something happening that people in the neighborhood know about. There is a large sense of community in the area, since so many people spend time outside hanging out or walking around their nearby streets. I’m sure that the people I come across in the neighborhood will have more than enough to say about Washington Heights.
Posted in Backgrounder, Neighborhoods
Tagged Washington Heights, Willie Diaz
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