The Streets Where We Live

Turn Your Tree to Mulch at MulchFest This Weekend

Upper Manhattan Bike Lane Education Workshop Scheduled for Spring

UPPER MANHATTAN — Pedestrians, car drivers and bike riders will get a chance to debate the introduction of new bike lanes in Inwood and Washington Heights when Community Board 12 holds a workshop in the spring.

Members of the Traffic and Transportation committee decided to put off a public hearing originally slated for January, saying it wants to be inclusive of the entire community, including older members who are more likely to attend then than in the "dead of winter."

The committee has been mulling a proposal from the Inwood/Washington Heights chapter of Livable Streets that calls for several changes to the Upper Manhattan biking landscape, but has said it wants to hear more community input before recommending a plan to the Department of Transportation.

The DOT said that because the bike lanes would not be implemented until 2012 anyway, the board's delay in submitting a recommendation would not make a difference.

Read more about the bike lane discussion at DNAinfo.com. 

 

'Emergency Town Hall' Meeting Called Over Harlem Hospital's Fate

Doctors rallied in protest of planned cuts at Harlem Hospital in October. (DNAInfo/Jeff Mays)

 

By Jon Schuppe

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

HARLEM — In an attempt to quell rumors of Harlem Hospital's demise, community leaders are holding what they call an "emergency town hall" meeting Saturday morning to discuss the future of the troubled facility.

Harlem Hospital is not closing, organizers say. But it is, like all of the city's public hospitals, in serious financial straits and facing service cuts. The point of Saturday's forum, they say, is to set out the facts and rally the public to fight against further reductions.

The news is grim. Earlier this year, the city's Health and Hospitals Corporation announced a massive restructuring to close a $1.3 million budget deficit across its entire hospital system. The cuts include layoffs, combining services and ending affiliation contracts with medical schools.

Read more at DNAinfo.com.

SUNDAY: H.E.A.L.T.H for Youths First Annual 5K Run/Walk

Online 'Roach Map' Lets Users Track City's Pests

By Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Pest-conscious diners can now receive monthly updates on the movements of the city's cockroach population.

The New York City Roach Map, which includes a monthly e-newsletter option, was created last weekend to track cockroach sightings in city restaurants and is already sending heebie-jeebie shock waves throughout the Internet.

Read more at DNAinfo.com.

Washington Heights Scoops Prize for Most Dog Dirt Strewn Streets

By Adam Nichols

DNAinfo News Editor

Washington Heights — Watch where you're stepping in Washington Heights.

The neighborhood is the worst in Manhattan for dog poop strewn pavements and parks, according to Sanitation Department figures published by the New York Post.

Read more about the poo problem in Washington Heights at DNAinfo.com. 

The Heights Proves Perfect Training Ground for Uptown Runner and Online Friends

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — For Amy Cooper, there is no better place to train for a marathon than Upper Manhattan.

The hills and the parks make running anywhere else feel like a breeze.

Cooper should know — Sunday will mark her second New York City Marathon.

And it probably won’t be her last.

Read more about Cooper's preparation at DNAinfo.com. 

Upper Manhattan Bike Lane Debate Delayed After Community Board Meeting Devolves Into Bickering

Cyclists ride in traffic on Dyckman Street. (DNAinfo/Carla Zanoni)

UPPER MANHATTAN — Residents will have to wait to speak their minds on bike lanes in Inwood and Washington Heights after a "miscommunication" derailed a public discussion at a community board meeting this week.

Members of the Inwood/Washington Heights chapter of Livable Streets came to Community Board 12’s Traffic and Transportation committee meeting to voice support for the plan to increase and improve bike lanes in Manhattan above 155th Street.

But when the board said the members could not use a PowerPoint presentation in support of the plan, tempers flared.

Read more about the meeting at DNAinfo.com. 

Inwood's Only Yoga Studio Celebrates First Anniversary

Photo Credit: Bread and Yoga

INWOOD — Bread and Yoga, Inwood’s only yoga studio, will celebrate its one-year anniversary with a weekend of free classes, an art auction featuring work from local artists, music, dancing and food.

"It's been one year and we have tons to celebrate," owner Marcela Xavier wrote in an e-mail about the anniversary of the studio, located at 4951 Broadway, on the corner of W. 207th Street.

In its one year of existence, Bread and Yoga has proved to be more than just a neighborhood yoga studio — it's become a community cornerstone, offering parenting support groups, and classes in cooking, art, massage, the Brazilian martial art and dance form Capoeira and, of course, yoga.

Read more about the anniversary and Bread and Yoga at DNAinfo.com. 



WaHi's Upscale Restaurants Receive Lower Health Dept. Ratings Than Fast Food Chains

Fast food eateries fared much better then their pricier counterparts in the city's Health Department ratings.

Altus Cafe scored 54 violation points in its latest round of Department of Health inspections. (www.altus.com)

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Despite fancy cocktail names and swanky sounding entrees, the Health Department wants Washington Heights residents to know that some of the area’s upscale restaurants don’t have one thing chain fast food joints seem to have: clean kitchens.

The Health Department’s newly released inspection ratings, which will soon be translated into letter grades to be displayed near eating establishments' entrances, found that high-end eateries like Altus Café on Broadway and Agave Azul, formerly Hispaniola Restaurant, on West 181st Street, were ranked more poorly than fast food chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Little Caesar and Papa John in Washington Heights.

Read more about Wahi's restaurant scene at DNAinfo.com.