The Streets Where We Live

New Restaurant 'Hallacas' Brings More Venezuelan Flavor Uptown

INWOOD — Upper Manhattan is having a love affair with Venezuelan food.

The longtime culinary land of Dominican fare is gaining competition as the South American food fast becomes a favorite through Washington Heights and Inwood, featuring newcomer Hallacas at 253 Sherman Avenue, between Isham and W. 207th streets, as its latest star.

It’s "natural," head chef Josefina Errante said in Spanish, explaining that Venezuela is a seaside country and is home to a people who represent a melting pot of ethnicities but share a common food culture.

Fried green plantains, rice and beans with stewed meats, and the hallaca, the store’s namesake, a food normally served during the holidays, all find a home on traditional Venezuelan menus.

Read more about the Venezuelan food on Sherman Avenue at DNAinfo.com. 

 

New Upper Manhattan Blog Gives Voice to Uptown Renaissance

UPPER MANHATTAN — In the face of a changing landscape north of 155th Street, a thriving online community has risen up to preserve the history of the area as well as document new experiences of residents.

In Inwood and Washington Heights, the Uptown Collective blog is aiming to become the definitive voice of "uptown."

"Up here there is east of Broadway and west of Broadway," editor-in-chief Led Black said of the socioeconomic and cultural divide many say exists on either side of the avenue in Northern Manhattan. "The Uptown Collective is Broadway. We’re both sides."

Read more 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. 

Inwood Residents Compete in 'Connect Four' Tournament for Charity

Inwood residents raised money for a domestic violence charity by playing the 80s classic Connect Four.

INWOOD — Upper Manhattan residents went retro Monday night as they competed in a Connect Four tournament for charity at Piper’s Kilt on Broadway.

Organizers raised money to support the DOVE Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies program at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Olga Shmaidenko, a DOVE executive committee member, was excited to play a round of Connect Four with friends and spread the word about the program.

“Ultimately it helps the people who really need it, victims of domestic violence and sexual assault,” Shmaidenko said.

Read more about the tournament at DNAinfo.com.

Upper Manhattan Women Look to Make History in the Hunt for Albany

Upper Manhattan has four women in the hunt for Senate and Assembly seats, a record number.

UPPER MANHATTAN — When Julissa Gomez launched her campaign to become the first woman to represent Upper Manhattan in the state Assembly, she quickly realized the road to Albany would be bumpy.

For one thing, she had to endure jokes about her looks. For another, a search for a female candidate to run for the 72nd District seat held by outgoing Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat ended with the incumbent endorsing a man.

Gomez is one of four women hoping to represent Washington Heights and Inwood in state government — and looking to make history. Never before has a woman represented northern Manhattan in Albany, and to have so many female candidates in the mix is unprecedented.

In addition to Gomez, 35, there's Gabriela Rosa, 44, also in the pool of Democrats up for the Assembly primary on Tuesday. In the 31st District state Senate race, there's Miosotis Muñoz, 41, and Anna Lewis. With weak Republican opposition expected in the general election, whoever wins the primary in both races is nearly assured victory in November.

But the path to history hasn't been smooth.

Read more about the women running for office at DNAinfo.com. 

Washington Heights Neighbors Join Forces to Work With Uptown Writers

After meeting in the laundry room of their WaHi building, four writers got together to form a writer's group.

The idea for Uptown Writer was hatched via "laundry room and street discussions" in one Washington Heights co-op. From left: Suzanne Parker, Sarah Durham, Kathleen Crisci and Lori Soderland. (DNAinfo/Carla Zanoni)

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — While sorting lights and darks in their building's laundry room a couple of years ago, writers Sarah Durham and Kathleen Crisci realized they had each independently embarked on starting an uptown writing group. 

So they decided to combine their efforts, brought on two other established writers — Suzanne Parker and Lori Soderland, also residents of their building at the corner of West 190th St. and Ft. Washington Avenue — and in short order, the group Uptown Writers was born.

Read more about how Uptown Writers came to be at DNAinfo.com and/or sign up for classes at www.uptownwriters.com. 

New Restaurant Tries to Bring Downtown Flavor to Inwood

Located at 5085 Broadway, Sazones is flanked by a used car lot and a tax preparation site. (DNAinfo/Carla Zanoni)

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

INWOOD — When Sazones restaurant opens its door in early September, it will have the honor of being the northernmost restaurant on Broadway.

And though that’s miles away from downtown’s nightlife scene, the restaurant's owners are hoping the latest in their series of uptown eateries will bring them one step closer to realizing their dream of creating Inwood’s very own “Meatpacking District.”

Read more about the restaurant at DNAinfo.com.

Angela Ramirez Named the New Director of the Washington Heights BID

Commerce on 181st Street in Washington Heights, a popular and busy business corridor the Washington Heights Business Improvement District represents. (DNAinfo/Carla Zanoni)

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The Washington Heights Business Improvement District appointed a new director Monday, four months after a vote of no confidence pushed out her predecessor.

Read more about the BID's new director at DNAinfo.com.

Inwood Food Truck Patacon Pisao Vies for Street Meat Supremacy

Patacon Pisao, with its signature Venezuelan "Big Macs," has been serving tasty fried meals in Inwood for five years.

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

INWOOD — Inwood’s worst kept culinary secret is finally officially out.

Patacon Pisao, the neighborhood's 5-year-old Venezuelan mobile eatery, is one of five finalists in the Vendy Awards, the contest that pits street food vendors against one another.

The mobile restaurant's owners, Lilliana Velasquez, 41, and Adolfo Gonzales, 58, were delighted when they first discovered that the food from their hometown Maracaibo, Venezuela, was a hit with the largely Caribbean Inwood community.

Read more about patacones at DNAinfo.com.

Washington Heights' Group Works With Parks Department to Revamp Bennett Park

A group of residents began the Bennett Park Community Alliance in hopes of bringing improvements to their park.

Children play on the swings in Bennett Park. PHOTO CREDIT DNAinfo/Carla Zanoni

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Local fans of Washington Heights’ Bennett Park met this week to discuss how they could help the Parks Department bring improvements to the popular public space.

Read more about their plans and how to get involved at DNAinfo.com.