The Streets Where We Live

Looking For Ride from Inwood to Boston

I've always wondered if this works. Anyone have some tales to share? Anyone up for giving this person a ride? 

Lights Out Inwood! Jason Kendall Brings the Stars to Our Hood

From Jason Kendall and Inwood Astronomy:

Inwood Star Fest
A Celebration of Astronomy in New York City
See the Stars, Planets, Galaxies and Moon in a Telescope!

Friday, April 3rd
All of the Park Lights Will Be Turned Off at 8:00 PM

8:30 PM to 10:30 PM

Free and open to the public.

Made possible by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

At the location, you will get the chance to look through a telescope with the aid of numerous amateurs and wonderful telescopes. It will be a great event. Without the glare from the streetlights, the entire park will be quite dark. The stars will jump out at you and you'll get to see them clearer than any other location in Manhattan. Saturn will be up high in the sky, as will numerous star clusters and galaxies. Shining above them all will be the gorgeous first-quarter Moon.

Tied in with the 100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy, New York City is making a great foray into science education and astronomy outreach. Thanks to the perseverance and vision of the New York City Parks, the stars will only be a subway ride away.

Talk Like a Dominican. Time Out New York Comes to Washington Heights and Inwood

Did you catch this week's Time Out New York's article about how to celebrate your inner Dominican? Although the article struck me as a little odd, with phrases like "Hang with Dominicans" and "Talk Like a Dominican" (which made the song "Walk Like an Egyptian" get stuck in my head), it's an OK piece with a nice shout out of native art, some of our local restaurants and a short language lesson. Although the article mentions the DR national obsession with baseball, it doesn't harp on it and takes a moment to look at some of the other qualities that make the Heights and Inwood unique.

TALK LIKE A DOMINICAN

• ¿Y qué lo qué? literally means “What is it?,” but is used as a greeting, kinda like “What’s up?” ¿’Ta to’?, meanwhile, is Dominican shorthand for the Spanish phrase ¿Esta todo bien? or “Is everything all right?”; to use it in response means “Everything’s cool.”

By the way, I am fluent in Spanish and I've never understood what the heck ¿’Ta to’? meant. Thank you Time Out New York!

 

Northern Manhattan Outsiders Walks the Walk This Weekend, and Nearly Every Weekend Thereafter

Gorgeous photo by Peter of the Northern Manhattan Outsiders

A little birdie told me about a MeetUp group created and led by Washington Heights resident Peter that organizes nature hikes through Northern Manhattan, Bronx and New Jersey parks nearly every weekend. Check out the group's information below and sign up for the next walk, a winter photoshoot walk this Saturday. If the photos are anything like the one above, count me in.

Welcome, Northern Manhattan Outsiders!

Location

New York, NY

Meetups

7 so far

Members

142 NoMOs

Rating

Meetup topics

Hiking, Photography,Kayaking, Social Networking

Founded

December 24, 2008

Membership dues

$2.00 per activity

Why: Covers monthly Meetup costs

Northern Manhattan Outside, or NoMO for short, is a group for New Yorkers to enjoy whatever gets us out into the great outdoors of Manhattan. NoMO is a combination social group, for northern Manhattanites and others to get together in a relaxed venue, and an 'outdoors' group, for all New Yorkers who enjoy hiking, birdwatching, stargazing, kayaking in and around northern Manhattan. 
Many of the activities are designed to bring together northern Manhattan neighbors to enjoy the parks and trails up here in Washington Heights, Inwood, the Bronx and Jersey. Both the area and the community of upper Manhattan is the main focus of this group, however all are most welcome!

Is the Grass All That Greener Somewhere Else? Or, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Making the Case For Inwood Living

Image from the Park's Department 

After my family came from Argentina to the US during the 70s, we lived in New York for a short time before moving to the suburbs of New Jersey. My parents, although coming from a big city themselves, sought out a place where my brothers and I could ride our bikes, play in a yard and enjoy the outdoors with ease. Within a few years, we moved out of an apartment into a small house with a big yard with a creek down the block. My childhood summers were spent sucking honeysuckle off the bushes in our driveway, exploring in the creek and swatting away mosquitoes at sleepovers in the backyard. 

I loved those summers, but as I grew up, that backyard seemed smaller and smaller, and the creek held no more mysteries. I wanted more, and by the time my mother brought me to Manhattan (anyone who has heard my "why I live in New York story" knows this story well) I knew I wanted to live here. My only concern was where to ride my bike. At 34 years old, I have figured that one out. It may be a little harder to find, but the nature I enjoyed as a child is just as accessible here, especially in Inwood. 

That's why I bristled at the Pew Foundation report mentioned in today's David Brooks' column in the Times. Pew found that nearly half of all respondents in their survey said they would like to live somewhere else, and the majority of those respondents are city dwellers. Out of 30 major US cities, 24 percent of those surveyed said they would want to live in New York City; 75 percent said they would NOT want to live here. 

 

Image from Pew Research Center Publications

Although I understand the need or desire to live somewhere else, I question how hard people work to make the best of their surroundings in the city. Ben and I are committed to staying in the city, so when we began looking for an apartment to buy we knew it had to be somewhere where we could see ourselves living for a long time. Brooklyn is a great place, but all of the apartments we saw and could afford were far from the parks and left me feeling claustrophobic. The section of Northern Inwood we now live in, on the other hand, has lots of parks, proximity to the river and low buildings that show off big blue sky during the day and the moon and sparkling stars at night. 

Brooks writes: "If you jumble together the five most popular American metro areas — Denver, San Diego, Seattle, Orlando and Tampa — you get an image of the American Dream circa 2009. These are places where you can imagine yourself with a stuffed garage — filled with skis, kayaks, soccer equipment, hiking boots and boating equipment. These are places you can imagine yourself leading an active outdoor lifestyle."

Inwood has shown me that it is possible to do a lot of the activities those packed garages imply their owners actually do (although I question how much of the country is doing the things their sport's equipment are meant to do), while living in a place that also offers a variety of cultural centers alongside an equally diverse population. From the looks of a lot of the comments left in response to Brooks' article, a lot of people are with me on this. Manhattan living does not have to mean you have to break from nature and be miserable, but it does take work just like anywhere else. 

My favorite quote came from Michael Belleau who lives in Portland, Maine: 

163.

EDITORS' SELECTIONS (what's this?)

February 17, 2009 11:12 am

Link

Although couched in democrats-are-elitist language as usual, Mr. Brooks article nicely summarizes the simple fact that Americans like to live in a safe place with lots of people around and lots of fun stuff to do. We want our own little place with a yard. And, according to his list of popular places to live, we DO want to live in the city. We DO want to be able to walk and bike to things. We want the American version of the British row house with it's small yard in back. Only we want our American garage. Now where's my drum set.....

Michael Belleau Architect

— Michael Belleau, Portland, Maine

I agree, Michael! And as much as I gripe about the A train on occasion and daydream about moving to a small house upstate, I think the reality will be much worse than my romance of such a place. I fear that if I were to move, we would wind up like one of the commenters who left Brooklyn for Michigan, only to return her family smack dab right in Clinton Hill. Seems the grass wasn't greener out there after all. 

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This Pew survey allows you to see how your satisfaction ranks in comparison. Apparently 84 percent of Americans rate their communities lower than I do! How do you rank?

 

Volunteer New York City

Looking for a meaningful way to spend your day off on Monday (supposing you have the day off)? President-elect Obama is asking you to volunteer. 

Studies have shown that volunteering benefits not only the recipient of the volunteer services but the volunteer her or himself. In 2007, 60.8 million people volunteered in the United States, approximately 25 percent of the country's population. New York City has an average of about 17 percent of its population volunteering. Let's boost that number on Monday!

Click here to find a volunteer opportunities near you!

Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat Opposes Bridge Toll - What it would mean for Northern Manhattan drivers

One of the pros of living in Northern Manhattan is the proximity to resources in the Bronx, Yonkers and the small towns just north of the city. Ben and I like to take a drive up north to enjoy the rest of the city, state and find small treasures we can't in Inwood and Washington Heights. An hour drive north and I often feel transported to another, more peaceful world. (Which makes me all the more pleasant when I hit the A train on Monday morning again.)

Imagine my suprise and concern when I received this press release from Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat voicing his opposition to a proposal that would levy tolls against those drivers who go over Harlem and East River bridges--that includes Highbridge and the Broadway Bridge, a bridge that, by the way, 311 had no idea existed until I called to complain about a row of lights being out for weeks last winter. 

*note new map--thanks to John for pointing out error--indeed, the Broadway Bridge does connect US 9, aka Broadway from both ends. (Source: http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/broadway/)

The so-called “Ravitch Proposal” proposes that drivers heading over East and Harlem River bridges pay a toll equal to the amount of a subway ride.

Created by Former Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Chairman Richard Ravitch, the report is the brain child of the Ravitch Commission, a group tasked with finding a cure to the ills of the debt-ridden transportation authority. In addition to the bridge tolls, the report suggests that the MTA be allowed to raise subway fare at the rate of inflation every two years and create a Regional Bus Authority. 

Beyond my general frustration with the MTA and my somewhat selfish desire to be able to drive 10 blocks north of my home without having to pay what amounts to an additional City tax, what about the livery cab drivers who shuttle Bronx residents into Manhattan all the time? How about the tired and weary Target shoppers who need a lift with those heavy bags? How about those Manhattanites who made their home in orphaned Marble Hill, aka, "Where the hell am I, the Bronx or Manhattan?" 

It's already expensive enough to live on this island. Legislators in our area need to push back on this issue and examine other solutions that won't hit the pocketbook of the businesses that thrive on inter-borough shoppers and livery cab drivers. And hopefully won't put a dent in my piggybank either. 

Download Tolls Press Release 

Already a Departure

Sometimes we have to leave New York. We get on the train, the plane or get behind the wheel. This time Ben and I are departing separately. My office closed at 2 and I am now riding on the train to Metuchen. This will be the first Thanksgiving that I help cook the family meal. With my grandmother ill with Alzheimer's, the batton has been officially handed off.

Ben will meet me tomorrow. Instead of driving the Mustang (64-65) we rented a car to bring his parents. Less stress that way.

This holiday feels different. Something has shifted in me. Maybe it's the thoughts of extending our own family or the questions I have about my relationships- both familial and friendships. It all feels so fleeting, the way it feels to be at the end of a good novel. One minute you are completely immersed and involved in the characters, they are your friends, confidants, companions- the next they are gone to you and only exist in your mind, your memories.

The train ride to New Jersey, with its view of empty fields and industrial buildings of Newark looking so grey today, has only amplified this November creep of feelings. The train always brings me here, face-to-face with the finite nature of life. That is something that New York holds over this place--an escape from the inevitable end, a place in which we can all ignore getting old.