Just moved in

Hey Everyone-

So I just moved into a studio in Inwood Manhattan.

I started this blog so I could tell you just how it is up here in the "Hat" of Manhattan, the Singers Slum, the end of the A, the place I now call home. :)

Inwood is the area loosely defined as Manhattan above 190th street.

Some Historical Highlights

(source: The Encyclopedia of New York City)
1626: The Indians may sold Manhattan Island to Peter Minuit in Inwood Hill Park for trinkets.
1748: Dyckman Farmhouse was built by William Dyckman; burned down by the British, the house was rebuilt in 1783. Today, it is the last Dutch farmhouse in Manhattan.
1965: Malcolm X was assassinated while addressing a rally at the Audubon Ballroom.
1990: The Dominican Community in this area was the largest in the US.
1992: Guillermo Linares was the first Dominican elected to public office in the US as Inwood's City Council Member.
Today: Inwood Hill Park (196 acres) contains the last remnant of primeval forest in Manhattan.

But to those of us who live here it is where we come home to after a long day and a long train ride (on weekends and after 11- otherwise it is 20 minutes or so to midtown)

I live east of Broadway, and am a minority in my neighborhood. As a white non-Spanish speaking male, I have had a bit of culture shock since I have been here.

The way people communicate and spend their time here is so much different than anywhere in Manhattan.

There is a large sidewalk culture that exists in front of every building. In our building the super reigns as king over the sidewalk and all the kids who live here call him "Papi" or "Abuelo."

He has been great to me, and I can't quite tell if he thinks I am a total moron for not knowing Spanish and such- but he has always helped me out when ever i needed to install A/C or locked myself out.

BUT DAMN it is noisy.

People never go to sleep, and a lot of the people have very little volume control in this neighborhood. Since I don't speak Spanish well, I never know if they are yelling at each other because they are happy, or because they are angry.

Recently New York introduced "Silent Night." An operation meant to keep the city quiet in residential areas so people can get a little shut eye. All you need to do is call 311-- which i have done but it doesn't seem to do much.

After the first month here though, I did manage to somehow block out the noise. Most of it is conversation. But every now and again strange things will happen that are more disturbing than just noise.

The other night while walking home a group of about 25 10-15 year old kids were beating the crap out of this one little kid and his friend. But the kid kept coming back, and it was right out side my apartment. That was a 311 night... lol..

But mostly the neighborhood is good. The language barrier is sometimes annoying and I have been searching for a laundromat that will consistently charge me the same rate. But I like it enough. The main reason for moving here for me was the vast green spaces in the area and its relative distance from mid-town.

I have access to the top of the west side river trail, which is an amazing pedestrian and bike path stretching from Dyckman to the Battery. It is one of my favourite things about the area. That and Fort Tryon and Inwood hill park are amazing and unique sites in Manhattan.

The apartment is a good sized studio with nice thick walls, and a sunken living room. Ill try and post some photos at the bottom of this. The problem is is that it is noisy with a door that leads right into the main entry vestibule... - its not really a lobby, and its not really a hallway. But the kids play hand ball in it, and it echoes like in cartoons. It is basically a split level apartment. Technically it is the first floor, but there are people who live below me, so it is really a second floor apartment-- and it is nice to be off the ground a bit. But yea,, the noise sucks. SUCKS.

But anyway----

My goal is to take you on a journey around my neighborhood and let you know what it is really like for a little white kid living uptown.

So check back, and you will hopefully meet my neighbors and see what is up up in Inwood.This is the finished product after moving in. Cozy, huh? :)