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I'm just a new proud member of this community- I'm not in real estate except for the home that I now own in the neighborhood. I'm a fan and I'm just trying to pass on my experience. My wife and I looked at a number of different neighborhoods and for what we were looking for and could afford- this was the place for us.
Get on this train!
The train is about to leave the station- prices in 10032 were up over 100% in 2013. (Neighborhood Affordability NYC | Changing Home Costs NYC). My wife and I invested in a home in February, coming up from the 80's on the UWS, and can say with certainty it will be the best investment we will ever make. The families we have met here are the friendliest in the city. Everyone says good day and hello- it feels like a throwback to another time. With that said a majority of people up here are hardworking poor (nothing wrong with that) and can't afford to become a homeowner in this neighborhood. They are less invested in making the streets clean and to improving local services. Litter abounds and buildings can be unkept. However, landlords are constantly upgrading their stock and the bones of these old pre war buildings are impressive. We have found it to be very safe. I've never felt remotely threatened. I walk anywhere, anytime. My wife doesn't like walking on non-trafficked streets after dark, but she would feel like that in 90% of the city in the same situation. This neighborhood is not park slope or prospect park, yet. There aren't yoga studios and Thai restaurants on every block. It is lacking in regards to culinary diversity, but it has all the basic services (that are all cheaper!). It has a new coffee shop (tazo) and a new bar (heights tavern) but there aren't many hipster activities, yet... Most nights it's quieter than our last neighborhood. There are occasional parties on Friday or Saturday night, which can be very frustrating, but I've been pleasantly surprised given the heights reputation. Maybe it's a block by block thing. Anyway, it's a great neighborhood only getting better.
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Let me bring a dose of reality. Lower Washington Heights is still very drug ridden. It historically has been (along with western Harlem) the # 1 spot to buy drugs wholesale. Those long blocks between Amsterdam and Broadway are a zoo in the summer time. Just 2 weeks ago I saw a large drug transaction on the corner of West 160th and Broadway. It's probably one of the only places you could see open air drug dealing. It's funny how you don't mention the smell of marijuana up and down every single one of those blocks and into building lobbies. Cut it out. Stop trying to sell an undesirable area, making a mockery of the neighborhood (with SoWaHi) in the process. Has it improved? Hell yes. You couldn't walk through these blocks 20 years ago but at the same time every other neighborhood has as well.
Let me bring a dose of reality. Lower Washington Heights is still very drug ridden. It historically has been (along with western Harlem) the # 1 spot to buy drugs wholesale. Those long blocks between Amsterdam and Broadway are a zoo in the summer time. Just 2 weeks ago I saw a large drug transaction on the corner of West 160th and Broadway. It's probably one of the only places you could see open air drug dealing. It's funny how you don't mention the smell of marijuana up and down every single one of those blocks and into building lobbies. Cut it out. Stop trying to sell an undesirable area, making a mockery of the neighborhood (with SoWaHi) in the process. Has it improved? Hell yes. You couldn't walk through these blocks 20 years ago but at the same time every other neighborhood has as well.
It's funny how you don't mention the smell of marijuana up and down every single one of those blocks and into building lobbies.
The smell of marijuana don't make an area bad, at all. I'd rather have neighbors smoking weed than neighbors getting drunk all night. Marijuana has never made anybody mug another person.
The smell of marijuana don't make an area bad, at all. I'd rather have neighbors smoking weed than neighbors getting drunk all night. Marijuana has never made anybody mug another person.
It's more than just that making lower Washington Heights undesirable. There's open air drug dealing (like in your face), there's the presence of the Dominican gang Trinitarios, that at night roam the streets looking for trouble, the smell of weed doesn't help and definitely lowers the quality of life, the loitering at all time, loud music, drunks etc.....not to mention that it has an above average crime rate, which would be higher if you just include the crime stats east of Broadway. You didn't hear of the shooting that happened further down on West 139th and Amsterdam? A group of DDP's did a driveby on a group they suspected were Trinitarios. You would deal with all of that?
The point is not to crap on SoWaHi (Lmao), it's to put things in reality and not allow the OP's rosy picture (in an effort to boost his property) deceive people into believing that this area is something it's not.
Everybody have their own vision and perception. At the end of the day safety is about ones level of tolerance. Is the Heights still have bad elements ? Of course, like every neighborhood, especially since that particular area used to be one of the major drug spots (if not THE major spot) in NYC during the crack era. But to describe present Washington Heights like a war zone with constant shootings and a Wire style open air drug market is just fantasy.
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