Chilling In The Hood

I live in Washington Heights, a section of the City that I refer to as Upstate Manhattan. It's North of Harlem just above Morningside Heights and South of The Bronx. I live on the West side of the island, hugging the Hudson River, a few steps from the main thoroughfare called Broadway.

I wasn't sure I'd like this hood when I moved here four years ago. I was coming from the traditional Upper West Side of the City. That neighborhood was the home to 30 something white families with baby strollers and upscale tastes. I admit I still like the UWS for I still frequent it every weekend for various sundry needs--a force of a habit I never broke. At the heart of it, however, I am a resident of Washington Heights.

It doesn't offer much in the way of diverse shopping. Chicken and rice restaurants, 99 cent stores, fast food eateries and Dominican food markets dominate the blocks. The area is started to gentrify and in the last few years, well known chain businesses are cropping up right and left. I expect to see a Starbucks in a few short months.

What I do like about The Heights is the character. Because the population is predominantly Dominican, the culture is often played out in the streets. And it can be joyous, especially if the weather is warm and seductive.

I had to run some errands today and I took to Broadway. After 20 days of rain, chill and gloom, the sun shone bright and brassy today. The feel of it on my bare arms was a tonic and I padded up the slopping streets, drinking in the sights and sounds of the neighborhood. The sidewalks were boisterous and populated by residents embracing a first real summer day. Salsa music emanated from storefronts. Large cardboard boxes housed discount packs of tube socks, flip flops and T-shirts. A vendor with a grocery cart sliced up fresh pineapple and papaya for hungry pedestrians. An impromptu produce market was laid out on a sheet, with plantains and peppers and fragrant cilantro. A food cart sold freshly cooked empanadas. A group of kids dominated the sidewalk, challenge-dancing to hip hop. Residents brought out their folding chairs and lined the buildings along Broadway, simply enjoying animated conversation in the sun. A card table was unfolded in the middle of the street and a group of men played dominoes as an audience of onlookers cheered them on. And overlapped atop this visual feast--the Mister Softee melody perpetually within earshot.

I know The Heights is not the most glamorous place in New York. We moved here simply because we were able to buy a very large apartment for a reasonable amount of money. However, the longer I live here, the more I appreciate the culture and heart of my hood.

I guess I've passed the litmus test. The nice man who owns the bodega on my block only speaks to me in Spanish now (for three years, he spoke to me in English). And after four years, I reply back. In Spanish.