Inwood

Inwood offers spacious and affordable Manhattan living

By Patrick Verel | Special to amNew York

November 16, 2006

With rivers on three sides and 282 acres of parkland on its western border, Inwood -- the 'hood where the A train ends -- has an isolated feel that makes it seem even farther from "the city" its roughly nine-mile distance from midtown would indicate.

And that suits residents just fine.

"I tell buyers if you're outdoorsy or you like a having a dog, or you need to get out of the city quickly, this is the place for you," said Sid Whelan, a broker for Halstead Realty.

Having Inwood Hill Park, Fort Tryon Park and Isham Park right at their doorsteps is a major draw for residents, but affordability is a factor, too. The spacious pre-war co-ops that sit to the west of Broadway have long been a draw for families searching for affordable housing in Manhattan.

"People buy apartments in Inwood because they get a lot of space for a reasonable price and you can get to midtown pretty easily on the A train," Whelan said.

Unlike most of Manhattan, the neighborhood, which is a mix of Irish and Latino, hasn't seen a lot of gentrification. Aside from a few small projects underway and some still on the drawing board, there haven't been many new residential developments. A lot of that can be chalked up to a paucity of empty lots in a very narrow swath of land.

But Andrew Shell, principal broker for A.N. Shell Realty, thinks it's only a matter of time until the building rush arrives.

"I think when developers find no more land in Harlem and Washington Heights, they'll come up here," he said.

Find it

Go to the top of Manhattan and stop. Inwood is surrounded by the Harlem River to the east and north, and the Hudson River to the west. Washington Heights, which begins at Hillside Avenue, is the neighborhood's southern border.

Q&A with Jerry Dixon

Jerry Dixon originally hails from New Jersey, but after a spell on the Upper West Side, he and his wife moved to Inwood nine years ago.

What do you like best about the neighborhood?
It's kind of like you're living in the city but you're not really in the city. It almost feels like the suburbs. You're surrounded by parks.

What would you change if you could?
I would probably redirect the flight path of the airplanes. We have a patio on our roof, and you can see the planes; it kind of takes away from the experience. You have the visual aspect of being in the suburbs but then you always hear planes overhead. Even in the park, you have the forest feel but then you hear the planes all the time.

What are the pros of living in Inwood?
It's definitely family-oriented; there are a lot of young families here with children. You have a lot of parks in the area. If you look at the rest of Manhattan, it's probably still affordable.

And the cons?
There could definitely be more of a police presence. There could be more diversity as far as restaurants. I think we're just starting to get some more. We've got the bus depot right here, which they did a study on and found there's a higher asthma rate closer to the bus depot compared to other sections of Manhattan.