Land use and terrain
editGeography
edit
Inwood is physically bounded by the Harlem River to the north and east, and the Hudson River to the west. It extends southward to Fort Tryon Park and alternatively Dyckman Street or Fairview Avenue farther south, depending on the source.[1][2]
While Inwood is the northernmost neighborhood on the island of Manhattan, it is not the northernmost neighborhood of the entire borough of Manhattan. That distinction is held by Marble Hill, a neighborhood situated just north of Inwood, on what is properly the North American mainland bordering the Bronx. Marble Hill was isolated from Inwood and the rest of Manhattan in 1895 when the route of the Harlem River was altered by the construction of the Harlem River Ship Canal.[3]
Geology
editInwood marble, a soft, white, metamorphic rock found in northern Manhattan, takes its name after the neighborhood. From the mid-17th to the late 18th century, commercial quarries dotted the area as the material was used for building construction. However, due to its susceptibility to erosion, builders eventually used alternate construction materials.[4] Inwood marble was quarried for government buildings in lower Manhattan and Washington, D.C. Small pieces of marble can still be seen in the stone retaining walls around Isham Park.
The development of Inwood in the early 20th century resulted in the demolition of many rock outcroppings. However, several outcroppings still exist, including on Cooper Street between 204th and 207th Streets; at Broadway and West 216th Street; and in the garden of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church at Seaman Avenue and Cumming Street.[5] The rock on Cooper Street contains a garden maintained by a nearby housing cooperative at 60 Cooper Street, which owns half of the rock.[5][6]
The seismologically active Dyckman Street Fault runs east-west beneath the Dyckman Valley. As recently as 1989, activity of this fault caused a magnitude 2 earthquake.[7][8][9]
Land use
editCommercial retail uses are mainly located along Broadway, Dyckman Street and West 207th Street. In recent years Dyckman Street west of Broadway has become a popular entertainment district with many restaurants and lounges. Offices are typically located on second floors over retail, or in the neighborhood's sole office building (a converted telephone building) at Broadway and West 215th Street. Inwood also contains one of Manhattan's few remaining C-8 zoning districts, which concentrates automotive uses on the northern stretches of Broadway.
Industrial uses, including depots for subway (207th Street Yard), bus (Kingsbridge Bus Depot), and sanitation (Manhattan North), exist primarily along Sherman Creek, an inlet of the Harlem River. The creek and surrounding industrial area is bounded by Dyckman Street to the south, Tenth Avenue to the west, and 207th Street to the north. There has been an initiative among politicians over the last few years to re-zone this area for residential and commercial use, and to create public access to the waterfront.[10] Utility company Consolidated Edison and the City of New York own some of the property in this area.
The major residential land use in Inwood is multifamily five- to eight-story prewar apartment buildings. New construction is rare. Most of the remaining detached and semi-detached houses on Manhattan Island are located in Inwood, nestled between apartment buildings. Adjacent to Sherman Creek is Inwood's public housing development, known as the Dyckman Houses and constructed in 1951.
Real estate
editInwood's real estate rents and values are sharply bifurcated between east and west. According to Manhattan Community Board 12, the districts east of Broadway are predominantly lower-income. This area is also more industrial and commercial and has fewer parks and street trees. Real estate values and rents are correspondingly lower than the area west of Broadway. Almost all of Inwood's co-ops and all of the private houses are located on the west side of Broadway.[11] According to one study in 2019, Inwood had the lowest average rents in Manhattan.[12]
In 2015, New York City began soliciting community comments on a major rezoning proposal for Inwood. The New York City Economic Development Corporation proposed to alter the area's 50-year-old current zoning plan by dividing Inwood into five sub-districts called "the tip of Manhattan", "Upland Wedge", "Upland Core", "Commercial U" and "Sherman Creek". Some of these sub-districts would be rezoned to encourage the construction of new commercial space and housing. A resident recalls being told by a city planner, "Don't think you can keep this nice neighborhood all to yourselves."[13] The rezoning proposal has triggered much feedback from the community,[14] including a sleep-in at Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez's office.[13] In August 2018, the New York City Council approved a measure to rezone the neighborhood.[15] The rezoning of Inwood allows for the construction of buildings of up to 30 stories in some areas targeted for redevelopment while introducing an 8 story height limit to many existing residential areas. Following the rezoning, over $610 million in real estate was purchased.[12]
- ^ Jackson, Nancy Beth. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Inwood; Away From Manhattan Without Leaving", The New York Times, December 15, 2002. Accessed October 23, 2008. "The neighborhood's southern boundary with Washington Heights depends on who's defining. Residents line up in two camps: Fairview Avenue as described in the Encyclopedia of New York City and Dyckman Street( Most Common), about a half-dozen blocks to the north, on Department of City Planning maps. Real estate agents seem to agree with the encyclopedia."
- ^ Russo, Francine. "Close Up On: Inwood", The Village Voice, October 15, 2002. Accessed October 23, 2008. "Boundaries: Fairview Avenue to the south, Dyckman Street to the west, and the Harlem River to the north and east (Inwood is bisected by Broadway)."
- ^ Jackson, Nancy Beth (January 26, 2003). "If You're Thinking of Living In/Marble Hill; Tiny Slice of Manhattan on the Mainland". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
- ^ [1] Archived December 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine "Secrets of New York" Podcast, "Facelift: Inwood Hill, Harlem River Ship Canal, Secret of Marble Hill Episode"
- ^ a b Sohn, Amy (2019-09-20). "How a Paleozoic Rock Became a $3 Million Real Estate Prospect". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
- ^ "A Giant Rock Outcropping in Northern Manhattan is For Sale for $3 Million". Untapped Cities. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
- ^ Fennell, Ryan (November 30, 1989). "Could It Happen Here? Earthquakes In The Tri-State Area". Two River Times. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011.
- ^ Sykes, Lynn R.; et al. (August 2008). "Observations and Tectonic Setting of Historic and Instrumentally Located Earthquakes in the Greater New York City–Philadelphia Area" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 98, No. 4, pp. 1696–1719.
- ^ Shahid, Alihay (March 17, 2011). "Could an earthquake hit New York City? History says yes, but not like 9.0 magnitude Japan earthquake". New York Daily News.
- ^ "Sherman Creek initiative at nyc.gov". Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Haag, Matthew (2019-09-27). "It's Manhattan's Last Affordable Neighborhood. But for How Long?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
mayswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Pichardo, Carolina (July 20, 2017). "5 Takeaways From the Inwood Rezoning Proposal". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on October 8, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
- ^ Walker, Ameena (August 8, 2018). "Inwood rezoning will move forward with City Council approval". Curbed NY. Retrieved October 5, 2018.