Inwood (INW)

 

If you are tired of high rent fees and tiny downtown-apartments then your choices should include the inwood neighborhood. Not only rental possibilities, but also numerous apartments on sale are affordable in this area densely packed with art deco buildings and numerous parks. Inwood is located between the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, just north of Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters medieval museum. Due to the apparent closeness with nature and lower-priced housing, Inwood has always been an attractive place for young families and artists searching for refuge from more expensive apartments in Chelsea and the West Village. The neighborhood feels almost isolated from NYC, since it’s distanced from the stresses of downtown and close to attractive outdoor places: such as playgrounds, jogging paths and the last remnants of the old forest in Manhattan.

Inwood got its name from the verdant woods that once blanketed northern Manhattan. Natural forests still exists in Inwood Hill Park: filled with oaks, tulips, maples, hickory and dogwood trees. The park has a six mile long hiking trail, the only available salt marsh in Manhattan, baseball fields, tennis and basketball courts. Inwood Hill Park has rangers offering walking tours on Indian history, park geology and native birds.

In the 1930’s, Irish and German descendants settled into this neighborhood representing the working-class. There were many low-rise buildings at that time, abutted by farmland. In the 60’s farms were removed, then Cuban and Puerto Rican families moved into the prewar buildings located at the east end of Broadway. Recently, the seven-block area boarded by Broadway, Post Avenue, Dyckman and 207th Street was considered the nation’s largest concentration of Dominicans. Today Inwood has become a refuge for actors, musicians and artists seeking low-rent housings in Manhattan.

Inwood offers public schools 5, 98, 152 and I.S. 52. The closest secondary school is George Washington High School located in Washington Heights.