Welcome to the second issue of the Inwood Literary Review!
Our small part of Northern Manhattan is continually evolving and we encourage our neighbors to patronize our local businesses. Searching for an unusual gift for the hard-to-find friend or relative? Stop in and say hello to Guy and Lela at Scavengers, an antique store on 218th Street right off the park which is chock full of great goodies. One of our neighbors raves about Busch Electronics on Broadway between Dyckman and Academy (across from the supermarket) where she purchased air conditioners and had one cleaned, a television and a DVD/VCR. The owners of this small store will trot up to your apartment to carefully measure and install your new air conditioner. And the hot weather is coming!
If you pay in advance at Kleener King on Dyckman Street, your dry cleaning is discounted. And if you need fast turnaround, they can easily handle this for you, too. Our local C-town at Broadway and 207th Street takes special requests and the management is keeps the store in touch with what people want, including a selection of organic foods
Instead of traveling downtown, there˙ŭs a wonderful variety of restaurants in our neighborhood, from Piper˙ŭs Kilt to our favorite Dominican restaurant, International House, on Dyckman Street where the buffet is overwhelming delicious. New venues include the The Garden Cafe, Grandpa˙ŭs Pizza which is expanding soon and the Park Terrace Bistro. We have a variety of choices, from fast food like McDonald˙ŭs and Subway to Italian, Moroccan, Hispanic, Mexican, Chinese, Columbian, to burgers, sandwiches, pizza, fried chicken and donuts. If you don˙ŭt patronize our local businesses, then they will disappear.
We salute the Manhattan Times. If copies aren˙ŭt delivered to your building, they are available in our local library. The Manhattan Times and the bulletin board and the New York Public Library on Broadway are great resources for community events and businesses.
And on this note, we remind everyone to get involved in our community. Attend community meetings, call or write your elected officials, organize an event, gather signature for petitions for issues that warrant attention. Your voice and your vote counts. If our elected officials do not hear from you, then you are invisible to them. If you don˙ŭt know who your elected officials are, shame on you! When in doubt, there˙ŭs always Google.
As a reminder, for any emergencies, including fire, drug sales, a possible burglary or robbery - dial 911 immediately. This includes fireworks, which have started in Inwood Hill Park already. While the sound of powerful fireworks going off at two in the morning can be disturbing to one˙ŭs sleep, the real danger is when we hit a dry spell and any spark can set off a fire in the park. If you can pinpoint a spot in the park - which can be difficult or impossible because of acoustics - call 911. A good contact at the 34th Precinct is Lieutenant LoPresti at 212-927-9711.
Operators at 311 are available 24 hours a day. For non-emergency issues such as noise complaints or if you need to reach a city agency, don˙ŭt forget to use them as a resource. One of our neighbors brought this issue to our attention. The parking lot next to the Cloisters have become noise hotspots for neighbors living on Payson Avenue, Riverside Drive and Dyckman Street. They˙ŭve reported loud music, large crowds of people and barbecues - up until and including four in the morning when people are trying to get to sleep. They˙ŭve contacted 311, the Parks Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art which runs the Cloisters, The Fire Department and the Police Department to try and curb or eliminate this activity. If you, too, are kept awake by this, please call 311 and report this disturbance using Margaret Corbin Circle to pinpoint the location. Follow up with Steve Simon who works with the Parks Department at 212-408-0110. The summer hasn˙ŭt even begun yet and the noise is particularly bothersome to many people. Right now, they can only pray for rain. Please call and lend your voice if you can˙ŭt sleep.
Remember to enjoy our parks this summer and keep an eye out for the return of the Greenmarket on Isham Street between Seaman and Cooper.
Have a great summer!
Arlene Schulman
Editor, The Inwood Literary Review