Washington Heights seen from the west tower of the George Washington Bridge, the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge.^[1] Note Little Red Lighthouse at base of east tower.

Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the British forces. Washington Heights borders Harlem to the South, along 155th street, Inwood to the North along Dyckman Street, the Hudson River to the West and Harlem River to the East.

Geography[link]

Washington Heights is on the high ridge in Upper Manhattan that rises steeply north of the narrow valley that carries 125th Street to the former ferry landing on the Hudson River that served the village of Manhattanville. Though the neighborhood was once considered to run as far south as 125th Street, modern usage defines the neighborhood as running north from Hamilton Heights at 155th Street to Inwood, topping out just below Dyckman Street.^[2]

The wooded slopes of Washington Heights seen from a sandy cove on the Hudson as they were about 1845 are illustrated in a canvas by John James Audubon's son, Victor Clifford Audubon, conserved by the Museum of the City of New York.^[3]

Manhattan's highest point[link]

Fifteen blocks from the northern end of Washington Heights, in its Hudson Heights neighborhood near Pinehurst Avenue and 183rd Street in Bennett Park, is a plaque marking Manhattan's highest natural elevation, 265 ft (80.8 m) above sea level, at what was the location of Fort Washington, the Revolutionary War camp of General George Washington and his troops, from whom Washington Heights takes its name.^[4]

History[link]

The Battle of Fort Washington, which occurred on November 16, 1776, saw Fort Washington fall to the British at great cost to the American forces; 130 soldiers were killed or wounded, and an additional 2,700 captured and held as prisoners, many of whom died on prison ships anchored in New York Harbor. The British renamed it "Fort Knyphausen" to honor the German general who had led the successful attack, and held it for the remainder of the war.^[5] The progress of the battle is marked by a series of bronze plaques along Broadway.

Tourists in Washington Heights

The series of ridges overlooking the Hudson were sites of villas in the 19th century, including the extensive property of John James Audubon.

In the early 1900s, Irish immigrants moved to Washington Heights. European Jews went to Washington Heights to escape Nazism during the 1930s and the 1940s. During the 1950s and 1960s, many Greeks moved to Washington Heights; the community was referred to as the "Astoria of Manhattan." By the 1980/90s, the neighborhood became mostly Dominican.

By the 2000s, after years when gangsters ruled a thriving illegal drug trade, urban renewal began. Many Dominicans moved to Morris Heights, University Heights, and other west Bronx neighborhoods.^[6] While gentrification is often blamed for rapid changes in the neighborhood, the changes in population also reflect the departure of the dominant nationality. Even though Dominicans still make up 73 percent of the neighborhood, their moves to the Bronx have made room for Mexicans and Ecuadorians, according to The Latino Data Project of the City University of New York.^[7] The proportion of whites in Washington Heights has declined from 18 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 2005.^[8]

Transportation[link]

Three of the bridges that cross the Harlem River are visible: the unused pedestrian bridge High Bridge (it has been closed for many years); the Alexander Hamilton Bridge (part of Interstate 95); and the Washington Bridge. In this photo, looking north, the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan is on the left and the Bronx is on the right.

Washington Heights is connected to Fort Lee, New Jersey across the Hudson River via the Othmar Ammann-designed George Washington Bridge, the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge.^[1] The Pier Luigi Nervi-designed George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal is located at the Manhattan end of the bridge. The Trans-Manhattan Expressway, a portion of Interstate 95, proceeds from the George Washington Bridge in a trench between 178th and 179th Streets. To the east, the Highway leads to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge across the Harlem River to the Bronx and the Cross-Bronx Expressway. The Washington Bridge crosses the Harlem River just north of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge. High Bridge is the oldest Harlem River span still in existence, crossing the river just south of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge. Originally it carried the Croton Aqueduct as part of the New York City water system and later functioned as a pedestrian bridge that has been closed since 1970. It has been recently announced High Bridge will reopen after a 20 million dollar renovation project.

Step streets[link]

Because of their abrupt, hilly topography, pedestrian navigation, particularly in Upper Manhattan and the West Bronx, is facilitated by many step streets [14]. The longest of these in Washington Heights, at approximately 130 stairs, connects Fort Washington Ave and Overlook Terrace at 187th St.[15] Those averse to climbing stairs can alternatively traverse the elevation change by using the three massive elevators within the 181st Street Subway Station, with entrances on Overlook [16] and Fort Washington [17].

Subways[link]

Washington Heights is well served by the New York City Subway. On the IND Eighth Avenue Line, service is available at the 155th Street (A C trains), 163rd Street – Amsterdam Avenue (A C trains), 168th Street (1 A C trains), 175th Street (A train), 181st Street (A train), 190th Street (A train), Dyckman Street (A train) and 207th Street (A train), with Dyckman named for a family that once owned property in the area. Along the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, the 1 train stops at 157th Street, 168th Street, 181st Street, 191st Street, Dyckman Street and 207th Street.

Noted sites[link]

Among the Heights' now-vanished riverfront estates was "Minnie's Land", the home of ornithological artist John James Audubon, who is buried in Trinity Church Cemetery churchyard of the neighborhood's Church of the Intercession (1915), a masterpiece by architect Bertram Goodhue. Also buried there is poet Clement Clark Moore, who wrote "'Twas the Night Before Christmas".

Columbia University Medical Center and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, the medical campus and school, respectively, of Columbia University, lie in the area of 168th Street and Broadway, occupying the former site of Hilltop Park, the home of the New York Highlanders – now known as the New York Yankees – from 1903 to 1912. Across the street is the New Balance Track and Field center, an indoor track and home to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.

The cloister from Bonnefont-en-Comminges, at The Cloisters

The best known cultural site and tourist attraction in Washington Heights is The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park at the northern end of the neighborhood, with spectacular views across the Hudson to the New Jersey Palisades. This branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is devoted to Medieval art and culture, and is located in a medieval-style building, portions of which were purchased in Europe, brought to the United States, and reassembled.

Audubon Terrace, a cluster of five distinguished Beaux Arts institutional buildings, is home to another major, though little-visited museum, The Hispanic Society of America. The Society has the largest collection of works by El Greco and Goya outside of the Museo del Prado, including one of Goya's famous paintings of Cayetana, Duchess of Alba. In September 2007, it commenced a three-year collaboration with the Dia Art Foundation. The campus on Broadway at West 156th Street also houses The American Academy of Arts and Letters, which holds twice yearly, month-long public exhibitions, and Boricua College.

Manhattan's oldest remaining house, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, is located in the landmarked Jumel Terrace Historic District, between West 160th and West 162nd Street, just east of St. Nicholas Avenue. An AAM-accredited historic house museum, the Mansion interprets the colonial era, the period when General George Washington occupied it during the American Revolutionary War, and the early 19th century in New York.

The Paul Robeson Home, located at 555 Edgecombe Avenue on the corner of Edgecombe Avenue and 160th Street, is a National Historic Landmark building. The building is now known for its famous African American residents including actor Paul Robeson, musician Count Basie, and boxer Joe Louis.

Other famous Washington Heights residents include Althea Gibson the first African American Wimbeldon Champion, Frankie Lymon of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" fame, Leslie Uggams who was a regular on the Sing Along with Mitch Show. Other musicians who resided in the area for significant periods of time were jazz drummers Tony Williams and Alphonse Muzon and Grammy award winning Guitarist Marlon Graves.

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated during a speech at the Audubon Ballroom, on Broadway at West 165th Street. The interior of the building was demolished, but the Broadway facade remains, incorporated into one of Columbia's Audubon Center buildings. It is now the home of the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center.^[9] Several shops, restaurants and a bookstore occupy the first floor.

At the Hudson's shore, in Fort Washington Park^[10] stands the Little Red Lighthouse, a small lighthouse located at the tip of Jeffrey's Hook at the base of the eastern pier of the George Washington Bridge. It was made famous by a 1942 children's book and is the site of a namesake festival in the late summer. A 5.85-mile recreational swim finishes there in early autumn.^[11] It's also a popular place to watch for peregrine falcons.^[12]

In film and literature[link]

• In the film Citizen Kane, Jedidiah Leland is spending the remainder of his life in the fictitious "Huntington Memorial Hospital" on 180th Street.
• Parts of the film Salt were filmed here, in particular at the 12-story Riviera, a 1910 Beaux-Arts style co-op on 157th Street and Riverside.
• The final scene from the film Force of Evil, where Joe Morse discovers the body of his brother near the Hudson River, was filmed on location in the park several yards south of the George Washington Bridge.
• The Broadway musical In the Heights is set in Washington Heights.
• CSI: NY Season 2 Episode 16 ("Cool Hunter") features a man found dead in a playground in Washington Heights.
• The film Pride and Glory takes place in the yet-to-be gentrified streets of Washington Heights.
• The film Mad Hot Ballroom features students from a school in Washington Heights.
• The film Die Hard with a Vengeance features the same school as one where a bomb is located.
• The film The Saint of Fort Washington is not entirely geographically accurate, but is set in the neighborhood, particularly the Fort Washington Avenue Armory and J. Hood Wright park.
• The song "Halloween Parade" by Lou Reed mentions "a crack team from Washington Heights"
• The film Coogan's Bluff features a scene where Clint Eastwood chases the criminal he is to bring back to Arizona through the Cloisters.
• The film How to Marry a Millionaire features the George Washington Bridge entering into Washington Heights when J.D. Hanley (William Powell) and Loco Dempsey (Betty Grable), driving back into Manhattan from the "Elks Lodge", are pulled over by motorcycle cops so the bridge commission can recognize "the lucky couple" as the occupants of the bridge's 50th million vehicle.
• The 2002 movie Washington Heights starring Manny Perez is the story of a young illustrator trying to escape to the cultural barriers of the Latino neighborhood of Washington heights.
• The film The Brave One, with Jodie Foster, was filmed in some sections of Washington Heights; she and her boyfriend are attacked in a scene filmed in Fort Tryon Park, and the final scene with Terrence Howard was filmed on Elwood Street between Broadway and Nagle Avenue.
• The film Get Rich or Die Tryin', with rapper/actor Curtis Jackson, includes scenes filmed in Inwood/Washington Heights, including the scenes that featured "young 50 cent" filmed in and around 207th street.
• In the song "Broadway Baby" from the musical Follies, aging chorus girl Hattie wishes she could be a star all over Manhattan, "from Battery Park to Washington Heights!"
• The song "This Is Why I'm Hot" by MIMS has the line "I hit Wash Heights with the money in the bag".
• The song "A-Punk" by the band Vampire Weekend mentions Washington Heights.
• The Showtime series Weeds features Washington Heights as the location of Nancy Botwin's halfway house in Season 7.
• The film American Gangster, was filmed in some sections of Washington Heights.

Parks[link]

• Bennett Park - highest natural point in Manhattan.
• Fort Tryon Park - home to The Cloisters
• Fort Washington Park - home of the Little Red Lighthouse
• Gorman Park
• Highbridge Park - embodies the city's history
• J. Hood Wright Park - between 173rd and 176th Streets and Ft. Washington^[13]
• Riverside Park - a waterfront park between West 72nd and West 158th Streets
• Mitchell Square Park, has the Washington Heights and Inwood World War I memorial by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney^[14]

See also: New York Restoration Project

Community[link]

Today the majority of the neighborhood's population is of Dominican birth or descent (the area is sometimes referred to as "Quisqueya Heights"), and Spanish is frequently heard being spoken on the streets.^[15] Washington Heights has been the most important base for Dominican accomplishment in political, non-profit, cultural, and athletic arenas in the United States since the 1960s. Most of the neighborhood businesses are Dominican owned, driving the local economy.^[2] Many Dominican immigrants come to network and live with family members. Bishop Gerard Walsh, former long-time pastor of St. Elizabeth's Roman Catholic Church, located in Washington Heights, said that many residents go to the neighborhood for "cheap housing," obtain jobs "downtown," receive a "good education," and "hopefully" leave the neighborhood.^[16]

Before the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in 2001, according to an article in The Guardian, the flight had "something of a cult status in Washington Heights." A woman quoted in the newspaper said "Every Dominican in New York has either taken that flight or knows someone who has. It gets you there early. At home there are songs about it." After the crash occurred, makeshift memorials appeared in Washington Heights.^[16]

The arts[link]

Heralding the arts scene north of Central Park is the annual Uptown Arts Stroll. Artists from Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill are featured in public locations throughout upper Manhattan each summer for several weeks. As of 2008, the Uptown Art Stroll is run by Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance.

The Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), led by Executive Director Sandra A. García Betancourt, was founded in 2007 to support artists and arts organizations in Washington Heights and Inwood. Their stated mission is to cultivate, support and promote the work of artists and arts organizations in Northern Manhattan. In 2008, NoMAA awarded $50,000 in grants to seven arts organizations and 33 artists in the Washington Heights/Inwood art community. NoMAA sponsors community arts events and publishes an email newsletter of all art events in Washington Heights and Inwood.^[17]

Sub-Neighborhoods[link]

Fort Tryon, Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson and Hudson Heights[link]

Fort Washington Collegiate Church

In the years after World War I Fort Tryon was the name of the area between Broadway and the Hudson River, and south of the park to W. 179th Street.^[18] References to the old name survive in the Fort Tryon Jewish Center (on Fort Washington Avenue between W. 183rd and W. 185th Streets, the Fort Tryon Deli and Grocery (also on Fort Washington Avenue, at W. 187th Street), and in the pages of the Not for Tourists Guide to New York City.^[19]

The neighborhood's name had changed by the late 1940s. Jews from Germany and Austria were leaving home as the Nazi party came to power. A disproportionately large number of Germans who settled in the area had come from Frankfurt am Main, giving rise to Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson.^[18] So many Jewish immigrants lived in Washington Heights after World War II that the neighborhood around Broadway and W. 160th Street was jokingly referred to as the Fourth Reich.^[20] There remains a significant Jewish population, particularly on the west side of Broadway, descended from the previous wave of immigration, as well as students (and recent graduates) of the neighborhood's Yeshiva University.

Currently some refer to the area as "Hudson Heights".^[21][22] Hudson Heights is generally considered to extend as far east as Broadway,^[23][24] although others shrink it to the blocks between Fort Washington Avenue and the Hudson River.^{[citation needed]} The name seems to have stuck starting in the 1990s, when neighborhood real estate brokers and activists started using it.^[24]

As Soviet (and, later, Russian) immigrants filled the area, Russian became far more common than German. Once Spanish become prevalent, and English was the lingua franca, the German nickname fell by the wayside.

Fort George[link]

Hudson Heights isn't the only Washington Heights neighborhood with a distinct name. Historically, Fort George runs from Broadway east to the Harlem River, and from West 181st Street north to Dyckman Street and Sherman Creek. The largest institution in Fort George is Yeshiva University, whose main campus sits east of Amsterdam Avenue in Highbridge Park. A branch of the Young Men's & Women's Hebrew Association is in the neighborhood, and George Washington High School sits on the site of the original Fort George.

One of Manhattan's rare semi-private streets is there. Washington Terrace runs south of West 186th Street for a half-block between Audubon and Amsterdam Avenues. The single-family homes there were built for middle-class families but some have been unoccupied for years.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's M3 bus is labeled as traveling between the East Village and Fort George.^[25]

Sherman Creek and El Alto[link]

Sherman Creek is a small inlet of the Harlem River located south of West 201st Street, north of the Harlem River Drive, and east of Tenth Avenue. As a name for the several blocks around it, Sherman Creek is something of a historical relic, as many people don't care to distinguish it from the surrounding parts of Washington Heights. The name "Sherman Creek" in reference to a residential neighborhood, may make a re-appearance if a much-discussed huge condo complex one day gets off the ground there.

Municipal planners haven't stopped using the name, however. The Manhattan Institute^[26] held a forum, "Saving Sherman Creek," in January 2006 at the Harvard Club of New York.^[27] The Daily News (New York) has written about the project.^[28]

Interestingly, new names for neighborhoods are generally considered to be ersatz creations of real estate agents and, therefore, emblematic of gentrification. However, the newest name for Washington Heights – an alternative, really – comes not from people with dollar signs in their eyes. The Spanish-speaking Caribbean immigrants who have flocked here for decades call Washington Heights a name worthy of its elevation: El Alto.

1980s Crime epidemic[link]

Although Washington Heights is now one of the safest neighborhoods in Manhattan^[29], it was once very different.

In the 1980s, the area was severely affected by the crack cocaine epidemic. This was due, in part, to the neighborhood crack gang, known as the Wild Cowboys or the Red Top Gang, who were associated with Santiago Luis Polanco Rodríguez. The Wild Cowboys were responsible for the higher number of crimes, especially murders, during the late 80s and early 90s. Robert Jackall wrote a book, Wild Cowboys: Urban Marauders and the Forces of Order,^[30] describing the events that took place during that period of lawlessness. Homelessness was rampant. Washington Heights had become the largest drug distribution center in the Northeastern United States during that time.^[31] A housing project^[which?] in the neighborhood was nicknamed “Crack City,”^[32] an epithet commonly bestowed upon rough areas at the time.

Former 32nd Precinct House on 152nd Street, a NYC Landmark

On October 18, 1988, 24-year-old Police Officer Michael Buczek was murdered by Dominican drug dealers in Washington Heights. The killers fled to the Dominican Republic where one later died in police custody and a second was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in 2000. The third suspect was apprehended in the Dominican Republic in May 2002. Fifteen years after the shooting, Pablo Almonte, 51, and Jose Fernandez, 52, received the maximum sentence, 25 years to life, for their roles in the murder of Officer Buczek. Daniel Mirambeaux, the alleged shooter, died in June 1989, plunging to his death under mysterious circumstances after he was ordered turned over to the United States.

In the ensuing years, the Buczek family founded the Michael John Buczek Foundation. There is a street, an elementary school, and a little league baseball field named in honor of Michael John Buczek. The Michael Buczek Little League hosts 30 teams with over 350 boys and girls, and is coached by officers from the 34th precinct.

Crime fell in the subsequent years. Police presence increased, building landlords allowed police to patrol in apartment buildings, which led to the arrests of thousands of drug dealers a year in Washington Heights. The arrest of police officers involved in drug dealing changed the neighborhood dramatically.^[33] People were also being stopped for quality of life crimes. A new police precinct was also added in the area.^[31] Today, its crime rate, along with that of neighboring Harlem, is much lower^[34]

Even though crime complaints were down 5.88% in 2007 over 2001 (and down 65.47% from 1993), there were five murders in lower Washington Heights (that is, below W. 178th St.) in 2007.^[34] By comparison, in the upper portion of Washington Heights, where the 34th Precinct includes Fort George, Hudson Heights and Sherman Creek (as well as Inwood), there was only one murder in 2007; likewise, above W. 179th Street, crime complaints were down 21.05% in 2007 over 2001 (and down 83.15% from 1993).^[35]

That puts lower Washington Heights on par with Harlem, where the 30th Precinct also recorded five murders in 2007.^[36] By comparison, the 13th Precinct (Flatiron District, Stuyvesant Town and Union Square) recorded three murders in 2007^[37] and the 20th Precinct (the Upper West Side) recorded none.^[38]

In 2011, Washington Heights was the fourth-safest neighborhood in Manhattan, according to an analysis of police records by dnainfo.com. Its "Crime and Safety Report,"^[39] which ranks every neighborhood in the five boroughs, found that the drop in crime in Upper Manhattan led the neighborhood nearly to the top; Inwood ranked third. By comparison, Greenwich Village ranked 68th.

Sports[link]

Historic[link]

Five clubs in American professional sports played in the Washington Heights area: the New York Giants, who are now the San Francisco Giants, the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Football New York Giants and the New York Jets. The baseball Giants played at the Polo Grounds at West 155th Street and Eighth Avenue from 1911–1957, the Yankees played there from 1913–1922, and the New York Mets played their first two seasons (1962 and 1963) there as well as the Football Giants and New York Jets.

Before the Yankees played at the Polo Grounds, they played in Hilltop Park on Broadway between 165th and 168th from 1903–1912; at the time they were known as the New York Highlanders. On May 15, 1912, after being heckled for several innings, the great Ty Cobb leaped the fence and attacked his tormentor. He was suspended indefinitely by league president Ban Johnson, but his suspension was eventually reduced to 10 days and $50. One of the most amazing pitching performances of all time took place at Hilltop Park; on September 4, 1908, 20 year-old Walter Johnson shut out New York 3-0 with a five-hitter. The park is now the Columbia University Medical Center, a major hospital complex, which opened on that location in 1928. Washington Heights was the birth place of Yankee star Alex Rodriguez. Slugger Manny Ramírez grew up in the neighborhood, moving there from the Dominican Republic when he was thirteen years old and attending George Washington High School, where he was one of the nation's top prospects. Hall-of-Fame infielder Rod Carew, a perennial batting champion in the 1970s, also grew up in Washington Heights, having emigrated with his family from Panama at the age of fourteen.

The New York Mets and New York Jets both began play at the Polo Grounds, while Shea Stadium in Queens was under construction.

Fort Washington Armory

Modern[link]

The New Balance Track and Field Center, located in the Fort Washington Avenue Armory, maintains an Olympic-caliber track that is one of the fastest in the world.^[40] Starting in January 2012, the Millrose Games will be held there after nearly a century in Madison Square Garden. ^[41]

In addition, high school and colleges hold meets at the Armory regularly, and it is open to the public, for a fee, for training. The auditorium seats 2,300 people.

Also at the Armory is The National Track and Field Hall of Fame, along with the Charles B. Rangel Technology & Learning Center for children and students in middle school and high school. The facility is operated by the Armory Foundation, which was created in 1993.

The Armory is the starting point for an annual road race founded by Peter M. Walsh, the Coogan’s Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K, which is run in March.^[42] The race is sanctioned by the New York Road Runners, and counts toward a guaranteed starting spot in the New York Marathon.

Mountain bike races take place in Highbridge Park in the spring and summer. Sponsored by the New York City Mountain Bike Association,^[43] the races are held on alternate Thursdays and are open to professional competitors and amateurs. Participating in these races is free, but the All-City Cross Country Classic requires a registration fee because prize money is awarded.

Extreme swimmers take part in the Little Red Lighthouse Swim, a 5.85-mile swim in the Hudson River from Clinton Cove (Pier 96) to Jeffrey’s Hook, the location of the Little Red Lighthouse.^[44] The annual race, sponsored by the Manhattan Island Foundation, attracts more than 200 competitors. The course records for men and women were both set in 1998. Jeffrey Jotz, 28, of Rahway, N.J., finished in 1 hour, 7 minutes and 36 seconds. Julie Walsh-Arlis, 31, of New York, finished in 1:12:45.

Religious institutions[link]

Christian[link]

• Mother Cabrini High School
• Incarnation School
• Saint Rose Of Lima School
• Operation Exodus Inner City (Saturday and after school program)

Jewish[link]

• Yeshiva University
• Congregation Machzikei Torah
• Fort Tryon Jewish Center
• K'hal Adath Jeshurun: Breuers
• Mount Sinai Jewish Center
• Shaare Hatikvah Congregation
• Washington Heights Congregation: The Bridge Shul

Education[link]

Colleges and universities[link]

University education includes Yeshiva University and Boricua College. The medical campus of Columbia University hosts the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the College of Dental Medicine, the Mailman School of Public Health, the School of Nursing, and the biomedical programs of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, which offer Masters and Doctorate degrees in several fields. These schools are among the departments that comprise the Columbia University Medical Center.

Despite its name, CUNY in the Heights, the uptown campus of the City University of New York, is not in the Heights, but in Inwood.^[45] The CUNY XPress Center, however, is in the Fort George neighborhood of Washington Heights, but it is not a campus. Instead, its purpose is to assist immigrants and to help students enroll in one of the CUNY schools.^[46]

Primary and secondary schools[link]

Private primary and secondary schools include Mother Cabrini High School, The School of The Incarnation, The School of Saint Elizabeth, Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, and the City College Academy of the Arts, a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Other private schools include the Herbert G. Birch School for Exceptional Children, Medical Center Nursery School and the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy.

Public primary and secondary schools are assigned to schools in the New York City Department of Education. High Schools include: George Washington High School

The Equity Project is a charter school serving grades 4-6.

Zoned middle schools include:

• J.H.S. 143 Eleanor Roosevelt
• Mirabal Sisters Schools, MS 319, MS 324, and MS 321, formerly IS-90

Grade 6 and 7 option schools include:

• (WHEELS) Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School

Zoned elementary schools include:

• P.S. 366 Washington Heights Academy
• P.S. 48 Police Officer Michael John Buczek School
• P.S. 128 Audubon
• P.S. 132 Juan Pablo Duarte
• P.S. 173
• P.S. 187 Hudson Cliffs School
• P.S. 192 Jacob H Schiff School
• P.S. 314 The Muscota New School

Public libraries[link]

Washington Heights Branch of the New York Public Library

New York Public Library operates the Washington Heights Branch at 1000 St. Nicholas Avenue at West 160th Street, the Fort Washington Branch at 535 West 179th Street at Audubon Avenue, and the Inwood Branch at 200 St. Broadway Avenue and Academy.^[47]

Update: The Washington Heights Branch is currently closed for renovations with no announced reopening date at this time.^[48] It has been closed since April 15, 2010.^[49]

Local Newspapers[link]

The Manhattan Times is the bilingual community newspaper serving the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods of Northern Manhattan for the past 10 years. The Manhattan Times is published every Wednesday and is distributed primarily through black street boxes. The Manhattan Times is also available for subscription.

The sections of each edition reflect the interests of the community: Uptown Dining, Real Estate, Health & Fitness, Green Times, and more. The Manhattan Times has created numerous partnerships over the years with local institutions and organizations.

The print version is distributed free on Wednesdays in street boxes, local businesses, nonprofits and residential buildings.

Although the Manhattan times newspaper is only published weekly, news is updated daily on the Manhattan Times website for the local community.

Notable residents[link]

This is a list with no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help to improve Wikipedia by ensuring that there is consensus on the inclusion and exclusion criteria on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the section contains only verifiable material.

Notable current and former residents of Washington heights include:

• Pedro Alvarez (born 1987), baseball player who was drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.^[50]
• Alex Arias (born 1967), American former Major League Baseball player.^[51]
• Carl Blaze (1976–2006), American Hip-Hop/R&B DJ for Power 105.1
• Maria Callas (1923–1977), American opera singer, was raised in Washington Heights until she was 14. Her school certificate hangs in the hallways of P.S. 132.
• Rod Carew (born 1945), former professional baseball player.^[52]
• Frances Conroy (born 1953), American actress.^[24]
• Nelson Antonio Denis (born 1954), New York State Assemblyman
• Don Dinero - American Hip-Hop/Reggaeton artist.^[53]
• David Dinkins, Mayor of New York City 1990-1994.
• Jim Dwyer (born 1957), American columnist and reporter at The New York Times.^[54]
• Laurence Fishburne (born 1961), American Academy Award nominated actor.^[55]
• Luis Flores (born 1981), Dominican former NBA point guard.^[56]
• Lou Gehrig (1903–1941), American professional baseball player for the New York Yankees.^[57]
• Elias Goldberg (1886–1978), New York painter, most of his city paintings focus on the area of Washington Heights. Mr. Goldberg exhibited at the legendary Charles Egan Gallery.^[58]
• David Gorcey (1921–1984), American actor/comedian; brother of Leo and regular member of the Dead End Kids / East Side Kids / The Bowery Boys.
• Leo Gorcey (1917–1969), American actor; member of the original cast of "Dead End", and memorably outspoken member of the Dead End Kids / East Side Kids / The Bowery Boys.
• Alan Greenspan (born 1926), 13th Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.^[59]
• Hex Hector (born 1965), American Grammy Award winning remixer and producer^[60]
• Jacob K. Javits (1904–1986), United States Senator.^[61]
• Henry Kissinger (born 1923), former National Security Advisor and United States Secretary of State.^[62]
• Paul Kolton (1923–2010), chairman of the American Stock Exchange.^[63]
• Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008), American geneticist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work in bacterial genetics, was born in Montclair.^[64][65]
• Stan Lee (born 1922), American Creator of Spider-Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk.^[66]
• Daniel D. McCracken (1930-2011) early American computer pioneer and author
• Knox Martin (born 1923), American painter, sculptor, muralist.
• Mims (born 1981), American Rapper.^[67]
• Lin-Manuel Miranda (born 1980), American actor, and Tony Award-winning composer, and lyricist, best known for writing and acting in the Broadway musical In the Heights.
• Theodore McCarrick (born 1930) Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, D.C. (2001–2006)
• Don Omar (born 1978), hip-hop/merengue/Reggaeton artist.^[68]
• Karina Pasian (born 1991), American recording R&B Singer from Def Jam Records.
• Manny Perez - Actor, who has appeared in Third Watch.^[69]
• Freddie Prinze (1954–1977), American stand-up comedian, best known for his 1970s TV series Chico and the Man co-starring Jack Albertson.^[70]
• Kenny Rankin (1940-2009), American musician, singer and songwriter ^[71]
• Manny Ramírez (born 1972), Dominican-American Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[72]
• Alex Rodriguez (born 1975), American Baseball player for the New York Yankees.^[73]
• James R. Russell (born 1953), American scholar and Harvard University professor
• Merlin Santana (1976–2002), American actor also Tupac's brother-in-law.
• Vin Scully (born 1927), American sportscaster for the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[74]
• TAKI 183 - one of the originators of New York graffiti.^[75]
• Tiny Tim (1932-1996), Real name, Herbert Khaury; American singer and ukelele player, a novelty act of the 1960s best known for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."
• Ruth Westheimer (born 1928), "Dr. Ruth", sex educator and sex counselor.^[76]
• Jerry Wexler (1917–2008), American music producer who coined the term "Rhythm and blues".^[77]
• Guy Williams (1924–1989), American actor, born in Washington Heights in 1924
• Rafael Yglesias (born 1954), American novelist/screenwriter.
• Tally Brown (1934-1989), American singer and actress in films by Andy Warhol and other underground filmmakers.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Washington Heights

• Hudson Heights Restoration
• Hudson Heights Guide
• Washington Heights Blog

References[link]

• The WPA Guide to New York City, 1938; reprinted 1982, pp 294ff.

v t e Neighborhoods in the New York City Borough of Manhattan Alphabet City Astor Row Battery Park City Bowery Carnegie Hill Chelsea Chinatown Civic Center Columbus Circle Cooperative Village Diamond District East Harlem East Village Financial District Five Points Flatiron District Garment District Gashouse District Gramercy Park Greenwich Village Hamilton Heights Harlem Hell's Kitchen Herald Square Hudson Heights Hudson Yards Inwood Italian Harlem Kips Bay Koreatown Lenox Hill Le Petit Senegal Liberty Island Lincoln Square Little Germany Little Italy Little Syria Loisaida Lower East Side Lower Manhattan Madison Square Manhattan Valley Manhattanville Marble Hill Marcus Garvey Park Meatpacking District Midtown Manhattan Morningside Heights Murray Hill NoHo Nolita NoMad Peter Cooper Village Pomander Walk Radio Row Randall's Island Roosevelt Island Rose Hill San Juan Hill SoHo South Street Seaport South Village Strivers' Row Stuyvesant Square Stuyvesant Town Sugar Hill Sutton Place Sylvan Court Mews, Sylvan Place, and Sylvan Terrace Tenderloin Theatre District Times Square TriBeCa Tudor City Turtle Bay Two Bridges Union Square Upper East Side Upper Manhattan Upper West Side Wards Island Washington Heights Waterside Plaza West Village Yorkville Community Boards: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Coordinates: 40°51′07″N 73°56′10″W / 40.852°N 73.936°W / 40.852; -73.936

Manhattan
—  Borough of New York City  —
New York County
Midtown Manhattan as seen from the GE Building.
Borough of Manhattan shown in orange.
Coordinates: 40°43′42″N 73°59′39″W / 40.72833°N 73.99417°W / 40.72833; -73.99417
Country	United States
State	New York
County	New York County
City	New York City
Settled	1624
Government
• Type	Borough (New York City)
• Borough President	Scott Stringer (D) — (Borough of Manhattan)
• District Attorney	Cyrus Vance, Jr. — (New York County)
Area
• Total	33.77 sq mi (87.5 km2)
• Land	22.96 sq mi (59.5 km2)
• Water	10.81 sq mi (28.0 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,585,873
• Density	70,951/sq mi (27,394/km2)
• Demonym	Manhattanite
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website	Official Website of the Manhattan Borough President

Manhattan (/mænˈhætən/) is the most densely populated and the oldest of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the U.S. state of New York. The borough and county consist of Manhattan Island and several small adjacent islands: Roosevelt Island, Randall's Island, Wards Island, Governors Island, Liberty Island, part of Ellis Island,^[1] Mill Rock, and U Thant Island; as well as Marble Hill, a very small area on the mainland bordering the Bronx. The original city of New York began at the southern end of Manhattan, expanded northward, and then between 1874 and 1898, annexed land from surrounding counties.

The New York County is the most densely populated county in the United States, and one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with a 2010 population of 1,585,873 ^[2] living in a land area of 22.96 square miles (59.5 km²), or 69,464 residents per square mile (26,924/km²), more dense than any individual American city. It is also one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, with a 2005 per capita income above $100,000.^[3] Manhattan is the third-largest of New York's five boroughs in population, and its smallest borough in land area.

Manhattan is the major commercial, financial, and cultural center of the United States.^[4][5][6] Anchored by Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City functions as the financial capital of the world, with an estimated GDP of over 1.2 trillion.^[7] and is home of both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Many major radio, television, and telecommunications companies in the United States are based here, as well as many news, magazine, book, and other media publishers.

Manhattan has many famous landmarks, tourist attractions, museums, and universities. It is also the location of the United Nations Headquarters. It is the center of New York City and the New York metropolitan region, hosting the seat of city government and a large portion of the area's employment, business, and entertainment activities. As a result, residents of New York City's other boroughs such as Brooklyn and Queens often refer to a trip to Manhattan as "going to the city",^[8] despite the comparable populations between those boroughs.

Names[link]

The name Manhattan derives from the word Manna-hata, as written in the 1609 logbook of Robert Juet, an officer on Henry Hudson's yacht Halve Maen (Half Moon).^[12] A 1610 map depicts the name as Manna-hata, twice, on both the west and east sides of the Mauritius River (later named the Hudson River). The word "Manhattan" has been translated as "island of many hills" from the Lenape language.^[13]

New York County is one of seven US counties to bear the same name as the state in which it lies (the others are Arkansas County, Hawaii County, Idaho County, Iowa County, Oklahoma County, and Utah County).

History[link]

Colonial era[link]

The area that is now Manhattan was long inhabited by the Lenape Indians. In 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano - sailing in service of the French king Francis I - was the first European to visit the area that would become New York City. He entered The Narrows aboard his ship La Dauphine and named the land around Upper New York Harbor "Angouleme", the family name of Francis I; he sailed far enough into the harbor to sight the Hudson River which he referred to in his report to the French king as a "Very Big River"; and he named Upper New York Bay the Bay of Santa Margarita - after Marguerite de Navarre - the elder sister of the king.^[14][15]

It was not until the voyage of Henry Hudson, an Englishman who worked for the Dutch East India Company, that the area was mapped.^[16] Hudson came across Manhattan Island and the native people living there in 1609, and continued up the river that would later bear his name, the Hudson River, until he arrived at the site of present day Albany.^[17]

Peter Minuit

The Castello Plan showing the Dutch colonial city of New Amsterdam in 1660 - then confined to the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

J.Q.A. Ward's statue of George Washington in front of Federal Hall, on the site where Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. President.

A permanent European presence in New Netherland began in 1624 with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island. In 1625 construction was started on a citadel and a Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, later called New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam).^[18][19] Manhattan Island was chosen as the site of Fort Amsterdam, a citadel for the protection of the new arrivals; its 1625 establishment is recognized as the birth date of New York City.^[20] According to the document by Pieter Janszoon Schagen our people (ons Volck)—Peter Minuit is not mentioned explicitly there—acquired Manhattan in 1626 from Native American Lenape people in exchange for trade goods worth 60 guilders, often said to be worth 24 US$, though (by comparing the price of bread and other goods) actually amounts to around $1000 in modern currency^[21] (calculation by the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam). The price was actually paid to the Canarsees, living in Brooklyn, while the true local people, the Weckquaesgeeks, were not party of the transaction.^[22]

In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was appointed as the last Dutch Director General of the colony.^[23] New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2, 1653.^[24] In 1664, the English conquered New Netherland and renamed it "New York" after the English Duke of York and Albany, the future King James II.^[25] Stuyvesant and his council negotiated with the English to produce 24 articles of provisional transfer that sought to guarantee New Netherlanders liberties, including freedom of religion, under English rule.^[26][27]

The Dutch Republic regained it in August 1673 with a fleet of 21 ships, renaming the city "New Orange". New Netherland was ceded permanently to the English in November 1674 through the Treaty of Westminster.^[28]

American Revolution and the early United States[link]

A prelude to organized colonial opposition to British rule, the Stamp Act Congress of representatives from across the Thirteen Colonies was held in New York City in 1765. The Congress resulted in the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, the first document by a representative body of multiple colonies to assert the concept popularly known as "no taxation without representation". It was also the first time the colonies cooperated for a unified political aim, and laid the foundation for the Continental Congresses that followed years later.

The Sons of Liberty developed on Manhattan in the days following the Stamp Act protests. The organization participated in a long-term confrontation with British authorities over liberty poles that were alternately raised by the Sons of Liberty and cut down by British authorities. The skirmishes ended when the revolutionary New York Provincial Congress took power in 1775.

Manhattan was at the heart of the New York Campaign, a series of major battles in the early American Revolutionary War. The Continental Army was forced to abandon Manhattan after the disastrous Battle of Fort Washington on November 16, 1776. The city became the British political and military center of operations in North America for the remainder of the war.^[29] Manhattan was greatly damaged by the Great Fire of New York during the British military rule that followed. British occupation lasted until November 25, 1783, when George Washington returned to Manhattan, as the last British forces left the city.^[30]

From January 11, 1785 to the fall of 1788, New York City was the fifth of five capitals under the Articles of Confederation, with the Continental Congress meeting at New York City Hall (then at Fraunces Tavern). New York was the first capital under the newly enacted Constitution of the United States, from March 4, 1789 to August 12, 1790 at Federal Hall.^[31] The United States Supreme Court sat for the first time, the United States Bill of Rights were drafted and ratified, and the first steps of adding states to the Union with the passage of the Northwest Ordinance all took place there.

19th century growth[link]

New York grew as an economic center, first as a result of Alexander Hamilton's policies and practices as the first Secretary of the Treasury and, later, with the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, which connected the Atlantic port to the vast agricultural markets of the Midwestern United States and Canada.

Tammany Hall, a Democratic Party political machine, began to grow in influence with the support of many of the immigrant Irish, culminating in the election of the first Tammany mayor, Fernando Wood, in 1854. Tammany Hall dominated local politics for decades. Central Park, which opened to the public in 1858, became the first landscaped park in an American city and the nation's first public park.^[32][33]

Thomas Nast denounces Tammany as a ferocious tiger killing democracy; the tiger image caught on.

Bird's eye panorama of Manhattan & New York City in 1873. The Brooklyn Bridge was under construction from 1870 until 1883.

During the American Civil War, the city's strong commercial ties to the American South, its growing immigrant population (prior to then largely from Germany and Ireland), anger about conscription and resentment at those who could afford to pay $300 to avoid service, led to resentment against Lincoln's war policies, culminating in the three-day long New York Draft Riots of July 1863, one of the worst incidents of civil disorder in American history, with an estimated 119 participants and passersby massacred.^[34]

The rate of immigration from Europe grew steeply after the Civil War, and New York became the first stop for millions seeking a new and better life in the United States, a role acknowledged by the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on October 28, 1886, a gift from the people of France.^[35][36] The new European immigration brought further social upheaval. In a city of tenements packed with poorly paid laborers from dozens of nations, the city was a hotbed of revolution, syndicalism, racketeering, and unionization.

In 1883, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge established a road connection across the East River. In 1874, the western portion of the present Bronx County was transferred to New York County, and in 1895 the remainder of the present Bronx County was annexed.^[37] The City of Greater New York was formed in 1898, when four counties consolidated to form a single city of five boroughs. Manhattan and the Bronx, though still one county, were established as two separate boroughs. On January 1, 1914, the New York state legislature created Bronx County, and New York County was reduced to its present boundaries.^[38]

The 20th century[link]

The newly completed Singer Building towering above the city, 1909

A construction worker on top of the Empire State Building as it was being built in 1930. The Chrysler Building is below and behind him.

The iconic view of Manhattan showing, from left to right, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the World Trade Center, May 2001.

The construction of the New York City Subway, which opened in 1904, helped bind the new city together, as did additional bridges to Brooklyn. In the 1920s, Manhattan experienced large arrivals of African-Americans as part of the Great Migration from the southern United States, and the Harlem Renaissance, part of a larger boom time in the Prohibition era that included new skyscrapers competing for the skyline. New York City became the most populous city in the world in 1925, overtaking London, which had reigned for a century.^[39]

On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Greenwich Village killed 146 garment workers. The disaster eventually led to overhauls of the city's fire department, building codes, and workplace regulations.^[40]

The period between the World Wars saw the election of reformist mayor Fiorello La Guardia and the fall of Tammany Hall after 80 years of political dominance.^[41] As the city's demographics stabilized, labor unionization brought new protections and affluence to the working class, the city's government and infrastructure underwent a dramatic overhaul under La Guardia. Despite the Great Depression, some of the world's tallest skyscrapers were completed in Manhattan during the 1930s, including numerous Art Deco masterpieces that are still part of the city's skyline today, most notably the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the GE Building.

Returning World War II veterans created a postwar economic boom, which led to the development of huge housing developments targeted at returning veterans, including Peter Cooper Village-Stuyvesant Town, which opened in 1947.^[42] In 1951, the UN relocated from its first headquarters in Queens, to the East Side of Manhattan.^[43]

Like many major U.S. cities, New York suffered race riots and population and industrial decline in the 1960s. By the 1970s, the city had gained a reputation as a graffiti-covered, crime-ridden relic of history.^[44] In 1975, the city government faced imminent bankruptcy, and its appeals for assistance were initially rejected, summarized by the classic October 30, 1975 New York Daily News headline as "Ford to City: Drop Dead".^[45] The fate was avoided through a federal loan and debt restructuring, and the city was forced to accept increased financial scrutiny by New York State.^[46]

The 1980s saw a rebirth of Wall Street, and the city reclaimed its role at the center of the worldwide financial industry. The 1980s also saw Manhattan at the heart of the AIDS crisis, with Greenwich Village at its epicenter. Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) were founded to advocate on behalf of those stricken with the disease. Manhattan's most populous ethnic group, white, declined from 83.5% in 1940 to 58.3% by 1990.^[47]

Starting in the 1990s, crime rates dropped drastically, with murder rates that had reached 2,245 in 1990 plummeting to 537 by 2008, and the crack epidemic and its associated drug-related violence under greater control.^[48] The outflow of population turned around, as the city once again became the destination of immigrants from around the world, joining with low interest rates and Wall Street bonuses to fuel the growth of the real estate market.^[49]

September 11 attacks[link]

On September 11, 2001, two of four hijacked planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The towers collapsed, resulting in the eventual collapse of World Trade Center 7 due to structural damage.^{[citation needed]} The other buildings of the World Trade Center complex were damaged beyond repair and soon after demolished. The collapse of the Twin Towers caused extensive damage to surrounding buildings and skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan, and resulted in the deaths of 2,606 people, plus those on the planes. Since September 11, most of Lower Manhattan has been restored; many rescue workers and residents of the area have developed several life threatening illnesses, and some have already died.^[50]

A memorial at the site was opened to the public on September 11, 2011. A museum is currently under construction at the memorial and scheduled to open in September 2012. One World Trade Center, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is also under construction, as well as the other planned buildings on the site.

Television and Film in NYC[link]

Modern New York City is familiar to many people around the globe thanks to its popularity as a setting for films and television series. Notable television examples of shows set in Manhattan include such award-winning shows and franchises as White Collar, 30 Rock, Castle, Mad Men, I Love Lucy, Friends, Gossip Girl, The Jeffersons, How I Met Your Mother, The Law & Order series (most spin-offs included), Mad About You, NYPD Blue, The Odd Couple, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, Sex and the City, Spin City, Sports Night, Ugly Betty, Flight of the Conchords, '"Cagney & Lacey"', and Will & Grace.

Notable examples of films set in Manhattan include Miracle on 34th Street, The Godfather, Wall Street, You've Got Mail, Ghostbusters, The In-Laws, Little Manhattan, and many of Woody Allen's films, such as Annie Hall, Bananas, and Manhattan. The city was also the backdrop and location for numerous crime and drama films in the 1940s and 1950s.

See more comprehensive lists of films and television shows set in New York City.

Geography[link]

Central Park is visible in the center of this satellite image. Manhattan is bound by the Hudson River to the west, the Harlem River to the north, and East River to the east.

Manhattan is loosely divided into Downtown (Lower Manhattan), Midtown (Midtown Manhattan), and Uptown (Upper Manhattan), with Fifth Avenue dividing Manhattan's east and west sides. Manhattan Island is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and the East River to the east. To the north, the Harlem River divides Manhattan Island from The Bronx and the mainland United States. Several small islands are also part of the borough of Manhattan, including Randall's Island, Wards Island, and Roosevelt Island in the East River, and Governors Island and Liberty Island to the south in New York Harbor.^[51] Manhattan Island is 22.7 square miles (59 km²) in area, 13.4 miles (21.6 km) long and 2.3 miles (3.7 km) wide, at its widest (near 14th Street).^[52] New York County as a whole covers a total area of 33.77 square miles (87.5 km²), of which 22.96 square miles (59.5 km²) are land and 10.81 square miles (28.0 km²) are water.^[53]

A modern redrawing of the 1807 version of the Commissioner's Grid plan for Manhattan, a few years before it was adopted in 1811. Central Park is absent.

One neighborhood of New York County is contiguous with The Bronx. Marble Hill at one time was part of Manhattan Island, but the Harlem River Ship Canal, dug in 1895 to improve navigation on the Harlem River, separated it from the remainder of Manhattan as an island between the Bronx and the remainder of Manhattan.^[54] Before World War I, the section of the original Harlem River channel separating Marble Hill from The Bronx was filled in, and Marble Hill became part of the mainland.^[55]

Marble Hill is one example of how Manhattan's land has been considerably altered by human intervention. The borough has seen substantial land reclamation along its waterfronts since Dutch colonial times, and much of the natural variation in topography has been evened out.^[13]

Early in the 19th century, landfill was used to expand Lower Manhattan from the natural Hudson shoreline at Greenwich Street to West Street.^[56] When building the World Trade Center, 1.2 million cubic yards (917,000 m³) of material was excavated from the site.^[57] Rather than dumping the spoil at sea or in landfills, the fill material was used to expand the Manhattan shoreline across West Street, creating Battery Park City.^[58] The result was a 700-foot (210-m) extension into the river, running six blocks or 1,484 feet (450 m), covering 92 acres (37 ha), providing a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) riverfront esplanade and over 30 acres (12 ha) of parks.^[59]

Geologically, a predominant feature of the substrata of Manhattan is that the underlying bedrock base of the island rises considerably closer to the surface near the midtown district, dips down lower between 29th street and Canal street, then rises toward the surface again under the Financial district. This feature is the underlying reason for the clustering of skyscrapers in the Midtown and Financial district areas, and their absence over the intervening territory between these two areas, as their foundations can be sunk more securely into solid bedrock.

Manhattan has fixed highway connections with New Jersey to its west by way of the George Washington Bridge, the Holland Tunnel, and the Lincoln Tunnel, and to three of the four other New York City boroughs—the Bronx to the northeast and Brooklyn and Queens on Long Island to the east and south. Its only direct connection with the fifth New York City borough is the Staten Island Ferry across New York Harbor, which is free of charge. The ferry terminal is located near Battery Park at its southern tip. It is possible to travel on land to Staten Island by way of Brooklyn, by using the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

The Commissioners' Plan of 1811, called for twelve numbered avenues running north and south roughly parallel to the shore of the Hudson River, each 100 feet (30 m) wide, with First Avenue on the east side and Twelfth Avenue in the west. There are several intermittent avenues east of First Avenue, including four additional lettered avenues running from Avenue A eastward to Avenue D in an area now known as Alphabet City in Manhattan's East Village. The numbered streets in Manhattan run east-west, and are 60 feet (18 m) wide, with about 200 feet (61 m) between each pair of streets. With each combined street and block adding up to about 260 feet (79 m), there are almost exactly 20 blocks per mile. The typical block in Manhattan is 250 by 600 feet (180 m).

According to the original Commissioner's Plan there were 155 numbered crosstown streets,^[60] but later the grid has been extended up to the northernmost corner of Manhattan, where the last numbered street is 220th Street (Manhattan). Moreover, the numbering system continues even in The Bronx, north of Manhattan, despite the fact that there the grid plan is not so regular; there the last numbered street is 263rd Street.^[61]

Fifteen crosstown streets were designated as 100 feet (30 m) wide, including 34th, 42nd, 57th and 125th Streets, some of the borough's most significant transportation and shopping venues.^[62] Broadway is the most notable of many exceptions to the grid, starting at Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan and continuing north into the Bronx at Manhattan's northern tip. In much of Midtown Manhattan, Broadway runs at a diagonal to the grid, creating major named intersections at Union Square (Park Avenue South/Fourth Avenue and 14th Street), Madison Square (Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street), Herald Square (Sixth Avenue and 34th Street), Times Square (Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street), and Columbus Circle (Eighth Avenue/Central Park West and 59th Street).

A consequence of the strict grid plan of most of Manhattan, and the grid's skew of approximately 28.9 degrees, is a phenomenon sometimes referred to as Manhattanhenge (by analogy with Stonehenge).^[63] On separate occasions in late May and early July, the sunset is aligned with the street grid lines, with the result that the sun is visible at or near the western horizon from street level.^[63][64] A similar phenomenon occurs with the sunrise in January and December.