In the northern Manhattan neighborhood of Inwood, at the tip of the island past Dyckman St., there are two worlds as distinct from each other as the upper West Side is from the East Village. Yet they're as close as across the street. One  side, west of Broadway, consists of well-kept co-op buildings, winding streets on an elevated terrace, three parks and mostly upper middle-class professionals. On some streets, you could hear a pin drop night and day....

Excerpt from the Daily News (Your Home) 11/02/07

East of Broadway has more flavor - and the bulk of the rental buildings. Filled with hardworking Dominicans, the area has Latino restaurants, nail salons, nightclubs and busy, neon-lit strips of retail stores. Music flows from apartment windows.

The one thing both sides share? Low housing prices. For now.

"People feel the neighborhood is too far north for buying or renting until they see how little they get for their money in neighborhoods further south. It's perfect for young families and first-time home buyers.

West of Broadway: Bordering Inwood Hill Park and Isham Park, Inwood west of Broadway is a peaceful retreat of five- to eight-story co-op buildings on hilly streets. Park Terrace West, which runs from Isham St. to 218th St., has town houses and apartment buildings with flower gardens and polished chrome lobbies. 

Mint-condition, one-bedroom co-ops go for $300,000 and up. Two bedrooms are in the mid-to-high $400,000 range. Hard-to-find, one-bedroom rentals start at around $1,400, while two bedrooms start at $1,900. According to Andrew Shell, owner of the real estate agency A.N. Shell on Broadway and Isham St., apartments west of Broadway appreciate at around 10% annually.

I remember in 2001 Inwood was not even acknowledged as part of Manhattan in an article in New York magazine," says Shell. "Now it's considered one of the city's most affordable places to live. I like the fresh air."

East of Broadway: So close to the Harlem River and the Bronx you can touch it, east of Broadway has become a hotbed of Latino life. On Vermilyea and Sherman Aves., people hang out on corners and greet each other with hugs. An empty bottle of Alizea littered a sidewalk near a street painting of Central and South American flags surrounding an American flag.

People kind of look at us like we're the other side of the tracks," says Delores Feliz, a filmmaker and 20-year resident of the neighborhood. Lately all these hipsters with trucker hats have come here from Williamsburg. We're like the new East Village.

Broker Shell agrees: East of Broadway is a very up-and-coming neighborhood with restaurants and bars," he says. "The low rents are the big draw.

One-bedroom apartments in rent-stabilized buildings start at $1,000. Two bedrooms rent for $1,500. Some rentals are directly from the landlord, eliminating a broker fee.

This isn't midtown," says Cory Malbica, who was talking to Feliz on the corner. The neighborhood is full of young kids and people who care for each other."

The runner's club: Three years ago, Inwood was rattled by the unsolved murder of Sarah Fox, a Juilliard student strangled while jogging in the 196-plus acre Inwood Hill Park. Filled with rolling hills and paths leading to views of the Hudson River, the park was a popular destination for joggers, bikers and couples taking early evening walks. Shortly after the murder, at a local town meeting, Tamara Ewoldt called together runners concerned about safety.

Ewoldt's group soon became the Inwood Runner's Club. Numbering almost 20 people, the group meets for jogs on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. at the entrance of the park at Isham St. and Seaman Ave. "The parks make this neighborhood," says Ewoldt. "None of us want to lose that."

Last year, there was one homicide in Inwood, down from three or four annually. In the 1980s, the area was known for drug trafficking with homicides averaging 30 or so each year. While the smell of fresh marijuana still comes from certain corners, violent times have passed.

The fight for affordable housing: When State Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat arrived at his Inwood office, 85% to 90% of the people waiting were experiencing eviction-related problems. Espaillat, the first Dominican-born elected to the New York State Assembly, decided to do something about it.

Espaillat formed Project Remain/Nos Quedamos, a political group dedicated to keeping tenants in the neighborhood and preserving affordable housing in the area. The group raises money for tenants who have to go to housing court and monitors real-estate developments that do not incorporate an affordable housing component.

Landlords here have raised rents by doing capital improvements on apartments and ignoring repairs hoping to push people out," says Espaillat, who lives on 215th St. in Inwood. "Once rents hit $1,500, these hardworking people can buy a house with a backyard in popular Dominican towns like Providence, R.I., or Allentown, Pa. We need to keep people here to maintain the strong local character of this neighborhood.

Espaillat ran a town meeting I wandered into last Thursday night. His attentive staff took the contact details of the people who raised each issue.

Schools: P.S. 314 and P.S. 98 educate the bulk of Inwood's elementary school-age residents. P.S. 314 uses a progressive curriculum. Admission is by lottery. The area also has several Catholic schools attended by the Latino population. The Good Shepherd, on Isham St., has been serving neighborhood children for more than 50 years.

Getting there: Take the A train to the end of the line at 207th St. and Broadway or Dyckman St. and Broadway. During rush hour, the A from 34th St./Penn Station to 207th St. took 33 minutes. The No. 1 local also stops in Inwood at 207th and 215th Sts. and 10th Ave. By car, the neighborhood is accessible by driving up Broadway or via the Henry Hudson Parkway or Major Deegan Expressway. The bridge to the Bronx is at 204th St and Ninth Ave. Car service from 207th St. to 14th St. and Ninth Ave. costs $20. Yankee Stadium is a 10-minute drive.