There are some great photos of 2 Sylvan Terrace which was one of the houses for sale in Washington Heights that we have looked at in the past. The article reveals that the owner went around Harlem to collect old doors from dumpsters to install in her landmark home purchased in 2003. Another point of interest is that Sylvan Terrace's mews also got some screen time when HBO's new series Boardwalk Empire recently filmed some scenes on this block at 160th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. See more of the well designed interior in the WSJ:
LINK. For more details on what the house is going for, see our past post:
LINK
There are some great photos of 2 Sylvan Terrace which was one of the houses for sale in Washington Heights that we have looked at in the past. The article reveals that the owner went around Harlem to collect old doors from dumpsters to install in her landmark home purchased in 2003. Another point of interest is that Sylvan Terrace's mews also got some screen time when HBO's new series Boardwalk Empire recently filmed some scenes on this block at 160th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. See more of the well designed interior in the WSJ: LINK. For more details on what the house is going for, see our past post: LINK
Beautiful row of houses, but in the middle of nowhere.
ReplyDelete? The middle of nowhere? Really? Hm. Comments such as these always perplex me... but what do I know, I live in "the middle of nowhere"-- Harlem, NYC.
ReplyDelete"Middle of nowhere" acknowledges the fact that there is a veritable dearth of neighborhood amenities in this area.
ReplyDeleteI think you need to acknowledge that the "fact" is you are referring to specific types of amenities when you write things like this and that there is a degree of subjectivity to your statement. There is an entire community of folks living here, so surely there are amenities, no? Taking that into account, it seems you are referencing the type of amenities that accompany gentrification and if that is so, then I agree it will seem that there is a "veritable dearth of neighborhood amenities" here. But yet there are places to shop, places to eat, places to get your prescriptions filled and your clothes cleaned that the residents of this neighborhood use every day. There is both a library and a bookstore around the corner, and a subway stop not two blocks away, not to mention the bus lines that run both Amsterdam and Broadway. I think it is problematic to make generalizations that discount the lifestyle and resources of an area like the one that surrounds Sylvan Terrace.
ReplyDeleteThank You, Lauren, you hit the nail right on the head!
ReplyDeleteThe newer residents, especially those not from New York, tend to be the most PC and defensive, I have noticed.
ReplyDeleteI know the Sylvan Terrace area well. I have a relative who lives there. She frequently comments on the lack of amenities, also a difficulty above City College, a truly beautiful area but few amenities.
By the way, the Sylvan Terrace area has commonly been considered Washington Heights, not Harlem.
Lifelong New Yorker, for the record. I think it's a shame that you feel the need to relegate my response to what is a not very well thought out or informed comment to the realm of "PC and defensive." And again, your relative likely has her own ideas about what qualify as "amenities." I was simply suggesting that to write off a location as not having amenities runs the risk of overlooking the neighborhood as it is, rather than how some might wish it to be.
ReplyDeleteThe house is singularly unique & an open canvas for anyone who appreciates history. My children and I have not felt it lacks services. We have been grateful that the local hardware store, pharmacy & grocery store know us by name. New York can be so ubiquitous but this feels like a community and a neighborhood. For me it's been a calm haven with parks, the mansion, the vista that Coogan's bluff affords, the accessibility to Yankee Stadium & the pure natural beauty. Idealistically, it is a rich connection to the spirit of past and the diversity that I always felt defined the spirit of assimilating--being a New Yorker.
ReplyDelete