Advice on area in Inwood, Manhattan

March 24, 2005 5:38 AM

Need quick advice! My girlfriend and I looked at an apartment last night on Sickles Street off Nagle Avenue, a few blocks below Dyckman street, in Inwood, Manhattan. We've been advised before to stay west of Broadway in Inwood. Can anyone comment on the area?

This is a little further down than other places we've seen in Inwood, so we're not sure to what extent the "west of Broad" advice applies. The only thing west of Broadway there is Fort Tryon Park. More streets surrounding the apartment are Thayer St, Arden St, Ellwood St, Sherman Ave, and Hillside Ave. To us, the area didn't seem all that bad (we currently live in garment district). What do you know that could help us decide if we should go for it? Thanks for any help.

posted by edlundart to home & garden (6 comments total)

Inwood's a safe neighborhood. My best friend used to live on Isham Street and we hung out all over the area. It's not Sutton Place, to be sure, but it's not East New York either. I'd go for it.
posted by jonmc at 6:47 AM on March 24, 2005

Be sure to have a beer at Keenan's to celebrate. Great Irish dive bar.
posted by jonmc at 6:50 AM on March 24, 2005

Cool! My mom grew up on Arden Street (forgive the semi-chat-filter). Good luck if you relocate, and as jon has helpfully pointed out, the area is quite decent these days...
posted by jalexei at 7:39 AM on March 24, 2005

i lived for two years on 192nd and broadway and then moved to ellwood & broadway for another two years. advantages: fort tryon park/the cloisters, close proximity to the A train, nice mix of jewish and dominican neighbors, you can still say you (technically) live in manhattan. disadvantage: you might as well be in upstate NY. (imo, fort tryon park is one of NYC's best kept secrets)
posted by modge at 2:19 PM on March 24, 2005

Thanks for the advice, folks. It looks like we're going to end up at another place, but we appreciate the help anyway.
posted by edlundart at 12:07 PM on March 25, 2005

disadvantage: you might as well be in upstate NY.

Eh, I always considered Inwood to be, spiritually speaking, the Bronx. (also, my grandpa lived on Dyckman Street as a kid before moving to Woodside.)
posted by jonmc at 7:08 PM on March 25, 2005