Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the
northern part of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It is the northernmost part of the West Harlem area, along with
Manhattanville
Manhattanville (also known as West Harlem or West Central Harlem) is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan bordered on the north by 135th Street; on the south by 122nd and 125th Streets; on the west by Hudson River; and ...
and
Morningside Heights
Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside ...
to its south, and it contains the sub-neighborhood and historic district of
Sugar Hill.
Washington Heights lies to Hamilton Heights' north, and to its east is
Central Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harle ...
.
Hamilton Heights is bounded by 135th Street to the south,
Riverside Drive to the west,
155th Street to the north, and Edgecombe Avenue and
Saint Nicholas Avenue to the east. The community derives its name from Founding Father
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charle ...
, who lived the last two years of his life in what is now the
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Hamilton Grange National Memorial, also known as The Grange or the Hamilton Grange Mansion, is a National Park Service site in St. Nicholas Park, Manhattan, New York City, that preserves the relocated home of U.S. Founding Father Alexander Ham ...
, back when Upper Manhattan was mostly farmland.
Hamilton Heights is part of
Manhattan Community District 9, and its primary
ZIP Codes are 10031, 10032, and 10039.
It is patrolled by the 30th Precinct of the
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...
.
Demographics
Based on data from the
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...
, the population of Hamilton Heights was 48,520, a decrease of 2,035 (4.0%) from the 50,555 counted in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .
[Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010]
Population Division - New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 10.9% (5,287)
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 32.2% (15,646)
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.2% (119)
Native American, 2.2% (1,067)
Asian, 0.0% (15)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.4% (178) from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.8% (884) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 52.2% (25,324) of the population.
[Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010]
Population Division - New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
The most significant changes in the racial composition of Hamilton Heights from 2000 to 2010 were the increase in the White population by 231% (3,691) and the decrease in the Black population by 26% (5,366). The Hispanic / Latino population also decreased by 2% (648) but remained the majority. Meanwhile, the Asian population increased by 90% (506) but remained a small minority, and the small population of all other races decreased by 15% (218).
The entirety of Community District 9, which consists of Hamilton Heights,
Manhattanville
Manhattanville (also known as West Harlem or West Central Harlem) is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan bordered on the north by 135th Street; on the south by 122nd and 125th Streets; on the west by Hudson River; and ...
, and
Morningside Heights
Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside ...
, had 111,287 inhabitants as of
NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 81.4 years.
This is about the same as the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.
Most residents are children and middle-aged adults: 34% are between the ages of 25–44, while 21% are between 45 and 64, and 17% are between 0–17. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 16% and 12% respectively.
As of 2017, the median
household income
Household income is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamp ...
in Community District 9 was $50,048,
though the median income in Hamilton Heights individually was $43,673.
In 2018, an estimated 24% of Community District 9 residents lived in
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse , compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were
unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 51% in Community District 9, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Community District 9 is considered to be
gentrifying: according to the Community Health Profile, the district was low-income in 1990 and has seen above-median rent growth up to 2010.
Housing and diversity
![Hamilton Heights](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Hamilton_Heights.jpg)
Most of the housing dates from the extension of the elevated and subway lines at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century.
This fairly elegant housing became less desirable to white residents in the 1930s and 1940s as the population changed from white to black, even though the black residents were just as affluent as the white residents.
There are spacious apartment buildings,
brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material.
Type ...
s and other
row houses prominently lining the leafy eastern streets of Hamilton Heights, an area traditionally home to a substantial black professional class. The brownstone revival of the 1960s and 1970s led to a new movement of middle-class blacks in the area.
Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...
arrived in large numbers in the 1980s, with
Dominicans making up the majority.
Today the local population is changing again, with Hispanics constituting a majority of the population followed by
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s,
West Indians
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use i ...
and
Whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
.
Gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...
since 2005 has dramatically increased the proportion of non-Hispanic whites. Many actors, artists, teachers, and other professionals now reside in Hamilton Heights.
[NYT on Hamilton Heights](_blank)
/ref>
After the Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
, especially after the 1940s, many Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
, Russian White émigré
White Russian émigrés were Russians who emigrated from the territory of the former Russian Empire in the wake of the Russian Revolution (1917) and Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and who were in opposition to the revolutionary Bolshevik commun ...
, and Polish found their way to New York City. Hamilton Heights had a very heavy population of Eastern European heritage, with a predominantly large amount of Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
living in this immediate area. There were a couple of Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
Churches erected, Russian book stores, bakeries, grocery and delicatessen stores, with theatres all along Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
. The house on the corner of Broadway and W. 141st Street was known as the "Russian House" (Русский Дом) and a Russian library was on the other corner. During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, a lot of these Russians began to move out to suburban areas of New York and New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
. The only remaining landmark of this era is the Holy Fathers Russian Orthodox Church Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
, located on 524 W. 153rd Street, with some notable Russian Americans
Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...
buried at the bordering Trinity Cemetery.
Notable sites
Hamilton Heights is the home of City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
(CCNY), Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...
, The Harlem School of the Arts and Aaron Davis Hall
Aaron Davis Hall is a performing arts center in Manhattan, New York City in the neighborhood of Harlem.
Aaron Davis Hall was founded in 1979 and is located on the campus of the City College of New York, between West 133rd and 135th Streets on Con ...
.
Historic Hamilton Heights comprises the Hamilton Heights Historic District
The Hamilton Heights Historic District is a national Historic district (United States), historic district in Hamilton Heights, New York City, New York, New York. It consists of 192 contributing residential Terraced house, rowhouses, apartment b ...
and the Hamilton Heights/ Sugar Hill Historic District Extension, both designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
. One of the highest hills in Hamilton Heights slopes up from the Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
at 155th Street, and contains the Trinity Cemetery. Many individual buildings in the district are also landmarked, including Shepard Hall on the CCNY campus, and the building that once housed The High School of Music & Art
The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art" (or "M&A"), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High ...
.
The Audubon Mural Project paints the neighborhood with images of the birds depicted by John James Audubon
John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictori ...
in his early 19th century folio The Birds of America
''The Birds of America'' is a book by naturalist and painter John James Audubon, containing illustrations of a wide variety of birds of the United States. It was first published as a series in sections between 1827 and 1838, in Edinburgh an ...
.
Parks
The neighborhood offers several parks, including the Riverbank State Park, embedded in Riverside Park, which runs along the Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
west of Hamilton Heights. Other parks in the neighborhood include Jackie Robinson Park
Jackie Robinson Park (formerly Colonial Park) is a public park in the Hamilton Heights and Harlem neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. The approximately park is bounded by Bradhurst Avenue to the east, 155th Street to the north, Edge ...
, St. Nicholas Park, and smaller sites such as Johnny Hartman Square, Carmansville Playground, and William A. Harris Garden.
Police and crime
Hamilton Heights is served mostly by the 30th Precinct of the NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
, located at 451 West 151st Street, although the City College area south of 141st Street and east of Amsterdam Avenue is actually served by the 26th Precinct. The 30th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 78.0% between 1990 and 2019. The precinct reported 4 murders, 20 rapes, 190 robberies, 178 felony assaults, 69 burglaries, 289 grand larcenies, and 27 grand larcenies auto in 2019. Of the five major violent felonies (murder, rape, felony assault, robbery, and burglary), the 30th Precinct had a rate of 760 crimes per 100,000 residents in 2019, compared to the boroughwide average of 632 crimes per 100,000 and the citywide average of 572 crimes per 100,000.
, Manhattan Community District 9 has a non-fatal assault hospitalization rate of 57 per 100,000 people, compared to the boroughwide rate of 49 per 100,000 and the citywide rate of 59 per 100,000. Its incarceration rate is 633 per 100,000 people, compared to the boroughwide rate of 407 per 100,000 and the citywide rate of 425 per 100,000.
In 2019, the highest concentrations of felony assaults in Hamilton Heights were near the intersection of 135th Street and Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, where there were 10 felony assaults, and near the intersection of 145th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, where there were 11. The highest concentrations of robberies were nearby, around the intersection of 137th Street and Broadway, where there were 11 robberies, and around the intersection of 145th Street and Broadway, where there were 14.
Fire safety
Hamilton Heights is served by the New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
(FDNY)'s Engine Co. 80/Ladder Co. 23, located at 503 West 139th Street.
Health
Preterm and teenage
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
births in Community District 9 are lower than the city average. In Community District 9, there were 82 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 10.9 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Community District 9 has a low population of residents who are uninsured
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to Hedge ( ...
. In 2018, this population was estimated to be 11%, slightly less than the citywide rate of 12%.
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...
, in Community District 9 is , more than the city average. Seventeen percent of Community District 9 residents are smokers, which is more than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Community District 9, 21% of residents are obese
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...
, 10% are diabetic
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
, and 29% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 25% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.
Eighty-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is about the same as the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 83% of residents described their health as "good," "very good," or "excellent," more than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Community District 9, there are 11 bodegas.
The nearest hospital is the Harlem Hospital Center
Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887.
The hosp ...
, located in Central Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Har ...
.
Post offices and ZIP Codes
Hamilton Heights is located in multiple ZIP Codes. Most of the neighborhood is in 10031; however, the area north of 153rd Street is in 10032, and the Polo Grounds Towers
Coogan's Bluff is a promontory near the western shore of the Harlem River in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. Its boundaries extend approximately from 155th Street and the Macombs Dam Bridge viaduct t ...
are in 10039. The United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
operates two post offices in or near Hamilton Heights:
* Hamilton Grange Station Post Office – 521 West 146th Street
* College Station Post Office - 217 West 140th Street
* Fort Washington Post Office – 556 West 158th Street
Education
Community District 9 has a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . A plurality of residents age 25 and older (49%) have a college education or higher, while 21% have less than a high school education and 30% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 64% of Manhattan residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of students in Community District 9 excelling in math rose from 25% in 2000 to 49% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 32% to 35% during the same time period.
Community District 9's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is higher than the rest of New York City. In the 2016–2017 school year, 27% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...
, more than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 65% of high school students in Community District 9 graduate on time, less than the citywide average of 75%.
Schools
The New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...
operates the following public elementary and middle schools in Hamilton Heights as part of Community School District 5:
* Hamilton Heights School (grades K–5)
* New Design Middle School (grades 6–8)
* PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell (grades PK–5)
* PS 192 Jacob H Schiff (grades PK–5)
* PS/IS 210 21st Century Academy For Community Leaders (grades PK–8)
The following public high schools are also located in Hamilton Heights, serving grades 9–12:
* A. Philip Randolph Campus High School
The A. Philip Randolph Campus High School is a four-year state school, public secondary education in the United States, high school in New York City. It is located in Harlem, adjacent to the City College of New York. It occupies a landmark buil ...
* High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College
The High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College (often abbreviated to High School for Math, Science and Engineering, HSMSE, or HSMSE @ CCNY) is one of the twelve public specialized high schools in New York City, United States. ...
– a specialized high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
Higher education
The City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, of the City University of New York system, is located in Hamilton Heights.
Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates the Hamilton Grange branch at 503 West 145th Street. It is named after "founding father" Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charle ...
, who lived at Hamilton Grange
Hamilton Grange National Memorial, also known as The Grange or the Hamilton Grange Mansion, is a National Park Service site in St. Nicholas Park, Manhattan, New York City, that preserves the relocated home of U.S. Founding Father Alexander Hamil ...
. The branch, a Carnegie library, opened in 1907 and was renovated in 1975; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
Transportation
The New York City Subway's IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (also known as the IRT Seventh Avenue Line or the IRT West Side Line) is a New York City Subway line. It is one of several lines that serves the A Division, stretching from South Ferry in Lower Manhatta ...
stops in Hamilton Heights at the 137th Street–City College and 145th Street stations (). The IND Eighth Avenue Line
The IND Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway. Opened in 1932, it was the first line of the Independent Subway System (IND), and the ''Eighth Avenu ...
runs under St. Nicholas Avenue, providing service at 135th Street (), 145th Street () and 155th Street (). The IND Concourse Line
The Concourse Line is an IND rapid transit line of the New York City Subway system. It runs from 205th Street in Norwood, Bronx, primarily under the Grand Concourse, to 145th Street in Harlem, Manhattan. It is the only B Division line, and a ...
branches off north of the 145th Street station, and runs under Saint Nicholas Place to serve 155th Street ().
The MTA Regional Bus Operations
MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...
' buses serve the area.
Notable people
* Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
(1904–1984), musician
* Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
(born 1927), singer
* Diahann Carroll (1935–2019), singer, actress
* Duke Ellington (1899–1974), musician
* Ralph Ellison
Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel '' Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote ''Shadow and Act'' (1964), a collec ...
(1913–1994), author[Jordan, Adrienne]
"A guide to local favorites in Hamilton Heights Manhattan"
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. Accessed December 16, 2020. "The brownstones in Hamilton Heights once housed famous creatives like Ralph Ellison, Lena Horne and George Gershwin."
* Álvaro Enrigue (born 1969), writer
* ASAP Ferg (born 1988), rapper
* George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
(1898–1937), composer[
* ]Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charle ...
(1755–1804), former Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
* Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I (8 May 18461 August 1919) was a German-born businessman, theater impresario, and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America. He was ...
(1846–1919), composer
* Lena Horne (1917–2010), singer[
* ]Valeria Luiselli
Valeria Luiselli (born August 16, 1983) is a Mexican author living in the United States. She is the author of the book of essays ''Sidewalks'' and the novel '' Faces in the Crowd'', which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First F ...
(born 1983), author
* Yoselyn Ortega – Dominican-born American nanny convicted of stabbing to death children Lucia and Leo Krim in 2012.
* Beverly Peer
Beverly Peer (October 7, 1912 – January 16, 1997) was an American jazz double-bassist.
Peer played piano professionally early in his career before switching to bass. He worked with Chick Webb from 1936 to 1939 and continued to play in the orche ...
(1912–1997), jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
double-bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
ist.[Holden, Stephen]
"Beverly Peer, 84, Bass Player Who Accompanied Bobby Short"
January 27, 1997. Accessed December 6, 2020. "Mr. Peer grew up on West 137th Street in Hamilton Heights and studied piano, then as a teen-ager switched to the bass violin."
* Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
(1894–1978), artist
* Juelz Santana
LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 si ...
(born 1982), musician
* Nicholas Teliatnikow (1909–1970), photojournalist, photographer
* Malcolm X
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...
(1925–1965), civil rights activist
See also
* Irish Americans in New York City
The Irish community is one of New York City's major and important ethnic groups, and has been a significant proportion of the city's population since the waves of immigration in the late 19th century.
As a result of the Great Famine in Ireland ...
* Russian Americans in New York City
New York City is home to the largest Russian population and Russian-speaking population in the Western Hemisphere. The largest Russian-American communities in New York City are located in Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. Brighton ...
References
External links
NYC's Guide to Hamilton Heights Pamphlet
Forgotten NY Forgotten New York is a website created by Kevin Walsh in 1999, chronicling the unnoticed and unchronicled aspects of New York City such as painted building ads, decades-old castiron lampposts, 18th-century houses, abandoned subway stations, trolley ...
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{{Manhattan
{{Harlem
{{Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Neighborhoods in Manhattan
Russian communities in the United States
Russian-American culture in New York City
Harlem