Farther Upper on the West Side of Manhattan lies Upper Manhattan, Sugar Hill, Washington Heights, Hudson Heights, Fort George, and finally, Inwood, before reaching the Spuyten Duyvil Creek (Harlem River) separating these far reaches of Manhattan from The Bronx.
Each of these neighborhoods is unique in its own way, but are all proud of their distinction from the rest of the island beneath them. My own part of the City was called "The Heights" by locals, and in the years I called it home, my friends and neighborhood kids defended it against all comers who wanted some of our good life. If you have seen and fallen in love with West Side Story, you know what I'm talking about. Blood was spilled in Morris Park on more than one occasion when we found trespassers invading our space.
It wasn't pretty.
We eventually realized we couldn't fight everybody, and made agreements with the kids from the north (Hudson Heights and Inwood) that guaranteed safe passage through the Heights for them, and though their territory for us, but heaven help those guys from Sugar Hill and south who ventured north passed 155th Street. There was hell to pay.
We got invited to some Inwood parties, and we reciprocated by welcoming them to ours on 173 Street. We mixed well and some of us fell in love and intermarried, making for alliances just like in the Old World. Guys we discovered in our units in Nam were like brothers and we looked out for each other as much as we could. Sadly, some left their blood and glory in those rice paddies, and when we came home we honored their valor together.
These days those tales seem antiquated and out of touch with today's realities. Still, I suspect that in those alleys and basements running up Fort Washington Avenue and far Broadway, kids are defending their turf, falling in love and going to war, the same way we did. They may have more high tech distractions, but at their core, they love their hoods just as much. read more