Most of the buildings here were built in the 1920s, so high ceilings, parquet hardwood floors, and decorative moldings are the norm for apartments here. Though Washington Heights was the epicenter of the New York City crack cocaine bazaar into the early 1990s, the area has been cleaned up substantially in recent years, and is mostly populated by working-class families now. The Heights is also the location of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, which houses Columbia University's medical, nursing, and public health schools as well as several of the university's biomedical research departments. I lived in the area for ten years during and after graduate school. Besides the immigrant population and the postgraduate students, the area is also home to a surprising number of artists, musicians, and others drawn by the cheap rents and comparatively large apartments.
Cheap rent comes at a price, though.
Since the area is poor, it gets the short end of the stick for most city services, including sanitation, transit, and, in the summer of 1999, electricity. Most of the locals also have an absurdly high tolerance for noise, from car alarms and the amplified ice cream truck to blaring merengue and salsa music. A few local business, though, specifically cater to the needs of those who feel out of place in this area. A funky, downtown-looking neighborhood bar and restaurant that I wish I had discovered sooner. This place looks as if it was lifted straight out of Soho and dropped into the Heights, with an appropriate price and attitude adjustment along the way.