Ooompa oompa ooompity doomp.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (oh I wish it were the original!) playing in J Hood Wright Park this Friday!

Movie Night in J. Hood Wright Park

Fort Washington Avenue and 174th Street

Come on out for an evening of family fun on the lawn of J. Hood Wright Park, Friday July 31st at 8:30 p.m. Watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, with your friends and neighbors under the stars! Bring a blanket.

Rain cancels.

Neighborhood Parks Calendar

An update of all of the fitness and other interesting programs going on in the parks nearby- all FREE!! Now until August 5th, mark your calendars!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park
7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Free Tai Chi Lessons
6:30 a.m.–7:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events, Education
Cost: Free

Sidney Horenstein's The Trails of Fort Tryon Park
6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

Sunset Yoga
6:45 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Inwood Shakespeare Festival: Dracula
7:30 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Inwood Astronomy Programs
8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Education, Kids, Nature
Cost: Free

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park
7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Inwood Shakespeare Festival: Dracula
7:30 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Joan of Arc Presented by Gorilla Rep
8:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Friday, July 31, 2009

Inwood Shakespeare Festival: Dracula
7:30 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Joan of Arc Presented by Gorilla Rep
8:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Mike Feller's Inwood Hill Park Nature Walks
8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park
8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Early Morning Fishing
9:00 a.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Education, Kids, Nature
Cost: Free

Ethno-Botany
12:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Cultural, Education, Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

Inwood Shakespeare Festival: Dracula
7:30 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Joan of Arc Presented by Gorilla Rep
8:00 p.m.
Gorilla Rep will begin another summer of the finest quality of free theatre in the park…
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Inwood Astronomy Programs
8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Education, Kids, Nature
Cost: Free

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Garden Walking Tours in Fort Tryon Park
1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

Algonquin Adventure
1:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Cultural, Education, Tours
Cost: Free

Highbridge Photography
1:00 p.m.
Location: Highbridge Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Education, Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

A Concert Celebrating Stan Michels
1:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Joan of Arc Presented by Gorilla Rep
8:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural
Cost: Free

Monday, August 3, 2009

Free Sunset Qi Gong Classes
6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events, Education
Cost: Free

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park
7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Free Tai Chi Lessons
6:30 a.m.–7:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events, Education
Cost: Free

Dyckman Street Valley Exploration with Sidney Horenstein
5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park
Category: Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

Sunset Yoga
6:45 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Inwood Astronomy Programs
8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Education, Kids, Nature
Cost: Free

National Night Out against crime

Here are a few events around the area:

National Night Out, America's annual night out against crime.

Tuesday, August 4 - National Night Out at the following locations:

• 34^th Precinct - 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Wallenberg Playground on West 189th Street & Amsterdam Ave.
• 33^rd Precinct -1:00 - 6:00 p.m. at Wright Brothers Playground on West 156th Street & St. Nicholas Ave.

For more information about National Night Out, contact your NYPD precinct Community Affairs officer.

Healthy Living in Harlem

A new and healthy event is on the horizon in nearby Harlem. THe New York Road Runners have been working hard to encourage children and adults all over the city to become more active and are focusing a lot of their efforts in Harlem where they feel their help is needed the most. An event coming up 0n August 22nd is the culmination of a lot of hard work and will hopefully become an annual community event!

Help spread the word about “Healthy Eating & Living” in Upper Manhattan. New York Road Runners, in partnership with HARLEM WEEK and The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce’s Healthy Eating and Healthy Living Initiative, is pleased to offer several special opportunities to those in Upper Manhattan to get fitter and healthier this summer.

Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run and
NYC Family Health Walk-A-Thon

Saturday, August 22. Open to people of all ages and abilities, these events are part of HARLEM WEEK’S 35th anniversary.

“Relieve the Stress” Sessions

Prepare to walk two miles or run 3.1 miles, or just enjoy an hour or two of stress-relieving activity with other health-minded people at four relaxing yet invigorating weekend group sessions: July 26, August 1, August 8, and August 15. The activities are free, and there is no pre-registration.

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NYRR membership fees, race entry fees, and donations support NYRR running programs for nearly 100,000 kids per week, including 6,500 in Harlem. Learn more about NYRR. For more about The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, visit www.Harlemdiscover.com.

NYC Triathlon

Today was the big day for lots of city athletes, the 9th annual NYC Triathlon. It's an Olympic distance Tri which means its a 1500m swim (nearly a mile), 40K bike and a 10K run. Whew. I was a volunteer on the early, early shift- 4am to 9am handing out timing chips and making sure they put them in the right place (ankle). It was brutal getting there at 3:45 but I had a great time and met some really great people. As a volunteer you get guaranteed entry to next year's race which is a big deal because the race usually sells out in under 10 seconds once online reg opens! Insane. Anyhow since chip distribution was located right along the rivers edge, I got some great shots and had a front row "seat" to the swimming portion. It was intense and somewhat gross (we saw the trash floating around early in the morning after a few minutes of rain) but definitely inspiring. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day, gotta love old George posing upriver. Check out my flickr page for more.

Swim.Bike.Run.

Congrats to everyone who gave it their all today. It was really inspiring.

A delicious website

A few weeks ago I entered the weekly drawing on a running site I frequent called Runners Lounge. They do a weekly giveaway and they were having people create their own granola mixes on a new site called MixMyGranola and submit them. I picked all of the things I like the most in granola (berries, bananas, walnuts, etc) and gave it a clever name and I won! Well I won a $20 gift card to the site and I just received my granola this week- its DELICIOUS!! I ordered a berry mix for the fiancee and a French Vanilla granola mix with Vita Cherry powder and lots of yummy berries, bananas, walnuts and pumpkin seeds for me. Yum, yum, yum. I just wanted to share because I know I get sick of eating the same things all the time and this is a fun way to change things up and get exactly what you want. They even give you the nutritional value of your mix as you add each ingredient. It helped me stay away from adding the candy :) Enjoy.

Have a wonderful weekend, and GOOD LUCK if you're doing the NYC Triathlon tomorrow! I'll be out there as a volunteer writing race numbers on everyone's hot bods and handing out the timing chips. A friend of mine is doing the race so he got me into volunteering for it and now I'll have guaranteed entry for next year (if I can stand to get into the Hudson).

*NYC Tri photo from dougandem.wordpress.com

Happy Friday

Happy Friday Northern Manhattan!

Had to share this fantastic picture my cousin took on tour in Afghanistan.

Its a different Afghanistan than we think of or hear about on the news...

A response to my letter about Bennett Park

I recently wrote to the Parks Commissioner about the conditions in Bennett Park. Here is the response I received today from Jennifer Hoppa regarding the lack of water and facilities at Bennett Park since November. I'm not entirely satisfied since it has been 9 months with no signs of any action or any explanation posted at the park site, but things move slowly in the city that moves a million miles a minute. I must say that I never experienced problems with the water fountain pressure there before, in fact I thought they were some of the better, more powerful fountains around!

Thank you for your e-mail regarding conditions in Bennett Park. Commissioner Benepe requested that I respond to you directly.

As you point out in your e-mail, the water service has been broken in Bennett Park for several months. New York City Parks & Recreation has been working since November to identify the extent of water line and water main issues at the site, to develop a construction bid package for those repairs, and to secure a contractor to execute those repairs.

Parks & Recreation had been experiencing difficulties with the water line and water pressure at the site for the last few seasons, particularly in the summer. In November, the service broken down. During the course of December and January, the Parks Department plumbers attempted to repair the service, but the damage was too extensive. Pressure tests showed only 12 PSI at the water main in the area. Our plumbers then coordinated a full site assessment of the street mains with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which were found to be in good repair. In March and April, the plumbers proceeded to develop a construction bid package and secured DEP approval of the drawings for the water main repair and the possible relocation of the main tap. In May and June, bids were solicited for the repairs and site meetings were held with contractors to install an entire new water main to the street and to isolate the one one.

More recently, an approved contractor was successfully engaged and is currently securing the required permits from the Department of Environmental Protection for the water line repairs and potentially any related permits from the Department of Transportation for construction staging on the sidewalks and streets. The contractor is expected to begin work once work permits and insurance requirements are met, likely in the next few weeks. The construction duration is anticipated to take roughly two months but potentially could be sooner.

The portable toilets were provided so that bathrooms would be available on site. They will be removed as soon as the water service is repaired. In the meantime, we will work with the contractor to get them to provide cleaning services with greater frequency and our staff will work to supplement what the contractor provides.

Should you wish to discuss this or any other park issue further, please do not hesitate to contact me at 212.795.1388x300 or via e-mail at jennifer.hoppa@parks.nyc.gov

Also, please note that we'll be doing a separate capital project in Bennett Park which is intended to exhance the play value of various spaces, address the lawn as well as the seating and ADA access at the restrooms.

Thank you again for taking the time to write and for your partnership in making Bennett Park its best.

Sincerely,

Jennifer M. Hoppa
Jennifer M. Hoppa
Administrator
Northern Manhattan Parks
NYC Parks & Recreation
Fort Tryon Park Cottage
741 Fort Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10040
T: 212-795-1388 X 300
C: 347-865-5399
F: 212-543-1020
www.forttryonparktrust.org

Google Wave

Forget email, forget twitter, welcome to Google Wave. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but it seems like Google is taking us forward again in the near future.

Inwood Hill Park gets rave reviews!

It looks like the word is out about our beloved Inwood Hill Park! I got an email from YELP! today with reviews of parks around the city. I was happy to see IHP mentioned in the first few paragraphs of the email... of course I'm torn because I'm afraid the word will get around and EVERYONE will be up visiting our sanctuary :)

Also receiving rave reviews, Fort Tryon Park and Riverside Park, though no one really mentions areas in Riverside this far north...they're probably scared of the hills.

Super busy start to the week after being away all weekend soakin up the NJ sun. I'm in the midst of becoming a certified SCUBA open water diver, and the late night classes are taking a toll. I'm not a late night kind of girl and class doesn't end until 11:30pm down at 43rd St. Needless to say with the shuttle bus crap I'm taking cabs home... there goes the discount on the class I got for being a member at the pool where we practice!

Governor's Island- a new runners paradise?

*Image from govisland.com

I've seen the ads on the subway for Governor's Island, but as a Northern Manhattanite I just haven't made the trip down there yet. I've been reading about the free bike rentals on Friday afternoons and I am just waiting for that Friday off with nothing else to do (right..) but here's a run article by Brian Fieldman about his adventure run on G.I. It sounds like fun! I remember my first run all the way around Manhattan last year when I was training for the NYC Marathon and how exciting it was as I curled around the bottom of the island and caught glimpses of Lady Liberty, followed by the great bridges and on and on.. it certainly kept things exciting, at least until I hit that wasteland we call the East Side. zzzz.

Well it's a beach weekend for me, catch ya next week! Have a great weekend!

Making lunch a little greener

A friend of mine showed up at work with a little colorful bag that almost looked like a change purse or wallet and reached in and came out with a cracker and some nuts! I was expecting $$ or a receipt, but it turns out the bag is a "Snack Taxi"- a reusable bag to replace plastic baggies used for snacks. I LOVE it. She directed me to a great website for all of your green carrying needs!

Reusable Bags has everything you could imagine. Forget those thin crappy bags for produce (which I skip anyway except when buying lettuce or green beans or other small/wet things), they have light canvas ones! I love it all. I have plenty of the large reusable bags (don't we all?) but I was happy to see so many other fun options for eliminating plastic bag waste.

("Another annoying happy face bag" photo by Vincent Cobb)

Good Morning

Good Morning Washington Heights/Inwood! Happy Hump Day.

Bennett Park Facilities

A month or two ago I stopped in Bennett Park (located between 183rd and 185th streets along Fort Washington Ave) for a quick drink while out for a run and I was disappointed to find that the water fountains were off. It was especially surprising because it was during one of the really warm days last month and the park was full of kids. I thought "hmm they must be doing some work or something" and it slipped my mind until I made another stop yesterday and found that they were STILL off. Not only are the fountains in this busy park off, but I noticed a sign that the bathrooms have been closed since November! The sign (see the picture below) mentions that kids are using the park as their bathroom instead (oh parents, why?) which is of course unacceptable and unsanitary. The sign on the bathroom door mentions something about maintenance, but offers no end point or contact person. I didn't take a picture because its creepy when an adult enters a playground with a camera and no child of her own. :0)

Anyhow, I noticed that there were port-o-potties placed on the other side of the park and snapped a picture from across the sidewalk, but didn't dare get any closer because of the stench and the flies. Wow, this is a serious problem.

The parks dept last inspection was April 30th and it was deemed "Acceptable" but nowhere is there mention of the lack of facilities, fountains and handwashing sinks!

If you live and play in the area, please call 311 and report this issue ASAP. I submitted a

complaint to the parks commissioner and 311 and will keep on this! Til then... pack some water and plan on a trip to Starbucks to pee if you don't live close enough to run home.

yuck.

Weary

Note to self: Carry camera more often when wandering the hood. I always have my blackberry which has an okay camera (the pictures of the talk show filming were with the 'berry), but I see fun stuff all of the time that I need my real camera in order to fully capture. The problem is that most of my adventures in the hood are while running and I definitely don't carry it then! I'll try to get better at it when I'm wandering around at slower speeds.

The cats are snoring and I'm zonked from a run down the greenway to 145th to use the track at Riverbank State Park for a workout and then running home back along the greenway to my cozy abode. I don't have the mental capacity to figure out how far I ran, but any run that ends with me scrambling up those hills from the GWB to home is a tough one. Definitely time for bed!

Just a little picture from the hood from a day that I actually remembered my camera. It was taken along Fort Washington Ave around 190th St.

Attention WaHI and Inwood Runners!

No more trekking down to Central Park for group runs!! Did you know that there is actually a running group right here in Inwood? The Inwood Hill Running Club has been around for many years, ever since a runner was killed in Inwood Hill Park in 2004.

We meet twice a week for group runs on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings all year round. Thursdays we run a hilly 4 mile loop around the hood and Saturdays we run anywhere from 6-9 miles either along the greenway to Riverbank State park and back, or up to Riverdale for a partial trail run or anywhere else when we're in the mood. We've even taken Fairway trips, ending our runs at the 135th Fairway and doing a little grocery shopping!

We average at a pace of around 8-9 min per mile and are always looking for new faces. We meet at the Isham St entrance to Inwood Hill Park, Thursday at 6:30pm and Saturday at 9am. Hope to see you there!

Photo from nycgovparks.org

Spanish Talk Show on Riverside/Broadway

What were they filming this afternoon at the corner of Broadway, Dyckman and Riverside??? I couldn't quite figure out what the heck was actually going on. There was what looked like a TV talk show set right by the subway station entrance at the corner of Riverside and Dyckman and Broadway. It was hard to hear what they were discussing but it was definitely in Spanish. There was a very odd looking "waitress" waiting on the side with a tray of espresso. She was more than likely a man at an earlier point in her life and had a very striking appearance. We didn't wait around too long, but it was definitely an odd sight to see the chairs and coffee table all set up on a little mat of turf on the sidewalk with the cars going by right next to them.

Fire Escape Etiquette

I enjoy a nice little box of flowers outside my window during the warmer months. I wish I could figure out how to rig up boxes from my living room and kitchen windows, but the ledge is slanted and I haven't found anything that I trust to hold the boxes from crashing down 3 stories. So, I'm stuck putting them outside the bedroom window on the fire escape. Its fine, they get good light and look pretty and aren't really in the way. My cats enjoy sunning themselves and looking out at my flowers (or so I like to think).

Other people, however prefer to put JUNK out on their fire escapes that not only poses a danger if there were an emergency, but is really a huge eyesore. Ugh, this neighbor has had a bag of who-knows-what on the fire escape for months and it's just awful to stare at while eating at my kitchen table or just glancing out the living room window. The guilty party lives in the next building and I don't know her so I'm not even sure how to go about asking someone to take care of it. What do I do? Anyhow, here are some pictures of the junk and some lovely flowers :)

Happy Saturday!

Sunset on the Hudson

After a quick trip to the grocery store I came out and noticed that the sun was heading down so I wandered over to Chittenden Ave at 187th and WOW! What a great sunset. I also took a shot of a charming little building with the greatest of old windows. These must have been all over the hood in the old days. They are the same type of windows found in Hudson View Gardenswhere all of the people have to put their AC's sideways to fit the skinny windows.

As I strolled around tonight in the cool, gorgeous evening I was reminded once again how much I love this area. And then I remembered I bought ice cream and it was still in my bag so I had to scurry home. Enjoy!

What a great view from this place! Chittenden Ave is really full of little gems.

Donuts in the 'hood?!

Could it be?? The long awaited opening of the Twin Donut Plus in Inwood on 218th and Broadway, which has been teasing me for years has finally opened its doors and its patio!! There was chatter last week about the "now hiring" sign in the window at The Streets Where We Live and BAM! today it opened its doors! I ran by tonight on my way up to Van Cortlandt Park for a speed workout. Too bad I didn't pass it on my way home....yum! It looked like the place was pretty busy considering its quiet opening. There were people out on the little fenced off patio area chatting and drinking coffee and nibbling on goodies.

I'm excited to try it out and give a review ASAP. The neon sign glows "OPEN 24 HRS" which is intriguing and tempting. Perhaps I'll make a morning run up that way and end with a delicious treat before hopping the train down a few stops to home. I've run with a number of things in my bag, but not a donut and/or coffee!

So it's official- Twin Donuts Plus is open for business! Review coming soon!

*Photo taken from the official, but not entirely functioning website of Twin Donut.