Gentrification in Washington Heights

“Washington Heights is my home,” says 65-year-old Washington Heights resident, Gloria Ramos says. “I want my neighborhood to hold its culture no matter the hardships.”

New York City is known for diversity and inclusivity— a melting pot of food, music, and culture. However, many New Yorkers are disheartened to see their city of inclusion being dominated by gentrification.

“My 30 plus years of living here (Washington Heights), I have never felt like an outsider,” says Jennifer Rodriguez. “My community is no longer feeling like my own.”

The Upper Manhattan neighborhood is divided into the west & east from 155th street on the south side to Inwood and Dyckman street on the north side.

The community is made up of majority Dominicans; they take large pride in their culture with food, music, art, and religions.

Washington Heights became a prominently Hispanic neighborhood in the 1960’s during the assassination of the Dominican Republic’s dictator, Rafael Trujillo— which led to 48,000 people migrating to New York City. Since then, many residents have noticed the neighborhood slowly begin to become gentrified.

“The west side (of Washington Heights) probably has the greatest concentration of co-ops, and some condos," said Greg Healy, the owner-broker of the Sovereign Associates real estate agency in the NY Times.

Many residents feel the neighborhood is becoming more luxury which pushes out low-income residents due to rent increases.

“The median price of the 182 properties sold in 2020 was $536,345, a drop of 1.7 percent from the 2019 median of $545,826 for 279 units sold, “Mr. Pulice said from the NY Times.

“This year, however, both sales volume and inventory are up.” According to data provided by Brown Harris Stevens: From January to May of 2021.

The statistic goes on to explain 117 homes sold, compared to 79 during the same period of 2020. With 181 new listings on the market during that time, compared to 83 during the pandemic. With the median sale price this year of $529,000 and in 2020 being $599,000.

When visiting the neighborhood, I came across a community event called “Uptown Cannabis Coalition.” The community event showcased different cannabis businesses and their overall goals and initiatives to educate the community on safe cannabis consumption.

The goal is to take back the stigma around cannabis primarily placed on Black and Hispanic people. Many of the attendees were eager to talk about the gentrification they have witnessed over the years.

I spoke with one of the founders, Carlene Pinto, of Latina Grows; a cannabis company founded by all Latina women.

Pinto’s family has lived in Inwood and Washington Heights, moving back and forth between 155th to 204th for three generations.

Pinto is a 35-year-old woman, who witnessed the injustices of cannabis against people of color in her neighborhood and wants to combat that with knowledge and awareness.

“There are pockets of social economics in some areas of our community.” Pinto says, “You have some areas that have been completely gentrified where the cost of living in those apartments have doubled.”

“A lot of pockets of our community you are seeing less diversity. That’s closer to Riverside, that’s Seaman Avenue. Any area by the park, we are watching those places go first.”

Pinto explains throughout the pandemic, many local businesses were lost due to the gentrification of chain companies coming in.

Pinto shares, a café in Washington Heights, Mamajuana on Dyckman Street, their rent increased to $27,000 a month.

It raises the question what the solutions to combat the massive amounts of gentrification that will continue to arise with these social economics that don’t uplift the middle and lower class.

Pinto talks about her personal experiences with gentrification. Every two years, she’s had to move due to rent increases.

During the pandemic, Pinto explains she was homeless for six months resulting in couch surfing. Pinto goes on to say that was her push to become an entrepreneur.

Previously, making $60,000 a year at an organization to now owning her own business and getting hired by the New York Civil Liberties Union making $130,000 a year that will start initiatives to receive funding for the community.

Walking the community, predominantly the locals of the neighborhood want to keep their culture alive and take back what is there’s.

Gentrification is a problem that the next generation can change, and it is up to young people to do so.

Residents of the community are becoming aware of the displacement housing issue are no longer going to stand to watch their neighborhood become oversaturated with new “trendy” restaurants and shops.

The organization, Urban Displacement explains understanding the displacement in the New York is critical to the housing crisis: rising rent burdens, homelessness, loss of rent-regulating housing and public housing deterioration.

The Urban Displacements Organization goes on to explain if the gentrification and displacement continue neighborhoods will endure ongoing displacements which will lose low-income housing. To understand the change that is happening officials need to understand the long-term exclusive neighborhoods with a median household income at 200%.

If gentrification continues, the loss of culture and community that residents took generations to build will all be diminished by the selfishness of politicians who want to make profit on chain establishments.

“I feel like if the gentrification were to continue in our neighborhood, we would lose so much of the culture and festivities that makes Washington Heights so special,” states Autumn Magar-Matasuoka.

Magar-Matasuoka goes on to explain, “Walking down the street, I can always hear music and see people laughing and having fun with their friends and family. It hurts me to see how much money can change the lives of so many people,” Autumn Magar-Matasuoka states in The Science Survey.

Washington Heights residents are no longer leaving the state of their community in the hands of local officials because they have shown numerously their focus is on making profit off the community; not bettering it.

The Science Survey explains the there are many ways to prevent gentrification to stop hurting residents. Ways to help combat gentrification are by organizing protests and sending requests to the mayor to get their attention to help and organize public speeches in neighborhood with experts on gentrification can educate more people on the matter.

The fight against gentrification is ongoing but the key is to be as outspoken as possible.