Photo: Michael Kirby

Gay couples, hippies, artists and young entrepreneurs hanging out together, in a mix of prewar co-ops? This ain’t Greenwich Village, but Jane Jacobs would likely have wanted to check out Inwood, a family-oriented community that has weekly resident kickball (!) and baseball games, as well as activities put together by online groups like “Inwood Moms” and “Woof.” It’s got soul—even if that soul is a little Kenny G cheesy.

“Inwood is like a great secret, since most of New York thinks of it as the Bronx or upstate New York,” says 20-year resident Jason Claiborne, who operates Augustus Publishing out of his home. He frequently visits Manhattan’s last natural forest and salt marsh—Inwood Hill Park—nearby. “As an entrepreneur, this place has been very therapeutic for me.”

From block to block, you’ll find a healthy mix of families and singles. Although 207th Street is the busiest, Broadway is the residential heart of Inwood. It runs the entire length of the neighborhood and has a variety of stores, from local bodegas to a sprinkle of newly opened, newly managed cafés. They give a feeling of je ne sais quoi—or preyuppie Park Slope, depending on your point of view.

Most residents welcome the slow gentrification with reservation. “There’s a pretty eclectic mix of people that have moved out here now who would not have come in the ’80s,” says Will Alicea, who grew up in Inwood and started a T-shirt line promoting the area. “They don’t even realize they’ve migrated due to long-term gentrification—mostly, I hear, ‘Great area, 45 minutes from midtown, great place to raise my kids.’ I just don’t want to see what happened in areas like Greenpoint in Brooklyn. We don’t need 15 cafés in ten blocks when we don’t have a goddamned bookstore.”

Photo: Michael Kirby

Other residents disagree. “There is a lack of restaurants and cafés,” says Natalia Casado, a resident for the past three years. “We could use a few more, just as long as they stay closer to Broadway and away from the park.”

Rather than build luxury high-rises, some developers have opted to purchase residential buildings and simply renovate them, keeping the neighborhood fresh with an old-world style. Still, underneath the facades, major change is afoot. Shops like Scavengers, a furniture thrift store that sells street-treasure finds, is one of the few constants in this growing community. With more Manhattanites creeping uptown, the secret is clearly out.

Photo: Jodie Love

Word on the street
Alan Ket, 36, graffiti artist/publisher
“I love Inwood! I mean, where else in New York City can you stumble out of bed on a Saturday morning, check out a Columbia football game and crash a keg party without being a student? However, yuppies discovered it about four or five years ago and now the rents are beginning to go through the roof. Yuppies, go home!”

OVERALL SCORE: 25

6	8	6	-2	-1	8

West of Broadway, you’ve got pretty, short streets and an engaged and active community (including a large gay contingent). Watch the cello cases coming off the A train at 207th Street. And look for neighborly interaction in Isham and Inwood Hill Parks. As for development: There are only five banks and one McDonald’s, with 30 indie-run businesses dominating.

Next: #5: Nolita & Little Italy