Affordable Manhattan in Hudson Heights
哈德遜高地,買得起的曼哈頓社區(qū)
For years, those who moved to the Hudson Heights section of Washington Heights savored the fact that apartments could be bought at discounts as steep as the neighborhood’s hills, compared with much of the rest of Manhattan. And to find that affordable home, one didn’t have to give up good subway service — or, some joked, a 212 area code — in the process.
這些年來,凡是搬入華盛頓高地(Washington Heights),居住在該地區(qū)的哈德遜高地(Hudson Heights)一帶的人,都津津樂道于這樣一個事實,相較于曼哈頓的其它地方,這里的公寓在購買時所打的折扣,簡直可以比擬該社區(qū)中那些山坡的陡峭程度了。而且,你大可不必為了找到那種經(jīng)濟實惠的住宅,就放棄便捷的地鐵設(shè)施,或被有的人戲稱為“212電話區(qū)號”的好地段。
Harder to swallow for some, though, was that the neighborhood lacked amenities so many other parts of the borough took for granted: good restaurants, well-stocked groceries and even a place for a latte.
然而,令一些人比較難以接受的是,這個社區(qū)缺少該大區(qū)內(nèi)其它地方常見的一些便利設(shè)施:品質(zhì)優(yōu)良的餐廳、貨架玲瑯滿目的雜貨店,就連喝杯拿鐵咖啡的地方都沒有。
This section of Washington Heights offers more affordable housing than many other parts of Manhattan.
華盛頓高地內(nèi)的這片區(qū)域,比曼哈頓其它地區(qū)的保障房項目都要多。
“Nothing was here,” said Mary Alice O’Connor, a 34-year resident transplanted from SoHo, referring to West 181st Street, a main commercial strip. “There was one old bar, and one old florist, and the rest was bodegas or closed.”
“這里什么都沒有,”從蘇豪區(qū)(SoHo)搬來的一位居民、今年34歲的瑪麗·艾麗絲·奧康納(Mary Alice O’Connor)說,她指的是這里主要的商業(yè)地帶西181街。“有一間老酒吧和一間老花店,其它的都是些賣酒的店,要么就已經(jīng)關(guān)門歇業(yè)了。”
Ms. O’Connor, who teaches English and job skills to immigrants and paid $70,000 for a two-bedroom with a formal dining room, often had to stock up by driving to a Fairway Market in Harlem.
奧康納的工作是培訓(xùn)外來移民的工作技能、并教他們說英語。她花7萬美元(約合人民幣43萬元)買下了這里一套帶一間正式餐廳的兩居室公寓。她常常得開車去哈萊姆區(qū)(Harlem)的富威超市(Fairway Market)買東西。
But the ridgetop area between Broadway and the Hudson River may be starting to look like elsewhere. West 181st has steadily filled in those empty storefronts over the years with what might be called modern-day signifiers of gentrification, like a Pilates studio, a bar that fills growler jugs with craft beer, and of course, a Starbucks. And next summer, the long-dingy George Washington Bridge Bus Station, after years of delays, is scheduled to complete a renovation that will include more than 100,000 new square feet of shops.
但是,這片介于百老匯(Broadway)與哈德遜河(Hudson River)之間的隆起地帶,其面貌或許正在同其它地方變得越來越像。這些年來,西181街的那些空置店面已經(jīng)在穩(wěn)步填充了。那些新開張的地方,都堪稱 “士紳化”進程的當(dāng)代標(biāo)志,比如一家普拉提健身館、一家用棕色啤酒罐(growler jugs)裝滿精釀啤酒的酒吧,當(dāng)然了,還有一家星巴克。至于那座長期臟亂差、卻遲遲得不到治理的喬治·華盛頓大橋公交車站(George Washington Bridge Bus Station),到明年夏天,它的翻修工程將如期竣工。屆時,修葺一新的車站可以容納超過10萬平方英尺(約合9290平方米)的商鋪面積。
“It’s a good thing; it’s nice to have some variety,” said Craig Tessler, an administrative law judge, who last spring traded a rent-regulated one-bedroom in Chelsea for a prewar two-bedroom two-bath co-op in Hudson Heights. The unit, which has Art Deco details like a sunken living room, cost $540,000.
“這是件好事;有各種各樣的商鋪很不錯,”一位行政法法官克雷格·特斯勒(Craig Tessler)說,今年春天,他用切爾西區(qū)(Chelsea)的一套有租金管控的一居室公寓,換了哈德遜高地的一套兩臥兩衛(wèi)的戰(zhàn)前合作公寓。這套公寓花了他54萬美元(約合人民幣330萬元),具有裝飾派藝術(shù)風(fēng)格(Art Deco)的細(xì)節(jié),比如下沉式客廳。
The area lacks good Chinese restaurants, he says, and he can no longer walk to Broadway theaters like he did downtown. But he enjoys the pasta at Saggio, on West 181st, he said.
這里缺少品質(zhì)優(yōu)良的中餐廳,他說,而且他再也不能像以前住在下城區(qū)那樣,步行至百老匯劇院了。但他喜歡西181街Saggio餐廳里的意大利面,他說。
Being near Manhattan’s northern tip also allows quick escapes, which Mr. Tessler likes because he drives to his house in Sullivan County on weekends. When he lived in Chelsea, it could take him an hour to make it out of the city, he said.
住在靠近曼哈頓最北邊的地方,還可以迅速逃離都市生活,特斯勒很喜歡這樣,因為每逢周末,他都會開車回到自己在沙利文縣(Sullivan County)的房子。住在切爾西時,他得花一個小時才能開出市區(qū),他說。
Some who move to Hudson Heights say they practically stumbled upon it, on a stroll through the area; the shared secret of the Brigadoon-like enclave explains why its community can seem so tightly knit, residents say.
有些搬入哈德遜高地的人說,他們其實是在散步經(jīng)過此地時,偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)這里的;居民們都說,這片飛地就像布里加多島(Brigadoon,哈佛大學(xué)研究者在《虛擬人生》游戲中建造的一座世外桃源,旨在研究虛擬環(huán)境對心理疾病患者的治療作用——譯注)一樣,這個公開的秘密就解釋了這個社區(qū)為何看起來如此團結(jié)。
“People talk to each other up here, and they do things together,” said Hikari Hathaway, an agent with Coldwell Banker Bellmarc who moved 27 years ago from a one-bedroom rental on the Lower East Side. Today, she lives in a four-bedroom, which she achieved by combining adjacent units, as apartments with more than two bedrooms are rare.
“這里的人相互聊天,一起做事,” Coldwell Banker Bellmarc地產(chǎn)公司的一位經(jīng)紀(jì)人希加里·海瑟薇(Hikari Hathaway)說。她27年前從下東區(qū)的一套一居室租賃公寓中搬到這里。如今,她住在一套四居室公寓中,為此她打通了兩個相鄰的單元,因為超過兩間臥室的公寓在這里并不多見。
Whatever explains that camaraderie, it seemed evident on a recent afternoon, at a tag sale along Cabrini Boulevard outside the Castle Village co-op, as sellers of books, stuffed animals and glass bowls chatted amiably with passers-by, and one another.
那樣一團和氣的氛圍,不管因何而生,都可以一目了然地看出來,尤其是幾天前的下午,在卡斯?fàn)柎?Castle Village)合作公寓樓外、沿卡布里尼大道(Cabrini Boulevard)一字排開的二手市場中,你可以看見那些賣書的、賣毛絨玩具的和賣玻璃碗的人,他們不但同路過的人相談甚歡,而且彼此之間也是如此。
“It’s a beautiful environment,” Ms. Hathaway said.
“這是個美好的氛圍。”海瑟薇說。
What You’ll Find
當(dāng)?shù)馗艣r
The name Hudson Heights wasn’t coined until 1993, when property owners banded together to spruce up streets and help bring in better quality stores, said Elizabeth Lorris Ritter, a founder of the Hudson Heights Owners Coalition, and its current president.
“哈德遜高地”這個名稱,直到1933年才得以正式確定。當(dāng)時的業(yè)主們團結(jié)一致,把街道打扮得整齊漂亮,因而吸引來了一些高檔商店,哈德遜高地業(yè)主聯(lián)盟(Hudson Heights Owners Coalition)的創(chuàng)建者之一、現(xiàn)任主席伊麗莎白·洛里斯·里特爾(Elizabeth Lorris Ritter)說。
“We knew the name would be used by others, so we wanted to be thoughtful in our choices,” she said, adding that she occasionally uses Washington Heights, as other residents do.
“我們知道,這個名字將被人們用起來,所以想慎重選擇,”說完她又補充道,她偶爾也會像其他居民們那樣,說“華盛頓高地”。
The neighborhood stretches from Fort Tryon Park on the north to J. Hood Wright Park, Ms. Ritter said, based on the addresses of the coalition’s 35 member buildings. Its population is around 29,000, with the largest groups being white non-Hispanic residents, at 44 percent, and those of Hispanic origin, at 43 percent, according to 2010 census records. Buildings are almost uniformly prewar, many with six stories and decorations like vases and garlands on their facades.
該社區(qū)從北部的翠亨堡公園(Fort Tryon Park)一直延伸到J·胡德·賴特公園(J. Hood Wright Park),里特爾說,該區(qū)域里容納了其聯(lián)盟下的35棟成員樓。根據(jù)2010年的人口普查記錄,該社區(qū)的人口數(shù)量約為2.9萬,其中最大的群落是非西班牙裔的白人居民,占44%;而西班牙裔的居民占43%。這里的建筑物幾乎全是整齊劃一的戰(zhàn)前公寓樓,許多樓房高達六層,建筑立面上有花瓶與花環(huán)之類的裝飾。
What You’ll Pay
當(dāng)?shù)胤慨a(chǎn)
A search of StreetEasy.com earlier this month found 51 apartments for sale, at an average list price of $516,000. Units ranged from a studio in Lafayette Gardens, a postwar co-op by the George Washington Bridge, at $175,000, to a three-bedroom two-and-a-half-bath apartment in a prewar co-op on West 181st Street, which was $1.38 million. Co-ops predominate; condos are few. According to StreetEasy, in 2013, 244 co-ops sold in Hudson Heights, at an average price of $397,000, compared with 166 in 2012, at an average of $388,000. At the same time, more expensive listings emerged, with buyers from the Upper West Side and other neighborhoods sometimes paying more than $1 million for a two-bedroom, said Francisco Menendez, an agent with Halstead Property and a 14-year resident. “For them, it is almost a bargain,” he said.
StreetEasy網(wǎng)站在本月初的一次搜索中顯示,該社區(qū)有51套公寓在售,均價為51.6萬美元(約合人民幣316萬元)。在售公寓的房型,從華盛頓大橋附近的一棟戰(zhàn)后合作公寓樓拉斐特花園(Lafayette Gardens)內(nèi)、售價17.5萬美元(約合人民幣107萬元)的一套單間公寓,到西181街一棟戰(zhàn)前合作公寓樓中售價138萬美元(約合人民幣844 萬元)的一套帶三臥室、兩間半浴室的公寓不等。合作公寓在其中占了絕大多數(shù),而共管公寓則非常少。根據(jù)StreetEasy網(wǎng)站的數(shù)據(jù),2013年哈德遜高地售出了244套合作公寓,均價為39.7萬美元(約合人民幣243萬元);相比之下,2012年當(dāng)?shù)厥鄢龉?shù)為166套,均價38.8萬美元(約合人民幣237萬元)。同時,也浮現(xiàn)出更多高價房源。那些來自上西區(qū)和其它社區(qū)的買家,有時會不惜花費一百多萬美元,購置一套兩居室公寓,霍爾斯泰德地產(chǎn)公司(Halstead Property)的一位經(jīng)紀(jì)人、同時也是一名在當(dāng)?shù)刈×?4年的居民弗朗西斯科·梅內(nèi)德斯(Francisco Menendez)說,“對他們而言,這樣一筆交易算得上很實惠了。”他說。
Mr. Menendez said that one-bedrooms in rental buildings go for $1,700 to $2,000 a month, or a bit more if they are sublets in co-ops. Studios are about $1,400, he said; two-bedrooms, $3,000.
梅內(nèi)德斯還說,租賃公寓樓中的一居室公寓,每月租金為1700美元(約合人民幣10393元)至2000美元(約合人民幣12227元);如果遇上合作公寓中的轉(zhuǎn)租房源,還會更高一些。這里單間公寓的租金約為1400美元(約合人民幣8559元),他說,兩居室公寓則為3000美元(約合人民幣 18340元)。
What to Do
休閑設(shè)施
Through the gate at Fort Tryon Park, a path shaded by elms arcs along the three-acre Heather Garden. From the spot, which was designed by the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, one of the designers of Central Park, the Palisades cliffs of New Jersey can be glimpsed. The park’s gem is the Cloisters Museum and Gardens, where the Metropolitan Museum of Art shows off its medieval European collection.
穿過翠亨堡公園的大門,有一條小路被遮擋在3英畝(約合1.2公頃)的石楠花園(Heather Garden)邊、那些榆樹的拱形樹枝下。該公園是由曾經(jīng)設(shè)計過中央公園的弗雷德里克·勞·奧姆斯特德(Frederick Law Olmsted)的兒子們設(shè)計的。從這個位置可以一眼望見新澤西州的Palisades峭壁。這座公園的精華所在,是那座修道院博物館及花園 (Cloisters Museum and Gardens),大都會藝術(shù)博物館(Metropolitan Museum of Art)在其中陳列了一些中世紀(jì)歐洲的藏品。
The Cabrini Repertory Theater, on Fort Washington Avenue, hosts three playwright festivals a year. Le Cheile, the three-year-old Irish restaurant and bar that fills those growlers — pronounced “le KAY-la,” which means “together” in Gaelic — occasionally hosts Irish music in its multilevel space.
在華盛頓堡大道(Fort Washington Avenue)上的卡布里尼保留劇目戲院(Cabrini Repertory Theater),一年舉辦三場編劇盛會。一家名為Le Cheile、已營業(yè)三年的餐廳及酒吧,里面總是坐滿大聲叫嚷的顧客,其店名的讀音是“le KAY-la”,即蓋爾語里“在一起”的意思。他們偶爾會在其高達數(shù)層的場地中,舉辦愛爾蘭音樂會。
Frank’s Market, a gourmet grocery on West 187th, another lively retail drag, carries everything from sushi to apples to organic cereal. Broadway is a hodgepodge of fast-food chains, tiny markets and the occasional drugstore; the neon-bright signage can seem kaleidoscopic.
另一處十分吸引人的零售市場,是位于西187街的美食雜貨店Frank’s Market,其中陳列著從壽司到蘋果再到有機谷物之類的一切食品。而百老匯大道一帶,則匯集了許多快餐連鎖店、小超市及臨時藥店;那里的霓虹燈招牌就像萬花筒一樣。
Tenants announced for the renovated bus station, which fronts on several streets, so far include Marshalls, a Fine Fare Supermarket, a Gap outlet, Blink Fitness and a Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar, said Stephen McBride, a principal with SJM Partners, part of the development team. The stores are scheduled to open by next summer, he said.
那座修葺一新的公交車站面對著好幾條街道,已經(jīng)公布了它的一些承租商,其中包括馬歇爾百貨公司(Marshalls)、Fine Fare超市、Gap outlet服裝店、Blink健身館,以及Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar燒烤酒吧,該項目開發(fā)團隊的成員、SJM Partners地產(chǎn)公司的一位主管斯蒂芬·麥克布萊德(Stephen McBride)說。
The station will also be home to mom-and-pops like Café Buunni, a tiny coffee shop already on Pinehurst Avenue. The doorway of its current location was recently jammed with ads, for tutors, daily meditation sessions and a “birth stories” event at Bread and Yoga in Inwood.
這座公交車站里還會入駐一些夫妻店,比如已經(jīng)在松林大道(Pinehurst Avenue)上開業(yè)的一家小咖啡館Café Buunni。最近一段時間,這座車站原有的大門口已經(jīng)貼滿了廣告,有提供家教的,有上禪修課的,還有因伍德區(qū)(Inwood)“面包與瑜伽” (Bread and Yoga)養(yǎng)生館的一項活動,名為“講述你出生的故事”。
The Schools
當(dāng)?shù)貙W(xué)校
Parents rave about how the cream-brick Public School/Intermediate School 187 is the rare city school that combines kindergarten through eighth grade under one roof. On the 2013 state exams, 43 percent of its third-graders met standards in English, versus 28 percent citywide. In math, 46 percent met standards, versus 33 percent citywide. The school, with about 770 students, received an A on its most recent report card.
家長們都夸贊那座奶白色磚墻的公立學(xué)校187中學(xué)(Public School/Intermediate School 187),如何稱得上是這座城市當(dāng)中不多見的一所、結(jié)合了從幼兒園到八年級教育的學(xué)校。在2013年的全州統(tǒng)考中,該校三年級學(xué)生有43%的英語課達標(biāo),而全市的達標(biāo)率為28%;數(shù)學(xué)課有46%的學(xué)生達標(biāo),而全市為33%。這所容納了大約770名學(xué)生的中學(xué),在最近的考評中得了一個A。
For high school, a close-by option is City College Academy of the Arts, on Broadway near Inwood. SAT averages there in 2013 were 409 in reading, 442 math and 407 writing, versus 437, 463 and 433 citywide. It also got an A.
至于高中,一個就近的選擇是城市學(xué)院藝術(shù)高中(City College Academy of the Arts),這所學(xué)校位于百老匯大道,靠近因伍德區(qū)。該校2013年的SAT平均成績?yōu)椋洪喿x409分,數(shù)學(xué)442分,寫作407分;而全市的平均分為 437、463和433。這所學(xué)校也得了一個A。