Wash Heights Facebook Group Shut As Moments Of Kindness Dwindle

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — A popular Inwood and Washington Heights community Facebook group with over 8,500 members has closed up shop after a six-year run.

Moderators of the group archived "Upstate Manhattan: Inwood and Washington Heights" on Sept. 4, and gave the following explanation for the decision.

"The time has come to close the Upstate Manhattan community group. When we created this 6 years ago, we hoped to bring together residents to get to know one another in Washington Heights and Inwood, celebrate the best of our neighborhoods, and work together to improve them for all residents," moderator Carla Zanoni wrote in a post within the group. "We have frequently seen great kindness and camaraderie at different points over the years, but the unfortunate truth is that those moments have grown farther and fewer between."

The online community was a valuable resource for all involved, with conversations about the best local doctors, the most enjoyable walking paths in Fort Tryon Park, awareness about local crime patterns, links to virtual music performances, and everything else in between.

Even the description of the now shuttered Facebook group is enough to bring a smile to your face.

"Welcome to the Upstate Manhattan: Inwood and Washington Heights page, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the rents are above average. This community forum is meant as a place for Inwood and Washington Heights residents to celebrate the great things that are going on in the neighborhoods."

Zanoni's post about the moderator's decision to shut up shop on the online community got over 200 comments, with many people thanking them for the work they've done to maintain the Facebook group.

"Before they close shop here, just wanted to say thanks to Carla, the mods, and everyone involved in having made this a great forum to meet new friends, stay in touch with old ones, share art and photographs, and a resource for so many of us," one group member posted.

However, there was also a collection of commenters expressing their disappointment in choosing to close the page and questioning whether the moderator responsibilities could be handed off to other people.

In response, Zanoni, who moderated the group along with Dana Yeary and Nancy Preston, shared a variety of links to other Inwood and Washington Heights community Facebook groups.

• Inwood and Washington Heights, Uncensored
• Escape from Washington Heights
• Inwood Community Group

Members of the Upstate Manhattan: Inwood and Washington Heights page have also created a 2.0 version of the group that has grown to 1,000 members.

Additionally, Inwood and Washington Heights residents can also join community members for conversation right here on Patch.

You can still check out everything that was on the page in the archived version of the Inwood and Washington Heights group.