Flooding, Rezoning, Vaccine Centers: Upper Manhattan 2021 Review

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — Though the turbulence of 2020 seemed to be in the rearview mirror, 2021 offered no shortage of surprises for New York City — and for Washington Heights and Inwood.

From the early days of the vaccine rollout to a drop and subsequent rise in COVID-19 cases in the neighborhood, to local businesses struggling to rebound from the pandemic, the coronavirus lingered in the neighborhood's headlines this year.

But not all noteworthy stories were related to the ongoing crisis. As 2022 approaches, Washington Heights/Inwood Patch is looking back at some of the most read and notable stories of the past year.

The roundup includes local politics, flooding in the neighborhood, inspiring residents, and COVID stories. (We couldn't include everything!)

After Ida Storm Destroyed Inwood Homes, Help Is Hard To Find

Upon hearing the rain, Carla Gomez's nine-year-old daughter turned to her mother with a question, "Will the apartment flood again?"

Gomez and her daughter are having the conversation in the Dominican Republic. A couple of weeks earlier they were fleeing their Inwood garden apartment, along with Gomez's mother and aunt, as the rain from Hurricane Ida caused the water to rise four feet inside the family's home at 200 Nagle Avenue.

Inspired By Grandpa, Wash Heights Woman Helps Vaccine Effort

Washington Heights native Jasmine Santana knows firsthand the devastation and loss of the coronavirus pandemic. The 26-year-old lost her grandfather to the virus in January 2021.

Now, Santana is taking action to help others within her community.

Lost On 9/11: Bruce's Spirit Lives On In Inwood Community Garden

Aaron Scott never met Bruce Reynolds, but he knows there is evidence of him throughout the Inwood community garden that has sat as an oasis within Isham Park for 50 years.

Reynolds is in the ever-inching expanding English Ivy, certain Euonymus trees and shrubs that peer down at the garden floor, and in the jumbled remnants of the old wishing well that lays at rest within the green space.

Congress Asked To Change Uptown's Name To Quisqueya Heights

n effort to rename Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights and Inwood as Quisqueya Heights and make it a "cultural hub for Dominican Americans across the nation" is awaiting discussion in Washington D.C.

The resolution was introduced by Rep. Adriano Espaillat earlier this year alongside two other representatives from Texas.

COVID-19 Vaccination Desert In Wash Heights Despite High Rates

There are zero city-sponsored COVID-19 vaccine distribution sites above 136th Street in Manhattan.

Other sites, which opened for the first time Sunday, allow eligible New Yorkers to sign up for free COVID-19 vaccine shots across the city.

However, despite the 23 vaccine sites currently open in Manhattan, not one is above 136th Street — let alone in Inwood or Washington Heights.

Candidate's Cuban Ethnicity Targeted In Wash Heights Election

Frustrated by hateful rhetoric surrounding her campaign, city council candidate Johanna Garcia took to Facebook last month to appeal for it to end.

In a five-paragraph post, the nonprofit founder and Chief of Staff to State Senator Robert Jackson claimed her campaign to take the Washington Heights and Inwood seat was being attacked because of her ethnicity.

Garcia was born and raised in Northern Manhattan. Her family is Cuban.

How An Inwood Resident Spreads Neighborhood Love Through Facebook

Marty Morua loves living in Inwood.

The proud Upper Manhattan resident began posting almost-daily videos throughout various community Facebook groups in March 2020 of his walks in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood. His unrelenting positivity quickly began gaining admiration and appreciation for his ability to show off the neighborhood to masses of community members spending the majority of their time indoors.

Inwood Library Demolished, Making Room For 14-Story Building

Four years after the city announced the Inwood Library would be demolished, the building and neighborhood gathering spot came crashing down on Monday behind the push of bulldozers and construction workers.

A 14-story building will replace the rubble and dust at 4790 Broadway with 175 apartments and a new three-level library branch on the bottom floors.

Wash Heights, Inwood Had Biggest Exodus In NYC From 2010 To 2020

Washington Heights and Inwood saw the two most significant population declines of all neighborhoods in New York City from 2010 to 2020, according to the 2020 census.

Out of the 197 residential neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs, Washington Heights South and Inwood were the only two that saw population declines of five percent or more.

COVID Crisis, Floods, Power Cuts: City Accused Of Ignoring Uptown

After three days of sweltering heat in New York City earlier this month, power to 2,000 residents of Washington Heights went out.

It was the only area in Manhattan to see a major power outage.

Nine days later, a torrential downpour left the neighborhood and Inwood flooded, viral videos showed straphangers wading through waist-high water to get to trains.

Again, the rest of the city went largely unscathed.