Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Main page
1928805

Hamilton Heights, Manhattan

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan

Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is the northernmost part of the West Harlem area, along with Manhattanville and Morningside Heights to its south, and it contains the sub-neighborhood and historic district of Sugar Hill. Washington Heights lies to Hamilton Heights' north, and to its east is Central Harlem.

Hamilton Heights is bounded by 135th Street to the south, Riverside Drive to the west, 155th Street to the north, and Edgecombe Avenue and Saint Nicholas Avenue to the east. The community derives its name from Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who lived the last two years of his life in what is now the Hamilton Grange National Memorial, back when Upper Manhattan was mostly farmland.

Hamilton Heights is part of Manhattan Community District 9, and its primary ZIP Codes are 10031, 10032, and 10039. It is patrolled by the 30th Precinct of the New York City Police Department.

Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Hamilton Heights was 48,520, a decrease of 2,035 (4.0%) from the 50,555 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 367.41 acres (148.69 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 132.1 inhabitants per acre (84,500/sq mi; 32,600/km2). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 10.9% (5,287) White, 32.2% (15,646) African American, 0.2% (119) Native American, 2.2% (1,067) Asian, 0.0% (15) Pacific Islander, 0.4% (178) from other races, and 1.8% (884) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 52.2% (25,324) of the population.

The most significant changes in the racial composition of Hamilton Heights from 2000 to 2010 were the increase in the White population by 231% (3,691) and the decrease in the Black population by 26% (5,366). The Hispanic / Latino population also decreased by 2% (648) but remained the majority. Meanwhile, the Asian population increased by 90% (506) but remained a small minority, and the small population of all other races decreased by 15% (218).

The entirety of Community District 9, which consists of Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville, and Morningside Heights, had 111,287 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 81.4 years. This is about the same as the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most residents are children and middle-aged adults: 34% are between the ages of 25–44, while 21% are between 45 and 64, and 17% are between 0–17. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 16% and 12% respectively.

As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 9 was $50,048, though the median income in Hamilton Heights individually was $43,673. In 2018, an estimated 24% of Community District 9 residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who had difficulty paying their rent, was 51% in Community District 9, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Community District 9 was considered to be gentrifying: according to the Community Health Profile, the district was low-income in 1990 and saw above-median rent growth up to 2010.

Most of the housing dates from the extension of the elevated and subway lines at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century. This fairly elegant housing became less desirable to white residents in the 1930s and 1940s as the population changed from white to black, even though the black residents were just as affluent as the white residents. There are spacious apartment buildings, brownstones, and other row houses prominently lining the leafy eastern streets of Hamilton Heights, an area traditionally home to a substantial black professional class. The brownstone revival of the 1960s and 1970s led to a new movement of middle-class blacks in the area. Hispanics arrived in large numbers in the 1980s, with Dominicans making up the majority. Today the local population is changing again, with Hispanics constituting a majority of the population followed by African Americans, West Indians, and Whites. Gentrification since 2005 has dramatically increased the proportion of non-Hispanic whites. Many actors, artists, teachers, and other professionals now reside in Hamilton Heights.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.