Local favorite Mamajuana Café, located at 247 Dyckman St., was the Business Resource and Investment Services Center’s first loan recipient in Inwood, according to an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone’s 2008 annual fiscal year report.

When Bob Tortorello, 63, opened his butcher shop in Inwood in the early 1970s, things were different. “When I started up my business here, Dyckman Street was one of the busiest shopping districts in New York,” he said. “There were nine butcher shops in a four-block radius and we all made money.”

Since then, Tortorello has not only seen the neighborhood change from an area laced with several bakeries and delicatessens, he has also lived through a few recessions in American history. Today, at his Broadyke Meat Market & Deli, Tortorello notices the impact of the current economy on what his customers buy: “lesser cuts of meat” and “a lot more prepared foods.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke recently described the U.S. economy to Congress as “unusually uncertain,” and one in which small businesses “have been particularly hard hit.” There are 1,011 businesses in Inwood, of which approximately 916 are small, according to ReferenceUSA, an Internet-based business and consumer research site. And while tenuous times have forced businesses across the country to wrestle with declining consumer confidence and sagging sales, Inwood business owners feel an even greater pinch with limited access to capital, commercial property increases, and resident income levels that hover around $30,000 per year.

Dennis C. Reeder, executive director of the Washington Heights and Inwood Development Corporation, said the high cost of commercial rent is a major issue affecting businesses. The business assistance provided by the agency extends to Harlem, East Harlem and the western Bronx, with Washington Heights and Inwood receiving most of its lending, said Reeder in an e-mail. In a spring 2010 Retail Report by the Real Estate Board of New York, retail rents climbed the highest in Upper Manhattan, up 16 percent to $60 per square foot compared to spring 2009. Reeder said with rents out of reach and landlords more willing to sit on property, entrepreneurs are looking to open businesses in other areas, and moving out he said affects the community.

Besen Retail represents a few empty storefronts on Broadway, which its senior retail specialist, Elliott J. Dweck, said have been vacant for about two years. One was a large space that Dweck eventually suggested the landlord divide into separate stores. “Smaller rents, smaller deals, less complicated.” He said the average asking price for rent is $50 to $60 per square foot.

Rosslinett Alten, 28, co-owner and general manager of the newly opened Hashi restaurant on Broadway, said landlords are feeding off a notion of gentrification, and “charging way more.” Luckily, she and her business partner found something affordable. “We want to bring something different and help the neighborhood change,” she said. But there are concerns in operating in an area where “you don’t have regulars” and budgets are limited said Alten, so they are trying to keep their prices reasonable.

For any small business, being able to endure those initial years is tough. Seven in 10 new businesses will “survive at least two years, and about half survive five years,” according to SCORE, a U.S. Small Business Administration partner that offers free advice to entrepreneurs.

Ramon Suarez, 27, has been in business for three years. He said he moved Montero Furniture from Sherman Avenue to Broadway because he thought the foot traffic would be better. “Right now it’s bad everywhere,” he said, and marked this year as his toughest financially. Suarez engages in various marketing campaigns and even tried advertising on television, but said the cost to new customer ratio did not make it worthwhile in the end.

The consumer confidence index declined to 50.4 in July from 54.3 in June, according to the Conference Board. Robert S. Levin, editor-in-chief and publisher of The New York Enterprise Report, said a recent survey of his readers found that declining sales was their top concern. “Ever since this recession in particular, the world has changed fundamentally, and it’s probably changed to some degree, permanently. People are buying things differently, people are doing business differently.” The biggest advantage of being a small business said Levin, is the ability to quickly implement change and figuring out what to change, is essential for businesses “to thrive in this new normal.” For some, it may be adjusting prices “to go after a different part of the market” he said, or, introducing new products and services.

Small-business owner Jason Devereaux, 27, has done just that. At his “lifestyle boutique” Nostylgia, which sells its own private label of clothing, he recently added a tea bar and chess lounge. His store is located on one of the prime Dyckman Street blocks where upscale options in shopping and dining prevail. Inwood resident Brett Shablak, 37, popped in one afternoon to see Devereaux and have tea. For businesses to succeed here, Shablak said, it’s a matter of “hitting both sides of the road;” catering to those on public assistance, and those with larger incomes, “because you have both.”

JC Revolution, located on Sherman Avenue, sells luxury brands of men’s apparel in an area that defies the retail trend of lower priced merchandise. Owner Miguel Alvarez, 40, said 60 to 65 percent of his customers come from places like the Bronx, New Jersey and Connecticut, so his competitors tend to be department stores where deep discounts are aplenty. “We cannot offer those kinds of deals. We can’t afford it.” So he is cutting expenses and focusing on providing the best customer service.

In a neighborhood that is predominantly Hispanic, access to capital presents another challenge. “Capital access remains the most important factor limiting the establishment, expansion and growth of minority-owned businesses,” with the current economy making it even worse, according to a January 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency. Through the U.S. Census Bureau, the report also found that “liquidity constraints” and a lack of wealth, less than $7,950 for 50 percent of Hispanic families, make it difficult to post collateral for loans.

Bank of America has pledged to increase lending by $5 billion in 2010 to small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, T.J. Crawford, vice president of media relations, said in an e-mail that the company just announced a program to support Community Development Financial Institutions, which provide loans and assistance in underserved areas, and other nonprofit lenders. The program will give grants to create “loan loss reserves” in order to free up about $100 million in capital for small businesses. But how this will trickle down to neighborhoods and who exactly will reap the benefit are indeterminate.

The use of “prestamistas,” or loan sharks, is prevalent in the community, where Reeder pegged weekly interest rates between 4 and 10 percent. Knowing how to run a business is another hurdle for business owners, many of whom are immigrants and ill-prepared to operate in a city where there are more rules, regulations and taxes, said Reeder.

“I think that the lack of experience is the biggest downfall for small businesses today,” said Tortorello. In all neighborhoods he said, business owners do not recognize hidden costs and expenses, like the potential rise in the cost of their products or the possible repairs when something breaks down.

A lack of business savvy makes the local programs and workshops designed to aid entrepreneurs all the more vital. Resources that some business owners like Suarez said they never knew existed.

Carmen Diaz-Santiago is the executive director of the Audubon Partnership for Economic Development, a nonprofit that offers a range of assistance, including preparation of business plans and loan packages. Diaz-Santiago said getting the word out about its services is difficult because many people here do not use the Internet. And while her agency’s central location makes it easy for staff members to go to businesses to present a welcome package, the owners tend to be unreceptive or skeptical.

“They can’t believe services are for free,” said Diaz-Santiago. In the agency’s partnership with Yeshiva University, business students can assist local entrepreneurs in areas like accounting or marketing, but she said, only about five businesses have actually utilized the program, as some were reluctant to open up to an outsider.

One effort that is having greater outreach success in promoting the agency’s services is its newly formed Inwood Merchants’ Association. Accompanied by a merchant, staff members visit other merchants and invite them to join. “So this way it’s peer to peer,” said Diaz-Santiago, and not just a third party coming in to offer help.

Through the Inwood Merchants’ Association, Diaz-Santiago said they are encouraging “cooperative” initiatives for business owners; marketing, buying “and having events that are done cooperatively that would bring clients to their stores.”

Devereaux, a member of the association, said its aim will be to not only promote the neighborhood to residents, but to outsiders as well. A neighborhood he thinks has the potential to eventually mirror Williamsburg, or SoHo.

Watch the slideshow.

More stories by Amanda

New York State Liquor Authority Chairman Dennis Rosen, (left), Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr., and special assistant to Assemblyman Farrell, Franklin Hess, (right), on the corner of Dyckman and Henshaw Streets on Thursday, June 10, 2010, as the chairman tours the areas of Dyckman Street creating the biggest problems for nearby residents. Photo: Amanda Scott

Reported on June 12, 2010

Katie Weaver, 64, is losing sleep. Disrupted throughout the night by either drunken patrons outside Albert’s Mofongo House on Broadway, or motorcyclists revving their engines and doing wheelies, she is desperate to get her life back.

“And sometimes you know there is a little lull and you get to fall asleep, and then boom, something happens and you’re wide awake again. It’s insane,” she said.

Many residents list noise as the chief quality of life issue in Inwood. The 311 statistics for Community District 12, comprised of Inwood and Washington Heights, show over 1,000 calls for noise in the month of May: higher than any other district in Manhattan, including nearby District 9 which reported 493. And with the warm months moving more people outside, the question of who is at fault and what to do about it, sparks impassioned debates from residents, business owners and the New York State Liquor Authority.

For some locals, there is a direct correlation between noise, liquor licenses, and the crowds that ensue. But not everyone agrees the blame should fall squarely on restaurants and bars.

“Outside your restaurant that’s a police issue, a security issue,” said La Sala 78 Café owner, Jose Morales, 31. “Outside of our doors we have no control over what goes on.”

Though Morales’ café does not have a liquor license, he will be pursuing one for a new place he hopes to open soon on 191^st Street and Broadway.

In a May letter to Chairman Dennis Rosen of the New York State Liquor Authority, Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr. expressed concern over what has become known as “’Alcohol Alley.’” So on June 10, accepting Rosen’s offer to tour Dyckman Street and meet residents, Farrell and members of the community gave Rosen a look at the proximity of establishments operating with liquor licenses.

The area of concern on Dyckman Street is a tight couple of blocks that has several sidewalk cafes swelling this summer with patrons. Resident Cathy Fulwood said she has “nothing against the spirit of enterprise,” but is deeply distressed by both the atmosphere, and the parking of cars on the sidewalk.

“It’s bedlam, and it doesn’t feel safe,” she said.

At the epicenter of the hotspot is the Getty gas station at Dyckman Street and Seamen Avenue. “I call that thing a big headache,” Getty owner Jose Blanco, 40, said when asked about the motorcyclists. Blanco thinks the average age is 35, and said they tend not to fill up with gas but rather stall and congregate, creating a problem for actual customers and neighboring residents.

At a May general meeting, Rosen told residents that it is difficult to either refuse or remove a liquor license because of noise, especially when it is noise caused by motorcyclists or other street activity. In order to uphold enforcement provisions during a legal proceeding Rosen said, the agency has to prove that the licensee was at fault; that he or she knew what was going on, but chose not to intervene. Rosen said, however, that considerable weight is given to the community boards and the contact the agency has with the precincts.

“There are very few licenses that we grant anywhere, over the recommendations of the precincts,” he said.

During the walk-through with Rosen, Captain and Executive Officer Morris A. Wilson of the 34th Precinct said the department had confiscated five cars and four motorcycles in May for noise pollution and other violations. He also told one resident that an increase in checkpoints and surveillance would make the culprits more inclined to “play nice.”

Some local residents have taken to documenting their frustrations. “DINActions” and “AwakeAndHomicidal” are two YouTube channels where Inwood’s noise levels are made public: videos that Commanding Officer Jose A. Navarro said at May’s general meeting could be used as evidence.

A typical morning for 20-month-old Josie Dean includes painting, singing, baking and knitting, all done in the company of several friends. Whether it’s story time, music class or “Mommy and Me” yoga, there is no shortage of kid-friendly activities in Washington Heights.

“It’s just a great place to raise children,” said Josie’s mother, Jennie.

Parents and children gather for circle time on Oct. 20 led by Troy Schremmer at Fort Washington Collegiate Church. Photo: Yaffi Spodek

As younger families populate Washington Heights, the numbers of infants and toddlers are noticeably increasing. According to the 2000 census, there were 14,389 people under the age of 5 living in Washington Heights and Inwood, comprising 6.9 percent of the district’s population. A 2008 census analysis by the American Community Survey found that the number of children in the area under the age of 6 totaled 21,594, accounting for 9.9 percent of the population.

The baby boom is not unique to northern Manhattan. In 2006, The New York Times documented a similar increase in the rest of the borough, as the number of children under age 5 grew by more than 32 percent over the last decade, and anecdotal evidence supports these statistics.

“From my own observations, I can definitely say that the rate of births is up, and yes, there are more children,” said Ebenezer Smith, district manager for Community Board 12. “Just walking on the street, you see so many mothers pushing their baby carriages.”

Others, like social worker Jessica Shapley, have noticed the trend as well. For close to nine years, she has been leading support groups for mothers in Washington Heights. A new group starts every eight to 10 weeks, Shapley said, with more than enough new parents to attend each cycle of sessions.

“I started this group out of my own need when I first moved here because there was nothing,” she said. “Now there are definitely more children and young families than ever before.”

Shapley also moderates a “Parent and Me” Yahoo! group, which boasts over 1,000 participating families from Washington Heights and Inwood.

One local hub for kid-friendly activities is Fort Washington Collegiate Church. The church hosts an educational program called Bloomgarden, which began there in early October and meets on Mondays and Wednesdays. The program, which emphasizes artistic expression through interactive classes, now caters to a small group of eight parents and their children, with expansion plans on track for next semester.

“We wanted to create a place where parents and children can grow together, and ‘bloom,’ so to speak,” said Rachel Lederman, Bloomgarden’s co-founder. “It’s a place for creative expression.”

Abby Gordon and her daughter, Zayde, 11 months, play together at the Tuesday Toddler group at Fort Washington Collegiate Church. Photo: Yaffi Spodek

The Tuesday Toddler group, a free program funded by optional donations, features story time, guitar-led singing, and free play. Nearing the end of its fourth year, the program has expanded well beyond its original eight families, and now attracts close to 80 families each week.

“It’s a chance for both kids and parents to socialize,” said Troy Schremmer, the church’s director of education who runs the program. “It’s really about meeting a need for young parents in the community.”

What Shapley likes about Washington Heights is that “it’s a unique place with a small-town feel, where people really know the faces of their neighbors,” she said. “These different programs speak to the needs of the community, and people are moving here from other parts of Manhattan because they want that kind of kid-friendly atmosphere.”

New programs continue to spring up as more and more people opt to raise families in the city. On Nov. 1, the Jewish Community Council of Washington Heights-Inwood started a lending service for maternity clothes and baby supplies that includes pregnancy and parenting books, and items such as strollers, swings, and booster seats.

“I had been receiving phone calls asking for baby items,” explained Anat Coleman, community affairs officer for the Jewish Council, a not-for-profit organization that provides a range of free social services. “In the last five years, I have seen many young families moving into the area, and many don’t have space in their apartments or can’t afford to buy these items, so this was created in response to their needs.”

Deputy Inspector Andrew Capul wasn’t having an easy night. At the May general meeting of the 34th Precinct Community Council, Inwood residents were demanding action in response to the uptick in muggings in their neighborhood. One resident asked Capul, the head of the precinct, whether he and his neighbors should carry weapons to protect themselves.

At the Aug. 4 National Night Out in Washington Heights, Deputy Inspector Andrew Capul of the 34th Precinct accepts a proclamation from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in recognition of the 83 percent drop in the precinct’s murder rate since 2001. Photo: Jennifer A. DePreist.

Robberies were on the rise in Inwood and Washington Heights, conceded Capul, though crime was down overall. There had been about 11 more robberies year to date than there had been during that same period in 2008, Capul said.

Inwood residents have long argued that the 34th Precinct is too large, and that a northern precinct would establish a palpable police presence. There isn’t money for a new precinct, so some Inwood residents want to police their neighborhood themselves.

A neighborhood patrol isn’t a new idea. Residents banded together as the Inwood Patrol and patrolled in groups of two or three from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays on and off for almost 20 years.

Patrols were on foot and then in later years in two vehicles equipped with flashing lights, with “Inwood Patrol” lettered on the sides. At its height about five years ago, the patrol had about 100 active participants.

But the Inwood Patrol, which began as a self-described vigilante group and was later endorsed by the precinct, was disbanded last year following internal turf wars, personality conflicts and dwindling participation.

The city’s uniformed volunteer auxiliary program isn’t the kind of grassroots group Inwood residents seek. Auxiliary participants don’t choose assignments, and they must complete a 16-week training, pass written and physical exams, submit to a background investigation and drug and alcohol screening and adhere to minimum hours requirements.

Many Inwood residents, most of whom weren’t part of the old Inwood Patrol, have pressed the precinct this summer to restart the group, and neighborhood blog posts query why it isn’t active.

“The issue was never the program,” said 34th Precinct Community Affairs Officer Tony Trinidad. “It was with the people.”

At the June community council meeting Capul said, “If utilized properly, the Inwood Patrol could be an outstanding resource.”

But what can a neighborhood patrol of unarmed citizens do? And in an increasingly fragmented community, where the dense traffic on Broadway separates residents not just physically, but also along the lines of ethnicity, class, and language, how can neighbors protect each other when they don’t even know each other?

The 1989 killing of Israel Ortiz in his grocery store on West 218th Street shocked some residents into action.

Michael Hughes, 53, was a member of the Inwood Patrol in those early days and was its leader when it was disbanded. “You’re sick and tired of being a victim, and you’ve got to take a stand,” he said recently.

The crack epidemic had erupted in New York in the mid-1980s, and the 34th Precinct, with its bridges, highways, and regional bus station, became a hub for crack distribution and the murder capital of the city.

But crime has decreased significantly since then. There were 103 murders in the area covered by the precinct in 1990 and seven murders in 2001, according to New York Police Department CompStat figures. Last year, there were three murders.

There were 1,919 robberies within the precinct’s borders in 1990 and 316 robberies in 2001. Last year, there were 270 robberies. Even though the precinct covers a smaller area than it did in 1990, crime has decreased significantly.

Longtime residents agree that Inwood is significantly safer now. But many new arrivals don’t know Inwood’s bloody history. “Those people who say crime is on the rise don’t know what they’re talking about,” said Charles Allen, 58.

“I suspect many of them are from downtown. I’ve been here since the 70s,” said Allen, a wine wholesaler who lives on Academy Street.

Yet many Inwood residents say they feel vulnerable.

Karen Jolicoeur, 40, a classical singer, laments “the basic degradation of quality of life.” She said, “The chaos invites crime.” Jolicoeur’s husband was assaulted with a stun gun in Inwood Hill Park in May.

“This thing that happened to my husband was brazen,” she said. “It was 3 p.m. the Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend.”

Courtney Turay, 38, just moved her family back to Lexington, Ky., after 10 years on Arden Street. “Crime definitely played into our decision,” she said by telephone. “It’s a general perception that the lawlessness was increasing in our neighborhood and less was being done.”

Turay said she didn’t feel safe walking on her own street.

Edward Briggs, 66, a retired mannequin designer who lives on Payson Avenue said recently, “I’m reluctant to walk through the park at any hour.”

Many residents welcome the idea of a neighborhood patrol.

“That would be great,” enthused Angela Pen, 29. Pen moved to Inwood from Pennsylvania six months ago and worries about walking her dog after dark.

“Sounds great to me,” said Patricia Taylor, 46, a television producer and 15-year Inwood resident. Taylor said she has noticed an increase in drug activity.

Some elected officials also support a new Inwood Patrol.

“I think a civilian patrol is a good thing,” said Democratic State Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat, who represents eastern Inwood. “We’re working with the precinct now to see how we can get something back up and running that’s good for the community.”

Espaillat, Democratic State Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell Jr. and Democratic City Councilman Robert Jackson all secured taxpayer funds for the old Inwood Patrol.

But Espaillat said a new patrol should operate differently than the old one, whose members mostly patrolled the predominately white area west of Broadway. “I think that there should be not only diversity, but that the Inwood Patrol should be from east to west,” said Espaillat. “It should cross Broadway, building bridges.”

Maureen Rocks, 59, a 20-year Inwood resident, was a longtime member of the Inwood Patrol. “The Spanish didn’t seem to participate much at all,” said Rocks. Referring to the west side, she added, “It was basically this side of Broadway. I still don’t understand why. We tried to reach out to everybody.”

Hughes acknowledges that patrol members weren’t able to coordinate with the mostly Dominican residents east of Broadway. “Of course you’re going to find people who say that racism was involved,” he said.

Manny Velazquez, Community Board 12 chair, emphasized the need for inclusion. “If the Inwood Patrol was to get reactivated, or if another organization was to come out, it’s very important that it’s inclusive to the entire neighborhood and that all parts of Northern Manhattan really are included in that process.”

Hughes doesn’t doubt the patrol’s effectiveness despite its lack of diversity and geographic scope. “We were bringing crime down, working with the cops, talking to people in the streets who would talk to me but wouldn’t talk to the police,” Hughes said. “We were the foot soldiers on the front, dealing with things.”

Some Inwood residents aren’t as enthusiastic about civilian patrols. Briggs, the retired mannequin designer, said, “I think some of these people that hang around here are carrying. Who wants to put themselves in a position to be filled with bullets?”

Jolicoeur agrees. “Do we need private citizens putting themselves in harm’s way to do the police’s job? I don’t think so.”

Briggs expressed concern about potential volunteers. “What’s their agenda? What’s their motivation? You worry a little about people like that,” he said. “Some of these men have some rage issues, possibly racial issues,” said Briggs.

Rocks confirmed Brigg’s concerns: “As far as I know, a couple of them did have altercations with people. But we weren’t supposed to do that.”

James Johnson didn’t think highly of the old Inwood Patrol. “Those people would treat you like a criminal because you’re outside,” said Johnson, 28, who grew up in Inwood.

Johnson expressed an additional concern: that self-isolation, particularly by newer residents west of Broadway, breeds suspicion. “If they would actually come outside, they would know their neighbors,” he said while relaxing in the park with a multiracial group of friends after work.

“When I was coming up, everyone knew everyone. Everyone played together.” Johnson said he didn’t think his current neighbors are interested in really knowing each other. “They want to be isolated.”

Sean Ledden, 48, a television producer and 19-year Inwood resident, said some of his neighbors seem fearful even of each other.

“I’d like to see less hysteria,” he said. “Get active. It’s important. But stay calm.” Ledden added, “How can you build community when you’re like a pit bull protecting your little nest egg?”

Velazquez, who is running for City Council, called for a greater sense of common purpose. “Safety is for everybody. A life is a life, a child is a child, a grandparent is a grandparent,” he said. “A human being is a human being, no matter where they live, and we have to make sure that if we do activate those groups again, that we’re reaching out to everybody and protecting everybody in the neighborhood.”

Subway riders who traveled through Inwood this week likely wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that the West 181st Street No. 1 subway station was known to those who built it as the Hoodoo Hole.

Uptown passengers exiting shuttle buses and heading north on Nagle Avenue toward the Dyckman Street No. 1 subway station crossed paths with downtown passengers waiting to board the shuttle buses for the trip to West 168th Street on Wednesday morning. Photo: Jennifer A. DePreist

The station got that name because of its planned depth and the number of accidents during its construction, according to a March 20, 1906, article in The New York Times.

A section of the tunnel’s tile ceiling collapsed onto a 35-foot section of track Sunday evening, perhaps the latest bit of hoodoo at the station, which is more than 100 years old and 100 feet below street level.

No. 1 train service hasn’t run between Dyckman Street and West 168th Street since the collapse.

Last year, 7,483 passengers entered the subway system at Dyckman Street each weekday, according to New York City Transit data.

This week, those riders and the thousands who board the train in the Bronx had to exit the station at Dyckman Street and transfer to free shuttle buses to West 168th Street, where No. 1 service resumed. No. 1 trains also skipped the downtown West 207th Street station.  Riders were advised to take the A train on Broadway instead.

The service interruption, which will continue through the weekend, was a rude reminder to those who live or work in Northern Manhattan or the Bronx that the subway on which they depend is old, leaky, crumbling, and badly in need of maintenance. And when it breaks down, they break down a little bit too.

James Dorsey, 41, appeared tired and frustrated Monday during the first evening rush of the new regime. Of his morning commute from the Bronx, Dorsey, who works in facilities for a financial company said, “They didn’t say anything until 207th Street. They do a fare hike and they don’t tell you what’s going on.” He added, “We can lose our jobs because we don’t get to work on time.”

Fresh Pond, Gun Hill, Kingsbridge, West Farm were the diverse depot seals on the shuttle buses, indicating they had been pressed into service from all over the city.

Downtown passengers waiting for a shuttle bus at Dyckman Street and Nagle Avenue Friday evening. Photo by: Jennifer A. DePreist

The trip from Dyckman Street to West 168th Street, through the congested streets of Inwood and Washington Heights, took 40 minutes on Friday evening. The trip is supposed to take five minutes on the No. 1, according to the New York City Transit No. 1 timetable.

New York City Transit has been using its Twitter feed, @NYCTSubwayScoop, to update riders and post photographs, tweeting five to seven times a day on the social networking Web site.

But the tweets aren’t reaching everyone. “It’s been bad,” said Ray Rodriguez while waiting for an uptown shuttle bus at West 168th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue just before 6 p.m. on Friday.

“No one seems informed, and some workers can be very nasty,” said Rodriguez, who was battling his way home to Riverdale from his job in commercial advertising on Houston Street.

A commute that Rodriguez usually makes in an hour has taken him more than two-and-a-half hours. He has been late to work every day. Are his employers understanding? “They know,” he said.

Work continues at the No. 1 subway station at West 181st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue Friday evening. Photo by: Jennifer A. DePreist

Rodriguez said the disruption has made him think about leaving New York.  Said the lifelong New Yorker, “Sometimes I think I’ll pack my bags and go to Florida.”

Note:  Regular No. 1 service resumed at 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 31.

Payson Avenue in Inwood divides urban infrastructure from the last vestige of wild forest in Manhattan. Residential buildings line one side of the avenue, and the soaring, densely forested hillside of Inwood Hill Park’s 136-acre Shorakapok Preserve lines the other.

Payson Avenue in Inwood runs southwest, dividing residential buildings from Inwood Hill Park's dense forest. Photo: Jennifer A. DePreist

A few yards up a winding path into the forest on a recent morning, a cardinal hopped from one branch to another, and a cacophony of birdcalls competed with the clattering and grinding of a garbage truck on the avenue.

Residents report seeing eagles, foxes, skunks, raccoons, and even deer in the park, which contains Manhattan’s last natural forest and salt marsh.

Word that a rabid raccoon was found on Payson Avenue filtered through the community this past week on neighborhood message boards and in a July 28 e-mail from Jennifer Hoppa, the parks department’s northern parks administrator. The notice reminded Inwood residents, many of whom relish living hard up against the wilderness, that living on the urban frontier has its hazards.

“This is basically my back yard,” said Troy Meyerhoeffer, 40, a graphic designer who lives at the northeastern edge of the park.

Meyerhoeffer cherishes being close to raw nature. Noting that he can fish, hike, and bike just steps from his apartment, Meyerhoeffer said, “This is probably the only part of Manhattan I could live in.”

Rabies is a viral infection of the central nervous system. The rabies virus is transmitted by the bite or scratch of a rabid animal.

Rabid animals are found every year in other parts of the city. A report from the city’s Bureau of Communicable Diseases indicates that between Jan. 1 and July 22, six animals in other boroughs tested positive for rabies.

Rabid animals are rarely found in Manhattan.

The Payson Avenue raccoon was the first animal in Manhattan to test positive for rabies since 2006. By contrast, 68 animals in Staten Island and 33 animals in the Bronx have tested positive for rabies since 2006.

Raccoons are the most common rabid animals in the city, followed by skunks and bats. All six of the animals that tested positive for rabies in the city this year were raccoons.

There hasn’t been a human case of rabies reported in New York City in 50 years, despite the presence of rabid animals. A fact sheet from the bureau credits pet vaccination programs and the availability of the human rabies vaccine for the absence of human rabies cases.

Left untreated, rabies is nearly always fatal. Treatment consists of a series of six shots over 30 days: one shot of rabies immune globulin near the bite or scratch, and five vaccines in the arm.

Sara Condé, 32, who was in the park on a recent morning on a field trip with her landscape-painting class, hadn’t heard about the rabid raccoon. “It doesn’t change my feelings about coming to the park,” Condé said, as she began laying her paints and brushes out beside her on the bench.

Some were more wary.

“I’m very concerned,” said Katherine Schlaikjer, a cellist, while walking on Payson Avenue this week. “I walk in there all the time.”

Upon reflection, though, Schlaikjer said she didn’t think she’d change her behavior. Noting the 2004 slaying of a 21-year-old drama student from the Juilliard School in the park, Schlaikjer said, “I never stopped going into the park. I just don’t tell my mother,” said the 37-year-old.

Gerard Dengel, 45, of Seaman Avenue, also isn’t going to stop using the park. “This park is the center,” he said, while sitting on a bench in the park. “I feel like it’s God’s country.”

Former City Councilman Miguel Martinez arrives at federal court in Manhattan on July 16 to plead guilty to corruption charges. Photo: Courtesy of remolacha.net fotos.

Miguel Martinez, a former Democratic City Councilman, pleaded guilty in federal court in mid-July to wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to misuse public funds.

Martinez, 39, had represented Manhattan’s 10th Council District, encompassing Washington Heights and Inwood east of Broadway, and Marble Hill, since 2001. He resigned one day after federal prosecutors announced their intent to file criminal charges against him.

Martinez was the first casualty of the so-called “slush-fund scandal,” several ongoing investigations by the state Department of Insurance and federal prosecutors into Council members’ accounting of and distribution of money to nonprofit groups.

Prosecutors outlined in a July 16 press conference Martinez’s scheme to file false invoices with the city for reimbursement in the amount of $51,000 from October 2002 through May 2008.

Prosecutors also detailed Martinez’s scheme to skim money from two nonprofit community groups in Washington Heights. The criminal information prosecutors filed states that Martinez skimmed $40,000 from the Upper Manhattan Council Assisting Neighbors from August 2004 through December 2005 and $15,000 from the Washington Heights Arts Center from 2003 through 2005.

Martinez funded the groups from the discretionary pool being investigated. Martinez also agreed to give back $106,000 he skimmed from the nonprofit groups.

A caricatured Martinez in a New York daily isn’t the person some Inwood residents have known for years.

Carlos Peña, 31, an electrician, said, “He’s good people. He’s nice.” Peña wasn’t swayed by Martinez’s guilty plea. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “Maybe he pled guilty because he had a lot of pressure.  Maybe he did it to get out quick.”

Insurance Department Commissioner Rose Gail Hearn called Martinez’s conduct “a textbook case of an individual who traded on the access of his public office to deceive his constituents and enrich himself.”

The case hit close to home for many Inwood residents. Some of Martinez’s former constituents, like Peña, supported him this week. Others spoke of betrayal by, and disappointment in, an old friend.

Franklin D. Pacheco, 58, is a certified public accountant and small-business owner in Inwood. “I was really shocked to read those allegations,” Pacheco said in his accounting and real estate office on Broadway.

“He was very much for this community,” he added. Pacheco said he wants Martinez’s replacement to be just like Martinez.

Ice Moore, 68, an elder at Mount Washington Presbyterian Church, volunteers five mornings a week at the Regional Aid for Interim Needs Inc. Inwood Senior Center at the church. “My picture of him is being very friendly and working to help the community,” she said at the center the week of Martinez’s resignation and guilty plea.

Martinez visited the senior center frequently.

Virginia Infante, 39, drives seniors to and from the center. “He’s so friendly; he’s so nice; he’s always talking to the people. I was surprised,” she said.

Eugenia Nuñez, 42, whose mother goes to the senior center regularly, said, “He tried to have fun with them. He’s a very nice person.” Nuñez didn’t excuse his crimes, though. “If you collect money from the government, how can you do that?”

Moore, the church elder and R.A.I.N. volunteer, also described feeling betrayed by Martinez. “When someone does something like this, it’s just so disappointing,” Moore said quietly. “You have faith in a person; you think that someone is trying to help the neighborhood; build it up.  It makes people not want to trust politicians.”

Martinez was released on $250,000 bail. He faces a maximum of 60 years in prison, but is expected to serve much less time in exchange for his plea and resignation. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 21.

Inwood voters will elect Martinez’s replacement this November.