The Manhattan Times

Neighborhood Blogwatch

by Carla Zanoni

The City Birder

My Red-tailed Hawks and other wildlife observations from around Brooklyn and NYC

There are many topics that unite New Yorkers—politics, education, fashion, you name it—but for most downtown residents, nature is not typically among the list. In Inwood though, bird life is just as big a part of city life as those other subjects. Joining several other bird-focused blogs this column has featured, is The City Birder, which takes a look at all feathery friends throughout the city, sometimes dropping into Inwood Hill Park, home to many a red-tailed hawk. If you’re interested in keeping up with these soaring sorts, this is your new home for roosting.

J. Holtman

Putting Pen to Paper

If the name J. Holtman looks familiar, it’s because you know or have attended one of the Upper Manhattan Experience MeetUp events he has organized and nurtured over the years. He founded the  group in order to “break the anonymity among the people in our community, and bring people together to have fun, connect and make new friends.” He writes that his newish blog venture, Holtman began blogging in June, will be a place writing about his “playwriting and such matters,” including musing on the emotional impact of flash mobs, long lost and found emails and warm weather. For the most part Holtman writes describes himself as a playwright, watches a great deal of television and likes to sing karaoke. “That's my story and I'm sticking to it,” he writes. From this seat, that story sounds pretty good.  

jholtham.blogspot.com/

Brix Picks 

This artistically laid out site features all sorts of recommendations for places to go and people to see throughout the city. One of the places recently recommended was Inwood Hill Park, which the authors Jim and Brittany write “is home to the real New York of old, back when the island of Manhattan was all trees.” The site, with its winding colors and twisting passages, is almost as gorgeous as the park they enjoyed while on a hike early this summer.

Follow Carla Zanoni’s blog “The Streets Where We Live” to explore and stay connected to Northern Manhattan.