Katerina Melitsopoulou and Brenda Alcantara deem a snake unfit for a pet. (Photo by Lina Zeldovich)

Katerina Melitsopoulou, an Inwood speech therapist, sits on a small red chair with four-year-old Brenda Alcantara, imitating everything from leaping monkeys to slithering snakes. As they act out the “Dear Zoo” book, Melitsopoulou jumps up pointing at the ceiling to show that the giraffe is “too tall” and bares her teeth in a roar to depict the lion as “too fierce.” They send every unfit pet back, placing a letter in a shiny red mailbox, until the zoo finally delivers a puppy.

With her next client, three-year-old Billy Sanchez, Melitsopoulou reads “Goodnight Moon,” which she calls “a staple of speech therapy.”  Then they catch multihued fish so Billy learns to pronounce colors.

Both children are bilingual Spanish speakers with speech delays.  It’s not unusual for bilingual kids to speak later than their monolingual peers, but if speech problems are not addressed, they can cause cognitive and social delays, says Catherine Crowley, director of the Bilingual Extension Institute at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “The child will have difficulties in school interacting and comprehending,” she says.

Speech therapists in Washington Heights and Inwood see a definite need for their services, intensified by the fact that many families speak Spanish at home. Children cared for by their grandparents during the day often lack interaction with their English-speaking peers. Some therapists see an increasing demand; others point out that there’s not enough awareness of free programs that could help.  Meanwhile, some parents wouldn’t mind seeing more local therapists to choose from.

Alcantara’s mother, Ana Herrera, who speaks little English, says her daughter was speaking gibberish as a toddler and their pediatrician recommended therapy. Sanchez’s mother, Yahaira Estevez, a bit more communicative in English, took charge herself. “Billy was a year and a half and he wasn’t speaking, so I talked to our doctor,” she says.

Melitsopoulou, fluent in Spanish and Greek, has had a 16-year speech therapy career, and opened her Inwood office in 2008 because she saw the need in a neighborhood where half to two-thirds of her clients are bilingual. She started as a solo practitioner in one room and quickly expanded, hiring more therapists and renting additional space. “So far I have been able to accommodate everyone who came,” she says proudly.

“He wasn’t directing us,” she says of her doctor.  “Ellee wasn’t following instructions; he was in his own little world.”  She’s not sure whether his speech delay was caused by his exposure to both English and Russian, but his progress has been remarkable, she says about her now 6-year-old. “Ellee now talks and tells stories.”

Terlitsky has been happy with Stella Heracleous-Kyprianou, a speech therapist so bubbly she can get the most withdrawn children to chatter, but she would like Ellee to continue his therapy in a group setting.

Heracleous-Kyprianou, who started her first Logopedica center in Astoria 10 years ago and later opened a second office in Washington Heights, says she has noticed that uptown parents raise fewer concerns about kids’ speech delays than those in Astoria, though both neighborhoods are highly bilingual.

“In Astoria they’re more aware,” says Heracleous-Kyprianou, adding that many Astoria parents introduce their children to therapy before they turn two. “Here, kids get their screenings when they are a little older – three or four years old, when the delay is more obvious. But we want to act as early as possible.”

Sometimes parents realize their children still struggle with words while their peers speak in full sentences. Many kids’ speech delays surface only when they start school and get placed on Individual Education Plans, which essentially categorize them as special ed students even though they may not have learning disabilities.

Crowley says that bilingual children and those from poor families face higher risks of being mistakenly placed in special ed when they don’t need it. The most commonly-used standardized tests that determine whether children have language problems are only 57 percent accurate and don’t reflect cultural nuances, she adds.

“Research shows that bilingual kids have smaller vocabularies; kids from poor backgrounds are shown to have a smaller vocabulary. So they will score lower on tests,” says Crowley, adding that in some ethnic communities, youngsters are taught not to speak up but to keep quiet.

“Children from certain cultures don’t focus on labeling or telling stories,” she says, emphasizing that standardized test provide a flawed measurement of their intelligence. Yet the Individual Education Plans will follow them through school, lowering their curriculum requirements and not engaging them to their full potential.

The special ed graduation rate in New York was a shocking 18 percent in 2006, Crowley says, increasing to 23 percent in 2009 and barely over 30 percent now. “The teachers’ expectations for children with disabilities are different,” Crowley explains. “Research shows that who you learn with matters.  If you’re in the class with low achievers, you will be a low achiever.”

According to Department of Education data, 21 percent of English language learners, or one in five, get placed on Individual Education Plans.

Melitsopoulou works with many Committee of Preschool of Special Education referrals, with good results. Most kids are exposed to English in their schools, she says. “You can see how they start using more and more English words during the school year, and at the end, they often prefer to speak English.”

If they start therapy early, children may not need Individual Education Plans, Heracleous-Kyprianou says. She tries to address the problem before kids start school by working with a local pediatrician to identify children with speech delays and by holding information sessions at childcare centers to educate teachers about free state programs.

English language learners under three are eligible for the early intervention program, which sends therapists to children’s homes. If kids need therapy after three, they continue at speech centers like Heracleous-Kyprianou’s in Astoria.  If they are still behind in pre-K, they receive an Individual Education Plan.  To qualify for a program, the children are evaluated by two or three independent child psychologists, many of them bilingual.

Heracleous-Kyprianou believes uptown parents often don’t realize such programs exist. “They need to know they’re available and free,” she says. “There’s a lot of kids around here, but there’s no awareness of what to do.”

Crowley says there aren’t enough bilingual speech therapists and that the city and state are seeking funding to train more. “We definitely need more bilingual Spanish speech pathologists who understand how to distinguish a disability from normal second language acquisition,” she says.

Living Wage supporters gathered downtown for a public hearing. (Photo: Jacqueline Guzman)

On a cold afternoon, a crowd of Living Wage NYC Coalition supporters lined up outside the downtown Emigrant Savings Bank Building, picket signs in hand, to enter a City Council hearing on the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act.

Group leaders distributed blue T-shirts with the organization’s logo to demonstrators from around the city, including Washington Heights and Harlem; they wore them as they chanted: “What do we want? Living Wages! When do we want it? Now!”

If passed, the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act — also called the “Living Wage Act” — would require large city-subsidized developers to pay employees a minimum hourly wage of $10 with benefits or $11.50 without. The amount would increase yearly, to match inflation.

The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, but some tip-based service workers can legally make less.

An earlier version of the bill, introduced by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. in May 2010, was revamped after some council members expressed concern about the broad range of businesses the law would affect.

The revised proposal applies only to new development projects receiving more than $1 million of financial assistance from the city or the Economic Development Corp. It wouldn’t apply to prior projects, unless their agreements change or are renewed.

If the law passes, mom-and-pop businesses with less than $5 million in revenues would be exempt, along with non-profits, manufacturers and affordable housing projects. Despite those changes, uptown officials and residents express mixed feelings about how the bill might affect their neighborhoods.

For proponents like longtime Harlem resident and activist Queen Mother Delois Blakely, the message is clear: residents need higher wages to sustain an adequate quality of life.

At the public hearing, Blakely sat amid the sea of blue T-shirts and listened to heated debate among council members. Most spectators left after almost four hours, but Blakely waited patiently to testify.

“This is a human rights issue, as far as I’m concerned,” Blakely said after the meeting, pointing to the rising cost of living. “If we cannot feed ourselves, clothe ourselves or have shelter for ourselves, then something is wrong with the equation,” she said, “especially for working class people.”

In upper Manhattan, the bill has received support from some elected officials, organizations and religious congregations. Community Board 12 members from Washington Heights and Inwood recently passed resolutions formally backing the legislation. Council Members Robert Jackson, Ydanis Rodriguez and Melissa Mark-Viverito have publicly announced their support.

Council Member Jackson determined that a full-time minimum wage employee earns just $15,080 a year; he challenged the bill’s opponents to contemplate supporting a family on such a meager salary.

“Do you think that is too much money to earn under the circumstances that the city would give developers subsidies and the high cost of living in New York City?” he asked panelists. Most workers end up having to work overtime, he added.

Harlem activist, Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakely, testified for the bill. (Photo: Jacqueline Guzman)

Opponents, including the Bloomberg administration, fear developers will be reluctant to undertake new projects in the city if they have to pay employees more.

Days after the public hearing, Central Harlem Council Member Inez Dickens officially withdrew her support for the Living Wage Act in an Op-Ed published in the New York Daily News. In the article, Dickens expressed concern for small businesses in her district, though the Act specifically excludes those with less than $5 million in revenues.

“If we are going to pull ourselves out of this recession, we must nurture the creation of new small businesses and encourage them to hire people here as well,” Dickens wrote. “If they are forced to pay this higher wage, they most certainly will choose not to come.”

Another major concern is that the law might actually hurt the people it’s intended to help, because it would result in fewer full-time jobs.

“Fair Wages may have unintended consequences for employees due to low levels of income allowed for various programs,” Henry Calderon, president of the East Harlem Chamber of Commerce, said via email. “Business owners will always hire the minimum employees needed to maintain their margins, no matter what the economy is doing. If the hourly wage goes up, then the number of employees who are part time, goes up as well.”

Individual opinions on the Living Wage Act are just as varied. Harlem resident Will Reese, a 60-year-old teacher, said the quality of life issue for New Yorkers goes beyond wages. “There are people here who are exploited all over,” he said.  Neither for nor against the act, he felt the entire economic system needed an overhaul. Living wage “doesn’t solve the problem and it doesn’t change anything,” Reese concluded.

Travis Buckley, 21, has supported himself with minimum wage jobs before, but it hasn’t been easy. “It’s practically impossible to pay rent, buy food and pay other bills with minimum wage,” said Buckley, now a manager at a major video game store in East Harlem. “The cost of living goes up every year,” he added. “We need to compensate for that.”

“I make $14 an hour and can barely live off that,” said Alicia Harrington, a 24-year-old mover in Harlem. Living on half that amount is unimaginable, she added. She supports a wage increase but fears it may result in fewer jobs. “It’s a win-lose situation,” she said. “The ones who actually get those jobs will win; those who don’t will lose.”

Living Wage ordinance experts have researched that concern extensively. “It’s fairly clear-cut that there is some impact on employment,” said Kristen Monaco, an economist at California State University, Long Beach, “though it may not be particularly large.”

In many cases, the benefits of implementing a living wage outweigh the costs, Monaco concluded. One such benefit is less reliance on public assistance programs like welfare, thus cutting government costs.

Monaco also rebutted the contention that developers would hesitate to bring new business to cities like New York. “We’re talking about major population centers here,” she said, adding that the argument applies more to smaller cities.

Similar living wage policies have already been implemented in more than 15 cities nationwide. San Francisco passed a living wage policy in 2000 and next year will become the first city to top a $10 minimum wage. Los Angeles and Philadelphia have also been successful in setting these policies without affecting local business climates, according to a 2010 study from the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education.

Although the bill has been endorsed by 29 out of 51 City Council members, its outcome remains uncertain. Speaker Christine Quinn, said to be on the fence, has faced public pressure to make a decision, especially since she hopes to succeed Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, support for the Living Wage NYC campaign has gained momentum, said Dan Morris, communications director for the Retail, Warehouse and Department Store Union, which leads the coalition. Two uptown pastors, the Rev. Jesse Williams and the Rev. Michael Walrond Jr., “have been making powerful, moral arguments for living wage,” Morris said, and have drawn support from many Harlem residents.

“We’re doing everything we can to get the bill passed in the new year,” Morris said, adding that campaign organizers are very optimistic. “The debate is over, we’ve basically won.”

A free flu vaccine campaign in Inwood. (photo: Jacqueline Guzman)

On a Thursday morning in November, four nurses covered two tables with gauze, vinyl gloves, syringes and flu vaccine vials in the community center at the Caroline Apartments in Inwood. They made small talk and waited for residents to receive free flu shots, sponsored by the Visiting Nurse Service and local government officials. But only a few people trickled in.

The flu causes about 36,000 annual deaths nationwide, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene—2,000 of which occur in New York City. The elderly are most at risk, accounting for an estimated 85 percent of deaths. So the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend vaccination for everyone over 65, and last month, city Health Commissioner Thomas Farley urged all New Yorkers to get flu shots.

Still, a 2008 health department survey says only 34.8 percent of elderly people get vaccinated in Washington Heights and Inwood. Nationally, 69.3 percent of those over 65 were immunized last year, according to the CDC.

Augustin Castellon, 59, was among the few to receive a shot that day. It was his first vaccination; he said he had never felt the need to get one before. “I never get sick, I never get the flu,” he said, “but my sister said, ‘You’re going to be 60 soon’ and thought it would be a good idea.” He added that people his age are often unaware of the vaccine’s benefits, and that superstition prevents them from getting the shot.

“Many people believe, especially the immigrant community think, that they will get more sick,” said Ebenezer Smith, district manager of Community Board 12, who also admitted to never getting a flu shot. Side effects are a common concern among residents.

“I’ve never had a positive effect taking it,” said Tina Riley, referring to the shots, outside New York Presbyterian Hospital where she works in information systems. She’s only been vaccinated twice. “I always end up sick — really on my ass sick,” she said. That’s why she prefers a holistic alternative, taking immune boosters throughout the winter.

The CDC insists that patients cannot get the flu from the flu shot. Minor side effects, like soreness, low-grade fever and aches can occur, but only last a couple of days.

“What people experience after getting the flu shot is the body building up antibodies,” explained Michael Reingold, a registered nurse with Partners in Care, a nonprofit that provides home health care. The vaccine doesn’t guarantee immunity to all strains of the flu, but Reingold believes that everyone should get vaccinated.

Nurses and doctors screen patients before vaccination, making sure patients don’t have severe allergies to medication. If it’s the patient’s first flu shot, he must stay 15 minutes afterwards, as a precaution. But allergic reactions are so rare, said registered nurse Jean Lotz, that they shouldn’t deter people from getting a yearly shot.

Another concern for patients is paying for the shot. Major drugstores offer it, for a fee; a Rite Aid in Inwood charges $28, covered by most insurance plans. “The cost is minimal,” said Charmaine Welch, a registered nurse at the vaccination campaign.

But if cost is an issue, she added, free options are available in Washington Heights and Inwood—like the Caroline Apartments event. The Visiting Nurse Service holds free events throughout the city during flu season. The problem is people don’t know about them. “Community leaders need to be more diligent in getting information out,” said Welch.

Sen. Adriano Espaillat, co-sponsor of the Inwood event, noted that the turnout was lower than in other neighborhoods. At another free vaccine event at St. Peter’s Church in midtown, more than 150 people showed up, said Lotz. Espaillat admitted that local officials have to do a better job of informing residents.

Perry Kramer, 85, a longtime Inwood resident, saw a flu shot flyer posted in the lobby of his building. He received his first vaccination in the Army in 1945, and continues to get one every year. Although the vaccine doesn’t prevent every strain of flu, getting the shot keeps his immune system active, he said. “I believe you have to protect yourself.”

Smoke from boilers burning No. 6 oil rises above Washington Heights (Photo by Matthew Gallaway)

Wood-burning fireplaces have long been obsolete in New York City, but as winter hits in Washington Heights, many chimneys still discharge dark smoke, dotting the skyline with smudgy clouds.

“About once every two hours or so, a great deal of black smoke comes out of a chimney on the roof of a neighboring building,” a resident wrote on Washington Heights and Inwood Online Community Forum. “Does anyone know if this is normal or if it’s something I should report?”

“Is this building near 186th and Bennett? If so, I’ve seen that too,” another member replied. “Huge puff of black smoke.”

Later, a third resident complained about a neighboring building: “They extended their chimney which now pumps black, noxious smoke directly into my apt.”

The smoke in question was likely emitted by boilers burning No. 6 heating oil, used in many Washington Heights and Inwood buildings. New legislation banning its use will make this sight a thing of the past by 2015.

No. 6 heating oil, also known as residual oil, is a byproduct of the distillation of crude oil, and contains high amounts of dirt and sediment.

“I still regularly see black smoke pouring out of apartment buildings in the 160s where I live, and have no doubt that it contributes significantly to poor air quality in the neighborhood,” Washington Heights resident Matthew Gallaway said via email.

Such complaints date back years. In May 2009, Gallaway posted to his blog a video titled “A Note To WaHi Landlords: Fix Your &$! Boilers.” It showed black smoke pouring from a chimney across from his apartment.

In April, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced New York City Clean Heat, a plan to eliminate heavy heating oils in New York City buildings. It’s a response to the 2009 New York City Community Air Survey stating that heating oil emissions account for much of the city’s air pollution. By July 2012, building owners will no longer be able secure a permit to use No. 6 heating oil and must convert their heating systems to use lighter fuels such as No. 4 oil, No. 2 oil or natural gas. By 2015, No. 6 oil will be prohibited.

Among city neighborhoods, Washington Heights has the sixth highest number of buildings using heavy heating oil. About 110 buildings burn No. 6  oil, according to a 2009 report by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Urban Green Council.  These buildings can be identified on an Environmental Defense Fund map, where buildings using No. 6 oil are marked with red dots. Several Washington Heights streets, like Bennett Avenue, Fort Washington Avenue and Cabrini Boulevard, are lined with dots.

The use of heavy heating oil is blamed for much of the air pollution in Inwood and Washington Heights. Eliminating its use is the “single highest impact strategy we can have” to reduce pollution, Steve Caputo of the Mayor’s Office of Long Term Sustainability and Planning said at a September town hall meeting. He referred to No. 6 oil as “really dirty stuff.”

During the winter of 2008 and 2009, the New York City Community Air Survey discovered high levels of pollutants associated with heavy heating oil in Washington Heights and Inwood. The survey detected fine particulate matter, known as PM 2.5, at concentrations 33 percent greater than the citywide average and sulfur dioxide levels 75 percent greater than the citywide average.

The survey will continue monitoring air quality until June 2014, said Professor Holger Eisl of Queens College. Eisl expects to see improvement in air quality after reducing heavy oil use. “How dramatic it will be, I don’t know,” Eisl said, but “air will be cleaner, no question about it.”

Poor air quality has had health consequences in northern Manhattan.  Asthma has been a longstanding concern, although asthma hospitalization rates have decreased in recent years. One in 20 adults in Inwood and Washington Heights has asthma, the New York City Community Health Survey reported in 2002.

Members of the New York City Clean Heat Task Force admit that phasing out No. 6 oil will not be easy for building owners. Owners will have to bear internal conversion costs, and according to this fall’s New York Energy Consumers Council newsletter, they will likely have to replace much of their heating equipment, which could cost more than $1 million in some buildings

New York City Clean Heat is encouraging building owners to convert to natural gas, which is demonstrably cleaner, cheaper and more efficient. In a case study by Cooper Square Realty, a Queens condominium reported annual savings of more than $98,000 after converting to natural gas.

Con Edison, the natural gas provider for Manhattan, is attempting to provide natural gas lines to as many interested building owners as possible. “We’re working with different stakeholders such as the New York City Mayor’s Office, the Real Estate Board of New York and the Environmental Defense Fund,” said Joe McGowan of ConEdison.

However, ConEdison cannot guarantee that all building owners will have access to natural gas by 2015. “What drives the installation of gas is the demand and commitments of customers,” McGowan said. “We don’t do speculative building.” McGowan said that ConEdison is urging building owners to first assess whether they can afford the conversion costs of switching to natural gas. “Gas may have significant up-front costs,” he said. “If it doesn’t make sense to go to gas, that’s OK.”

McGowan explained that ConEdison was encouraging building owners to join forces. If many neighborhood buildings want access to natural gas lines, the company is more likely to consider their application, because it will minimize construction costs and disruptions.

If Con Edison is unable to install natural gas lines for a building before its No. 6 oil permit expires, the building owner must substitute No. 2 or No. 4 heating oil. This transition could cost the owners of 550 Fort Washington Ave. in Washington Heights up to $150,000 up front, said James Maistre of Veritas Property Management. Maistre said the building, an affordable housing co-op, will likely not have natural gas lines by 2015 and is exploring transitioning to No. 2 oil. He says that the board will hire an engineer to evaluate the cheapest way to proceed. “It is a burden,” he said, adding, “It’s been on the wish list to upgrade.”

“It’s very costly,” said another Washington Heights building owner, who declined to be named. “Economically, it’s not convenient for me.”

The Energy Policy Research Foundation estimates No. 4 oil costs 50 cents more per gallon than No. 6 oil, resulting in a 35 percent increase in heating costs. The report goes on to say, “The transition to No. 4 oil will most dramatically affect lower-income residents whose rents could increase by over 10 percent,” though economic conditions and city regulations may prevent some rent hikes.

“There is only so much you can cut back on your heat,” said Ben Montalbano, an analyst at the Energy Policy Research Foundation who contributed to the report.  “How much that will decrease from quality of life, I don’t know.”

Isabelle Silverman, an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund who was instrumental in passing the new legislation, readily acknowledges that the cost of converting to cleaner fuels is significant. But building owners could also save money, she says, explaining that boilers using No. 6 oil require extensive maintenance. “There is a lot of opportunity for efficiency measures,” she added, including thermostatic radiator valves, programmable thermostats and systems that prevent overheating and fuel waste. “If you combine the switch to No. 2 oil with efficiency measures, you will see real savings,” Silverman said.

As New York City buildings begin the transition to cleaner fuels, Washington Heights residents speculate about the day when smoke from No. 6 oil no longer rises above their rooftops. “In the future,”one member of Washington Heights and Inwood Online wrote, ”after all the boilers have been converted to burn Number 2 oil, or natural gas, I wonder if the air in Manhattan will become so clean that mosquitoes will become a big problem.”

Paul Sawdoski holds up orange peel, a/k/a aleuria aurantia, on a mushroom walk in Inwood Hill Park. (Photo by Lina Zeldovich)

Inwood Hill Park may be hiding fungi species not yet discovered, says Paul Sadowski, a member of the New York Mycological Society, who led about 50 mushroom enthusiasts on a recent discovery tour.

Kids, adults and grandparents poked under heaps of dry leaves, lifted old wood and examined decomposing stumps to spot mold and mushrooms, some poisonous, some edible, others medicinal.  Among the familiar false turkey tail (stereum ostrea) and poison puffballs (scleroderma citrinum,) the group found a picturesque blue specimen Sadowski hadn’t seen before. His “Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms” identified the blue lace as byssocorticium atrovirens.

Unlike trees and flowers that grow in the same location every season, fungi spores may remain dormant, producing what scientists call a “fruiting body” only every few years.  “They sit there waiting for a good moment,” Sadowski explains. “You can have a mushroom that sends a fruiting body every 20 years, so if you don’t catch it, you have to wait for another 20 years. Some fungi you just don’t see very often.”

Byssocorticium atrovirens. (Photo by Lina Zeldovich)

Other examples like yellow root (phanerochaete chrysobriza) and deadly galerina (galerina autumnalus) are more common.

Anita Ragusa, who has taken several mushroom walks, says they’re like treasure hunts. She took an interest in mushrooms when she found one in a flower pot in her apartment. “I wanted to know what it was,” she says. “I started Googling it, but I couldn’t figure it out.”

Jessie Mathisen,  a science tutor, came to the walk because she liked the topic.  “I got excited when they identified slime balls,” she says. “I’m teaching about slime molds in one of my classes.”

Sadowski became interested in mushrooms about 20 years ago when he worked with composer John Cage reproducing music sheets. Feeling overwhelmed by his work, he looked for a hobby and took a mushroom class with Gary Lincoff at the New York Botanical Garden.

“I was always fond of walking into the woods and I needed to keep my mind engaged and going,” Sadowski says.  “I find the mushrooms I don’t know more interesting than mushrooms I do know.  It’s like doing puzzles.”

Sadowski was asked to give tours in Inwood Hill Park three years ago.  “I didn’t know Inwood at all and I found quite a diversity of the wood fungi here,” he says. “Last year I found a few edibles.”

“Fungi grow and make their home in their food,” Sadowski says, explaining that different mushrooms form different relationship with their hosts. In a symbiotic relationship, fungi, a network of microscopic threads, envelop the tree roots, helping to bring water from further away while trees feed mushrooms sugar, which fungi can’t produce.

However, some mushrooms are pathogens: they grow under the bark of the tree, essentially strangling it by cutting off its capillary system. There also are saprophytes, which live on dead organic matter such as broken twigs and stumps.

“For the most part, trees that are subject to fungi invasion are already weakened,” Sadowski says. “Fungi are opportunistic, not aggressive – almost like people.”

While Western culture sees mushrooms as either edible or poisonous, other cultures value them for medicinal qualities. The Japanese shitake and mytake are immune strengtheners, and mushrooms found in Chinese hot and sour soup can lower blood pressure, Sadowski says.

“We found a few ling chih or varnish shelf, which looks like a shelf,” he says. “They are very common in our area and they are ground up and used as a tea.  Another one used as a tea is chaga, which grows on birch trees and looks like a big charred canker.”

The New York Mycological Society plans a 10-year survey to identify varieties of the local fungi.

“We are going to see an interesting list form,” says Sadowski. “It will help scientists understand our ecosystems better.”

To see more species found in Inwood Hill Park, click on the photo gallery below.

The DAS Fitness Center in Inwood introduces a new approach to self-defense. (Photo by Ines Perez)

Metal chains rattled in unison following deep thuds against a punching bag. Incomprehensible shouting – short, precise, order-like – floated up the steep staircase of a gym on Academy Street.

The D.A.S. Fitness Center in Inwood opened in June as a boxing center that also offered karate classes for children. This fall, however, the club has added another course to its repertoire: self-defense.

The rise in crime, particularly violence against women, has caused major concern to Washington Heights and Inwood residents. The number of rapes in the 33rd and 34th Precincts combined has increased 27.9 percent in 2011, compared to this point last year.

“It’s a problem that, if not fixed, it will get uglier,” Rafael Santiago, 32, one of the center’s owners, said in Spanish. He was approached by Luz Bermudez, 34th Precinct Community Council vice president, who was interested in setting up courses.

Bermudez worked with the local nonprofit UNIDOS Coalition, which focuses on the needs and problems of Inwood’s youth.

Taught by Kyoshi Nathan Ingram, chairman and founder of the Deadly Art of Survival Karate Federation, the classes take a new approach to self-defense. “In a real world it’s not like the movies,” Ingram explained, adding that when attackers strike, they do so with whatever they get their hands on.

What sets this program apart, Santiago said, is that it teaches women to also make use of whatever is at hand – water bottles, umbrellas, purses, even keys – to defend themselves. “Sometimes self-defense is running,” he added.

Women also learn to look out for potential dangers by being alert.

Yolanda Rivas, 51, leaves her house at 6:30 every morning and heads to her job downtown. She said the class had helped her stay aware of her  surroundings, especially when it’s dark outside, early in the morning or late at night.

“I look from side to side, sometimes I would turn around to see if there is a person behind me,” Rivas said. “They taught me to be aware that something could happen, to always be prepared.”

She gave up using her iPod when walking in the street alone and stopped answering phone calls or texts. “Now, I always say, ‘I will call you back when I get home,’ so I can stay focused.”

The growing number of attacks hasn’t stopped Rivas from going out. But she has learned to be extra-cautious.

“When I go out with my girls, I have the driver that I know pick us up,” she said. “And then he drives to drop us off and he waits to see us go inside the building.”

A major concern for young women has been the burgeoning nightlife scene of restaurants, clubs and lounges along 207th and Dyckman streets. Men drive to the area and hang out on the streets, blasting their music, drinking and becoming aggressive, said Elisa Suarez, 23, who carries pepper spray in her purse “just in case.”

While Bermudez focused on teaching women how to physically defend themselves, other organizations and advocacy groups seek broader solutions to the problem.

“Women should take self-defense classes but we should also look to reduce domestic violence,” said Angelo Ortiz, UNIDOS youth problems director.

“People who commit the crimes are usually young adults; they are between 18 and 25 years old,” he said, adding that in his opinion, their generation has not been properly socialized.

Growing up in a household where verbal and physical abuse have become part of the daily routine can have a huge impact on future relationships. “They grow up in this environment and think it’s normal,” explained Ortiz.

He also cited economic factors. “Our unemployment rates are high; people feel desperate and feel like they don’t have anything to lose.”

Ortiz and his team also work on quality-of-life issues that some believe can increase crime. “All over Inwood, there are posters of half-naked women advertising vodka and partying,” Ortiz said. “Young men keep on seeing it around them and think of women as sexual objects.”

Local leaders and residents have requested more police officers in the 33rd and 34th precincts. Ortiz said that major pedestrian routes, like those near subway stations from 181st Street to 207th Street, are particularly dangerous and that the police should increase foot patrols to safeguard  women traveling to and from work.

“We need more police in the community, but we also need cameras and emergency phones,” Bermudez said. “Sometimes, young women don’t understand the dangers of the world we live in and my goal is to teach them about it.”

Chart by Paolo Lorenzana and Jacqueline Guzman. Data compiled from NYC.gov

A short 22-year-old woman sits hunched over her child’s stroller at the offices of the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corp., a social-service agency. Nervously, hands clasped, the woman, who asked to be called Naty, described how her marriage deteriorated after she and her husband moved from Mexico to New York five years ago.

“Things haven’t been the same since,” she said in Spanish, explaining that her husband, 20 years her senior, became controlling. “He wouldn’t let me leave the house because this isn’t my country, my town. He’d say that I should be inside cooking his meals and waiting for him.”

Last year saw a six percent rise in annual domestic violence cases citywide, says Audrey Moore, chief of the Special Victims Bureau at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

“Washington Heights and Inwood has one of the highest rates of domestic incidence reports,” said Margarita Guzman, program director of Day One, which deals with dating abuse citywide. Public safety statistics per police precinct, available on New York City’s government website, reveals that current rates are approaching or surpassing last year’s.

“Gender-based, class-based and race-based discrimination come together so that young women of color in economically-depressed neighborhoods are experiencing high rates of violence,” says Guzman.

Domestic Violence-related rapes in Inwood are among the highest in the city. Source: NYC.gov

Northern Manhattan Improvement, the Washington Heights and Inwood organization working with Naty, has encountered more cases like hers recently, says its domestic violence project director, Sarah Banda.

Matters worsened after their first child’s birth, Naty said. Her husband controlled household finances and demanded receipts verifying every purchase she made.  If she cooked something he didn’t like, “he would tell me really mean things, like that he’d been with much prettier women than me, more educated, they worked,” she recalled.

Her husband also became physically threatening, Naty said. During their most serious argument, he grabbed her by the necklace she was wearing. “He got aggressive in front of the children,” she said. “He hit me in my face and squeezed me really hard.”

“What we’ve seen is an increased number of young immigrant girls from Ecuador and Mexico, specifically. Also some West African clients,” said Banda. Of the 300 to 350 domestic violence cases her program tackles each year, “We’ve been seeing more young women coming from very, very poor situations in their home countries.”

Banda also cites a considerable age difference she’s noticed between female immigrants and their batterers. “They really believe they’re going to come here, get married and have good lives,” said Banda, who distinguishes these cases from human trafficking cases. “A lot of them are having children and starting families but there’s always that power imbalance in being an older man with more enculturation, more legal status.”

“What made it really hard was that I wasn’t a citizen,” said Naty, describing her hesitation to call the police. “It took me so long to decide to get help because I relied on him for everything.” Communication was also a barrier.

“If you’re talking about undocumented women who also don’t have the language skills to negotiate independently of men,” said Gail Garfield, a sociologist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, “then they are extremely vulnerable to abuse.”

But Banda said that immigrants seem increasingly willing to report incidents of domestic violence as more legal options become available. “A lot of our clients are in the process of getting a U Visa,” Banda said. The U Visa grants undocumented victims of crimes legal status and work eligibility for up to four years.

“Since our client’s batterer was not documented here in the U.S., the U Visa is her only option and that’s because she cooperated with a prosecution for a specific crime,” explained Banda. “If she had never reported the violence to law enforcement, she would not be eligible for any relief whatsoever.”

Naty’s husband is now in jail. Although a friend told her about the program, it took a few weeks for Naty to muster the courage to come in. “I started coming here about a month ago. I have met with a lawyer and they’re trying to deport my husband.” The lawyer is also helping her sort out a divorce claim, she said, and is assisting with documents and visa. “I’m not working right now,” she said, “but I’m still happy. No one bothers me anymore.”

“I still want to stay in America because it’s not in my daughters’ best interest to go back to Mexico,” she said. “It’s rough right now but in time, it’ll get better.”

Inwood was chosen as one of the "Six to Celebrate" with the Historic Districts Council

Inwood, nestled at the tip of Manhattan, is a neighborhood filled with an iconic history that many of its residents are unaware of.  Every year, the Historic Districts Council accepts submissions from neighborhood groups that feel their neighborhoods are worthy of preservation.

Inwood was chosen by the Historic Districts Council as one of the “Six to Celebrate” New York City neighborhoods that warranted preservation of its landmarks earlier this year after the Volunteers for Isham Park submitted the neighborhood.

In May, Chelcey Berryhill, a Pratt graduate student in historic preservation, volunteered to compile a historical inventory of the neighborhood. With the help of five other graduate students, archeologist Alison Boles and the Volunteers for Isham Park, a survey was compiled of almost all of the neighborhood’s structures. They created a custom database organized by block and lot number, with each structure’s name, the date built, type of construction, style and architect. Photos accompany the records.

“New York City in general is such a fascinating place to conduct historical research and typically you can find others who are interested in the area who have written about it,” said Berryhill. “This has not been the case in Inwood.”

Many people are unaware of the history of Inwood, according to Cole Thompson, one of the volunteers. In the mid-1800s, industrialists moved into the area transforming it into a summer getaway, something like the current-day Hamptons. Isidor Straus, who owned Macy’s, had a home with his family in Inwood.  James MacQuarie also had a residence there.

Over the years, buildings have been leveled, but many original structures still stand. “There wasn’t much time between the undeveloped and developed periods in Inwood,” said Thompson. The industrial boom happened fast and today, many of these structures are falling apart or being altered without notice.

WILLIAM HURST HOUSE

Built in 1912, the same year Isham Park was dedicated, and originally occupied by an equipment supplier to stock market related firms, the William Hurst House has had its doors boarded up since the 1980s. Located at the northeast corner of Isham Park, the structure once housed a family with 10 children and several servants.

“Over the years, it has been occupied by drifters, drunks and junkies,” Thompson said. “In theory, this building could be turned into a perfect community center. It’s beautiful, but an eyesore at the same time.”

Tiles have begun to slip off of the Hurst House’s roof. With no other house of its size and stature in the area, it remains a major concern for Inwood residents. “It would be nice to maintain and use it,” said Pat Courtney, one of the volunteers who began working with Parks in June 2009.

SEAMAN-DRAKE ESTATE ARCH

The Seaman-Drake Arch today. (Photo by Cole Thompson)

Upon entering northern Manhattan, situated on Broadway, just below 218th, sits one of the oldest Inwood structures: The Seaman-Drake Estate Arch. “The arch still survives, but it’s in a terrible state,” said Courtney. Built in the 1850s, the arch was the entrance to a pristine estate. Over the years it has been transformed into a car dealership and become a ghost town of boarded-up businesses littered with trash.

“Our main worry is that these buildings surrounding the arch do not get a lot of use,” Thompson said. “If a developer would buy this land, they could knock it all down.”

According to the volunteers, the arch has been mistreated for years. “It is situated at the top of Manhattan island, surrounded by gas stations and automobile related businesses, so its situation is not really very surprising,” Courtney said.

The arch has undergone minor structural changes over the years. Made with soft, Inwood marble, the structure has maintained it’s shape, but is now covered with graffiti.

In 2003, an effort backed by New York City Councilmember, Robert Jackson, was made to help save the Seaman-Drake Estate Arch, but nothing has been done since. “This is an emotionally charged issue in Inwood,” Courtney said. “It’s being mistreated and something needs to be done.”

INWOOD & ART DECO

A stroll through Inwood reveals dozens of art deco buildings and structures.

“101 Cooper Street is a beautiful deco building, and still has its original casement windows,” Berryhill said. “It’s a great example of what this neighborhood looked like when it was first developed.”

About five years ago, an effort by the Audubon Partnership for Economic Development partnered with Isaac Kremer, a historic preservationist, on a project to create a report on the Art Deco buildings of Washington Heights and Inwood. It was funded by the Citigoup Foundation.

Everything from the Henry Hudson Memorial Bridge to the benches and bleachers in Isham Park were designed in an art deco style. Originally painted white, their modern design stood out against the park’s green oasis. Recently, the Park’s Department painted the art deco structures green.

“This was a change made without warning of something from the 1930s,” said Courtney. The Volunteers for Isham Park feel that this aesthetic decision does nothing to preserve Inwood’s art deco past.

“After the recent landmarking of the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, we believe a historic district in Inwood is possible due to the strong similarities between the two neighborhoods. The buildings share architects and similar styles. We hope this will bring more positive reinforcement towards our efforts,” Berryhill said.

“It’s important to learn about how your community works,” Courtney said. “What can happen and what you can do about it can make a difference.” The Volunteers for Isham Park are planning the centennial celebration of the gift of Isham Park for September 2012.

John Collado's family and friends led the march from Post Avenue to the 34th Precinct. (Photo by Paul Smith)

Heart-shaped balloons reading “John Collado In Our Hearts Always” floated above the crowd marching from Post Avenue in Inwood to the 34^th Precinct this afternoon.  Collado, the 43-year-old father of five, died in September following an altercation with a plainclothes police detective.

Collado’s family and friends, who led the march of about 100 people, chanted and carried candles and memorial pictures. They demonstrated to commemorate Collado, they said, and to question the circumstances of his death, currently under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

On September 6, Collado intervened as police tried to arrest his neighbor, Rangel Batista, outside their apartment building at 17 Post Avenue. Police, family and witness accounts of the incident vary, disputing whether the officer identified himself. Collado was shot in the abdomen by the officer and died the following day in Harlem Hospital.

The family’s attorney, Patrick Brackley, identifies the officer as Timothy Connelly. The New York Police Department would not confirm the officer’s name because of the ongoing investigation.

The family also says that members were denied access to Collado before his death. His niece, Banayz Taveras, a nurse trainee, was arrested at the scene when she attempted to help him. She was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with governmental administration, Brackley says. Police also prevented the family from seeing Collado in Harlem Hospital.

Collado lived in Inwood all his life and was well known in the community. Married three times, he was unable to work in recent years due to back problems. Following his death, media reports cast Collado as “a former pro wrestler,” with sources suggesting he held the officer in a chokehold. Collado’s family and friends deny this, explaining he hadn’t wrestled since he was a teenager. “My brother was not a pro wrestler,” said Maria Collado-Wright. “I just want to make sure his name is clear.”

Collado was arrested eight years ago on drug-related charges, Brackley said, and after conviction, given probation. But Pablo Collado, his older brother, insists, “He was not a criminal in any way.”

Collado-Wright describes her younger brother as “always helping someone. He didn’t want anything in return. He did things with a sense of humor, always with a smile and he was really devoted to his children.” She spoke of him as a police supporter who’d once enrolled at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in hopes of joining the force.

Friends set up two Facebook groups following the incident: “Justice For John Collado” and “Standing Up For A Cause, Now Is The Time.” Combined, they have more than 400 members. Mike Jimenez, a childhood friend, emerged as a spokesman and planned the first demonstration, held 10 days after Collado’s death.

Officers assisted at today’s march, managing traffic. Speaking before the event, Deputy Inspector Barry Buzzetti of the 34^th Precinct said participants “have every right to express their concerns and we’ll accommodate that.” He added that the police are in constant communication and are “entirely sympathetic” with the family.

Collado-Wright said the precinct has “opened their doors to us the best they can,” but later added that Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne “haven’t spoken to the family,” or replied to their letters.

“This is the last straw,” said Jimenez. “I grew up here with a lot of people who are now drug dealers. A lot of them have been shot and killed and it hurts me. But with John, this guy is so straight up. He’s about the community and keeping the peace.”

Jimenez is wary of associating Collado’s supporters with anti-police sentiment.  Although Occupy Wall Street protesters and anti-police brutality groups have expressed interest in the cause, “when they contact me, I tell them that we don’t want to make it into an issue of police brutality,” he said.  “This is about John Collado.”

Jimenez plans to continue organizing demonstrations. “We’re going to keep coming at them until there is a resolution that is acceptable to the community.”

Meanwhile, the Collados struggle to adjust to life without John. “He was the heart of the family,” said Collado-Wright. “He always kept us together.” His mother, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, is frequently hospitalized. Now, Collado-Wright travels from New Jersey to look after her.

Collado-Wright wants closure for her family – but that’s not her only goal. “We don’t want the community to forget what happened to John because it could easily happen to anyone,” she said, listing questions the family wants answered: “They would never send a cop alone. What was that cop doing there? The other person, why wasn’t he charged?” She also asks why restrictions were imposed on the family while Collado was hospitalized.

“That’s what hurts the most,” she said. ”We couldn’t say say goodbye.”

Trinity Cemetery is one of Uptown's famous haunts. (Photo by Lindsey Wagner)

Every town has its ghost stories. Legends about grim and ghostly events from long ago that haunt the minds of believers and skeptics alike.

Paranormal investigators, like Dan Sturges and his team, investigate eerie experiences that people can’t explain. “Sometimes, more often than not, there’s a rational explanation,” he says.

But, other times, could that tingling feeling that makes your hair stand on end or those footsteps you hear when you’re all alone at night, be caused by the alleged souls of the dead?

New York has many places with haunted stigmas. Here are a few for you to enjoy this Halloween.

HOUDINI’S HOUSE

Harry Houdini, the magician known for his Chinese Water Torture Cell trick and for being buried alive, died on Halloween in 1926.

His wife, Bess, refused to accept that her husband was no longer going to “magically” appear in her life. After selling their home on the Upper West Side, Bess moved to Inwood.

According to Cole Thompson, founder of MyInwood.net and member of Volunteers for Isham Park, just before Houdini left his wife for the afterlife, the couple decided on one thing: For the next decade, on the anniversary of his death, Bess would take part in a séance where Houdini would appear and produce a secret code that only she would know.

“Every Sunday, at the hour of Harry’s death, Bess would lock herself in a room of her Payson Avenue home with a photograph of her dead husband and wait for a sign,” Thompson said.

For 10 years, Bess continued to hold a séance every Halloween until the final one in 1936 on the rooftop of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood. This was broadcast over the radio. She never heard from her beloved, and gave up.

To this day, Houdini séances are held on the anniversary of his death. The Houdini Museum, in Scranton, Pa., asks believers and skeptics alike to hold séances. “We are asking everyone on the web to attempt to contact Harry Houdini sometime during Halloween for the 24 hours of October 31st and email us with any results and lack of results,” it says. “No kooks please, this is a serious séance test and séance tribute.”

THE MORRIS-JUMEL MANSION

Inside the corridor of the Morris-Jumel Mansion. (Photo by Sandra Ifraimova)

The oldest standing house in Manhattan, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, in Washington Heights, is said to have at least four ghosts roaming it’s 246-year-old creaky halls. Legend has it that the angry ghosts of Stephen Jumel, a woman in a purple dress, a housemaid that committed suicide and a Hessian soldier still live at 65 Jumel Terrace.

“It’s on the register of the National Haunted Houses in America,” said James Reener, a Community District 12 historian.

Built in 1765, as a summer home for British Col. Roger Morris, the house has an extensive history. It was used by Gen. George Washington and his senior officers to make plans for the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776. It was then occupied by a British general followed by a Hessian commander.

After the war ended in 1783, the occupants changed frequently. In 1810, Stephen Jumel bought the property that contained the mansion and lived there with his wife, Madame Eliza Bowen Jumel, originally his mistress. After he died, she married Aaron Burr.

About 17,000 people visit the mansion annually, mostly for historical reasons, except for the last two weeks in October, said Ken Moss, director of the Morris Jumel Mansion. Moss, who has worked there for 12 years and had many overnight stays, has never seen a ghost.

“It’s not that I’m a non-believer entirely,” Moss said. “I’m a skeptic. The thing is, just because it’s an old house, people assume that it’s haunted, and there are old houses everywhere.”

He added, “The titillating story of ghosts detracts from the significance of the house.”

In 1964, students from a nearby school visited the mansion. It is said that a woman dressed in purple, stood on the balcony and yelled at the children, telling them to shut up. She then turned around and walked through a solid, wood door. It is said that this was Madame Jumel, who had been dead for almost 100 years.

View of the balcony where the ghost of Eliza Jumel has been seen. (Photo by Lindsey Wagner)

The third floor servants’ quarters are said to be haunted by a maid that threw herself out of a window after an unhappy love affair. The spirit of Stephen Jumel, Eliza’s first husband, has allegedly made his presence known during séances. His ghost claimed that after he fell on a pitchfork, his wife ripped off his bandages and watched him bleed to death in the mansion.

Sturges and his team went to the mansion two years ago. “I spoke to a couple of people who worked there and they said they hear footsteps all the time, they see things from the corner of their eye”, he said. “They feel like they are not alone in the room. Others saw Eliza Jumel standing on the balcony screaming at people.”

TRINITY CEMETERY

Trinity Cemetery, located in Washington Heights, may be the final resting place for many New York notables, but certain ghosts are said to lurk around its grounds.

The site dates to 1776 when the Battle of Fort Washington was fought there. The actual cemetery was established in 1842 by the parish of Trinity Church after burials were prohibited in lower Manhattan because of disease outbreaks.

Trinity Cemetery is believed to be haunted by many New York notables. (Photo by Sandra Ifraimova)

“Originally extending from 153^rd to 155^th Streets and from Amsterdam to Riverside Drive, the cemetery exhumed many graves after Broadway expanded,” said Raul Serrano, assistant manager at Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum. The graves were moved to the other side of Broadway, separating the cemetery into a western and eastern division.

Many people that visit the Morris-Jumel Mansion make a stop at Trinity to see the hillside vault of Eliza Jumel, who allegedly haunts her nearby mansion.

Several Astor family mausoleums are spread throughout the grounds. John J. Astor, considered the first millionaire in the United States, is interred, in a vault at Trinity as well as his great grandson, John Jacob Astor IV, who died on the Titanic.

Julian Sepulveda, 19, a Manhattan College student, was visiting Trinity on a tour, and hoped to catch a glimpse of a ghost. “My old house was haunted, we’d find stuff scattered around,” he said. “I’m totally a believer that we’ll see something.”

Allegedly, the laughter of a young woman can be heard throughout the cemetery grounds, but it is unclear exactly which gravesite it comes from.

“I personally haven’t seen a ghost, but some of the staff think that they have seen them,” Serrano said.

More stories on Halloween Uptown:

What Lies Beneath: Harlem’s Crypt Chapel

El Barrio Celebrates Dia De Los Muertos