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If you haven’t been there, it looks kind of like this. Empty and paved. On the sides, it’s a different story.

What’s amazingly cool about it, however, is how completely unique it is in New York City. First off, there are no houses or businesses on 75% of it. Second, it curves in an ‘S’ shape. Third, it connects two really dense, really interesting neighborhoods: Washington Heights on the top and Inwood on the bottom. With all these fantastic attributes, how come it just languishes there, used mostly as a medium-term parking lot?

What would be great is to develop it as a real place. A pathway through the forest, with gardens, arbors, benches, and playgrounds. A two-way bike lane and a jogging track. Maybe even turn the auto-glass shop and the car wash:

into restaurants or play areas. The street could be a destination in its own right, a place that would link these two neighborhoods with a third place, instead of a dull strip of roadway.

What do you think?