Castle Village

Charles Vincent Paterno (born Canio Paternò, August 4, 1878 – May 30, 1946) was an Italian-born American real estate developer. He was called the "Napoleon of the Manhattan Skyscraper Builders".

The Paterno Castle was a residential castle on Riverside Drive and Northern Boulevard (now Cabrini Boulevard), between 181st and 185th Streets in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of Washington Heights, Upper Manhattan, New York City, which was built in 1905 by Charles V. Paterno and demolished by him in 1938. The Castle Village apartment complex is now located on the property.

Hudson View Gardens is a cooperative apartment complex located on Pinehurst Avenue and Cabrini Boulevard in the near vicinity of West 183rd and 185th Streets, located in the Hudson Heights subsection of the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. It overlooks the Hudson River to the west and Bennett Park – which includes Manhattan's highest natural point – to the east. The complex was constructed as a housing cooperative from 1923 to 1925. In 2016 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At a time when some believed that only the wealthy or poor could afford to live in Manhattan, affordable urban housing was viewed a solution to the problem of the middle-class flight to the suburbs. Charles V. Paterno, a real estate developer best known for his extensive work in Morningside Heights, purchased land on Pinehurst Avenue and Cabrini Boulevard, between West 182nd and 186th Streets, across the street from his estate, atop a ridge above the Hudson River. His plan was to create a "garden community" of cooperative apartments to attract those who desired the comforts of the era's garden city movement-inspired upper middle class suburbs (exemplified by the eponymous Garden City, New York and Mountain Lakes, New Jersey) but also wished to remain in New York City. The project was designed by architect George F. Pelham with landscaping by landscape architect Robert B. Cridland from Philadelphia. Pelham's fifteen buildings in the complex occupy 40% of the 3.869-acre (15,660 m2) site. The nine six-story elevator buildings and six four-story walk-ups were situated to make use of the open space and the expansive views of the Hudson River and Bennett Park to the west. Its use of Tudor-style architectural elements in the facade came two years before the construction of Tudor City, the other major Tudor complex in Manhattan. The AIA Guide to New York City describes the complex as "Scarsdale Tudor."Pelham also designed another apartment building in the neighborhood, The Pinehurst, which was built in 1907 at the corner of Fort Washington Avenue and West 180th Street. Pelham's son, George F. Pelham Jr., was the architect of Castle Village, a Hudson Heights neighbor of Hudson View Gardens across Cabrini Avenue, which was built in 1938.At the time of its construction, Hudson View Gardens was the largest housing cooperative in New York and one of the earliest aimed at the middle class. Today it is known throughout Hudson Heights as the home of beautifully manicured gardens, its own children's playground, and U.S. mail delivered directly to each apartment. Community events are hosted in the Hudson View Lounge, many of which are free and open to the public.

Plaza Lafayette is a small, 0.09-acre (0.036 ha) park and surrounding streets in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. Named after the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution, the park is roughly trapezoidal in shape, and is bounded by Riverside Drive – originally called Boulevard Lafayette in this area – on the west, the westbound lane of West 181st Street – also called "Plaza Lafayette" here – on the north, the eastbound lane of West 181st Street/Plaza Lafayette on the south, and Haven Avenue on the east. The land was acquired by the city on February 23, 1918.The park itself has no amenities, but across what is now Riverside Drive is a small viewing area. This and the parklet itself are located near the highest natural point in Manhattan – about 5 block away in Bennett Park – and the viewing platform has unobstructed views of the George Washington Bridge, the Hudson Palisades, and the Hudson River.The platform has stairs leading down to what is now the Henry Hudson Parkway, which was once Riverside Drive. The staircase is now gated off, but can still be seen from the Hudson River Greenway, on the other side of the parkway, which is reachable by a pedestrian bridge about a block north of the Plaza.

Cabrini Boulevard spans the Manhattan neighborhood of Hudson Heights, running from West 177th Street in the south, near the George Washington Bridge, to Fort Tryon Park in the north, along an escarpment of Manhattan schist overlooking the Henry Hudson Parkway and the Hudson River. It is the westernmost city street in the neighborhood except for a one block loop formed by Chittenden Avenue, West 187th Street and West 186th Street. Cabrini Boulevard was originally named Northern Avenue, and was renamed for Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American canonized as a Roman Catholic saint, in 1938, the year of her beatification. Part of her remains are enshrined at the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Shrine, at 701 Fort Washington Avenue, the western entrance of which is on Cabrini Boulevard. At its northern end, past the last building on the west side of the street, Cabrini Boulevard runs alongside the "Cabrini Woods" section of Fort Tryon Park, which has been set aside as a bird sanctuary.Cabrini Boulevard is the site of two housing developments in New York City, both by real estate developer Charles Paterno. Hudson View Gardens, started in 1923 is one of the oldest housing cooperatives in the United States.On October 18, 2015, a portion of the street was co-named in honor of human rights activist Jacob Birnbaum, who lived on Cabrini Boulevard..

The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of Fort Washington near the north end of Manhattan Island. It was one of the worst Patriot defeats of the war.After defeating the Continental Army under Commander-in-Chief General George Washington at the Battle of White Plains, the British Army forces under the command of Lieutenant General William Howe planned to capture Fort Washington, the last American stronghold on Manhattan. General Washington issued a discretionary order to General Nathanael Greene to abandon the fort and remove its garrison – then numbering 1,200 men but which later grew to 3,000 – to New Jersey. Colonel Robert Magaw, commanding the fort, declined to abandon it as he believed it could be defended from the British. Howe's forces attacked the fort before Washington reached it to assess the situation. Howe launched his attack on November 16. He led an assault from three sides: the north, east and south. Tides in the Harlem River prevented some troops from landing and delayed the attack. When the British moved against the defenses, the southern and western American defenses fell quickly. Patriot forces on the north side offered stiff resistance to the Hessian attack, but they too were eventually overwhelmed. With the fort surrounded by land and sea, Colonel Magaw chose to surrender. A total of 59 Americans were killed in action and 2,837 were taken as prisoners of war. After this defeat, most of Washington's army was chased across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, and the British consolidated their control of New York Harbor and eastern New Jersey.

Fort Washington was a fortified position near the north end of Manhattan Island, at the island's highest point, within the modern-day neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. The Fort Washington Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bennett Park, also known as James Gordon Bennett Park, is a 1.8-acre (0.73 ha) public park in New York City, named for James Gordon Bennett, Sr., the newspaper publisher who launched the New York Herald in 1835. It is located between Pinehurst and Fort Washington Avenues and West 183rd and 185th Streets in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of Washington Heights in northern Manhattan, on land purchased by Bennett in 1871, the year before his death. It sits opposite the northern Fort Washington Avenue entrance to the 181st Street subway station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line, serviced by the A train. Bennett, Sr. passed ownership of the land – which included the site of Fort Washington, from which the Continental Army delayed the advance of British troops in 1776 – to his son, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., who in 1901 allowed the Sons of the American Revolution to erect a marble, bronze and granite stele designed by Charles R. Lamb to commemorate the battle. This was dedicated in 1901 and is now located on the eastern perimeter wall of the park.Bennett intended to donate the land to the city for use as a park, but died in 1918 without adding that bequest to his will. The land was therefore divided for sale, but the request of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society that the part of the property where Fort Washington stood be preserved was honored. In 1928, the site was acquired by the city, and, with additional land, was turned over to the Parks Department. The park opened in 1929.In 1932, in commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington, the Washington Heights Honor Grove Association planted an American elm tree, which is indicated with a marker. Other memorials in the park include the Emilio Barbosa Memorial, given in 1996 by Joseph Barbosa to honor his father, who died on the USS Nevada at Okinawa in 1945.On the west side of the park lies an outcropping of Manhattan schist which is the highest natural point in Manhattan – 265 feet (81 m) above sea level – with a square stone marker attesting to the fact. The schist is part of the bedrock foundation of New York City, which allows the construction of skyscrapers where it lies close to the surface.The park's playground was constructed in the 1940s, and service buildings were added in 1964.Bennett Park hosts a variety of events, such as the Revolutionary War Reenactment, which Redcoats and George Washington's army actors converge and fight in the park, reenacting the battle of Fort Washington. An annual Harvest Festival is held in the park's field. As part of the "Northern Manhattan Parks 2030 Master Plan", devised in 2010–11, the playground and comfort station in Bennett Park will be reconfigured to "improve sight-lines and play value." In addition, the condition of the park's perimeter will be improved.

The 181st Street station (also known as 181st Street–Fort Washington Avenue) is a station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located beneath Fort Washington Avenue in the Hudson Heights section of the Washington Heights neighborhood, between 181st and 184th Streets. The station is served by the A train at all times. The 181st Street station opened in 1932 and has two tracks and two side platforms. It is located near Bennett Park, the highest natural point in Manhattan. The station has two exits to Fort Washington Avenue: one at 181st Street and another across from Bennett Park. A third entrance is at 184th Street and Overlook Terrace at the bottom of the hill; elevators connect the Bennett Park and Overlook Terrace entrances. The station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Fort Tryon Jewish Center is a synagogue located at 524 Fort Washington Avenue between West 183rd and 184th Streets, across from Bennett Park in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City.The congregation was founded in 1938 by long-time residents of the city and refugees from Nazi Germany. It first occupied leased space, building a modest facility in 1950, and then a spacious sanctuary that opened in 1960, designed by N. J. Sapienza in the Modernist style. The Torah Ark in the building has been described as "a gem of midcentury design."From 2002 on, the congregation grew as young families moved into the neighborhood.

The Hebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights is an historic domed Art Deco style building and Reform synagogue. It is located at 551 Fort Washington Avenue, on the corner of 185th Street, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.

Hudson Heights is a residential neighborhood of the Washington Heights area of Upper Manhattan, New York City. Most of the residences are in apartment buildings, many of which are cooperatives, and most were constructed in the 1920s through 1940s. The Art Deco style is prominent, along with Tudor Revival. Notable complexes include Hudson View Gardens and Castle Village, which were both developed by Dr. Charles V. Paterno, and were designed by George F. Pelham and his son, George F. Pelham, Jr., respectively. The neighborhood is located on a plateau on top of a high bluff overlooking both the Hudson River on the west and the Broadway valley of Washington Heights on the east, and includes the highest natural point in Manhattan, located in Bennett Park. At 265 feet (81 m) above sea level, it is a few dozen feet lower than the torch on the Statue of Liberty.At the northern end of the neighborhood, where Cabrini Boulevard meets Fort Washington Avenue at Margaret Corbin Circle, is Fort Tryon Park, conceived by John D. Rockefeller Jr., designed by the Olmsted Brothers, and given to the city by Rockefeller in 1931. The park contains within it The Cloisters – also conceived of by Rockefeller – which houses the Medieval art collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.