Washington Heights

Washington Heights is way uptown but has The Cloisters museum and Fort Tryon Park with good views. Decent Dominican restaurants and generally safer than other uptown areas, but still a bit far from main tourist attractions.

Washington Heights has a strong Dominican community, great food, and Fort Tryon Park with The Cloisters museum, which is worth the trip for the medieval art and gardens. It's definitely safer than East Harlem and has more of a family neighborhood feel, especially around the park area. You'll see lots of families and older residents who've lived there for decades, which creates a community atmosphere. The subway ride up is long though, and while it's generally fine during the day, most visitors prefer to come up for specific attractions and then head back downtown. It's improving a lot but still requires more street awareness than the tourist neighborhoods.