Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill

Neighborhood · Manhattan

Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill occupies the northern end of West Harlem, reaching from the Hudson River toward Edgecombe Avenue and up to 155th Street.

  • 0.57 square miles
  • 49,410 residents, 2020 Census
  • 102 street corners
  • 4 subway stations
  • 11 bus routes

Alexander Hamilton bought land here in 1799 and completed his country house, the Grange, in 1802; rowhouses arrived from the mid-1880s, and apartment houses followed the opening of the IRT subway in 1904. In the mid-1920s the area became known as Sugar Hill, a name suggesting a sweet and prosperous life, and in the 1930s and 1940s many Black professionals in law, medicine, business and the arts made their homes here. Several historic districts, the first designated in 1974, now protect its streets.

Sources: The District (Manhattan Community Board 9); Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District Designation Report (LP-2064) (NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission); History & Culture - Hamilton Grange National Memorial (National Park Service); Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District and Extension (Historic Districts Council).

Map

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Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill borders three areas, and Amsterdam Avenue and Riverside Drive hold more of its corners than any other street, 17 each of 102.

Street map of Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill, Manhattan, outlined among Manhattanville-West Harlem, Harlem (North) and Washington Heights (South), with its four subway stations and Recreational Area.Washington Heights (South)Harlem (North)Manhattanville-West Harlem
  • Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill
  • A neighboring area
  • Park
  • A station in the list
  • Another station

Neighborhood areas and streets: NYC Department of City Planning. Parks: NYC Parks. Stations: MTA.

Neighboring areas

Subway stations

  • 155 St lines C
  • 145 St lines 1
  • 145 St lines A B C D
  • 137 St-City College lines 1

Getting around

Four subway stations and buses on 11 routes stop in or at the edge of Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill.

  • 4 subway stations
  • 11 local bus routes

Local bus routes

  • Bx6
  • Bx6-SBS
  • Bx19
  • M2
  • M3
  • M4
  • M5
  • M11
  • M100
  • M101
  • T204

Safety record

Between 2021 and 2025, its corners averaged more police-reported crashes than the average Manhattan corner.

  • 1,542 police-reported crashes at its corners
  • 15.1 a corner, on average
  • 13.4 the average Manhattan corner
  • 2 corners with a clean record

Signal or safety changes on City record, at 43 of its corners

Leading pedestrian intervals
33
Accessible pedestrian signals
12
Barnes Dance all-way crossings
6
Turn calming
4
Enhanced crossings
2

Camera tickets

In 2025 its corners had more school-zone speed camera tickets than red-light or bus-lane tickets.

  • 0 red-light camera tickets
  • 17,339 school-zone speed camera tickets at five corners
  • 0 bus-lane camera tickets

People and homes

The 2020 Census counted 49,410 residents in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill, about 86,700 per square mile.

  • 20,990 homes, 2020 Census
  • 915 homes added since April 2010, net, by City Planning's count

Half of its 1,441 residential lots hold buildings from 1907 or earlier, and 97% of them date from before 1940, by the City's tax lot records.

Parks and landmarks

Parkland
42.5 acres of NYC Parks property
The largest pieces
Recreational Area (17.5 acres), Jackie Robinson Park (13 acres) and Riverside Park (9.5 acres)
Designated landmarks
The Beaumont Apartments, the Hamilton Theater, the New York Public Library's Hamilton Grange Branch and the Jackie Robinson Play Center Bandshell, among others
Historic districts
Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill, Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Extension, Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Northeast and Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Northwest, wholly or partly within Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill

Streets and trees

Trees
3,685 in NYC Parks' records, most often pin oak, thornless honeylocust and London planetree
Street with the most corners
Amsterdam Avenue, with 17 of the area's 102
Height above sea level
From 19 feet at West 152nd Street & Bradhurst Avenue to 149 feet at Amsterdam Avenue & West 139th Street
Honorary street names
9 at its corners, enacted by local law

Schools and libraries

The City lists seven schools and one library in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill.

Public schools
3
Charter and private schools
4
Library
Hamilton Grange Library

Bike share and public art

By the station list of October 3, 2026, 18 bike-share stations stand in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill. The City's public art inventory lists three works in the area: Hooper Fountain (1894), The Totally Kid Carousel (1998) and Ralph Ellison Memorial (2003).

  • 18 bike-share stations
  • 3 works of public art

Public safety

How complaints are counted

In 2025 the NYPD recorded 576 major felonies at places in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill.

Recorded by the NYPD at places in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill

  • 656 major felonies in 2024 80 fewer in 2025
  • 2,296 other felonies, misdemeanors and violations in 2025

In 2025, on the streets along the edge of Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill, the NYPD recorded another 123 major felonies. Counting the streets along its edge, in 2025 the NYPD recorded 14.1 major felonies for every thousand residents the 2020 Census counted in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill.

Police precinct
30th
Major felonies recorded at places in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill, 2021 to 2025

From January to June 2026 the NYPD recorded 279 major felonies at places in Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill, against 302 in the same months of 2025.

Sources: the NYPD's Complaint Data Historic, updated April 28, 2026, and Complaint Data Current (Year To Date), updated July 27, 2026, on NYC Open Data. Figures to June 30, 2026.

Street corners

How the figures above are measured: Methodology.