The ''Manhattan Times'' is a free English / Spanish bilingual community newspaper serving all the neighborhoods of

Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the most northern region of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, the northern boundary of Central Park (110th Street), ...

, including

Hamilton Heights Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is the northernmost part of the West Harlem area, along with Manhattanville and Morningside Heights to its south, and it contains the sub-neighborhood an ...

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

, Central, and West

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill. It was founded in 2000 by Luís A. Miranda Jr., Roberto Ramírez Sr., and David Keisman. The print version is distributed free on Wednesdays to 235 different street boxes and community organizations (), primarily in Washington Heights and Inwood.

Content

The primary feature of the ''Manhattan Times'' is its articles, written by a combination of editorial staff and others, primarily on topics of interest to residents of Northern Manhattan and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

as a whole. Each article is published in both English and Spanish, with the goal of accessibility for readers, as Spanish is the language most commonly spoken in Washington Heights and Inwood households. In addition to articles, the newspaper has many elements included in every paper such as classifieds listing job opportunities and sales offers. It also has a regular page promoting local restaurants of Washington Heights and Inwood. Advertising, the paper's primary source of revenue, is taken up substantially by PSAs from the New York City government and advertisements for local businesses. The paper also regularly lists local events in the Northern Manhattan area.

History

''Manhattan Times'' was founded by Luís A. Miranda Jr., Roberto Ramírez Sr., and David Keisman, although the paper leaves Keisman, the former publisher of a Queens newspaper, out of the "founder / publisher" title. Luís A. Miranda Jr., father of

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and '' In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animat ...

, had grown up in a politically active family in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, and learned to appreciate journalism reading the socialist newspaper ''

Claridad ''Claridad'' ("Clarity") is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was founded in June 1959. The paper served as the official publication of the Puerto Rican independence movement and later the Puerto Rican Socia ...

''. He and Ramírez were experienced in politics, being partners of the political consulting firm MirRam Group LLC. Robert W. Snyder's book ''Crossing Broadway'', an analysis of the history of Washington Heights, describes the role of the ''Manhattan Times'' in bridging the White and Latino communities of Washington Heights. The paper has both advertised the neighborhood's real estate, which is becoming more and more in demand due to rising

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

, and advocated for tenant's rights and other issues impacting the neighborhood's established residents. ''Manhattan Times'' has been successful as a free newspaper, he argued, because it drew advertisers and readership from the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities of Northern Manhattan. A sister newspaper, ''The Bronx Free Press'', is published in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Free newspapers Newspapers published in New York City Newspapers established in 2000 1999 establishments in New York City