The population turnover [in Washington Heights] that my friend had told me about was happening very quickly right before my eyes. Long-established Jewish residents were either moving to the suburbs or retiring to Florida. In their place came upwardly mobile immigrants from the Dominican. 

This did not mean the area was going downhill. Our new tenants may have been new to America, but they had jobs and were raising families. The neighborhood demographics were changing, but to me it was a positive change, a renewal of the area with a fresh community spirit.