NoMa (Northern Manhattan) began to receive buzz as a neighborhood nickname for Washington Heights and Inwood when a property at 175 Payson Avenue was offered in 2007 as “NOMA175.” Not everyone likes the nickname—who wants to live in a place that advertises “no ma”?
 
Another, perhaps less-popular name for the same area is MaNo (Northern Manhattan).
 
 
NOMA175
175 PAYSON AVE
 
Artists Unite Issue
October 1, 2007
new alternative space in NoMa: call for curatorial submissions
Filed under: Opportunities, WebLog — Peter Ferko @ 8:07 pm
Artists Unite is accepting applications for curated exhibitions of small groups for its 2007-2008 series in its new space that is currently under development in Northern Manhattan.
   
Curbed.com
NOMA No Mas? Inwood Gets Rebranded
Friday, December 7, 2007, by Joey
Up in the wilds of Inwood, new developments land not with a whimper, but with a BANG. Take for example, the new building at 175 Payson Avenue near Inwood Hill Park. Some would think the little six-story, 12-unit building (prices range from $405k to $820k) is not much to write home about, but they would be wrong. Since this is Inwood, and every new building must make some sort of grand statement about the neighborhood so that non-Inwoodites will take interest, Nest Seekers International is calling the thing NOMA 175, which we guess stands for North Manhattan. Inwoodite files the necessary reaction, and there are more questions than answers.
 
What grabs us more than amenities and asking prices, though, is the neighborhood pitch. Will Washington Heights and Inwood (or just Inwood) be re-branded as NOMA? Will a slick new moniker—which, we admit, we prefer to WaHI—and our “exciting new commercial ventures” lure wealthy homesteaders to be among the “trendsetters reshaping the area”?
 
One thing’s for sure. The developers aren’t coming.
 
They’re here.
 
Dramatic, but we hope this NOMA thing catches on, if only so that we can call the Financial District SOMA, Hudson Yards WOMA, and York Avenue EOMA.
   
Washington Heights & Inwood Online
Re: “Rezoning Watrerfront Property” in Inwood????
« Reply #3 on: 12/09/07, 18:23 »
22 yrs in Inwood (aka 18, etc.) 
I think the building looks okay so far, not cellblock-like.  That photo doesn’t do it “justice.”  While it isn’t a gorgeous building by any means, it isn’t deplorable, either.
 
Love the building’s name, though: “NOMA 175.”  I guess NOMA stands for “Northern Manhattan.”  That’s a little non-standard, though.  The customary phrase is “Upper Manhattan”—but I guess “UpMa” would be totally rude!
   
Mary Elizabeth Williams’ neighborhood
No Ma, no less
Dec. 10th, 2007 at 10:09 AM
I remember before Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens fused into BoCoCa. I chortled when the South Bronx was rechristened SoBro.
 
So why didn’t I see it coming that it was just a matter of time before my Northern Manhattan neighborhood morphed into NoMa? As a resident of our sleepy enclave, I believe the rest of the phrase is “n’s Land.” Apparently, however, you can be among “the trend setters reshaping the area.” Which I’m pretty sure is code for “white people who drink coffee.”
 
Favorite line of the site’s neighborhood guide: “The buzz is out: ‘Northern Manhattan is the Next Williamsburg!’” Oh sweet Jesus, say it ain’t so. Trust me, hipsters, it’s a really long train ride just to get to the freakin’ Upper West Side. And the breeders have TOTALLY taken over. There’s no Starbucks. Not a lot of bars. Just move along now, nothing to see here.
   
CitiHabitats
Manhattan Times
January 24, 2008
by Julia Marsh
Last June, Two07 Arts Gallery in Inwood hosted an exhibition titled, “Ladies and Gentlemen, This is the Last Stop,” in its jewel box of a storefront. With conceptual pieces that included a large ball of blue thread that measured the length of the Atrain’s path, the exhibition addressed life at the tip of the island.

This January, the tiny gallery played host to an entirely dissimilar type of exhibition. Though “A Celebration of NOrthern MAnhattan” included images of the A-train, it focused on straightforward,
familiar neighborhood snapshots like a man fishing in the Hudson River and children and dogs playing in Inwood Hill Park. The capital lettering in the exhibition’s title alluded to the catalyst
behind the show: promoting 12 new condominium units on nearby Payson Avenue in a building dubbed “NOMA 175.”
     
New York (NY) Post (July 16, 2008)
About Inwood
(...)
The six-story NoMa 175—as in Northern Manhattan, get it?—on Payson Avenue, just across from Inwood Hill Park, has one-bedrooms from about $385,000.
 
The Real Deal 
July 2008
Tapping a new art vibe
Brokers use works by local, contemporary artists to stage homes
By Abby Luby
(...)
Local photography was used to attract buyers to a new condo building in the northern Manhattan section of Inwood. Marketers Sabrina Seidner and Susan Davis Eley of Nest Seekers International hosted an art show in January at the neighborhood’s Two07 Gallery. They wanted to draw attention to the 12-unit building on Payson Avenue called NOMA 175.
 
A steady stream of people flowed in to see photographs of the neighborhood taken by Ghila Krajzman, a professional photographer hired by Seidner and Eley. Next to pictures of restaurants and park scenes with children were signs that read, “Own your peace of Manhattan,” “eclectic,” “arrive,” “it’s NOMA motion,” and “the vibe of the new.”
   
NoMa Photo Group
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
NoMa Photo Group
Welcome to the Northern Manhattan Photography Group’s blog.
Currently under review, check back for updates.