Wash Heights Armory Vaccine Site Now Exclusively For Locals

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — NewYork-Presbyterian announced Wednesday new guidelines for the Fort Washington Armory vaccine site that limit all new appointments to New York City residents.

Additionally, a minimum of 60 percent of those appointments will be reserved for eligible residents of Washington Heights, Inwood, Northern and Central Harlem, and South Bronx communities.

The Armory also created an outreach team that includes bilingual staff to "expand community outreach efforts in Northern Manhattan."

The changes came less than a day after THE CITY reported various access issues at the Upper Manhattan vaccination site, including a high number of suburbanites taking up appointments and a lack of any guides or security guards outside the Armory that spoke Spanish — despite the site's location in a predominantly Spanish-speaking community.

Existing appointments will still be honored even if you live outside of New York City.

It is not the first time that the vaccination effort in Washington Heights and Inwood has come under fire.

Earlier in January, Patch reported on the absence of any vaccine sites above 136th Street in Manhattan, before the creation of the Armory site. The Upper Manhattan omission in the vaccine effort came despite Washington Heights and Inwood consistently posting the highest COVID-19 positivity rates in Manhattan.

City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez said at the time, "It is unacceptable that Northern Manhattan having currently among some of the highest rates of COVID-19 aren't included with the first few hospitals and health centers providing vaccine appointments."

To find more information about eligibility for the vaccination and to make an appointment, visit VaccineTogetherNY.org.