On the right, 1970 West 109th Street where Peter M and I lived in the late 1960s. Next door, on the left, 144 West 109th Street, and to the left of 144, the identical 142 (next pictures) where President Obama lived in 1981 as a Columbia University student, when the street was still almost entirely Dominican and Puerto Rican, and during the height of the crack wars. I believe the building is identical to 170 and 172, which are New Law Tenement buildings, walk-up "railroad apartments" where all the rooms are in a row like railroad cars (at least that's how my apartment was) but at least they have windows and plumbing, unlike Old Law tenements from before 1901 (this neighborhood sprang up in 1900-1910 due to the arrival of the subway).