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New Washington Heights Group Puts Spotlight on Changing Social Scene

By Carla Zanoni | May 26, 2011 10:21am | Updated on May 26, 2011 6:26pm

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo reporter/Producer

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A new Washington Heights group is trying to put a spotlight on the best up-and-coming hotspots the neighborhood has to offer — from the top clothing designers to the most in-demand restaurants and clubs.

And they're trying to put a fresh face on it by picking local covermodels to star in their campaign.

Friday Night Heights, a year-old grassroots group looking to put a fresh spin on northern Manhattan, has launched a summer-long campaign to bring attention to their best attractions. The group's name is a play on the "Friday Night Lights" — the book about Southern football games that became a popular movie and TV show.

Dubbed the "Heights Renaissance," in a nod to their southern neighbors' "Harlem Renaissance," the group plans to launch public service-style advertisements to promote the area.

They're going to put up flyers, ads on bus stops, and other social media blitzes to remind folks that the fun doesn't end at 125th Street.

"We're basking in the beauty uptown has to offer," said organizer Eva "Lucion" Hernandez-El Fayed, the founder of a consulting group in Washington Heights that ordinarily does community outreach and education with teens.

Friday Night Heights' inaugural event kicked off last week with a packed house at Columbia Social Cafe and Bistro at 4009 Broadway, near West 168th Street, where three women were selected to be featured in ad campaigns beginning this summer.

The push comes as a host of new restaurants catering to the changing face of Washington Heights has been looking to get the word out about their presence, locals say. Some have bristled at what they call a wave of northern Manhattan gentrification, but many locals welcome the change of pace.

Although Friday Night Heights' campaign is focused on Washington Heights, Hernandez-El Fayed said aspiring models from Inwood are also welcome to compete to be the face of the area.

She added that the group is eager to start working with emerging uptown clothing designers as well.

"It’s a way to … show off the Heights and all the dope locations in our communities," Hernandez-El Fayed said.