Close to the northeast central part (4)
I believe the answer is:
near
'close to' is the definition.
(close to means nearby)
'northeast central part' is the wordplay.
'northeast' becomes 'NE' (abbreviation).
'central' means to look at the middle letters.
The middle of 'part' is 'ar'.
'ne'+'ar'='NEAR'
'the' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for near that I've seen before include "Close to - stingy - approach" , "Miserly and proximate" , "Niggardly - approach" , "Parsimonious (informal)" , "Close - tight" .)