Neighborhood Guide MIDTOWN EAST-MANHATTAN A great way to describe this area of Manhattan is convenient. During the day Midtown East has a bit of a downtown feel, with the United Nations and embassies in its address, as well as huge banks and other global conglomerates. But when the sun goes down, these people leave you with a nice, quiet, safe neighborhood. You may or may not go for its dual personality, depending on what you’re looking for. But within the Midtown East walls you’ll find some of the most exclusive areas in Manhattan, such as Turtle Bay (where Katherine Hepburn and E.B. White once lived), Sutton Place and Beekman Place. The area used to be run-down and deserted back in the pre-war days, until New York’s friends Astor and Vanderbilt came in, cleaned up and made the place a prestigious, expensive place to live. The construction of the United Nations Plaza in the 1950s also helped reconstruct the areas of Turtle Bay, Sutton and Beekman Places to the exclusive, pricey homes they are today. These pads rival the Upper East Side in price. Today we also have the 72-story Trump Towers at Fifth Avenue and 57th—not too shabby. A great place to go repent for your sins is St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st. St. Patrick’s is easily recognized by its dual steeples, and is the largest decorated gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the United States. The church is so exclusive that the altar was designed by Tiffany & Co. But since it is visited by over 3 million visitors a year, you’ll be glad that it’s situated on the outer edge of your neighborhood. If you work Midtown, this is an excellent place to live. It’s relatively safe and clean, it has an air of exclusiveness (especially if you live in one of those three ritzy neighborhoods) and it’s convenient to all that Midtown has to offer. There aren’t many parks here, which might be a real concern if you have kids or dogs, but Central Park isn’t all that far away.
Cohen Smith Chang Licensed Real Estate Broker 12 West 37th Street 7th Floor, New York, NY 10018 Office: (212)277-5500 Fax: (212)377-5751