90-590: 40°46′08″N 73°57′43″W / 40.769°N 73.962°W / 40.769; -73.962 Lenox Hill ( / ˌ l ɛ n ə k s ˈ h ɪ l / ) is a neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It forms the lower (southern) section of the Upper East Side, east of Park Avenue in the 60s and 70s . A significant portion of the neighborhood lies within
180-449: A continuation of those on Fourth Avenue; for example, 225 Park Avenue South was originally known as 225 Fourth Avenue. Above 32nd Street, for the remainder of its distance, it is known as Park Avenue, a 140-foot-wide (43 m) boulevard. The address numbers for Park Avenue are reset above 32nd Street; for example, the address 1 Park Avenue would ordinarily have been numbered 461 Fourth Avenue. Between 33rd Street and 40th Street ,
270-580: A gas explosion . Eight people were killed and many others were injured. In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority provided funding for repairs to the roof of the Grand Central Terminal train shed. The train shed is located under Park Avenue and surrounding streets from 43rd to 57th Street, and the repairs to the train shed's roof involved reconstructing parts of Park Avenue. In August 2024,
360-446: A high school education and 14% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 64% of Manhattan residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of the Upper East Side students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during the same time period. The Upper East Side's rate of elementary school student absenteeism
450-560: A household living in Lenox Hill was $ 92,219. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 75.3% (60,831) White , 4.4% (3,571) African American , 0.1% (57) Native American , 10.6% (8,569) Asian , 0.1% (61) Pacific Islander , 0.3% (262) from other races , and 1.9% (1,558) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 7.3% (5,862) of the population. The racial composition of Lenox Hill / Roosevelt Island changed moderately from 2000 to 2010. The most significant changes were
540-481: A low population of residents who are uninsured . In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 4%, less than the citywide rate of 12%, though this was based on a small sample size. The concentration of fine particulate matter , the deadliest type of air pollutant , in the Upper East Side is 0.0083 milligrams per cubic metre (8.3 × 10 oz/cu ft), more than the city average. Eight percent of Upper East Side residents are smokers , which
630-413: A median strip that covered the railroad's ventilation grates. Eight footbridges crossed the tracks between 45th and 56th Streets, and there were also vehicular overpasses at 45th and 48th Streets. The boulevard north of Grand Central was renamed Park Avenue in 1888. A fatal collision between two trains occurred under Park Avenue in 1902, in part because the smoke coming from the steam trains obscured
720-746: A plurality (37%) are between the ages of 25–44, while 24% are between 45 and 64, and 20% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 14% and 5% respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 8 was $ 123,894, though the median income in the Upper East Side individually was $ 131,492. In 2018, an estimated 7% of Community District 8 residents lived in poverty , compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twenty-five residents (4%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or
810-456: A private mansion on upper Fifth Avenue was 907 Fifth Avenue (1916), at 72nd Street, the neighborhood's grand carriage entrance to Central Park. Most members of New York's upper-class families have made residences on the Upper East Side, including the oil-rich Rockefellers , political Roosevelts , political dynastic Kennedys , thoroughbred racing moneyed Whitneys , and tobacco and electric power fortuned Dukes . Construction of
900-477: A shallow open cut , while the segment between 56th and 97th Streets, which was in a rock cut, would be covered over. After the improvements were completed in 1874, the railroads, approaching Grand Central Depot from the north, descended into the Park Avenue Tunnel at 96th Street and continued underground into the new depot. As part of the project, Fourth Avenue was transformed into a boulevard with
990-530: Is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx . For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east. Park Avenue's entire length was formerly called Fourth Avenue ; the title still applies to the section between Cooper Square and 14th Street . The avenue
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#17327719095841080-537: Is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City , bounded approximately by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park and Fifth Avenue to the west. The area incorporates several smaller neighborhoods, including Lenox Hill , Carnegie Hill , and Yorkville . Once known as the Silk Stocking District, it has long been
1170-584: Is bounded by 59th Street in the south, 96th Street on the north, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East River to the east. The AIA Guide to New York City extends the northern boundary to 106th Street near Fifth Avenue. The area's north-south avenues are Fifth , Madison , Park , Lexington , Third , Second , First , York , and East End Avenues , with the latter running only from East 79th Street to East 90th Street . The major east-west streets are 59th Street, 72nd Street , 79th Street, 86th Street , and 96th Street. Some real-estate agents use
1260-575: Is called Union Square East between 14th and 17th Streets , and Park Avenue South between 17th and 32nd Streets . Because of its designation as the widest avenue on Manhattan's East Side, Park Avenue originally carried the tracks of the New York and Harlem Railroad built in the 1830s, just a few years after the adoption of the Manhattan street grid . The railroad's right-of-way at ground level forced foot and carriage traffic onto either side of
1350-500: Is composed of residential structures built after the American Civil War ; mansions and townhouses built at the beginning of the 20th century; and apartment buildings erected later on. The city district was slightly expanded in 2010 with 74 additional buildings. The Metropolitan Museum Historic District was designated a city district in 1977. It consists of properties on Fifth Avenue between 79th and 86th Streets, outside
1440-530: Is considered, then the neighborhood has an additional ZIP Code of 10029, along Fifth Avenue between 96th and 105th Streets. The United States Postal Service operates four post offices in the Upper East Side: The Upper East Side generally has a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018 . A majority of residents age 25 and older (83%) have a college education or higher, while 3% have less than
1530-689: Is continued on the other side of the river in the Bronx . In the Bronx, Park Avenue begins at East 135th Street in the Mott Haven neighborhood. The entire avenue is divided by Metro-North's own right of way in the borough. Between East 135th Street to East 173rd Street, Park Avenue is one way only in either direction in most sections. North of East 173rd Street it is a two way avenue continuing to Fordham Plaza where it ends. The following institutions are either headquartered or have significant business presences on Park Avenue: In north-south order: Metro-North Railroad 's Grand Central Terminal , serving
1620-560: Is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 89% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", more than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in the Upper East Side, there are 5 bodegas . Lenox Hill Hospital , NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital , and Weill Cornell Medical Center are located on the Upper East Side. In addition, Mount Sinai Hospital and Metropolitan Hospital Center are located nearby in East Harlem . The Upper East Side
1710-727: Is in the New York State Senate 's 27th , 28th , and 29th districts, the New York State Assembly 's 73rd and 76th districts, and the New York City Council 's 4th and 5th districts. The Upper East Side is one of few areas of Manhattan where Republicans constitute more than 20% of the electorate . In the southwestern part of the neighborhood, Republican voters equal Democratic voters (the only such area in Manhattan), whereas in
1800-410: Is less than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In the Upper East Side, 11% of residents are obese , 4% are diabetic , and 15% have high blood pressure —compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 6% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Ninety-four percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which
1890-548: Is located in five primary ZIP Codes . From south to north, they are 10065 (south of 69th Street), 10021 (between 69th and 76th Streets), 10075 (between 76th and 80th Streets), 10028 (between 80th and 86th Streets), and 10128 (north of 86th Street). In addition, 500 East 77th Street in Yorkville has its own ZIP Code, 10162. If the AIA Guide's broader definition of the neighborhood (extending up to Fifth Avenue and 106th Streets)
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#17327719095841980-533: Is lower than the rest of New York City. In the Upper East Side, 8% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year , less than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 91% of high school students in the Upper East Side graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%. The New York City Department of Education operates public schools in the city. Public lower and middle schools Public high schools Other schools Coeducational schools Park Avenue Park Avenue
2070-427: Is served by multiple New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations: As of 2018 , preterm births and births to teenage mothers in the Upper East Side are lower than the city average. In the Upper East Side, there were 73 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 3.4 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). The Upper East Side has
2160-597: Is that of the immigrant Scottish merchant Robert Lenox (1759-1839), who owned about 30 acres (120,000 m) of land "at the five-mile (8 km) stone", reaching from Fifth to Fourth (now Park) Avenues and from East 74th to 68th Streets. For the sum of $ 6,420 ($ 128,000 in current dollar terms) or $ 6,920 ($ 138,000) he had purchased a first set of three parcels in 1818, at an auction held at the Tontine Coffee House of mortgaged premises of Archibald Gracie , in order to protect Gracie's heirs from foreclosure, as he
2250-594: The Marguery , Park Lane, and Waldorf Astoria . In 1929, New York Central built its headquarters in a 34-story building (now called the Helmsley Building ), straddling Park Avenue north of the terminal. The Park Avenue Viaduct reroutes Park Avenue around Grand Central Terminal between 40th and 46th Streets, allowing Park Avenue traffic to traverse around the building and over 42nd Street without encumbering nearby streets. The western (now southbound) leg of
2340-410: The 6 and <6> trains, while the 14th Street-Union Square station is served by the 4 , 5 , 6 , <6> , L , N , Q , R , and W trains. The following bus routes serve Park Avenue: No buses run along Park Avenue in the Bronx, although Fordham Plaza Bus Terminal
2430-579: The 68th Street–Hunter College station on the 6 and <6> trains; the 72nd Street station on the N , Q , and R trains; and the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station on the Q , F and <F> train. Bus routes include M1 , M2 , M3 , M4 , M15 , M15 SBS , M66 , M72 , M98 , M101 , M102 , M103 . Notes Bibliography Upper East Side The Upper East Side , sometimes abbreviated UES ,
2520-505: The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 . From 14th Street to 17th Street , it forms the eastern boundary of Union Square and is known as Union Square East ; its southbound lanes merge with Broadway south of 15th Street, and the thoroughfare divides into two distinct portions in the one-block section between 14th and 15th Streets. From 17th Street to 32nd Street , it is known as Park Avenue South . Address numbers on Park Avenue South are
2610-782: The Harlem Line , Hudson Line , and New Haven Line , is at 42nd Street and Park Avenue. The MNR's Park Avenue main line runs along Park Avenue in both boroughs between Grand Central and Fordham station , with stations in between at 125th Street , 162nd Street , and Tremont Avenue . The New York City Subway 's adjacent Grand Central–42nd Street station serves the 4 , 5 , 6 , <6> , 7 , <7> , and S trains. The IRT Lexington Avenue Line additionally runs under Park Avenue and its extensions from 41st to 8th Streets. The 33rd Street , 28th Street , 23rd Street , and Astor Place stations are served by
2700-706: The Helmsley Building (also referred to as the New York Central Building or 230 Park Avenue). The IRT Lexington Avenue Line runs under this portion of the street. Once the line reaches Grand Central–42nd Street , it shifts east to Lexington Avenue . As Park Avenue enters Midtown north of Grand Central Terminal, it is distinguished by many glass-box skyscrapers that serve as headquarters for corporations and investment banks such as Société Générale , JPMorgan Chase at 270 Park Avenue and 277 Park Avenue , UBS at 299 Park Avenue , Citigroup at 399 Park Avenue , Colgate-Palmolive , and MetLife at
2790-694: The Metropolitan Museum of Art , as well as properties on several side streets. The Park Avenue Historic District was designated a city district in 2014. It encompasses 64 properties on Park Avenue between 79th and 91st Streets. The Carnegie Hill Historic District was designated a city district in 1974 and expanded in 1993. It covers 400 buildings, primarily along Fifth Avenue from 86th to 98th Street, as well as on side streets extending east to Madison, Park, and Lexington Avenues. There are also two smaller city historic districts. The Henderson Place Historic District, designated in 1969, comprises
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2880-524: The NYPD , located at 153 East 67th Street. The 19th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.2% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 2 murders, 12 rapes, 229 robberies, 173 felony assaults, 278 burglaries, 1,724 grand larcenies, and 192 grand larcenies auto in 2022. As of 2018 , Manhattan Community District 8 has a non-fatal assault hospitalization rate of 15 per 100,000 people, compared to
2970-521: The New York & Harlem Railroad passed along the east boundary of the property. Robert Lenox 's son James Lenox divided most of the farm into blocks of building lots and sold them during the 1860s and 1870s; he also donated land for the Union Theological Seminary along the railroad right-of-way, between 69th and 70th Streets, and just north of it a full square block between Madison and Fourth Avenue, 70th and 71st streets, for
3060-554: The Third Avenue El , opened from 1878 in sections, followed by the Second Avenue El , opened in 1879, linked the Upper East Side's middle class and skilled artisans closely to the heart of the city, and confirmed the modest nature of the area to their east. The unbuilt "Hamilton Square", which had appeared as one of the few genteel interruptions of the grid plan on city maps since the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 ,
3150-609: The Upper East Side Historic District , designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1981 and expanded in 2010. The neighborhood is part of Manhattan Community Board 8 . Based on the location of the original Lenox Hill, which was on a farm that spanned present-day 68th Street to 74th Street , east of Fifth Avenue , The Encyclopedia of New York City defines the neighborhood as
3240-582: The 1880s the neighborhood of Yorkville became a suburb of middle class Germans. Gracie Mansion , the last remaining suburban villa overlooking the East River at Carl Schurz Park , became the home of New York's mayor in 1942. The East River Drive , designed by Robert Moses , was extended south from the first section, from 125th Street to 92nd Street, which was completed in 1934 as a boulevard, an arterial highway running at street level; reconstruction designs from 1948 to 1966 converted FDR Drive , as it
3330-622: The Asian population by 38% (5,145), the increase in the Hispanic/Latino population by 19% (2,537), and the decrease in the White population by 3% (5,644). The small Black population increased by 3% (191), while the even smaller population of all other races increased by 15% (628). Taking into account the three census tabulation areas, the decrease of the White population was concentrated Yorkville and Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill especially, while
3420-681: The MetLife Building. From 47th to 97th Streets, the tracks for Metro-North Railroad 's Park Avenue main line run in the Park Avenue Tunnel underneath Park Avenue. At 97th Street, the tracks come above ground, rising onto the other Manhattan structure known as the Park Avenue Viaduct. The first street to pass under the viaduct is 102nd Street; from there to the Harlem River the railroad viaduct runs down
3510-617: The Old Post Road ( Third Avenue ) to the river and the farmland inherited by James Lenox , who divided it into blocks of houselots in the 1870s, built his Lenox Library on a Fifth Avenue lot at the farm's south-west corner, and donated a full square block for the Presbyterian Hospital , between 70th and 71st Streets, and Madison and Park Avenues. At that time, along the Boston Post Road taverns stood at
3600-740: The Presbyterian Hospital, which occupied seven somewhat austere structures on the plot; He built the Lenox Library on a full block-front of Fifth Avenue, now the site of the Frick Collection . Lenox Hill Hospital , the former German Hospital, is located in this area, on East 77th Street. Luxury residences built in the 1910s and 1920s are now very expensive. Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue both pass through Lenox Hill, and along these avenues, there are many boutiques , art galleries and five-star hotels . Museums in
3690-639: The Sutton Terrace development on Sutton Place . The demolition of the els had an adverse effect on transportation, because the IRT Lexington Avenue Line was now the only subway line in the area. The construction of the Second Avenue Subway was originally proposed in 1919. Finally, on January 1, 2017, the first phase of the line was completed with three new stations opened. This brought in new local business to
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3780-543: The Upper East Side are located just south of the neighborhood's northern limit at 96th Street, the Holmes Towers and Isaacs Houses . It borders East Harlem , which has the highest concentration of public housing in the United States. Politically, the Upper East Side is in New York's 12th congressional district , which has a Cook PVI of D+34 and is currently represented by Democrat Jerry Nadler . It
3870-555: The Upper East Side, including maps of Manhattan Community District 8 , the New York City Department of City Planning , the New York City Department of Transportation , NYCityMap (by the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications ), and the Friends of the Upper East Side. The neighborhood is named for the hill that "stood at what became 70th Street and Park Avenue ." The name "Lenox"
3960-575: The address numbers of Park Avenue South continued from those on the remaining section of Fourth Avenue. The Pan Am Building (now MetLife Building), in between the Park Avenue Viaduct's legs north of Grand Central Terminal, was opened in 1963. In September 2007, the Metro-North Railroad reached an agreement with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to install pedestrian traffic signals along Park Avenue between 46th Street and 56th Street. The two sides had feuded over
4050-429: The area and had positive impact on real estate prices in the Upper East Side. For census purposes, the New York City government classifies the Upper East Side as part of three neighborhood tabulation areas: Upper East Side- Carnegie Hill , Yorkville , and Lenox Hill - Roosevelt Island , divided by Third Avenue and 77th Street. Based on data from the 2010 United States Census , the combined population of these areas
4140-464: The area between 60th Street and 77th Street, from Fifth Avenue on the west to Lexington Avenue on the east. However, neighborhood boundaries can shift and most residents see the modern boundaries differently, as the Lenox Hill post office and the neighborhood's service-oriented retail shops are located east of Lexington Avenue . Many city maps also place Lenox Hill in the lower east section of
4230-504: The area include the Frick Collection. Based on data from the 2010 United States Census , the population of Lenox Hill and Roosevelt Island , which are combined into one census tabulation area, was 80,771, an increase of 4,140 (5.4%) from the 76,631 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 511.71 acres (207.08 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 157.8 inhabitants per acre (101,000/sq mi). The median income for
4320-556: The avenue contains some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Real estate at 740 Park Avenue , for example, sells for several thousand dollars per square foot. In October 1937, a part of the Murray Hill Tunnel was reopened for road traffic. Efforts to promote a Grand Park Avenue Expressway to Grand Concourse in the Bronx were unsuccessful. A tradition was introduced in 1945 as a memorial to American soldiers killed in action, whereby Christmas trees are placed in
4410-607: The benefit of a developer. Mandel's development at 32nd Street was thus known as 461–477 Fourth Avenue, and the developers of that building sued to reverse the appellate ruling. The New York Court of Appeals , the state's highest court, reversed the appellate ruling in February 1928. Bacon contemplated bringing up the matter with the United States Supreme Court , but she ultimately relented, changing her address to "Park Avenue at 34th" by 1930. In 1927,
4500-463: The boroughwide average of 632 crimes per 100,000 and the citywide average of 572 crimes per 100,000. In 2019, the highest concentration of felony assaults in the Upper East Side was near the intersection of 93rd Street and First Avenue , where there were 10 felony assaults. The highest concentration of robberies, on the other hand, was near the intersection of 86th Street and Lexington Avenue , where there were 19 robberies. The Upper East Side
4590-424: The boroughwide rate of 49 per 100,000 and the citywide rate of 59 per 100,000. Its incarceration rate is 71 per 100,000 people, the lowest in the city, compared to the boroughwide rate of 407 per 100,000 and the citywide rate of 425 per 100,000. Of the five major violent felonies (murder, rape, felony assault, robbery, and burglary), the 19th Precinct had a rate of 264 crimes per 100,000 residents in 2019, compared to
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#17327719095844680-562: The city government began soliciting bids for the reconstruction of Park Avenue's median between 46th and 57th Streets. The project was to include additional plantings, benches, and concessions. The road that becomes Park Avenue originates at the Bowery . From Cooper Square at 8th Street to Union Square at 14th Street , it is known as Fourth Avenue , a 70-foot-wide (21 m) road carrying northbound traffic. At 14th Street, it turns slightly northeast to align with other avenues drawn up in
4770-613: The cross-streets. The new electric-train terminal, Grand Central Terminal , was opened in 1913. After the electric trains were buried underground, the area around Park Avenue in the vicinity of Grand Central was developed into several blocks worth of prime real estate called Terminal City . Stretching from 42nd to 51st Streets between Madison and Lexington Avenues, it came to include the Chrysler Building and other prestigious office buildings; luxury apartment houses along Park Avenue; and an array of high-end hotels that included
4860-476: The eleven intersections and the renovation of the sidewalks and streets around Grand Central to prevent rainwater from seeping into the tunnel. Car traffic in this area had been controlled by traffic lights on a pole at each intersection in the middle of the median, instead of the usual four from each direction, resulting in a relatively high rate of pedestrian injuries. Additional traffic lights and pedestrian signals had not been added because this area of Park Avenue
4950-400: The ground floor, as if watching calmly for life and fashion to flow northward to her solitary door... She was sure that presently the quarries, the wooden greenhouses in ragged gardens, the rocks from which goats surveyed the scene, would vanish before the advance of residences as stately as her own. Before the Park Avenue Tunnel was covered (finished in 1910), fashionable New Yorkers shunned
5040-458: The increase in the Asian population by 38% (2,346) and the increase in the Hispanic / Latino population by 22% (1,064). The White population remained the majority with a slight increase of 1% (360), while the small Black population increased by 2% (61); the even smaller population of all other races increased by 19% (309). Lenox Hill is serviced by three New York City Subway stations. These are
5130-442: The increases of the other racial groups were evenly split across the three areas. The entirety of Manhattan Community District 8 , which comprises the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, had 225,914 inhabitants as of NYC Health 's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.9 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are adults:
5220-601: The issue since 1982, when Penn Central controlled the Park Avenue Tunnel. In 1997, the NYCDOT commissioner stated that signals would be installed during an upcoming phase of reconstruction in the Grand Central area. The $ 35 million project, whose cost was split between Metro-North and the city, was approved by the MTA Board later that month. It called for the installation of 12 pedestrian signals and 8 traffic signals at
5310-669: The leftmost northbound lane descends into the Murray Hill Tunnel . North of 40th Street, the center lanes of Park Avenue rise onto an elevated structure that goes around Grand Central Terminal and the MetLife Building (formerly the Pan Am Building), carrying each direction of traffic on opposite sides of the buildings. The bridge, one of two structures in Manhattan known as the Park Avenue Viaduct , returns to ground level at 46th Street after going through
5400-484: The median and lit up on the first Sunday in December at Brick Presbyterian Church . On May 5, 1959, the New York City Council voted 20–1 to change the name of Fourth Avenue between 17th and 32nd Streets to Park Avenue South. The renaming, along with a ban on overhanging signs along the newly renamed Park Avenue South, was intended to improve the character of the avenue. Unlike with the earlier renamings of Park Avenue,
5490-507: The medians on Park Avenue north of Grand Central were trimmed to add one lane of traffic in each direction. This project eliminated the pedestrian path on the medians, as they became much narrower. The median was extended by one block from 96th Street to 97th Street in 1941, creating the only remaining median on Park Avenue with a pedestrian path and seating. In the 1920s the portion of Park Avenue from Grand Central to 96th Street saw extensive apartment building construction. This long stretch of
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#17327719095845580-546: The middle of Park Avenue. Park Avenue in Manhattan ends north of 132nd Street, with connections to the Harlem River Drive . The flowers and greenery in the median of Manhattan's Park Avenue are privately maintained, by the Fund for Park Avenue. The begonia was specifically chosen by the Fund's gardeners because there is no automatic watering system and the floral variety is resilient under hot sun rays. The avenue
5670-463: The mile-markers, Five-Mile House at 72nd Street and Six-Mile House at 97th, a New Yorker recalled in 1893. The fashionable future of the narrow strip between Central Park and the railroad cut was established at the outset by the nature of its entrance, in the southwest corner, north of the Vanderbilt family 's favored stretch of Fifth Avenue from 50th to 59th Streets. A row of handsome townhouses
5760-557: The most affluent neighborhood in New York City. The Upper East Side is part of Manhattan Community District 8 , and its primary ZIP Codes are 10021, 10028, 10065, 10075, and 10128. It is patrolled by the 19th Precinct of the New York City Police Department . Neighborhood boundaries in New York City are not officially set, but according to the Encyclopedia of New York City , the Upper East Side
5850-425: The nation for political contributions are in Manhattan. The top ZIP Code, 10021, is on the Upper East Side and generated the most money for the 2004 presidential campaigns of both George W. Bush and John Kerry . The area is host to some of the most famous museums in the world. The string of museums along Fifth Avenue fronting Central Park has been dubbed " Museum Mile ", running between 82nd and 105th Streets. It
5940-594: The neighborhood contains the greatest concentration of individual wealth in Manhattan. As of 2011, the median household income for the Upper East Side was $ 131,492. The Upper East Side maintains the highest pricing per square foot in the United States. A 2002 report cited the average cost per square meter as $ 8,856; however, that price has noticed a substantial jump, increasing to almost as much as $ 11,200 per square meter as of 2006. There are some buildings which cost about $ 125 per square foot (~$ 1345/ m ). The only public housing projects for those of low to moderate incomes on
6030-434: The neighborhood, at 86th Street, which became the heart of German Yorkville . The area was defined by the attractions of the bluff overlooking the East River , which ran without interruption from James William Beekman 's "Mount Pleasant", north of the marshy squalor of Turtle Bay , to Gracie Mansion , north of which the land sloped steeply to the wetlands that separated this area from the suburban village of Harlem . Among
6120-484: The percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 41% in Community District 8, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018 , Community District 8 is not considered to be gentrifying : according to the Community Health Profile, the district was not low-income in 1990. As of the 2000 census, twenty-one percent of
6210-541: The population was foreign born; of this, 45.6% came from Europe, 29.5% from Asia, 16.2% from Latin America and 8.7% from other areas. The female-male ratio was very high with 125 females for 100 males. The Upper East Side contains a large and affluent Jewish population estimated at 56,000. Traditionally, the Upper East Side has been dominated by wealthy White Anglo-Saxon Protestant families. Given its very high population density and per capita income ($ 85,081 in 2000),
6300-615: The railroads between 42nd and 59th Streets. As such, they required railroad crossings along Fourth Avenue, which resulted in frequent accidents; seven people died within 12 days of the Hudson River Railroad's move to Grand Central. In 1872, shortly after the opening of Grand Central Depot, New York Central owner Cornelius Vanderbilt proposed the Fourth Avenue Improvement Project. The tracks between 48th and 56th Streets were to be moved into
6390-404: The rest of the neighborhood Republicans make up between 20 and 40% of registered voters. Nonetheless, it is still heavily Democratic; in the 2020 presidential election , every single precinct voted for Joe Biden and all but one gave him over 70% of the vote. The Upper East Side is notable as a significant location of political fundraising in the United States. Four of the top five ZIP Codes in
6480-467: The series of villas a Schermerhorn country house overlooked the river at the foot of present-day 73rd Street and another, Peter Schermerhorn's at 66th Street , and the Riker homestead was similarly sited at the foot of 75th Street. By the mid-19th century the farmland had largely been subdivided, with the exception of the 150 acres (61 ha) of Jones's Wood , stretching from 66th to 76th Streets and from
6570-411: The signals. The New York state legislature subsequently passed a law to ban all steam trains in Manhattan. By December 1902, as part of an agreement with the city, New York Central agreed to put the approach to Grand Central Station from 46th to 59th Streets in an open cut under Park Avenue, and to upgrade the tracks to accommodate electric trains. Overpasses would be built across the open cut at most of
6660-557: The sites of fishing camps used by the Lenape , whose controlled burns once a generation or so kept the dense canopy of oak–hickory forest open at ground level. In the 19th century the farmland and market garden district of what was to be the Upper East Side was still traversed by the Boston Post Road and, from 1837, the New York and Harlem Railroad , which brought straggling commercial development around its one station in
6750-428: The smoky railroad trench up Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue), to build stylish mansions and townhouses on the large lots along Fifth Avenue , facing Central Park, and on the adjacent side streets. The latest arrivals were the rich Pittsburghers Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick . The classic phase of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue as a stretch of private mansions was not long-lasting: the first apartment house to replace
6840-621: The term "Upper East Side", instead of " East Harlem ", to describe areas that are slightly north of 96th Street and near Fifth Avenue, in order to avoid associating these areas with the negative connotations of the latter, a neighborhood which is generally perceived as less prestigious. The Upper East Side Historic District was designated as a city district in 1981 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The city district runs from 59th to 78th Streets along Fifth Avenue, and up to Third Avenue at some points. It
6930-424: The town houses on East End Avenue between 86th and 87th Streets, built by John C. Henderson in 1981. The Treadwell Farm Historic District, designated in 1967, includes low-rise apartments on East 61st and 62nd Streets between Second and Third Avenues, on the former farm of Adam Treadwell. Before the arrival of Europeans, the mouths of streams that eroded gullies in the East River bluffs are conjectured to have been
7020-450: The tracks. Later on, the railroad was run through an open cut tunnel under Murray Hill , which was then covered with grates and grass between 34th and 40th Street in the early 1850s. A section of this "park" was later renamed Park Avenue in 1860. Park Avenue's original southern terminus was at 34th Street, and the newly renamed Park Avenue was given its own house-numbering system separate from that of Fourth Avenue. The address 1 Park Avenue
7110-522: The tunnel roof, the project was delayed for several years. The project had been estimated to cost $ 200,000 per intersection in 1994. As part of the new agreement, Metro-North designed a way to anchor the traffic signals in the deck and tunnel roof. Pedestrian signals and gantry-mounted traffic signals were installed at these intersections in July 2010. On March 12, 2014, two apartment buildings near 116th Street , 1644 and 1646 Park Avenue, were destroyed in
7200-699: The viaduct was completed in 1919, but congestion developed soon after the viaduct's opening, so an eastern leg for northbound traffic was added in 1928. The developer Henry Mandel acquired the lots on the eastern side of Fourth Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Street in 1923 under the name "One Park Avenue Corporation". To ensure his corporate name was accurate, Mandel asked the New York City Board of Aldermen to move Park Avenue's southern terminus to 32nd Street. The change went into effect on December 1, 1924, and address numbers along Park Avenue were changed accordingly. The previous house numbered 1 Park Avenue
7290-526: Was 219,920, an increase of 2,857 (1.3%) from the 217,063 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 1,291.51 acres (522.66 ha), the neighborhoods had a population density of 170.3 inhabitants per acre (109,000/sq mi; 42,100/km ). The racial makeup of the neighborhoods was 79% (173,711) White , 3.2% (7,098) African American , 0.1% (126) Native American , 8.6% (18,847) Asian , 0% (98) Pacific Islander , 0.3% (609) from other races , and 1.8% (3,868) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race
7380-487: Was 7.1% (15,563) of the population. While the White population is a dominating majority in all three census tabulation areas, it is more so in Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill compared to Yorkville and Lenox Hill-Roosevelt Island, being close to 90% of the population. The racial composition of the Upper East Side changed moderately from 2000 to 2010. The most significant changes were the increase in
7470-618: Was assigned to a house at 101 East 34th Street, at the northeast corner of Park Avenue and 34th Street. The Harlem Railroad was later incorporated into the New York Central Railroad , and a terminal for the New York Central at 42nd Street, the Grand Central Depot , opened in 1871. But the tracks laid to the new terminal proved problematic. There were originally no grade-separated crossings of
7560-422: Was built on speculation by Mary Mason Jones, who owned the entire block bounded by 57th and 58th Streets and Fifth and Madison. In 1870 she occupied the prominent corner house at 57th and Fifth, though not in the isolation described by her niece, Edith Wharton , whose picture has been uncritically accepted as history, as Christopher Gray has pointed out: It was her habit to sit in a window of her sitting room on
7650-443: Was executor of Gracie's estate. Several months later he purchased three further parcels, extending his property north to 74th Street. According to one source, "Thereafter these two tracts were known as the 'Lenox Farm.'" The tenant farmhouse stood on the rise of ground between Fifth and Madison avenues and 70th and 71st Streets, which would have been the hill, if the property had ever been called "Lenox Hill." The railroad right-of-way of
7740-520: Was intended to straddle what had now become the Harlem Railroad right-of-way between 66th and 69th Streets; it never materialized, though during the Panic of 1857 its unleveled ground was the scene of an open-air mass meeting called in July to agitate for the secession of the city and its neighboring counties from New York State, and the city divided its acreage into house lots and sold them. From
7830-506: Was located directly atop the roof of the Park Avenue Tunnel, with the street being 8 inches (20 cm) above the roof in some locations. Because the roof was 18 to 24 inches (46 to 61 cm) thick, there was not enough room to provide a foundation for the traffic poles without puncturing the structure. Due to the high cost of making these upgrades, and the lack of cooperation between the New York City Department of Transportation and Metro-North, which had opposed any solution that would modify
7920-629: Was occupied by Martha Bacon, widow of diplomat Robert Bacon , who led the opposition to the renumbering. The Board of Aldermen summarily overturned the name change, but Mayor John Hylan vetoed the move in April 1925. This prompted Bacon to appeal the decision to the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division , which overturned Hylan's veto in November 1927, on the basis that the extension of Park Avenue to 32nd Street had been made for
8010-616: Was once named "Millionaire's Row". The following are among the cultural institutions on the Upper East Side: Many diplomatic missions are located in former mansions on the Upper East Side: Other missions to the United Nations in the Upper East Side include: There are several historic districts in the Upper East Side, the districts are: The Upper East Side is patrolled by the 19th Precinct of
8100-518: Was renamed after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, into the full limited-access parkway that is in use today. Demolishing the elevated railways on Third and Second Avenues opened these tenement -lined streets to the construction of high-rise apartment blocks starting in the 1950s. Among these were Manhattan House at 200 East 66th Street, one of the first apartment buildings in New York City to use white glazed brick on its facade, as well as
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