Upper East Side

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File:Upper East Side At Sunset.jpg
The Upper East Side at Sunset

The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA, between Central Park and the East River.

The 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) neighborhood, with elegant rows of landmark townhouses, once known as the 'Silk Stocking District', has the most expensive real estate in the United States, and is believed to be the greatest concentration of individual wealth in the nation. The Upper East Side is famous for being the resident area of Manhattan's high society, exclusive parties and clubs, five-star hotels, high-end shopping, world-class dining and entertainment, and the nationally ranked single-sex private schools.

In the 19th century, and until the Park Avenue railroad cut was covered (finished in 1910), rich industrialists including Pittsburghers Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick began building stylish mansions and townhouses on the large lots along Fifth Avenue, abutting Central Park. Highly prominent families like the Astor family and Vanderbilt family built rows of mansions in the 1800's, which were all torn down at the begining of the 1900's, including the Vanderbilts ten glorious palaces.

Yorkville as it was known, soon moved east past Lexington Avenue and became a suburb of middle-class Germans, many of whom worked in nearby piano factories, stables, and breweries.

A long high bluff fronting the river north of Beekman Place was dotted with fine suburban villas in the 19th century, the last remaining one being Gracie Mansion, now home of New York's mayors.

The Upper East Side is also notable as a significant source of political fundraising in the United States. Four of the top five zip codes in 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.[1]

Madison Avenue from 60th Street well into the 80s is the monied crowd's main shopping strip, recently vaulting ahead of Hong Kong's Causeway Bay to become the most expensive retail real estate in the world. Zip code 10021 has the highest concentration of stores in the United States with more than $1 million in annual sales each.[2]

Geography

The Upper East Side stretches from 59th Street north to about 110th Street. Embedded within the Upper East Side are the neighborhoods of Yorkville, centered on 86th Street and Third Avenue, and Carnegie Hill, centered on 91st Street and Park Avenue and Lenox Hill centered on 69th Street and 1st Avenue. While still wealthy, Yorkville does not compare to Carnegie Hill in the scale of its wealth.

Its north-south avenues are Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, Park Avenue, Lexington Avenue, Third, Second and First Avenues, York Avenue, and East End Avenue (the latter runs only from East 79th Street to East 90th Street).

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 207,543 people residing in the Upper East Side. The population density was 118,184 people per square mile (45,649/km²). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 88.25% White, 6.14% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.34% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.39% from other races, and 1.74% from two or more races. 5.62% of the population were Hispanic of any race.

Cost of living

The Upper East Side maintains one of the highest pricing per square foot in the United States. A 2002 report cited the average cost as $856, however, that price has noticed a substantial jump, increasing to almost as much as $1,200 per square foot as of 2006.[3] [4]

Transportation

The Upper East Side is served by one subway line, the four-track IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4, 5, 6), and local bus routes. Due to severe congestion on the subway and bus routes, the MTA is building a second subway line, the Second Avenue Subway, in the area. The first phase will run from 96th Street to 63rd Street, where it will connect with the BMT Broadway Line; service will be provided by a northern extension of the Q train. In later phases, the line will be extended north to 125th Street and south to Hanover Square, and a new T train will be created to serve the southern portion of the line.

Landmarks and institutions

Cultural Institutions

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." It was once named "Millionaire's Row." Among the cultural institutions on the Upper East Side:

Educational Institutions

Primary and Secondary Schools

Single-Sex Private Schools

Manhattan's single-sex private schools are famous throughout the country and are landmarks in a way. These schools have high matriculation to ivy league schools, are the sight of children of prominent families, and most are the best ranked prep schools in the nation, with Brearly girls being named, in many informations, the best private prep school in the nation. Popular books like the Gossip Girl series are based on these schools, with Gossip Girl's girls' school being based on Nightingale-Bamford.

Girls' Schools

Boys' Schools

Coed Private Schools
Public Schools

Public Lower and Middle Schools

Public High Schools

Colleges and Universities

In Film and Television

The Upper East Side has been a setting for many movies and television shows due to its world-class museums, expensive restaurants and boutiques, proximity to Central Park, elite schools, and influential residents.

Movies

TV

Famous Residents

The neighborhood has a long tradition of being home to some of the world's most wealthy, powerful and influential families and individuals. Some of the notables who have lived here include:

Actors, Artists, Musicians, and Writers:

Athletes:

Business Moguls:

Journalists:

Political Figures:

Socialites:

The Upper East Side is also the location of Sutton Place, an enclave home to many notable residents. It is also the site of a four-story townhouse built for Anne Morgan, daughter of financier J.P. Morgan, and now the official residence of the United Nations Secretary-General.

See also

References

  1. ^ Big Donors Still Rule The Roost, accessed July 18, 2006.
  2. ^ Belson, Ken. "In This Town, Even a Mall Rat Can Get Rattled.", The New York Times, December 20, 2006. Accessed June 7, 2007. "Already, Paramus has 320 stores with more than $1 million in annual sales each, second in the country only to the 10021 ZIP code on the East Side of Manhattan."
  3. ^ Hevesi, Dennis. " Residential Real Estate; TriBeCa Is Priciest Neighborhood", The New York Times, May 17, 2002. Accessed June 7, 2007.
  4. ^ [1]

External links

Community interest sites

Uppereast.com

Wikipages Upper East Side

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