Everything about The Upper East Side totally explained
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 neighborhood, with elegant rows of landmark co-ops and townhouses, once known as the '
Silk Stocking District', has some of the most expensive real estate in the United States. The most expensive Upper East Side penthouse (in the
The Pierre Hotel) in the
New York Times real estate classifieds is listed for $70 million, and the most expensive townhouse is listed for $75 million.
History
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. One of the first sections to be developed was around
86th Street, where several prominent families, including the
Astors and the
Rhinelanders built (what were then) country estates.
Cornelius Vanderbilt,
the tenth wealthiest person in history and patriarch of the prominent
Vanderbilt Family of New York, planted his family's roots on the Upper East Side in the 1800s and his descendants went on to build the great ten Fifth Avenue Vanderbilt mansions, which were torn down in the early 1900s
as a result of the Fall of the House of Vanderbilt.
Several members of
exclusive familes, including the industrial
Rockefellers (External Link
), political
Roosevelts (External Link),
political dynastic Kennedys (External Link)(External Link),
thoroughbred racing moneyed
Whitneys (External Link)(External Link), and
tobacco and
electric power fortuned
Dukes (External Link), have made residences on the Upper East Side.
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
mayor.
Geography
The Upper East Side stretches from
59th Street to
96th Street (in the zip codes of 10021, 10022, 10065, 10075, 10028 and 10128). Embedded within the Upper East Side are the neighborhoods of
Yorkville, centered on
86th Street and
Third Avenue(which is the home to top girl's private schools Chapin, and Brearley), and
Carnegie Hill, centered on 92nd Street and Fifth Avenue (Carnegie Hill, running along Central Park and Fifth avenue, is home to many of the city's top private schools such as St. Bernards, Spence, Convent of the Sacred Heart and Nightingale) and
Lenox Hill centered on 69th Street and 1st Avenue.
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. 21% of 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. The female-male ratio was very high with 125 females for 100 males.
Given its very high population density and per capita income ($85,081 in 2000), the neighborhood is believed to be the greatest concentration of individual wealth in the nation. As of 2000, 75.6% of adults (25+) had attained a
bachelor's degree or higher.
Politics
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 (only such area in Manhattan), whereas in the rest of the neighborhood Republicans are between 20 and 40% of the registered voters.
The Upper East Side is also notable as a significant location 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.
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 per square foot as $856; however, that price has noticed a substantial jump, increasing to almost as much as $1,200 per square foot as of 2006. Basic commodities, perhaps partly due to real-estate costs and partly due to New York labor costs, can cost 50-200%+ more than in suburban areas.
Transportation
The Upper East Side is currently served by one subway line, the four-track
IRT Lexington Avenue Line, and local bus routes. Due to severe congestion on the subway and buses, the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority is currently building a new subway line, the
Second Avenue Subway, along
Second Avenue. The first phase will run from
96th Street to
63rd Street, where it'll physically 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/Park Avenue in
Harlem and south to
Hanover Square in the
Financial District, and a new
T service will run its entire length.
Landmarks and 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
Private Schools
Girls' schools
The Brearley School
The Chapin School
Convent of the Sacred Heart
Dominican Academy
The Hewitt School
Manhattan High School for Girls
Marymount School
The Nightingale-Bamford School
The Spence School
Boys' schools
Allen-Stevenson School
Browning School
The Buckley School
St. Bernard's School
St. David's School
Regis High School
Coeducational schools
Birch Wathen Lenox School
Dalton School
Loyola School
Lycée Français de New York
Rudolph Steiner School
Trevor Day School
Ramaz School
Public schools
Public lower and middle schools
PS 183 (Robert Louis Stevenson School)
PS 77 The Lower Lab school
East Side Middle School
PS 6 (Lillie Devereux Blake School)
PS 158 (East Side Middle School)
Senator Robert F. Wagner Middle School (JHS 167)
Public high schools
Talent Unlimited High School
Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Hunter College High School
Urban Academy Laboratory High School
Colleges and universities
Cornell University Medical School
Hunter College
Marymount Manhattan College
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Rockefeller University
Metropolitan Hospital (NY Medical College)
In popular culture
The Upper East Side has been a setting for many movies, television shows, and many other media due to its world-class museums, expensive restaurants and boutiques, proximity to Central Park, elite schools, and influential residents.
Movies
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
The Boys in the Band (1970)
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Juice (1992)
Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
Ransom (1996)
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Men in Black (1997)
A Perfect Murder (1998)
Cruel Intentions (1999)
25th Hour (2002)
Panic Room (2002)
American Psycho
The Producers Roger DeBris townhouse. (2005)
The Nanny Diaries (2007)
Two Weeks Notice (2002)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
(2008)
TV
The Jeffersons (1975-1985)
Dirty Sexy Money (2007-)
Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986)
The Nanny (1993-1999)
Sex and the City (1998-2004)
Gossip Girl (2007–)
The Real Housewives of New York City (2008-)
Books
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
The Nanny Diaries by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin
Fictional places
Treadstone Seventy-One
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
Woody Allen.
Candice Bergen
James Cagney
Joan Collins
Sean Combs
Greta Garbo
Art Garfunkel
George Gershwin
Rosemary Harris (part time)
Steve Hofstetter
Donna Karan
Ralph Lauren
Marx Brothers
Mary Tyler Moore
Paul Sorvino
Michael J. Fox
Kevin Kline
Utada Hikaru
Sean Connery
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Athletes
Tiki Barber
Jason Giambi
Business moguls
Michael Bloomberg
Rupert Murdoch
George Soros
Bruce Wasserstein
Journalists
Katie Couric
Walter Cronkite
Barbara Walters
Political figures
Howard Dean
Rudy Giuliani
Soong May-ling
Caroline Kennedy
Jackie Onassis
Eleanor Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Eliot Spitzer
Socialites
Paris Hilton
Nan Kempner
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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Upper East Side'.
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