East 26th St, Kips Bay

26th is pretty rich with old but it's not necessarily rich with historical happenings. It's not a bad street and it has a lot to see and do. It has a park and that's definitely a bonus in this city. But, it's not the most beautiful or the most exciting street in the city.

The building between Broadway and 5th is not only pretty but it has a rich history as well. Teddy Roosevelt took dance lessons here as a boy. And, then the incredibly famous Delmonico's restaurant was in this site starting in 1876. Lobster Newburg and Eggs Benedict were both invented here. Directly across the street on the corner of 5th Ave is a really beautiful building on the inside and out.

Across 5th Avenue is the norther part of Madison Sq Park and across the street from that is a really beautiful old building that used to be a hotel and is now a ridiculously expensive apartment building. Madison Square Park is pretty cool and I really like the area surrounding it to the east. The brownstones are so beautiful and the area is kind of even cooler than the West Village.
There's a really cool place called Broadway Alley right at 3rd and 26th. It was the last dirt road in New York and now is a private alley with just one residence on it. I think that is so cool! Having your own road in New York?

The very east side of 26th is all pretty much Bellevue stuff. There used to be not for profit housing at 2nd Ave but now its pretty expensive so it's pretty unlikely that anyone that actually works at Bellevue lives there except for maybe doctors. Bellevue is an actual hospital but I didn't even know that for some time. It's so famous for its psych ward that I thought it was strictly a looney bin. I don't know that I'd want to live that close to any hospital . . .let alone pay millions of dollars to live in a townhouse one block away from a hospital famous for psych treatments. Yikes.

Sometimes you want a challenge when you eat and a great serving of wings will definitely sort the men from the boys. The Atomic Wings (great name) chain has a few stores all over the city but the one on 3rd Avenue provided the backdrop to our eating contest and its fair to say the spices and sauces had us all licked by the end. The staff was great and you can people watch to your hearts content. So with all that and great food, who needs anything else?

Third Ave stretches the entire length of the east side of Manhattan, and right up in the Upper East Side area, where Central Park begins, this avenue is pretty downbeat as far as nightlife goes. There are the usual Midtown and Upper East Side restaurants on this street, in their respective places along the avenue (burger joints, luncheon places). This street also offers hotels and other tourist-y sorts of amenities.

Third Avenue in the East Village, at the offshoot of Bowery can be relatively busy during the day –it’s an interesting place to wander if you’re a tourist because Cooper Square and St. Mark’s are nearby. If you are looking into moving here, then you may want to ask yourself if you can stand the crowds. In general, the area is packed with little restaurants and shops, and there are a lot of street vendors in the area usually on the weekends.

You know that you’re leaving the West village when you step on out to 3rd ave and its eclectic collection of cultural restaurants and stores. Particularly around the area stretching from St. Mark’s place to Union Square, 3rd ave offers a variety of tempting and enjoyable avenues of entertainment. In fact, several nights’ outings can revolve around the various attractions of this vibrant street.

One could spend Friday night at the movie theatre on 3rd ave and 11th street, a multilevel multiplex which quite often shows some of the less mainstream movies. A nice dinner could come from the Israeli owned Chickpea falafel restaurant on 3rd ave and 9th st, with desert coming from the Ben & Jerry’s just one block away.

A lively NYU dorm situated on the 11th st and 3rd ave guarantees that the street will constantly be full of students eager to start their night out, or stumbling back in. If you fancy some Japanese delicacies, there is quite a quaint little store located directly above the “Around the Clock” Diner, which incidentally is open, around the clock.

Well, the last time I was here, I didn't enjoy this street so much. It is pretty crazy and confusing, and it's easy to get caugh up in the middle of it. It is a great place to find transportaion though. Lots of opportunites to catch most kinds of publice transit are available in this area. Stay away if you already have a car if at all possible. Not the best area for tourists.

I lived on 58th and Third avenue for 1 mth earlier this year. It's a spot I wouldn't recommend to anyone. Basically, you're stuck in Midtown where skyscrapers and food chains dominate. It really detracts from the neigbourly feel other areas in Manhattan experience.. On top of this, the noise and traffic is dreadful. I was woken by roadworks outside the apartment at 11pm one night, go figure..

The only good thing about living in this area is the proximity to work (if you're working in Midtown) as it's all walkable. Also, Central Park is only 5 mins away and this truely is one of the greatest parks in the world.

In summary, you're better off living upper east side or below 29th St, this area is for those happy to spend their waking hours in the office or listening to road works..