Gramercy Park

Ive lived in New York for a total of 8 years. 4 Years at NYU, two years in Brooklyn Heights, and 2 years and counting in Gramercy. Gramercy has a private park, you need to be a resident OR stay at the Gramercy Park Hotel to get in. This reminds me of my hometown, Lockport IL, except theres a lot more people than 24,000. The people here are friendly, and if you love nightlife, the East Village is very close.

Gramercy Park is a very popular area of Manhattan, so popular in fact that few people ever give up their apartments in the neighborhood. It's just too pretty, especially if they live near Gramercy Park itself, which is a small but lovely, quiet, and gated oasis in Manhattan. Whenever I walk in the area surrounding the park, I feel like I've left Manhattan entirely. There are so many trees, and the architecture is beautiful. The park is privately owned and was built in the 1800s, and the Gramercy neighborhood was named a historic district in the 1960s.

The neighborhood is on the east side and borders Union Square in the south. It goes up to 23rd Street in the north. So, while not all parts of the neighborhood are as quaint as the area right around the park, it's still a nice 'hood and quieter in most areas than many others in Manhattan.

Union Square is one of my favorite areas for shopping, eating out, and meeting people. Park Avenue South has loads of restaurants and shopping as well, including a few excellent grocery stores and some great thrift shops. Unlike some parts of Manhattan, this area manages to be both commercial and residential.

Make no mistake, if I could afford to live here I probably would. But because I can't, and likely never will, I'm inclined to not like this area.

It's wonderful. Too wonderful. Too clean, too elegant, too perfect, with tree-lined streets of pre-war brownstones and post-war luxury buildings. There are great restaurants, but I can't eat there. No only due to the tab, but the reservations at most don't open for months--call Gramercy Tavern. Try to get a table. They'll laugh at you.

Likewise, as others have mentioned, there are a lot of gated communities, so I can only assume the best parts of Gramercy go unnoticed by the common man.

Basically, it's the perfect neighborhood, so anything negative people have to say about it is mostly out of bitter jealousy. You're close to everything and if you live there you can probably afford everything.

My advice: take a stroll through Gramercy some weekend, pack a lunch and have a picnic on somebody's front steps. You'll enjoy the beauty of the area without paying a cent. Then go home to your neighborhood, where you know your neighbors and your local deli guy and realize that you're part of an actual community.

Gramercy is not a place to make friends. It's a community of gargoyles...not people.

if you love parks and you love flowers and a gorgeous environment, you will love Gramercy Park. It has been called a gem by many and no wonder. The buildings look really nice. There are a lot of brownstone mansions in the area. What a site to see. The best part is when the flowers and buds bloom from the trees. What a site to see. You have to be there to see it, especially in the spring and summer months.

Bring your keys to Gramercy Park, and if you don’t have one, don’t plan on getting in. Gramercy Park is a smaller, fenced-in private park in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan. The park is only accessible to the residents of particular townhouses in the area. Some nearby residents can purchase privileges to the park, but for the most part it is for local town home residents.

I once had a friend stay at the Gramercy Park Hotel, and due to her residency, we gained access to the park. I felt uber chic when we strolled in with our bagels and coffee to sit on one of the benches and read the newspaper. I savored the time, because I didn’t know if and when I would ever be allowed back in.

The neighborhood is isolated from the subway which makes the rent a bit more affordable. Since there is quite a presence of college students in the area, lower rent prices are helpful. The Fordham Graduate School Housing buildings are located along the West side and 81st Street. Some of the locals call the area between 1st Avenue and East End Avenue the “Dorm District.” Since there is low rent in this safe neighborhood, students from nearby Hunter College, New York Film Academy, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts also migrate this way.

I once worked with a spoiled (and arrogant) young guy who moved into this neighborhood because his dad was an architect and he wanted to sit around and admire the local neighborhood buildings. Oh, did I mention his dad was also paying his rent? If you have a similar trust fund and a lack of ambition, this is a good neighborhood to sit around and admire, as there is much to admire. Much like the Upper East Side, these streets offer the kind of old New York charm that is mostly supplied from movies. The part of the neighborhood around the actual park (that is, around Gramercy Park) is very quiet around the clock. This is certainly a rare quality in any neighborhood in this city, and should not be taken lightly.