UPTOWN MANHATTAN

Upper East Side

Way before the idea of a black American Express card existed, society’s wealthy bluebloods, WASPs, and Jewish residents began to populate the area around Central Park. New York’s elite found apartment living in the early 1900’s to be a bit “tacky” and found the actual city a bit dangerous. The brownstones and buildings with doormen helped the Upper East Side grow in popularity for the childbearing rich, with Central Park as the perfect backyard. In certain social circles, it was understood that the Upper East Side was the ONLY place for a proper gentleman or lady to live. Not any more. The city’s wealthy now live in SoHo, Tribeca and the West Village. What remains here is a faint smell of old money and the typical lady who lunches.

Upper West Side

On the corner of Central Park and 72nd Street is the famous Dakota Building where John Lennon was shot and Rosemary’s Baby was born. Arty, literary, tweed-wearing sorts of folk were the first to live in these beautiful brownstones and pre-war buildings. Today, it’s full of families who work at some of the nearby cultural institutions such as Columbia University, Lincoln Center and the Museum of Natural History. Various television studios are also in the area, making it a great place to catch that hunky soap star brunching on bagels at one of the many outside cafes.

Harlem

Typically gays are pioneers. We move into crappy neighborhoods, plant flowers, and before you know it, it’s the hot hood. Harlem hasn’t come out of the closet just yet in terms of being a gayborhood – but it’s close. And although still a bit rough, expect a Whole Foods Market soon. After various false starts, the traditionally black neighborhood started to blossom in the late 1990’s when ex-president Bill Clinton made his offices here and a brownstone buying frenzy began.