Inputs on Kips Bay

I live a few blocks from there. Been in the area for 8 years now. I like Kips Bay for its affordability, proximity to Union Square (that is if you are west of 3rd), the East Village and Chelsea.
We are on Park so we walk to Grand Central and Penn Station all the time.
Depending on your age group and lifestyle, it is a good neighborhood for singles and young couples. We are child-free so I can't comment on the kid-friendliness.
The downside is access to parks for running and biking - the only option is the East River Park, which is slowly being rebuilt at the moment.
Do you have any questions in particular?

Cons - Too many bars catering to a yuppie happy hour crowd in that immediate area. Mediocre restarants and shops. Lexington (1 block west has nothing worthwhile on it except Indian food). 2nd Ave (1 block East) is not worth visiting.

Pros - Location - You're in Manhattan, easy to get to nicer areas in the city. Everything is only a cab ride away.

I work in the area and live close by.

Agree with a.g. on the bars - better to choose a side street building than be on 3rd. There are some good food stores in the area (Todaros on 2nd and 30th, Kalustyan's at Lexington and 28th, and Whole Foods in Union Square). (The usual supermarkets, Gristedes, Food Emporium et al., I do not patronize but they are there. Plus a few very good restaurants on Park: two good French restaurants: Les Halles and Park Avenue Bistro, Pamplona (Spanish, of course), Dos Caminos...

the restaurants are getting much better. if you don't mind a 10 or 15 minute walk, there are great options. along with the ones noted by rear_window (love Pamplona and Les Halles), the hotel at 24th and 3rd just changed its restaurant to 'inoteca, sibling to 'ino and 'inoteca LES. i liked the menu at bar milano (same owners) better, but this is very good grub at low prices. the little wine bar Cavatella (maybe 26th and 3rd) is delightful and delightfully cheap as well. a bit further afield you get Tabla, Blue Smoke, the Steve Hanson steakhouse on Park, the Cafe at Country, i Trulli, Bao Noodles, Bar Breton, Bar Stuzzichini, Punch, Novita, BLT, etc. For a burger you have the Waterfront Ale House. Our daughter learned to walk on the booths there (it was much less crowded). Ali Baba on 34th has superb Turkish food, and Ethos has some of the best, most reasonably priced Greek in Manhattan (awful service during prime time, however).

vatan!

jerkstore, i haven't been in there since they remodeled, but it was fantastic. forgot about pizza, you have totonno's, which i'm not fond of but many like, and vezzo, which i like and the purists may scorn.

I lived on 30th and 3rd for 25 years and left only because I finally had to admit to outgrowing my post-collegiate RS apartment. Pros: Reasonable cab ride to anywhere, fine dining listed above, Noodles 28 and Imperial Pizza for "everyday" and if you have kids, proximity to the library and to the renowned PS 116.
Cons: Only one (local) subway close by, and the feeling you are living in postgraduate dorm. Average age is about 24 and the bars are nowhere anyone who remembers where they were when the Challenger exploded (let alone when the Iranian hostages were free) would choose to go for an adult beverage. Plus its a gets a little boring standing on the endless line Sunday morning at Bagel Cafe (decent bagels but ridiculous service) having to listen to endless tales of hook ups and puking...bring your headphoones.

I agree with most of the comments... its a good "value" neighborhood, but it's nobody's first choice.... unless you want to live near all the 24 year olds.

But this is basically wrong..
"Mediocre restarants"

There is a lot of mediocre, but that everywhere in Manhattan, but there is also some damn good stuff.

Lots of examples noted, and I'll add Jaya to the mix. Foodie friends travel from elsewhere in Manhattan for that one.

Also, one of the better movie spots in Manhattan..

Things are generally cheaper (e.g. food, manicure/pedicure, cleaners). Young crowd (mostly in their 20s or early 30s at most) - neighbour is blasting music next door as I type, yes, feels like living in a dorm sometimes. Somehow I notice there are more girls than guys in the neighbourhood. Lots of bars. Not kid-friendly. Dirty sidewalks.

NYC10022 - A lot of the "damn good" restaurants mentioned are in other nieghoborhoods. Novita & BLT is by Gramercy Park. Bao Noodles about 10 blocks away. In the immediate area you can get decent south asian food and indian food. The area stretching from 1st to Park Ave from 23rd to 34th isn't as good as other areas in terms of food, nightlife and entertainment (except for the movie theatre).

And I think someone mentioned lack of parks. The one by the east river really skips the Kips Bay area and starts near Peter Cooper. And the other real park that is Madison, and I've never seen anyone jogging or riding a bike there. 1st ave is full of hospitals, 2nd ave is just lacking everything, 3rd is a strip of bars that can barely be distinguished from one another and Lex is good for only Indian food. Park has a handful of notable places including Wolfgangs, Les Halles and Artisanol and a bunch of starbucks. Madison has some good places also, but not much east of Park.

a_g, give it up. there are plenty of restaurants I mentioned that are within a few blocks. if you can't include a 10 minute walk, almost all neighborhoods have very few decent restaurants. UES? UWS?

St. Vartans park is at 30ish and first, and is a great one. If you're an avid biker, then yes, another area might be better.

The youngish crowd is definitely true. But it is true in many neighborhoods with good restaurants. I'd take lively over dead any day. I live in Peter Cooper, the land of the ancient, and I have four NYU guys living above me this year who seem to play basketball in their apartment at 4:00 a.m. You can live in the quietest neighborhood, but if your neighbors are loud, they're loud.

wc_nyc, I agree with much of what you've said, but this is a VERY kid friendly neighborhood. The local public school is decent and has a G&T program. The park has a superb playgroup (organized and structured, waiting list!!!)

aboutready, maybe you are right. I said that as I was only envisioning pushing a stroller down Third Avenue after 8 pm on a Thur/Fri night where you have crowds of people gathering outside the bars. But I guess once you turn onto the side streets, you'll be fine.

wc, most parents at 8 pm are sitting on the couch rejoicing in the fact that the 5 pm witching hour has passed. if they go out to dinner with young kids, it rarely starts after 6:30ish.

I lived there and there are actually lots of families. Go to Madison square park or St. Vartans Park which is really nice. Restaurants are getting better but you are so close to everything everywhere else unless you eat out every night it's no big deal. We just got Inoteca on 24 and 3rd - that's hip and really good. Lots of supermarkets, big movie theater, drugs stores - everything in a block or 2. We like it here. The public school is really good too if you're interested in that. Easy walk to Union square green market. It's a nice neighborhood. Lot so of out of college folks but they are also in the village and on the UES and UWS - who do you think goes to all those bars? There are tons of them all over the city. Anywhere there are lots of high rise rentals you find lots of 20 somethings

If you're comparing the "the neighbourhood around 30th and 3rd" (Kips Bay) to other areas in the city you'll find a smaller number of good restaruants. Nothing special east of Lex. 1st and 2nd have nothing I can think of that's worth menioning. Can't compare Kips Bay to nearby areas like the East or West Village, Union Sq, Flatiron, Chelsea etc. There's a reason why places are cheaper in this area. Lot's of bar food.

a_g, most of Chelsea isn't so hot, at the very western side it's great, but that's all if you want a five minute walk. Even the Flatiron, if you only include a five minute walk you're not doing so well. Union Square is better, and the East and West Village both kick ass in terms of restaurants, but you'll not find that duplicated elsewhere, at least not within the five minute walk rule. Hell's kitchen has alot of cheap food, some of it great, but not a lot of depth (although I'd still take it over parts of the UES or UWS any time).

So, you're if you're looking at restaurant quality within your travel parameters, you'd only include a couple of neighborhoods, both with limited and very expensive housing inventory.

Compared to 90% of NYC, 30th and 3rd has very good access to very good food within a fifteen minute walk.

Ok, so I think we agree for the most part. Immediate area isn't great, but nearby you can find good stuff. 1st and second ave which make up a considerable protion of kips bay isn't great. I also found that Park ave caters to a quick work lunch crowd, with some notable exceptions. I also live in PCV and when I want to take a stroll and find a good place without a reservation, I always walk south or west, not north. I also work near park and 32nd so I know the area pretty well.

If I were to buy around the 30th/3rd, I'd watch for the following:
1. How close am I to the mixed-income rental bldgs.?
2. How close am I to the projects?
3. Is there an Indian restaurant in the bldg.? (many Indians believe in Karma and don't kill vermins, so go figure)

In other words, as long as you aren't too close to them, you will be okay. The restaurants there are cheap and relatively good, and there are patches of hip areas throughout.

a_g, i almost always walk south and west myself, but take a look at a couple of the places i mentioned. i've been surprised. my husband used to live in the mid-1980s on 25th between 2nd and 3rd and Ottomanelli's and a couple of Irish places were the best options. Times have changed a bit.

btw, if you're walking south, i'd like to give a HUGE shout out to a new wine bar (with a full menu) on First Ave. b/t 6th and 7th, Absinthe. it's new, and service, while delightful, is a bit slow, but the food is GREAT (somewhat Moroccan, but broad range to please anyone), and so cheap ($13 for a salmon entree, $16 for steak). maybe this is off-topic, but, i think supporting small business owners who are opening now could certainly add to quality of life.

"a_g, give it up. there are plenty of restaurants I mentioned that are within a few blocks. if you can't include a 10 minute walk, almost all neighborhoods have very few decent restaurants. UES? UWS? "

Wow, complete agreed. Its like a_g just wants to rationalize a move or something.

I don't live there, never have... but it beats a lot of Manhattan areas for variety of good stuff.

a_g is actually complaining about having to go to 22 & lex?

seriously...

Also... don't forget... Rodeo Bar rules!

22nd and lex isn't Kips Bay, and thats what the discussion is about. I agree you can take a 15 minute walk or a cab ride.

he asked about 30th and 3rd

10022 - 50% of Kips Bay has nothing, 1st or 2nd ave? There's a reason its cheaper than most of Manhattan...see below.

Kips Bay
Median price per ft²: $922

E. Village
Median price per ft²: $1,003

Chelsea
Median price per ft²: $1,244

Gramercy
Median price per ft²: $999

UES
Median price per ft²: $1,019