Midtown East stagnant prices

you can always buy and wait for the next bubble. once it comes, that area will bubble faster than others due to the low pricing. you will then be able to dump the property and buy something else. as long as the area suits you for the next 7-10 years, you'll be living in manhattan, below 96 street and paying Harlem prices.

Midtown East does not appear to have the residential community vibes, except for Tudor City. It is a heavy traffic area with a lot of offices around. Perhaps that will be limiting for successful nabes that eventually turn into areas that families want to live in.

Given what I just stated, I think that people will gravitate towards lower price areas as an option for living in the highly desirable island of Manhattan (below E. 96th St. and W. 120s in the West Side, though eventually, if we live long enough, we should even see these limits being pushed farther out).

In the short term, I think it is good to buy something that is relatively depressed in a very robust market, especially given the "beating" some of these areas have taken, the very low interest rates, the upcoming extension of the LIRR to the east side, etc. Your 10 year horizon also sounds like a long enough time for you to see some appreciation in a unit purchased at today's prices. More importantly, are you willng to live in this kind of nabe or will you find tenants who do not mind living in a heavily commercial nabe? The below 1% vacancy rate in NYC also augurs well for your "investment" in this area.