Most Underrated Neighborhood?

Manhattan Valley.

Bedford Park, Bronx

Jackson Heights, Queens

The western front of Manhattan Valley *west of Broadway* among the most charming neighborhoods in Manhattan.

PMG, that's simply not Manhattan Valley.

alanhart, Take that up with the NYTimes

Forest Hills Gardens, Queens

Upper East Side.

Its one of the cheapest neighborhoods south of 96th street, and on an amenity by amenity basis, its near the top.

I had to google "manhattan valley"...
never heard of it..
ay ay ay ...too much to learn

the only classic prewar on the UES is prime and expensive--and I don't think the prime UES is underrated. If you want prewar that isn't priced sky-high, you have to look elsewhere, which is why I recommend Riverside Dr in Manhattan Valley or, more expensive in the 80s and 90s. Here you can get classic prewar, that few people consider prime manhattan, so there are values.

Parkchester

dc

if you don't mind small apartments and land leases, you can't get more charming than Tudor City which boarders between Turtle Bay and Murray Hill on the far east side. These buildings are absolutely stunning and there is a private park. However, unlike a public park, it comes bearing a cost to the landowner, not the Parks Department or special purpose private charity.

another vote for Forest Hills Gardens and Jackson Heights.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

pmg is this a joke? who doesn't consider riverside drive in the 80s prime manhattan?

happyrenter, believe it or not, there are plenty of people that won't consider living north of W79th St

pmg, there are plenty of people who won't consider living north of 14th. that doesn't mean they don't consider 73rd and 5th avenue prime manhattan. you are talking about taste.

Ironbound, Newark

"if you don't mind small apartments and land leases, you can't get more charming than Tudor City which boarders between Turtle Bay and Murray Hill on the far east side."

I think TC is awful. Location sucks ass, its really just out of the way despite what it is "close" to. The entrance streets (and that should tell you something, you can't access it from all sides) is by far the worst stretch of 2nd ave there is. You're also just above the tunnel entrances.

Apartments are tiny. And the buildings are not that well kept, and they're quite dated....

There is a reason its cheap there. Its not underrated, its perfectly rated. This is not a neighborhood that just hasn't been "discovered" yet.

my first recommendation was west of broadway 96 to 116--western front of the NYTimes dubbed "manhattan valley" and the lower corner of "morningside heights". This area is prewar, charming and under-rated because it is north of 96th St. The reality is that Columbia University is such a powerful landlord, that this area is completely different from south harlem or east harlem. It feels just like the upper west side, and streeteasy labels it as such.

Riverside Drive, from 105 to 114, obviously!

If you want classic prewar... Fort Green or Caroll Gardens. You get a LOT more for your money because its not technically Manhattan... but better in many ways (than the fringe Manhattan neighborhoods being discussed).

Murray Hill on Lexington or Park. Close to Grand Central, Penn Station, NYPL, all 34th St. subways. Gorgeous pre-war buildings or pretty townhouses on lovely streets. Love living there.

Rose Hill
anybody know where this is besides me?

Kensington or Windsor Terrace

Manhattan Valley, by far.

Falcogold: the bronx? Doesn't Fordham have a campus there?

Bloomingdale-- which I believe is the correct designation for the area west of Broadway between 97th Street and 110th Street.

It's not Manhattan Valley.

Another vote for Bloomingdale or Manhattan Valley.....whatever you call it.

That neighborhood around the UN, towards Grand Central is so pretty!

I think that Tudor City is SPECTACULAR though I just now heard that it's landlease.

Rose Hill - I just heard it mentioned the other day re: Turtle Bay but when I googled it, I got a park in the Bronx or something. Where is it? Sounds lovely; at least it was once apparently.

Rose Hill is what they were trying to insert as the name for the "grey area on the taxi map", south of murray hill (which ends at 34th despite what a broker may tell you); north of gramercy and west of kips bay (technically doesn't go west of 2nd ave). I lived there for 25 years and never called it "Rose Hill"..."Hooker Heaven" maybe, but that's no longer accurate. And I did think it was severely underrated until the invasion of the 20somethings impacted the quality of adult life there.

Underated now, I'd say South Riverdale. Gorgeous views, very conveient and really cheap apartments. If you don't care about being "where its at" and don't mind riding Metro North for 20 minutes the value is amazing.

Upper East Side. Most of this city hates it, and its got more going for it than most of the city.

Astoria rentals are inexpensive for being so close to midtown and safe, Jackson Heights also. Apartments for sale in Tudor City are also under priced IMO, just saw a listing for a studio for 199k.

Trouble with the UES is the #6 train.

Then take the 45. Or, closest to the prime pre-war 60s is the F. And NR at 60th. Or wait a decade for the 2 more coming.

Doesn't get much more "classic pre-war" than the Upper East Side...

(or walk)

battery park city

pre-war doesn't mean the, uh, gulf war.

Woodside, Queens and all of the Bronx

"all of the Bronx"

Now you're just getting silly.

Pre-war West Chelsea townhouse: west of 8th AV, east of 10th.

Tribeca and W. Village are the best neighborhoods.

Wonderboy can you read? The topic of this thread is underrated neighborhoods.

carnegie Hill, I think is currently underrated. Nice stock of prewar buildings

"Wonderboy can you read? The topic of this thread is underrated neighborhoods."

Fine idiot,

W. Village and Tribeca are the most underrated neighborhoods.

east 50's, particularly east of 3rd ave....lots of dining, shoping, varied housing options, close to transportation

Northern Westchester. Easy commute, great food and culture, amazing nature, and gorgeous old houses at good prices.

For classic pre war at a reasonable price I have often touted Washington Heights around the RSD/157th area because of access to subways and the beautiful buildings. The neighborhood does need more services,though. The new Whole Foods near the 100s is more promising and we no longer have to go all the way downtown for great restaurants. There are many in the lower 100's. Def. not the West Village but a great value equation when you consider the beautiful, pre-war, large space you get and the subway lines.

If you're more into Brooklyn, we also looked in Cobble Hill and loved someo f the spaces.

agree with upper upper west west. rsd, claremont avenue. riverdale in the bronx, douglaston in queens... i like places with a little romance about them.

Sunnyside and Jackson Heights, Queens. I would live there if I could get to work.

UES?
yuck, actually it would be pretty cool if it weren't for all of the people that lived there. Have you seen THEM!

is is considered manhattan valley...is 102 and cpw manhattan valley?

Greenwich Village. It's even better than people say.

GV is my number one favorite place in NYC.

"UES?
yuck, actually it would be pretty cool if it weren't for all of the people that lived there. Have you seen THEM!"

You're hanging out a lot on the UES these days?

p09 - funny. not even sure what you mean by that but i'm pretty certain there are days where i would be mistaken for a homeless woman with child on the UES. had a playdate with UES mommy recently...yeah, there's a difference...

I often, way too often, leave the city via e96th and the FDR.

UWS moms think I'm dressed up all the time (I'm not, I just don't wear exercise clothing outside the gym).

funny. this pregnancy, all i ever want to wear are my sneakers (but we walk a lot) and then the yoga pants follow. i'm always amazed (pregnant or not) by women who wear "fancy" shoes to walk 30, 40 + blocks.

"Greenwich Village. It's even better than people say. "
"GV is my number one favorite place in NYC."

I wish it didn't suck so much as compared to what it used to be.

I agree.

Too many skinny-assed white women pushing strollers around.

funny

Ah, once a certain age is attained, I find it common that one begins to think everything good used to be better. Gotta live in the moment.

> I wish it didn't suck so much as compared to what it used to be.

Yes, if there's one thing we can be sure of, its stereotypes based on one person you met.
I find the UWS moms the second most annoying group in the city, after the Park Slope moms. To me, hell looks something like the upper west.

sorry, wrong quote got posted up top... that was in response to..

"had a playdate with UES mommy recently...yeah, there's a difference..."

in terms of this on GV...
> I wish it didn't suck so much as compared to what it used to be.

You aren't talking west village? gv is bleecker and thompson and macdougal. NYU hell, crappy small apartments. Dirty, crappy, giant NYU dorms.

W village i would agree used to be a magical place... when it hit that sweet spot of post-bohemian but not completely disinfected. But its lost a lot. The biggest thing is all the young banking analysts who moved in and who don't cook, so a bunch of the cool food stores closed. it used to be the best area in town for gourmet cooks. Now, its filled with tourists instead.

IME, all moms of young children are annoying to others. Can't be helped.

Many, but not all. But it goes up another level in PS and the UWS.

"Ah, once a certain age is attained, I find it common that one begins to think everything good used to be better. Gotta live in the moment."

Because its actually true. Things peak. And then you have the heisenberg uncertainty principle.... the recognition that something is good often causes it to not be. Think of pizza places.... making 3x as many pies at Lombardi's in the same ovens to serve the 3x the size location to fit the tourists.... they don't let the dough rise. They don't take the time to cook 'em enough. I had to return a slice at Joe's once because it was pretty much raw and the guy basically said "I'm just gonna give you your money back because they're all like that".

Places DO get worse.

And, I'll add in... places that were NEVER good get called great later... for the wrong reasons. Like folks who say Gray's Payapa is the best. THey're idiots. It got famous for being CHEAP and UBIQUITOUS. Its just a ripoff of Papaya King (MUCH better, has actual natural casings hot dogs). People are just too happy to jump with the crowds.

On the flip, while things get worse, NEW THINGS COME.
Thats how it works. Things peak, and then new things come, and they peak.

Yes, pizza in manhattan has gone downhill at the old places. But some of the new places are fantastic. Corner Bistro might have lost a notch... but, you know, shake shack is as good as anything I can ever remember (better, actually... I like thinner, non-burned burgers with more toppings).

Frankie's 457 blows away many years of my memories. And its as good as I remember when I first went years back.

This is NYC. Its about change. Some things die. And they deserve funerals. I don't want to eat them.

somewhereelse - i didn't realize i was interacting with an UES anomaly. thank you for setting me straight.

and yes, all moms of small kids are annoying, even to other moms...

I think Park Slope gets far too much of a bad rap for the mommy thing. It's still one of the most beautiful residential neighborhoods in the whole city, has quite a few decent bars and restaurants, and attracts enough artsy types and groovy singles to keep life interesting. Plus, it's got my dream combination: a huge park AND one of the best farmer's markets in the city -- adjacent to one another.

Wait a minute, have there really been 72 comments without a single nasty comment from columbiacounty or aboutready? Isn't at least one of the 72 prior comments a lie according to columbiacounty? Doesn't at least one of the prior 72 indicate that someone is a "fucktard"?

At least tell me someone had a problem with a toilet like the aboutready family.

"I think Park Slope gets far too much of a bad rap for the mommy thing."

I think its well-deserved.

"It's still one of the most beautiful residential neighborhoods in the whole city"
Not sure how that undermines the point.

"has quite a few decent bars and restaurants"
Quite a few decent is great for boston, not NYC. Towns in New Jersey have the same.

"and attracts enough artsy types and groovy singles to keep life interesting."

I generally find that anyone saying "artsy types" or "groovy" wouldn't know either if they got punched by them. They talk about "artsy types" in cleveland.

But, back to the original point... its turned into one of the least interesting sections of yuppie ring of the city. Except for people who find strollers interesting.

Yes, great that its good for kids and this and that... but so is Long Island. Some of us prefer actual city living.

Park Slope Rocks! Move there in a heartbeat if I could get my wife out of the UES.

Greenpoint is pretty awesome. Though I am biased since I lived there, you have almost anything you can ask for in an neighborhood there besides a movie theater. There is even a YMCA there that is friendly.

I really don't think anything in Manhattan is underrated. I am a big fan of Sunnyside. Lots of good, inexpensive restaurants (Turkish, Korean, Italian, Thai, etc.). Short commute to Midtown. I lived there for a while and miss it a lot.

> I could get my wife out of the UES.

This seems to happen a lot. A lot of neighborhoods, particularly those in yuppie Brooklyn, get way OVERRATED by folks who visit but don't live there.

DUMBO is a prime example. Of the folks who have told me they "love" it, 90% are folks who have a friend or visited a bunch of times, but don't live there. The other 10% have kids, and don't actually do anything in DUMBO... but have a range rover to drive to other suburban spots.

In my experience, most of the Brooklyn boosters live there.

Somewhereelse, is there a neighborhood in NYC you actually like?

> In my experience, most of the Brooklyn boosters live there.

Yes, its called rationalizing your purchase and/or trying to help values. You need to be more aware of slant.

> Somewhereelse, is there a neighborhood in NYC you actually like?

Yes, many, and I've noted this many, many times (hell, on this thread). Try reading. And several of my picks are in Brooklyn.

Trying to infer that I don't like anything as the only reason I'll point out flaws somewhere is just ignorance.

"Yes, its called rationalizing your purchase and/or trying to help values. You need to be more aware of slant."

That's a seriously perverse way of thinking, somewhereelse. It's never dawned on you that many people live in a neighborhood because they actually like it?

EAST HARLEM.
It's the next Chelsea or LES.

i have to vote for my neighborhood, east 57th through east 49th from 3rd ave east to the river
you can pretty much get anywhere you want in the city because of crosstown trains plus proximity to grand central. also it's close to major business disticts if you are fortunate enough to be able to walk to work. plenty of needed regular neighborhood ameneties like grocery stores, drug stores, tailors. DECENT to above average restaurants and some fun bars. Easy walk to Central Park. Great hosuing stock, plenty of townhouses, pre-war doorman and non doorman elevator buildings. and if you are rich and careless with money, some new condos that sprouted up in the last 5 years or so

I like the LES east of Clinton, I walk around there really early on weekend mornings and there are none of the LES trendy bars/boutiques, just Spanish delis, the best bargain basement stores,and little food shops. I love it! I also love Chinatown.

"I like the LES east of Clinton, I walk around there really early on weekend mornings and there are none of the LES trendy bars/boutiques, just Spanish delis, the best bargain basement stores,and little food shops."

Don't you mean Queens? ;)

Truthskr, good one :)
Can I wax nostalgic for one second about the LES?
When I was about 8/9, it was the time (for all those who remember) when the city was so bad you would take your car radio out of the car every time you parked it and put a sign "NO RADIO" in the window. My dad would take me around to run errands in the car, and for quick ones he was so scared something would happen that he'd make me hide under a blanket in the backseat. Then at the end of "errands" he would take me to this unmarked hole in the wall little food shop for rice and root-bear for dinner, and on the way home didnt even stop at red lights b/c if you did the hookers, junkies and bums would just bang on your window. It was so fun and exciting for me. Now, times have a'changed!

I grew up in eastern queens, but I remember those times.
Imprinted in my mind is being in the back seat of the car as the family drove into the city at 8/9 years old and rows and rows and rows of hookers on delancey street.
It was like coochie Costco.

"i have to vote for my neighborhood, east 57th through east 49th from 3rd ave east to the river
you can pretty much get anywhere you want in the city because of crosstown trains plus proximity to grand central. also it's close to major business disticts if you are fortunate enough to be able to walk to work. plenty of needed regular neighborhood ameneties like grocery stores, drug stores, tailors. DECENT to above average restaurants and some fun bars. Easy walk to Central Park. Great hosuing stock, plenty of townhouses, pre-war doorman and non doorman elevator buildings. and if you are rich and careless with money, some new condos that sprouted up in the last 5 years or so"

I like it a lot over there, definitely some positives, but it is VERY slow for Manhattan. Plus, you are boxed in by the bridge and midtown a little. Some definite pros, but the "cutoff" aspect when walking is a challenge for me... but, yes, the trains are good.

Here's one from the forgotten borough. St George in Staten Island. Stone's throw away from the free ferry, which is a lot more airy and comfortable than the subway. Beautiful historic houses, green spaces and parks. Not to mention housing prices probably unimaginable to most on this thread. Lots of artists and former hippies. This nabe has its own vibe and its not for everyone. But for those with an open mind that prefer to march to the beat of their own drum, this is a noteworthy neighborhood.

Count me in with the folks who rode in the car as a kid with Dad on Delancey Street in the '80s! In our case it was homeless guys offering to wash the windshield for some money. Unfortunately (or, looking back, perhaps this was their aim), the dirty rags they had in their hands would probably only make the glass dirtier!

East Flatbush.

It's a riot!

Oakwod Beach, SI

I think the West Village is priceless and so can never be properly valued. It has everything and everyone I want:
tourists,
B&T,
trannies,
frat-tastics,
girls that don't pick up after their rat dogs,
crap parks / parks of a decent size not on a highway,
worst supermarkets,
and massive disparity between nice housing stock and everything else.

easy_street, I see that you've posted only twice since 2008. You must feel really strongly about the West Village.

uh oh. the sheriff of greensburg.

In my (biased) opinion, Bloomingdale, that is west of Broadway between about 100th and 108th Streets (and then Riverside Drive up to about 113th.) Quiet, beautiful, pre-war, and a vibe that is somewhere between more hectic Upper West Side and more student-y Morningside Heights.

I would also say my former neighborhood Alphabet City from about E 6th to E 12th, between A and C, and E 7th between C and D. Very charming, lots of interesting community gardens and a very small village feeling with great restaurants and no chain stores.

I don't know if these qualify for underrated anymore, but one still hears about "north of 96th" and "east of 1st avenue".

central park north

If you really wanna stretch the extremes of undervalue, how about Grand Concourse around Kingsbridge Road? Beautiful pre-war apartment buildings in a low-rent, low-income, high-crime area with lots of gangs. Not saying it's a great place to live, just saying ............... great apartments with basically zero value placed on them by people usually looking for classic pre-WWII NYC apartments.

The most undervalued neighborhood in New York is the Upper East Side -- the REAL Upper East Side, from Fifth to not-quite Lex.

With worldwide wealth continuing to concentrate at a furious pace, people well-armed with massive amounts of money will pay spiraling prices that sound insane to the mere richies.

The selective nature of the Best Buildings will eventually come around to accommodating those vulgarians, especially as they learn the value of charitable contributions and what is euphemistically referred to as "volunteering" ... i.e., logrolling & backscratching. Thurston and Lovey will be unable to reject.

Eventually, Thurston and Lovey will be priced out, and will have to move to LIC or Hamilton Heights. They'll put a happy face on it ... it's what people do. They'll tell you that a third restaurant opened and that they no longer have to go to an independent pharmacy for their stool softeners, because a big chain drug store is opening soon.

central park north, so overpriced

Lowery, I agree with you and I suspect the Grand Concourse will be gentrified for the reasons you mentioned. As far as it being a low income, high crime area...so is (was?) Bushwick and its considered a "hot area". The Bronx buildings may become desirable when people are priced out of Hudson (Washington) Heights and are looking for the "next" place to pioneer.