Milligan Pl, Greenwich Village

Milligan Place is just about as cute as you can get for Greenwich living. It, like most alleys in New York, is gated. It's also not really an alley. It looks more like a cated courtyard to a few mish-mosh buildings. But, the courtyard / alley is the old school brick and the apartments are so cute! And, they're actually quite big. A good friend of mine lived in one that was pointed out toward 6th Avenue and I was quite surprised at how little street noise actually got into the apartment. It had to have been one of the biggest apartments I've seen in the village so I can only imagine what the rent must be like on those suckers. But, it would be so worth it! You get to live in a little bit of history, you're safe (nobody knows that gate code . . not even realtors), you have you're own community, and you're right off 6th Avenue! So, basically, you get the best of every world. You get convenience, access to shops and restaurants, and pretty significant privacy. There are not very many gated situations in New York.
The downside is, yeah, you live basically right on 6th Avenue which is one of the busiest Avenues in the city. And, it costs a small fortune to live in Milligan. And, I mean a small fortune even compared to the already massive fortune you pay to live in Greenwich. But, if you can afford to live here, it's one of the best places. Oh, and quick sidenote: Eugene O'Neill lived in Milligan Place.