7.6 out of 10

East 21st St, Gramercy Park

Ranked 6th best street in Gramercy Park
40.7382163447944 -73.9856698418698
Great for
  • Internet Access
  • Shopping Options
  • Gym & Fitness
  • Medical Facilities
  • Parks & Recreation
Not great for
  • Parking
  • Nightlife
  •  
  •  
  •  
Who lives here?
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
  • Tourists

Reviews

4/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 3/5
  • Safe & Sound 3/5
  • Clean & Green 3/5
  • Peace & Quiet 3/5
  • Eating Out 4/5
  • Nightlife 2/5
  • Parks & Recreation 4/5
  • Shopping Options 5/5
  • Gym & Fitness 4/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Lack of Traffic 2/5
  • Parking 2/5
  • Cost of Living 3/5
  • Public Transport 5/5
2yrs+

"Nice neighborhood just north of the Village"

The Flatiron District is a Manhattan neighborhood in the 20s that is named after the Flatiron Building. I'm in this area on almost a weekly basis, and I like it a lot. It's a fairly busy neighborhood, but I'm told the apartments are quite nice. And if you're a tourist, stroll around for the shopping and the architecture. I love the clock at 200 Fifth Avenue and the famous golden pyramid at the top of the Met Life Tower.

I do quite a lot of shopping on Sixth Avenue in this area. There's a mall that includes Bed Bath & Beyond and T.J. Maxx. You'll also find a Burlington Coat Factory, Old Navy, and Staples on Sixth Avenue, among many other stores. Fifth Avenue also has a wealth of great stores, although they tend to be pricier than the ones on Sixth Avenue. There are plenty of restaurants and other service businesses, too, like shoe repair places and nail salons.

The Flatiron District borders Gramercy Park and Chelsea, and it's just a few blocks from Union Square, which is a major hub in the southern part of Manhattan. The nightlife is a bit limited, but you're so close to Greenwich Village and other areas with happening nightlife that you don't need it right in the Flatiron District itself.
Pros
  • Great shopping
  • Interesting architecture
Cons
  • A bit on the commercial side
  • Nightlife limited
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
  • Tourists
  • LGBT+
  • Hipsters
  • Students
  • Trendy & Stylish
3/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 3/5
  • Safe & Sound 3/5
  • Clean & Green 4/5
  • Pest Free 3/5
  • Peace & Quiet 3/5
  • Eating Out 2/5
  • Nightlife 2/5
  • Parks & Recreation 4/5
  • Shopping Options 3/5
  • Gym & Fitness 3/5
  • Lack of Traffic 3/5
  • Cost of Living 2/5
  • Public Transport 2/5
2yrs+

"Not the best Gramercy Street but not horrible to look at"

There's a place between 5th and 6th called Shaffer City that has an oyster happy hour. Unfortunately, the two times I went there for oysters, the service was so bad / slow that we ended up leaving. Maybe someone else has had a better experience, but I have yet to go back.
There are mostly a lot of giant apartment buildings with little stores and restaurants but none of them are all that noteworthy in my book. The apartments east of Park Ave look pretty standard, but those are pretty wowsers on the inside. One of the apartments on 21st and Gramercy is in my top five most beautiful apartments I have seen in the city. The neighborhood isn't as quaint as the West Village but it's old and beautiful. If you can't live in one of the brownstones in this hood (and, how many people can?) then one of these apartments would do just fine.
Gramercy Park Hotel is on the corner of 21 and Lex. It was a big hotel for the stars in the 20's and then sort of got taken over by the Rock and Roll set. It's pretty chintzy but people still like going there. Directly across the street is Gramercy Park. It's a gated park that is only accessible to the surrounding tenants (they all have their own key). There's a big statue of Edwin Booth in the park which I find somewhat humourous. It was built in order to attract the wealthy back into living downtown. It has always been a private park that was promised to be the only exclusive green for the elite whom lived around it. It has maintained that draw to this day.
The rest of the street is really old and beautiful buildings until you run into Peter Cooper Village. The apartments are huge but for the price, I don't know why on earth you would want to live there.
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
5/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 4/5
  • Safe & Sound 5/5
  • Clean & Green 4/5
  • Peace & Quiet 3/5
  • Eating Out 4/5
  • Nightlife 3/5
  • Parks & Recreation 4/5
  • Shopping Options 5/5
  • Gym & Fitness 5/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Lack of Traffic 3/5
  • Cost of Living 3/5
  • Public Transport 5/5
  • Medical Facilities 4/5
2yrs+

"Suburban convenience with an urban edge"

The Flatiron District is a nice little slice of land surrounded by other nice little strips of land. Though not quite as nice as nearby Gramercy, it’s a great neighborhood to live in. The area is safe and clean with a young atmosphere. There are some nice examples of older New York architecture, including the Flatiron Building itself.

There are some great apartments in the Flatiron District, though the nicer ones are pretty pricey. Nearby NYU lends the neighborhood a number of young people strolling about during the day. There are many people drawn to the area for the huge farmer’s market in Union Square. The area also has many business workers in during the day, especially on the northern end surrounding Madison Square Park.

But the main reason to visit this area (besides exchanging your cable box at Time Warner) is the shopping. There are all the big box stores you’d find in a suburban setting, including the Gap, Banana Republic, H&M, Pier One, Esprit, Victoria’s Secret, Sephora, Bath and Body Works and the list…goes…on. It’s great shopping for the middle-budget person who doesn’t want to trudge all over the city to find what they need. And during the holiday shopping season, it’s also a wonderful alternative to the busier, tourist-clogged shopping district just up 5th Ave.
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
3/5
2yrs+

"Gramercy Park Delights"

East 21st street is home of Gramercy Park. One of my favorite parts of the city, a perhaps something that dispels a rumor or two, about living in the city. There are parks all over the place, some less than stellar, they do have Central Park to compete with, but some are beautiful. This is one of them. There was a ll kin of activity throughout the park and on the street, and coming from the Midwest, was a picture of what I imagined life in New York City would be like.


East 21st street is close to the following metro station: L at 14th st , and is accessible to many buses. Foot traffic is heavy and it is a good neighborhood for all kinds of people .

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East 21st St

4/5
"Suburban convenience with an urban edge"
40.7382163447944 -73.9856698418698
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East 20th St

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