Boundaries: Stretches from 59th to 96th Streets, between Central Park and the East River.

Borders: Yorkville and Midtown East

Subway stops: 4, 5, 6 Lines to 86th Street

Credit Bjorn Hermans

The Upper East Side mostly exemplifies serious status enclaves

in landmark bonfire-of-the-vanities-type housing,

but remains a neighborhood where there’s something for everyone, save bargain hunters. Strict board scrutiny and

non-liberal financing continues to prevail from Fifth to Park Avenues, even for those lucky Masters of the Universe with a $100 million in liquid

assets. Apartments with o’-say-can-you-see Central

Park views are scarce, but studios, one- and two-bedrooms abound for upper-crust casuals, young families and glamour-tanned Ashton and Demi wannabes.

Upper East Side word association evokes images of the mayor-doesn’t-live-there-anymore Gracie Mansion, Bloomberg heading down into the subway at 68th, Bloomingdales, Dalton, Carl Shultz Park and swimming lessons at Asphalt Green. Shopping opportunities have never been scarce and newer additions seem more like old friends now (i.e., Dylan’s Candy, Shanghai Tang and Bed, Bath and Beyond.)

Grocery shopping falls into two distinct classifications. First, yuppiedom outlets like

Grace’s, Eli’s Manhattan Warehouse, Canard & Co., even Schaller & Weber. The second, send-the-housekeeper

breed such as Lobels, Mitchel London, and Sherry-Lehmann.

Dining options for nourishment and social assemblages still include the high profile

Elaine’s, expensive-account destinations like Daniel, Park Avenue Café, breakfast at Gardena Café and the ladies who still lunch at Sara Beth and E.A.T.

With its world-famous museums, elite schools, luxury boutiques, and proximity to Central Park, the family-oriented Upper East

Side is home to some of the city’s richest residents. The Gold Coast properties—mansions and huge prewars in the Sixties and Seventies, on and near Fifth and Park Avenues—remain

the domain of the seriously wealthy, for whom park views, expensive meals, Madison Avenue shopping, and proximity to most of the city’s best private schools are basic requirements. And yet, just east of Lexington, the neighborhood can also be surprisingly affordable. Young professionals and budding families live in prewar and postwar co-ops, condos, and mid-block townhouses, which run smaller than those on the Gold Coast. They’re mostly one- or two-bedrooms in walkups and postwar slabs, including lots of convertible studios.

Places of Interest: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum, Frick Museum, The Whitney Museum, The French Consulate

Places to Dine: Atlantic Grill, Canyon Road, Haru Sushi, Cafe Greco, Arcadia, Mo’s Caribean, Zocalo (Mexican), Annie’s

Places to Shop: Anik, Bed Bath & Beyond, Donna Karan, Miu Miu, Chloe, Ralph Lauren, TSE, Scoop, Bloomingdale’s, Levi’s, Diesel, Zara

Other activities: Central Park, LA Sports Club, Club Macanudo, Central Park

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