The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. It is bounded approximately by
96th Street to the north, the
East River
The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
to the east,
59th Street to the south, and
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
and
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
to the west. The neighborhood area incorporates several smaller neighborhoods, including
Lenox Hill
Lenox Hill () is a neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It forms the lower (southern) section of the Upper East Side, east of Park Avenue in the 60s and 70s.
A significant portion of the neighborhood lies withi ...
,
Carnegie Hill
Carnegie Hill is a neighborhood within the Upper East Side, in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Its boundaries are 86th Street on the south, Fifth Avenue (Central Park) on the west, with a northern boundary at 98th Street that contin ...
, and
Yorkville. Once known as the
Silk Stocking District,
[The City Review](_blank)
Upper East Side, the Silk Stocking District it has long been the wealthiest neighborhood in New York City.
The Upper East Side is part of
Manhattan Community District 8, and its primary
ZIP Codes are 10021, 10028, 10065, 10075, and 10128.
It is patrolled by the 19th Precinct of the
New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
.
Geography
Neighborhood boundaries in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
are not officially set, but according to the ''
Encyclopedia of New York City
''The Encyclopedia of New York City'' is a reference book on New York City, New York. Edited by Columbia University history professor Kenneth T. Jackson, the book was first published in 1995 by the New-York Historical Society and Yale Universi ...
'', the Upper East Side is bounded by
59th Street in the south,
96th Street on the north,
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
to the west, and the
East River
The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
to the east.
[Gronowicz, Anthony. "Upper East Side" in ] The ''
AIA Guide to New York City
The ''AIA Guide to New York City'' by Norval White, Elliot Willensky, and Fran Leadon is an extensive catalogue with descriptions, critique and photographs of significant and noteworthy architecture throughout the five boroughs of New York City. ...
'' extends the northern boundary to
106th Street near Fifth Avenue.
The area's north-south avenues are
Fifth,
Madison,
Park
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
,
Lexington,
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (di ...
,
Second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
,
First,
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, and
East End Avenues, with the latter running only from East
79th Street to
East 90th Street. The major east-west streets are 59th Street,
72nd Street, 79th Street,
86th Street, and 96th Street.
Some real-estate agents use the term "Upper East Side", instead of "
East Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...
", to describe areas that are slightly north of 96th Street and near Fifth Avenue, in order to avoid associating these areas with the negative connotations of the latter, a neighborhood which is generally perceived as less prestigious.
Historic districts
The
Upper East Side Historic District was designated as a city district in 1981
and listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1984. The city district runs from 59th to 78th Streets along Fifth Avenue, and up to Third Avenue at some points.
It is composed of residential structures built after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
; mansions and townhouses built at the beginning of the 20th century; and apartment buildings erected later on.
The city district was slightly expanded in 2010 with 74 additional buildings.
The Metropolitan Museum Historic District was designated a city district in 1977. It consists of properties on Fifth Avenue between 79th and 86th Streets, outside the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, as well as properties on several side streets.
The Park Avenue Historic District was designated a city district in 2014. It encompasses 64 properties on Park Avenue between 79th and 91st Streets.
The
Carnegie Hill Historic District was designated a city district in 1974 and expanded in 1993. It covers 400 buildings, primarily along Fifth Avenue from 86th to 98th Street, as well as on side streets extending east to Madison, Park, and Lexington Avenues.
There are also two smaller city historic districts. The Henderson Place Historic District, designated in 1969, comprises the town houses on East End Avenue between 86th and 87th Streets, built by John C. Henderson in 1981.
The Treadwell Farm Historic District, designated in 1967, includes low-rise apartments on East 61st and 62nd Streets between Second and Third Avenues, on the former farm of Adam Treadwell.
History
Development

Before the arrival of Europeans, the mouths of streams that eroded gullies in the East River bluffs are conjectured to have been the sites of fishing camps used by the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
, whose
controlled burns once a generation or so kept the dense canopy of
oak–hickory forest Oak–hickory forest is a type of North American forest ecosystem, and an ecoregion of the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome.
Geography
It has a range extending from Rhode Island and southern New York, west to Iowa, and south to Northern ...
open at ground level.
In the 19th century the farmland and market garden district of what was to be the Upper East Side was still traversed by the
Boston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts, that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States.
The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...
and, from 1837, the
New York and Harlem Railroad
The New York and Harlem Railroad (now the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line) was one of the first railroads in the United States, and was the world's first street railway. Designed by John Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and ...
, which brought straggling commercial development around its one station in the neighborhood, at 86th Street, which became the heart of German
Yorkville. The area was defined by the attractions of the bluff overlooking the
East River
The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
, which ran without interruption from
James William Beekman's "Mount Pleasant", north of the marshy squalor of
Turtle Bay, to
Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion (also Archibald Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville, Manhattan, Yorkville neighborhood of ...
, north of which the land sloped steeply to the wetlands that separated this area from the suburban village of
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
. Among the series of villas a Schermerhorn country house overlooked the river at the foot of present-day 73rd Street and another, Peter Schermerhorn's at
66th Street, and the Riker homestead was similarly sited at the foot of 75th Street.
By the mid-19th century the farmland had largely been subdivided, with the exception of the of
Jones's Wood, stretching from 66th to 76th Streets and from the Old Post Road (
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
) to the river and the farmland inherited by
James Lenox, who divided it into blocks of houselots in the 1870s, built his
Lenox Library on a Fifth Avenue lot at the farm's south-west corner, and donated a full square block for the
Presbyterian Hospital, between 70th and 71st Streets, and Madison and Park Avenues. At that time, along the Boston Post Road taverns stood at the mile-markers, Five-Mile House at 72nd Street and Six-Mile House at 97th, a New Yorker recalled in 1893.
The fashionable future of the narrow strip between Central Park and the railroad cut was established at the outset by the nature of its entrance, in the southwest corner, north of the
Vanderbilt family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanth ...
's favored stretch of Fifth Avenue from 50th to 59th Streets. A row of handsome townhouses was built on speculation by Mary Mason Jones, who owned the entire block bounded by 57th and 58th Streets and Fifth and Madison. In 1870 she occupied the prominent corner house at 57th and Fifth, though not in the isolation described by her niece,
Edith Wharton
Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...
, whose picture has been uncritically accepted as history, as
Christopher Gray has pointed out:
Arrival of famous residents
Before the
Park Avenue Tunnel was covered (finished in 1910), fashionable New Yorkers shunned the smoky railroad trench up Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue), to build stylish mansions and
townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...
s on the large lots along
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
, facing Central Park, and on the adjacent side streets. The latest arrivals were the rich Pittsburghers
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
and
Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company and played a major ...
. The classic phase of
Gilded Age
In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...
Fifth Avenue as a stretch of private mansions was not long-lasting: the first apartment house to replace a private mansion on upper Fifth Avenue was
907 Fifth Avenue (1916), at 72nd Street, the neighborhood's grand carriage entrance to Central Park.
Most members of New York's upper-class families have made residences on the Upper East Side, including the oil-rich
Rockefellers, political
Roosevelts,
political dynastic Kennedys
The Kennedy family () is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P ...
,
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
racing moneyed
Whitneys, and
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and
electric power
Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...
fortuned
Dukes
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
.
Transportation constructed

Construction of the
Third Avenue El, opened from 1878 in sections, followed by the
Second Avenue El, opened in 1879, linked the Upper East Side's middle class and skilled artisans closely to the heart of the city, and confirmed the modest nature of the area to their east. The unbuilt "Hamilton Square", which had appeared as one of the few genteel interruptions of the grid plan on
city map
A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city (or part of a city) created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduce ...
s since the
Commissioners' Plan of 1811
The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan on its march upto ...
, was intended to straddle what had now become the Harlem Railroad right-of-way between 66th and 69th Streets; it never materialized, though during the
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was a financial crisis in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission ...
its unleveled ground was the scene of an open-air mass meeting called in July to agitate for the secession of the city and its neighboring counties from New York State, and the city divided its acreage into house lots and sold them. From the 1880s the neighborhood of
Yorkville became a suburb of middle class Germans.
Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion (also Archibald Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville, Manhattan, Yorkville neighborhood of ...
, the last remaining suburban villa overlooking the East River at
Carl Schurz Park, became the home of New York's
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
in 1942. The
East River Drive, designed by
Robert Moses
Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...
, was extended south from the first section, from 125th Street to 92nd Street, which was completed in 1934 as a boulevard, an arterial highway running at street level; reconstruction designs from 1948 to 1966 converted
FDR Drive
Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly known as the FDR Drive, is a controlled-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park Underpas ...
, as it was renamed after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, into the full limited-access parkway that is in use today.
Demolishing the elevated railways on
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (di ...
and
Second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
Avenues opened these
tenement
A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...
-lined streets to the construction of high-rise apartment blocks starting in the 1950s.
Among these were
Manhattan House at 200 East 66th Street, one of the first apartment buildings in New York City to use white glazed brick on its facade,
as well as the Sutton Terrace development on
Sutton Place.
The demolition of the els had an adverse effect on transportation, because the
IRT Lexington Avenue Line
The IRT Lexington Avenue Line (also known as the IRT East Side Line and the IRT Lexington–Fourth Avenue Line) is one of the lines of the A Division (New York City Subway), A Division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Lower Manhatt ...
was now the only subway line in the area.
The
construction
Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...
of the
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue o ...
was originally proposed in 1919. Finally, on January 1, 2017, the first phase of the line was completed with three new stations opened. This brought in new local business to the area and had positive impact on real estate prices on the Upper East Side.
Demographics
For census purposes, the New York City government classifies the Upper East Side as part of three neighborhood tabulation areas: Upper East Side-
Carnegie Hill
Carnegie Hill is a neighborhood within the Upper East Side, in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Its boundaries are 86th Street on the south, Fifth Avenue (Central Park) on the west, with a northern boundary at 98th Street that contin ...
,
Yorkville, and
Lenox Hill
Lenox Hill () is a neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It forms the lower (southern) section of the Upper East Side, east of Park Avenue in the 60s and 70s.
A significant portion of the neighborhood lies withi ...
-
Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, wit ...
, divided by
Third Avenue
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Square ...
and 77th Street. Based on data from the
2010 United States Census, the combined population of these areas was 219,920, an increase of 2,857 (1.3%) from the 217,063 counted in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
. Covering an area of , the neighborhoods had a population density of .
[Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010](_blank)
, Population Division – New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.
The racial makeup of the neighborhoods was 79% (173,711)
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 3.2% (7,098)
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.1% (126)
Native American, 8.6% (18,847)
Asian, 0% (98)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.3% (609) from
other races, and 1.8% (3,868) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race was 7.1% (15,563) of the population. While the White population is a dominating majority in all three census tabulation areas, it is more so in Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill compared to Yorkville and Lenox Hill-Roosevelt Island, being close to 90% of the population.
[Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010](_blank)
, Population Division – New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.
The racial composition of the Upper East Side changed moderately from 2000 to 2010. The most significant changes were the increase in the Asian population by 38% (5,145), the increase in the Hispanic/Latino population by 19% (2,537), and the decrease in the White population by 3% (5,644). The small Black population increased by 3% (191), while the even smaller population of all other races increased by 15% (628). Taking into account the three census tabulation areas, the decrease of the White population was concentrated Yorkville and Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill especially, while the increases of the other racial groups were evenly split across the three areas.
The entirety of
Manhattan Community District 8, which comprises the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, had 225,914 inhabitants as of
NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.9 years.
This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.
Most inhabitants are adults: a plurality (37%) are between the ages of 25–44, while 24% are between 45 and 64, and 20% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 14% and 5% respectively.
As of 2017, the median
household income
Household income is a measure of income received by the household sector. It includes every form of cash income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, investment income and cash transfers from the government. It may include near-cash gover ...
in Community District 8 was $123,894,
though the median income on the Upper East Side individually was $131,492.
In 2018, an estimated 7% of Community District 8 residents lived in
poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twenty-five residents (4%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 41% in Community District 8, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Community District 8 is not considered to be
gentrifying
Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...
: according to the Community Health Profile, the district was not low-income in 1990.
Ethnic and socioeconomic trends
As of the 2000 census, twenty-one percent of the population was foreign born; of this, 45.6% came from Europe, 29.5% from Asia, 16.2% from Latin America and 8.7% from other areas. The female-male ratio was very high with 125 females for 100 males. The Upper East Side contains a large and affluent
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
population estimated at 56,000.
Traditionally, the Upper East Side has been dominated by wealthy
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
In the United States, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or Wealthy Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP) is a Sociology, sociological term which is often used to describe White Americans, white Protestantism in the United States, Protestant Americans of E ...
families.
Given its very high population density and per capita income ($85,081 in 2000), the neighborhood contains the greatest concentration of individual wealth in Manhattan. As of 2011, the median household income for the Upper East Side was $131,492.
The Upper East Side maintains the highest pricing per square foot in the United States. A 2002 report cited the average cost per square meter as $8,856; however, that price has noticed a substantial jump, increasing to almost as much as $11,200 per square meter as of 2006. There are some buildings which cost about $125 per square foot (~$1345/ m
2). The only
public housing
Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
projects for those of low to moderate incomes on the Upper East Side are located just south of the neighborhood's northern limit at 96th Street, the
Holmes Towers and
Isaacs Houses. It borders
East Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...
, which has the highest concentration of public housing in the United States.
Politics
Politically, the Upper East Side is in
New York's 12th congressional district
New York's 12th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City. As of 2023, it is represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Jerry Nadler, redistricted i ...
, which has a
Cook PVI of D+34 and is currently represented by
Democrat Jerry Nadler
Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of New York. A Manhattan resident and a member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Nadler was first ...
. It is in the
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...
's
27th,
28th, and
29th districts, the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
's 73rd and 76th districts, and the
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...
's
4th and 5th districts.
The Upper East Side is one of few areas of Manhattan where
Republicans constitute more than 20% of the
electorate
Electorate may refer to:
* The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate''
* The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806
* An electoral district
...
. In the southwestern part of the neighborhood, Republican voters equal
Democratic voters (the only such area in Manhattan), whereas in the rest of the neighborhood Republicans make up between 20 and 40% of registered voters. Nonetheless, it is still heavily Democratic; in the
2020 presidential election, every single precinct voted for Joe Biden and all but one gave him over 70% of the vote.
The Upper East Side is notable as a significant location of political fundraising in the United States. Four of the top five
ZIP Codes in the nation for political contributions are in Manhattan. The top ZIP Code, 10021, is on the Upper East Side and generated the most money for the
2004 presidential campaigns of both
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
.
Landmarks and cultural institutions
Museums
The area is host to some of the most famous museums in the world. The string of museums along Fifth Avenue fronting Central Park has been dubbed "
Museum Mile", running between 82nd and 105th Streets. It was once named "Millionaire's Row". The following are among the cultural institutions on the Upper East Side:
*
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the You ...
*
Asia Society
The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...
*
Colony Club
*
Andrew Carnegie Mansion
The Andrew Carnegie Mansion is a historic house and a museum building at 2 East 91st Street (Manhattan), 91st Street, along the east side of Fifth Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The three-and-a-half story, brick a ...
, which houses the
Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facil ...
*
Henry Clay Frick House, which houses the
Frick Collection
The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...
*
Frick Madison
*
Goethe-Institut, New York
*
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...
*
Irish Georgian Society
*
Jewish Museum of New York
*
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
*
El Museo del Barrio
*
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923Beard, Rick. "Museum of the City of New York" in to preserve and present the history ...
*
National Academy of Design
The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
*
Neue Galerie
*
Park Avenue Armory
*
Society of Illustrators
Art galleries
*
Acquavella Galleries
Acquavella Galleries is an art gallery located at 18 79th Street (Manhattan), East 79th Street between Madison Avenue (Manhattan), Madison and Fifth Avenue (Manhattan), Fifth Avenues on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City.
History ...
*
Kraushaar Galleries
*
Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery
*
Salon 94
Salon 94 is a New York-based contemporary art gallery owned by Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn.
History East 94th Street
The gallery opened in 2003 in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood on New York City’s Upper East Side as an integral part of Jeanne ...
*
Anita Shapolsky Gallery
Hotels (partial list)
*
Carlyle Hotel
*
Affinia Gardens NYC
*
The Mark Hotel
*
The Pierre
The Pierre is a luxury hotel located at 2 61st Street (Manhattan), East 61st Street, at the intersection of that street with Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, New York City, facing Central Park. Designed by Schultze and Weaver, Schultze & Weaver, th ...
*
The Lowell Hotel
*
Plaza Athénée, New York
*
The Sherry-Netherland
Houses of worship

*
Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity,
Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...
*
Brick Presbyterian Church
*
Central Presbyterian Church
*
Christ Church United Methodist
*
Church of the Epiphany,
Episcopal church
*
Church of the Heavenly Rest, Episcopal church
*
Church of the Resurrection
*
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (abbreviated as KJ or CKJ) is a Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue at 126 East 85th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The synagogue was founded in 1872. The syna ...
,
Modern Orthodox synagogue
*
Congregation Or Zarua,
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
synagogue
*
Edmond J. Safra Synagogue,
Orthodox Sephardic
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
synagogue
*
Fifth Avenue Synagogue, Orthodox synagogue
*
First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York
*
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
*
St. Ignatius Loyola,
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
*
Jan Hus Presbyterian Church
*
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses (1499 1st Avenue at East 78th Street)
*
Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church
*
Our Lady of Good Counsel Church
*
Park Avenue Christian Church,
Disciples of Christ
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
church
*
Park Avenue Synagogue,
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
synagogue
*
Park East Synagogue, Orthodox synagogue
*
Redeemer Presbyterian Church
*
St. Ann's Church, Catholic Church
*
St. James' Episcopal Church
*
St. Jean Baptiste Church, Catholic Church at 76th & Lex
*
St. John the Martyr's Church, Catholic Church
*
St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church
*
Temple Emanu-El,
Reform
Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
synagogue
*
Temple Israel, Reform synagogue
*
Temple Shaaray Tefila, Reform synagogue
* Third
Church of Christ, Scientist
The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,'' and founder of Christian Science. The church was founded "to commemorate the word and ...
*
Islamic Cultural Center of New York
The Islamic Cultural Center of New York is a mosque and an Islamic cultural center in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, United States. It is located at 1711 Third Avenue, between East 96th and 97th Streets. The Islamic Cultural Center was ...
, mosque
*
Unitarian Church of All Souls
The Unitarian Church of All Souls at 1157 Lexington Avenue at 80th Street (Manhattan), East 80th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1932 and was designed by Hobart Upjohn – Richard Upjohn's grandson &n ...
*
Zion-St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Diplomatic missions
Many diplomatic missions are located in former mansions on the Upper East Side:
* The
Consulate-General of Austria in New York is located at 31 East 69th Street, between
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
and
Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
.
* The
Consulate-General of France in New York is located at 934 Fifth Avenue between
74th Street and 75th Street.
* The
Consulate-General of Greece in New York is located at 69 East
79th Street, occupying the former
George L. Rives residence.
* The
Consulate-General of Italy in New York is located at 690 Park Avenue.
* The
Consulate-General of India in New York is located at 3 East 64th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue.
* The
Consulate-General of Indonesia in New York is located at 5 East 68th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue.
* The
Consulate-General of Lebanon in New York is located at 9 East 76th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue.
* The
Consulate-General of Pakistan in New York is located at 12 East 65th Street.
* The
Consulate-General of Russia in New York is located at the John Henry Hammond House at
9 East 91st Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue.
Other missions to the United Nations on the Upper East Side include:
*
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
*
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
*
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
*
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
*
Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
*
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
*
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
*
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
*
Myanmar (Burma)
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
*
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
*
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
*
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
Historic districts
There are several historic districts on the Upper East Side, the districts are:
* The
Carnegie Hill Historic District, a city landmark district, which covers 400 buildings, primarily along Fifth Avenue from 86th to 98th Street, as well as on side streets extending east to Madison, Park, and Lexington Avenues.
* The Metropolitan Museum Historic District, a city landmark district, which consists of properties on Fifth Avenue between 79th and 86th Streets, outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as properties on several side streets.
* The
Upper East Side Historic District, a city and NRHP district. The city district runs from 59th to 78th Streets along Fifth Avenue, and up to Third Avenue at some points.
Police and crime
The Upper East Side is patrolled by the 19th Precinct of the
NYPD
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
, located at 153 East 67th Street.
The 19th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.2% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 2 murders, 12 rapes, 229 robberies, 173 felony assaults, 278 burglaries, 1,724 grand larcenies, and 192 grand larcenies auto in 2022.
, Manhattan Community District 8 has a non-fatal assault hospitalization rate of 15 per 100,000 people, compared to the boroughwide rate of 49 per 100,000 and the citywide rate of 59 per 100,000. Its incarceration rate is 71 per 100,000 people, the lowest in the city, compared to the boroughwide rate of 407 per 100,000 and the citywide rate of 425 per 100,000.
Of the five major violent felonies (murder, rape, felony assault, robbery, and burglary), the 19th Precinct had a rate of 264 crimes per 100,000 residents in 2019, compared to the boroughwide average of 632 crimes per 100,000 and the citywide average of 572 crimes per 100,000.
In 2019, the highest concentration of felony assaults on the Upper East Side was near the intersection of
93rd Street and
First Avenue, where there were 10 felony assaults. The highest concentration of robberies, on the other hand, was near the intersection of
86th Street and
Lexington Avenue
Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street (Manhattan), 131st Street to Gra ...
, where there were 19 robberies.
Fire safety

The Upper East Side is served by multiple
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
(FDNY) fire stations:
* Engine Company 39/Ladder Company 16 – 157 East 67th Street
* Engine Company 44 – 221 East 75th Street
* Engine Company 22/Ladder Company 13/Battalion 10 – 159 East 85th Street
Health

,
preterm birth
Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...
s and births to teenage mothers on the Upper East Side are lower than the city average. On the Upper East Side, there were 73 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 3.4 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).
The Upper East Side has a low population of residents who are
uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 4%, less than the citywide rate of 12%, though this was based on a small sample size.
The concentration of
fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of
air pollutant
Air pollution is the presence of substances in the air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be gases like ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles like soot and dust. It affects both outdoor ...
, on the Upper East Side is , more than the city average.
Eight percent of Upper East Side residents are
smokers, which is less than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.
On the Upper East Side, 11% of residents are
obese
Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...
, 4% are
diabetic
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
, and 15% have
high blood pressure
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...
—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.
In addition, 6% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.
Ninety-four percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 89% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", more than the city's average of 78%.
For every supermarket on the Upper East Side, there are 5
bodegas.
Lenox Hill Hospital
Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450 bed non-profit, Tertiary care, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the reg ...
,
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (abbreviated as NYP) is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City. It is the primary teaching hospital for Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The hospit ...
, and
Weill Cornell Medical Center
Weill Cornell Medical Center (; previously known as New York Hospital, Old New York Hospital, and City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is the teaching hospital for Cornell University's Weill Cornell Medicine, medical school ...
are located on the Upper East Side. In addition,
Mount Sinai Hospital and
Metropolitan Hospital Center
The Metropolitan Hospital Center (MHC, also referred to as Metropolitan Hospital) is a hospital in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
It has been affiliated with New York Medical College since it was founded in 1875, representing ...
are located nearby in
East Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...
.
Post offices and ZIP Codes
The Upper East Side is located in five primary
ZIP Codes. From south to north, they are 10065 (south of 69th Street), 10021 (between 69th and 76th Streets), 10075 (between 76th and 80th Streets), 10028 (between 80th and 86th Streets), and 10128 (north of 86th Street). In addition, 500 East 77th Street in Yorkville has its own ZIP Code, 10162. If the ''AIA Guide's'' broader definition of the neighborhood (extending up to Fifth Avenue and 106th Streets) is considered, then the neighborhood has an additional ZIP Code of 10029, along Fifth Avenue between 96th and 105th Streets. The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates four post offices on the Upper East Side:
* Cherokee Station – 1483 York Avenue
* Gracie Station – 229 East 85th Street
* United States Post Office (Lenox Hill Station), Lenox Hill Station – 221 East 70th Street
* Yorkville Station – 1617 Third Avenue
Education
The Upper East Side generally has a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . A majority of residents age 25 and older (83%) have a college education or higher, while 3% have less than a high school education and 14% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 64% of Manhattan residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.
The percentage of the Upper East Side students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during the same time period.
The Upper East Side's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City. On the Upper East Side, 8% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, less than the citywide average of 20%.
Additionally, 91% of high school students on the Upper East Side graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.
Primary and secondary schools

Public schools
The New York City Department of Education operates public schools in the city.
Public lower and middle schools
* PS 6 – Lillie Devereux Blake School
* PS 77 – The Lower Lab school
* PS 158 – Bayard Taylor
* PS 183 – Robert Louis Stevenson School
* PS 267 – East Side Elementary
* PS 290 – The New School of Manhattan
* MS 114 – East Side Middle School
* JHS 167 – Senator Robert F. Wagner Middle School
Public high schools
* Talent Unlimited High School
* Eleanor Roosevelt High School (New York City), Eleanor Roosevelt High School
* Urban Academy Laboratory High School
Other schools
* Hunter College High School
Private schools

Coeducational schools
* Birch Wathen Lenox School
* Caedmon School
* Dalton School
* Loyola School (New York City), Loyola School
* Lycée Français de New York
* La Scuola d'Italia Guglielmo Marconi
* Park East School
* Rudolf Steiner School (see Waldorf education)
* The Town School
* Trevor Day School
* Ramaz School
* Sephardic Academy of Manhattan
* Islamic Cultural Center of New York, Islamic Cultural Center School
Girls' schools
* Brearley School
* Cathedral High School (New York City), Cathedral High School
* Chapin School
* Convent of the Sacred Heart (New York City), Convent of the Sacred Heart
* Dominican Academy
* Hewitt School
* Manhattan High School for Girls
* Marymount School of New York, Marymount School
* St. Vincent Ferrer High School
* Nightingale-Bamford School
* Spence School
* St. Jean Baptiste High School
Boys' schools
* Allen-Stevenson School
* Browning School, The Browning School
* Buckley School (New York City), The Buckley School
* Regis High School (New York City), Regis High School
* St. Bernard's School
* Saint David's School (New York City), St. David's School
Colleges and universities
* Hunter College
* Marymount Manhattan College
* Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
* New York Medical College
* New York School of Interior Design
* New York University Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
* New York University Institute of Fine Arts
* Rockefeller University
* Weill Cornell Medical College
* Zucker School of Medicine
Libraries

The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates four branches on the Upper East Side.
* The 67th Street branch is located at 328 East 67th Street. The branch, a Carnegie library, opened in 1905 and was restored in the 1950s and in 2000. The two-story, structure resembles the Yorkville branch library in design.
* The New York Public Library Yorkville Branch, Yorkville branch is located at 222 East 79th Street. The branch, a Carnegie library, opened in 1902 and was renovated in 1986–1987. The three-story space is listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
* The Webster branch is located at 1465 York Avenue. The branch was founded in 1893 as the Webster Free Library, and the current Carnegie library structure opened in 1906.
* The 96th Street branch is located at 112 East 96th Street. The branch, a Carnegie library, opened in 1905 and was restored in 1991.
Transportation
The Upper East Side is served by two New York City Subway, subway lines, the four-track
IRT Lexington Avenue Line
The IRT Lexington Avenue Line (also known as the IRT East Side Line and the IRT Lexington–Fourth Avenue Line) is one of the lines of the A Division (New York City Subway), A Division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Lower Manhatt ...
() under
Lexington Avenue
Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street (Manhattan), 131st Street to Gra ...
and the two-track
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue o ...
() under Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue.
The Second Avenue Line serves to relieve congestion on the Lexington Avenue Line. The first phase of the line opened on January 1, 2017, consisting of three stations on the Upper East Side: 96th Street (Second Avenue Subway), 96th Street, 86th Street (Second Avenue Subway), 86th Street, and 72nd Street (Second Avenue Subway), 72nd Street. The planned Second Avenue Line includes three additional phases to be built at a later date, which will extend the line north to 125th Street (Manhattan), 125th Street/Park Avenue in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
and south to Hanover Square (Manhattan), Hanover Square in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District.
There are also local and limited MTA Regional Bus Operations routes going uptown and downtown, as well as the crosstown .
The Upper East Side is served by NYC Ferry at the East 90th Street landing; the Soundview Ferry has operated at the stop since August 2018 and the Astoria Ferry began serving the landing in August 2000.
Media
News
The Upper East Side is served by several news organizations that focus on the neighborhood.
Our TownUpper East Site* Patch (website), Patch UES
In popular culture
The Upper East Side has been a setting for many films, television shows, and other media.
Films
* ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945)
* ''Breakfast at Tiffany's (film), Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961)
* ''Sunday in New York (film), Sunday in New York'' (1963)
* ''The Boys in the Band (1970 film), The Boys in the Band'' (1970)
* ''Live and Let Die (film), Live and Let Die'' (1973)
* ''The Great Gatsby (1974 film), The Great Gatsby'' (1974)
* ''The Prisoner of Second Avenue'' (1975)
* ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979)
* ''Manhattan (1979 film), Manhattan'' (1979)
* ''The Muppets Take Manhattan'' (1984)
* ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989)
* ''Family Business (1989 film), Family Business'' (1989)
* ''The Bonfire of the Vanities (film), The Bonfire of the Vanities'' (1990)
* ''Metropolitan (1990 film), Metropolitan'' (1990)
* ''Juice (1992 film), Juice'' (1992)
* ''Six Degrees of Separation (film), Six Degrees of Separation'' (1993)
* ''Manhattan Murder Mystery'' (1993)
* ''Harriet the Spy (film), Harriet the Spy'' (1996)
* ''Ransom (1996 film), Ransom'' (1996)
* ''One Fine Day (1996 film), One Fine Day'' (1996)
* ''The Devil's Advocate (1997 film), The Devil's Advocate'' (1997)
* ''A Perfect Murder'' (1998)
* ''Cruel Intentions'' (1999)
* ''The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film), The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1999)
* ''Eyes Wide Shut'' (1999)
* ''Autumn in New York (film), Autumn in New York'' (2000)
* ''American Psycho (film), American Psycho'' (2000)
* ''Cruel Intentions 2'' (2001)
* ''Tart (film), Tart'' (2001)
* ''25th Hour'' (2002)
* ''Uptown Girls'' (2003)
* ''Igby Goes Down'' (2002)
* ''Two Weeks Notice'' (2002)
* ''Eloise at the Plaza'' (2003)
* ''The Nanny Diaries (film), The Nanny Diaries'' (2007)
* ''The Devil Wears Prada (film), The Devil Wears Prada'' (2007)
* ''Sex and the City (film), Sex and the City'' (2008)
* ''Ghost Town (2008 film), Ghost Town'' (2008)
* ''Made of Honor'' (2008)
* ''The Wackness'' (2008)
* ''The Women (2008 film), The Women'' (2008)
* ''Bride Wars'' (2009)
* ''Confessions of a Shopaholic (film), Confessions of a Shopaholic'' (2009)
* ''The International (2009 film), The International'' (2009)
* ''The Back-up Plan'' (2010)
* ''Sex and the City 2'' (2010)
* ''Twelve (2010 film), Twelve'' (2010)
* ''Remember Me (2010 film), Remember Me'' (2010)
* ''Arbitrage (film), Arbitrage'' (2012)
* ''Blue Jasmine'' (2013)
* ''The Goldfinch (film), The Goldfinch'' (2019)
* ''The Scary of Sixty-First'' (2021)
Television shows
* ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957)
* ''Family Affair'' (TV series) (1966–1971)
* ''That Girl'' (TV series) (1966–1971)
* ''The Odd Couple (1970 TV series), The Odd Couple'' (1970–1975)
* ''The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985)
* ''Diff'rent Strokes'' (1978–1986)
* ''The Nanny'' (1993–1999)
* ''High Society (1995 TV series), High Society'' (1995–1996)
* ''Will & Grace'' (1998–2006)
* ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004)
* ''Ugly Betty'' (2006–2010)
* ''Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008)
* ''The City (MTV series), The City'' (2008–2010)
* ''Yes! PreCure 5'' (2007–2008)
* ''The Real Housewives of New York City'' (2008–present)
* ''Gossip Girl'' (2007–2012)
* ''Lipstick Jungle (TV series), Lipstick Jungle'' (2008–2009)
* ''NYC Prep'' (2009–2010)
* ''White Collar (TV series), White Collar'' (2009–2014)
* ''Ringer (TV series), Ringer'' (2011–2012)
* ''Kourtney and Kim Take New York'' (2011–2012)
* ''Gallery Girls'' (2012)
* ''Odd Mom Out'' (2015–2017), based on Jill Kargman's novel ''Momzillas''
* ''Billions (TV series), Billions'' (2016–present)
* ''Succession (TV series), Succession'' (2018–2023)
* ''The Undoing (miniseries), The Undoing'' (2020)
* ''And Just Like That'' (2021–present)
* ''Gossip Girl (2021 TV series), Gossip Girl'' (2021–2022)
Books
* ''American Psycho'' by Bret Easton Ellis
* Blue Bloods (novel series), ''Blue Bloods'' series by Melissa de la Cruz
* Breakfast at Tiffany's (novella), ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'' by Truman Capote
* ''Death Wish (novel), Death Wish'' by Brian Garfield
* ''Franny and Zooey'' by J. D. Salinger
* Gossip Girl (novel series), ''Gossip Girl'' series by Cecily von Ziegesar
* ''Harriet the Spy'' by Louise Fitzhugh
* ''Heartburn (novel), Heartburn'' by Nora Ephron
* ''Lipstick Jungle (novel), Lipstick Jungle'' by Candace Bushnell
* ''Momzillas'' by Jill Kargman
* ''My Year of Rest and Relaxation'' by Ottessa Moshfegh
* ''Primates of Park Avenue'' by Wednesday Martin
* ''Sex and the City'' by Candace Bushnell
* ''Shopaholic Abroad, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan'' by Sophie Kinsella
* ''The 25th Hour'' by David Benioff
* The A-List (novel series), ''The A-List'' series by Zoey Dean
* ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' by Tom Wolfe
* ''The Catcher in the Rye'' by J. D. Salinger
* The Devil Wears Prada (novel), ''The Devil Wears Prada'' by Lauren Weisberger
* ''The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund'' by Jill Kargman
* ''The Luxe'' by Anna Godbersen
* ''The Manny'' by Holly Peterson
* ''The Nanny Diaries'' by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin
* ''The Princess Diaries'' by Meg Cabot
* Twelve (novel), ''Twelve'' by Nick McDonell
* ''Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters'' by J. D. Salinger
* ''Wolves In Chic Clothing'' by Jill Kargman
Fictional places and characters
* The X-Men's fictional Hellfire Club (comics), Hellfire Club mansion is said to be four blocks away from the Avengers Mansion, another fictional building at 70th Street and Fifth Avenue
* Mad Men, ''Mad Men''s Don Draper owned an apartment in a fictional building at 73rd Street and Park Avenue
* Constance Billard School for Girls and St. Jude's School for Boys in ''Gossip Girl (novel series), Gossip Girl''
* The Duchesne School in the vampire novels ''Blue Bloods (novel series), Blue Bloods'' by Melissa de la Cruz
* Percy Jackson, title character of Rick Riordan's ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' pentalogy
* Sherman McCoy – The Bonfire of the Vanities
* Samantha Delmonico and John Surling in Friends from College
* Jacqueline White (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
Notable people
The neighborhood has a long tradition of being home to some of the world's most wealthy, powerful, and influential families and individuals.
Notable residential buildings
*834 Fifth Avenue
*927 Fifth Avenue
*930 Fifth Avenue
*960 Fifth Avenue
*1040 Fifth Avenue
*502 Park Avenue
*520 Park Avenue
*550 Park Avenue
*740 Park Avenue
*778 Park Avenue
*225 East 86th Street
*The Forum at 343 East 74th Street, 343 East 74th Street
*20 East End Avenue
*Casa 74
*Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House
*1342 Lexington Avenue, the former residence of Andy Warhol from 1960 to 1972.
See also
* East Side (Manhattan)
* Upper West Side
* Upper Manhattan
* Yorkville, Manhattan
*
Carnegie Hill
Carnegie Hill is a neighborhood within the Upper East Side, in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Its boundaries are 86th Street on the south, Fifth Avenue (Central Park) on the west, with a northern boundary at 98th Street that contin ...
*
Lenox Hill
Lenox Hill () is a neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It forms the lower (southern) section of the Upper East Side, east of Park Avenue in the 60s and 70s.
A significant portion of the neighborhood lies withi ...
References
Informational notes
Citations
External links
Wikipages: Upper East SideUpper East Side Museums
{{Authority control
Upper East Side,
Neighborhoods in Manhattan
Upper class culture in New York City