In the quiet world of Yorkville
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Most people despise the Upper East Side.
It’s very residential, culturally poor outside of museums and perceived as a ghetto for the wealthiest New Yorkers (62.7% of households have an annual income exceeding $75,000).
But maybe you’ve never heard of Yorkville, between East 79th and 96th Streets, from Third Avenue to the East River.
Real estate is cheaper than the rest of the Upper East Side (1,512$ per square foot vs. 2,538$ per square foot on average), casual restaurants and cocktail bars are sprouting everywhere, and the neighborhood is home to more and more students wanting to stay in Manhattan (President Obama used to live there in the 1980s when attending Columbia University and for a short period after his graduation).
Overall, it has become a haven for youngsters and families looking for Old New York, at half the price.
This week we’re focusing on York Avenue between 82nd and 83rd Streets.
This block is pretty quiet, and has more cleaners than eateries. Still, we highly recommend you go to Ottomanelli bros, “home of the overstuffed sandwiches”: it’s a typical Italian Gourmet shop where they prepare homemade products such as fresh pasta, parmiggiana, manicotti, lasagna, meatballs and delicious sandwiches for very reasonable prices.
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A typical commuter pattern illustrates the highly residential nature of this neighborhood. More southbound traffic on weekday mornings — the nearest subway station is on 77th Street — with 370 people per hour on average at 8:00 AM, and more northbound traffic around 6:00 or 7:00 PM on evenings.
As for the afternoon peak starting around 3:00 PM on weekdays, it could correspond to children coming out of school, as St. Stephen of Hungary School (on 82nd Street) and The Chaplin School (on 84th Street) are very close from our block.
In the neighborhood there are two temples — on 79th & 2nd Avenue and on 85th & Lexington — probably corresponding to Saturday mornings peak. On Sunday mornings, the bump might represent people going to church, mostly toward South (there are three churches on 74th Street between 2nd and York Avenues).
A small peak of activity on Friday nights between midnight and 2:00 AM confirms the presence of students heading back home after a wild night in the city.
It’s now easy to understand why young families are seduced by our little sub-neighborhood, once famous for being the exclusive domain of Czechoslovaks, Hungarians and Germans until the late 1920s, modern yet very Old New York, and mostly peaceful and quiet.
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