Thursday, March 5, 2009

Looking at the LES: "Those bridge-and-tunnel places are what made this area better"


A few passages from the real-estate section in the Post today, specifically the cover story titled "More or LES."

The neighborhood, one of the city's largest — spanning from the Bowery east, from Houston to Canal streets — offers Manhattan's least expensive two- and three-bedroom rentals, averaging $3,023 and $4,095 a month, respectively, according to Citi Habitats' January data. (Compare that to $4,311 and $5,450 in Chelsea, and $5,086 and $7,169 in SoHo/TriBeCa.)


What about that kinda weird-looking Blue condo thing?

[T]he glass 16-story, 32-unit Blue condo, out of place among its five- and six-story neighbors, is a different story. It averaged $1,140 per square foot when it sold out, says Corcoran Group broker Barrie Mandel.

"The people who bought [at Blue] were people who 10 years ago would have bought in the Village and five years ago would have bought in SoHo and two years ago would have bought in NoLIta," Mandel says. "The majority of people have traditional work that they do all day long, they dress in a suit and tie, a dress and proper heels and come home at night and lead a different life, go to the clubs or the lounges."


What other changes have there been on the LES?

Since Anne Hugard moved to the Lower East Side in 2001, she has seen a dramatic transformation.

"There were no stores, and it was Chinatown to the south and very Puerto Rican to the east; that's what we liked about it," she says. "It got gentrified, which is good and bad. We enjoy the convenience of stores, but the drawback is that the population gets to be all the same."


Hmm, still. Is it safe?

"I've watched this area go from street fights to kids puking in the streets," says Chris Scott, co-owner of Fat Hippo, a newish restaurant on Clinton Street. "Those bridge-and-tunnel places are what made this area better."

14 comments:

Ken Mac said...

street fights and puking. Sounds like my MacDougal block. ! But with the new Minetta and a spanking new condo going up on Bleecker...can we be long for this world?

Anonymous said...

Oh, but all that will make the area BETTER Ken!

Ugh.

Anonymous said...

you can't make this stuff up. staggering.......

Anonymous said...

i wish we could say it can't get any worse.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Bloomy should make the entire LES a pedestrian mall...

Heh. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

well it almost is.

Anonymous said...

For all you "native" Lower East Siders, who came here what, in 1998? 2002? What did you take to get here, a bridge or a tunnel? The puking frat boys are concentrated on four to six blocks, and are easily avoided. Not so the roving packs of 15-year-old muggers who took took my lunch money countless times at knife-point in the late 80s and early 90s, while you were at soccer practice. So STFU, all of you. The bridge and tunnel people DID make this place better. You happened to be the first wave. Sorry that your successors disturb you from an aesthetic point of view.

Anonymous said...

How 'bout 2007, Boogie?

Anonymous said...

Hahahah anonymous 3:43 I was probably one of the people mugging you. Oh, wait, you were mugged by 15 year olds in 1990? No, that would be my son mugging you.

Anonymous said...

All water under the bridge, 6:09. Though losing that brand new casio wristwatch in '89 really hurt. 5th grade was never the same without that calculator watch. I hope your son graduated from high school and all that.

Barbara L. Hanson said...

Anonymous 3:43pm--I came to the LES in 1981. Fifth generation New Yorker.

Anonymous said...

Gold stars to you and yours, BaHa. I was merely telling all the snide, eyerollers above to can it. They are just as bridge and tunnel as the revelers, yet of course, I am sure they are secretly convinced that *they* are good for the lower east side, whereas the people filling Spitzer's Corner are not. The fact that people like you exist is not shocking, but I suspect that you have a more nuanced opinion of what's happened here in the last 25 years than "I moved here after college in 1999 and I want things to stay exactly how they were then, FOREVER."

NYC taxi photo said...

cheapest in manhattan?? yeah if you've got one of those tourist maps that doesn't go past 106th st

and that comment about the bridge and tunnel places comment, that was the money talking, not his heart.

NYC taxi photo said...

i dunno, i think you can get cheaper rent near york and 70's sts