Upper West Side

By Patrick Verel | Special to amNewYork

March 15, 2007

"Quintessential New York" is often a phrase used to describe the Upper West Side.

The swath of land between Central Park and the Hudson River certainly conforms to that description, with its array of tree-lined streets, town houses and pre-war apartment buildings, shops and restaurants lining the north-south avenues -- Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus.

The neighborhood has been immortalized in any number of TV shows including "Seinfeld," "Law & Order," "Mad About You" and nearly half a dozen Woody Allen movies. Residents often rave about the sense of community in their corner of the neighborhood.

"I know my dry cleaner, the people in the little bodega; the shoe repair guy waves to me on Columbus Avenue," said Susan Fishman, a vice president for Prudential Douglas Elliman who calls West 87th Street home. "It's like little tiny neighborhoods all over the West Side."

Even though the term "Upper West Side" is often applied to everything from 59th Street all the way to 110th Street, the heart of the area is really in the 70s and 80s, with the American Museum of Natural History serving as a focal point.

The blocks of Broadway in the 80s home to such foodie destinations as Zabar's, Fairway, Citarella and H&H Bagels are reminiscent of an era when people traveled from one store to another for their fish, bread, vegetables and cheeses.

"I was looking at a property with a broker somewhere up there, and she said, 'I live next to Fairway,' and it was sort of code for 'I'm never moving,'" said Richard Leitner, a vice president with the Corcoran Group.

"It's got a lot of what New York is all about. It has residential appeal, commercial bustle, historic landmark buildings and old businesses that are hanging on despite the big-box businesses that are moving in."

FIND IT
For our purposes, we are focusing on the Upper West Side in the 70s and 80s, between Riverside Drive to the west and Central Park West to the east.

THE BASICS
Transportation
Subway: 1, 2, 3 at W. 72nd Street, 1 at W. 79th Street, W. 86th Street, B and C at W. 72nd Street, W. 81st Street, Museum of Natural History, W. 86th Street. Bus: M5, 7, 11, 57, 79, 86, 104

Crime
The 20th Precinct has reported zero murders, one rape and 23 robberies this year, compared to zero murders, one rape and 37 robberies at this time last year. In 2006 there was a total of one murder, seven rapes and 149 robberies for the year.

Schools
P.S. 9, 100 W. 84th St.; P.S. 87, 160 W. 78th St.; P.S. 166, 132 W. 89th St.; P.S. 199, 270 W. 70th St.; I.S. 245, 100 W.77th St./100 W.84th St.; M.S. 243, 270 W. 70th St.; M.S. 44, 100 W. 77th St.; H.S. 470, 145 W. 84th St.

Post Office
127 W. 83rd St., 178 Columbus Ave.

Banks