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City Living: Sutton Place

By Hesper Desloovere | Special to amNewYork

January 24, 2008

Sutton Place Sutton Place 1015 2nd Ave. 212-207-3777 (Michelle Repiso / January 23, 2008)

The swankiest digs this side of the Gold Coast, Sutton Place is one of the East Side's most coveted addresses. But as recently as the 20th century, this neighborhood wasn't all nannies and co-ops.

Back in 1875, entrepreneur Effingham B. Sutton built brownstones in the formerly industrial stretch hoping to create a residential enclave. It turned out Sutton couldn't rustle up any takers, so the row houses fell into disrepair by the turn of the century. By that point the poverty-stricken, tenement-ridden waterfront area was roamed by street toughs who went by the handle "The Dead End Kids."

But, attach a few Social Register names like Vanderbilt and Morgan to a "Dead End," and you've got yourself an exclusive waterfront "Place." By the '20s, society folk were streaming in and replacing poor E. B. Sutton's row houses with the Neo-Georgian masterpieces that are the toast of the area today. Thus, a one-time shoddy extension of Avenue A became Sutton Place as we know it.

Nowadays the neighborhood's status as a lovely--if stuffy--enclave mostly rings true. Sutton Place's most exclusive apartments are populated by tenants who paid for them in cash. Indeed, the neighborhood keeps a low-key, modest, and above all private air to the place. Offering the same sheltered silence as East End Avenue, Sutton Place manages to feel less isolated from First Avenue's hustle and bustle than its uptown counterpart.

Perhaps the area's greatest appeal for residents is that someone of Britney-level fame could walk her dog down Sutton Place proper undisturbed--which is precisely why those types have been traditionally uninterested and unwelcome in the neighborhood.

As more families and young couples move into the surrounding blocks, Sutton Place's reputation as staid and prohibitively expensive is beginning to fade. That said, an everything bagel with cream cheese (un-toasted!) will set you back two whole bucks 'round Sutton way.

TO EAT
First and Second avenues offer a healthy variety of eateries, notably a number of Turkish and French options.

Les Sans Culottes
The $23 prix-fixe dinner at this red-lit, cozy little bistro includes a spread of sausage, crudité and pate worthy of a picnic in the French countryside. Then the entree comes. If you make it through the mousse au chocolat at the end, you'll be crawling home.
1085 2nd Ave. 212-838-6660

Moonstruck
The Moonstruck mini-chain comprises some of the last of a dying breed of 24-hour diners--the kind that serve up tuna melts, eggs any style, and diet delights that all include cottage cheese. For 3 a.m. pizza bagels, Moonstruck is pretty unbeatable.
250 E. 58th St. 212-752-1711

La Mangeoire
Delectable appetizer offerings like watermelon and arugula salad with goat cheese and pine nuts will have you opting for the "small plates"--scaled-down versions of entrees for two-thirds the price--at this country-style French spot.
1008 2nd Ave. 212-759-7086

Caffe Buon Gusto
This location of the Italian chainlet is date central, with exposed brick, twinkly white lights, and a glowing chandelier.
1009 2nd Ave. 212-535-6884